Since Craig Conroy became general manager of the Calgary Flames back in May 2023, the franchise has embarked upon a bit of a youth movement. And there’s no better indication of that than the many, many draft choices they’ve made under his regime.

We’re roughly a quarter of the way through the hockey calendar for 2025-26, so let’s quickly take a look at how Conroy’s drafted players have fared so far this season.

Honzek was called up by the Flames this season due to late training camp injuries to Jonathan Huberdeau and Martin Pospisil, but he’s really found a nice niche on the third line with Mikael Backlund and Blake Coleman. He’s doing what he can to cement himself as a full-time NHLer… in his second pro season.

Morin is in his first pro season and he’s currently trying to carve out a regular spot on a Wranglers team that is chock full of both veteran AHL defenders, and right shot options that really don’t seem to be good stylistic matches for a 20-year-old who’s learning the pro game.

Suniev has settled in nicely in the Wranglers’ middle six. He started out bouncing around their bottom six as he figured out the pro game, and since then he’s moved up the rotation a bit. He’s started finding his rhythm offensively, too.

Lipinski is a top six centre for Maine. He’s posting solid offensive numbers and he’s winning 62% of his draws. So far, so good.

Yegorov has settled as Spartak-MAX’s primary goaltender this season. He’s also spent time as the KHL team’s third goalie and the VHL team’s backup goalie.

Hurtig’s serving as team captain and chief shutdown defender during his overage season with the Hitmen.

We’ve written a bunch about Parekh, so we won’t belabour the point. He’s an NHLer this season and currently injured, but he’s yet to really find his stride this season.

Gridin impressed in Flames camp and spent a bit of time with the big club, not really looking out of place. He went down to the Wranglers when Jonathan Huberdeau got healthy, and he’s continued to be a really consistent offensive player. He’s working on his consistency away from the puck.

Basha’s played most games for the Wranglers and operated as a utility forward, usually on a checking line – often on the wing of Wranglers captain Clark Bishop. We’re not sure if him being scratched a few times was based on performance or load management after his injury-filled 2024-25 season, or both. But he’s getting pretty regular reps and learning the pro game.

Battaglia is captain for Kingston and one of their most relied-upon offensive players. His offensive output is down a bit so far, a byproduct of the Frontenacs being not as stacked as last season.

Mews quarterbacked Michigan’s power play and was a top pairing defender before suffering a season-ending injury.

Zarubin is AKM Tula’s top goaltender.

Hoskin has been playing in Merrimack’s top six to start the season. He’s scoring at a point-per-game pace.

Misa has been a bottom six centre on a Penn State team that’s struggled a bit, especially compared to their lofty expectations. Misa’s offensive output has been pretty quiet.

Laing has been a top six fixture for the Blades this season. He’s scoring at around a point-per-game pace.

Jamieson is playing on Denver’s top pairing and scoring at a pretty solid pace for a defender.

Reschny is playing on North Dakota’s first line, winning about 58% of his face-offs, and scoring at a point-per-game pace. He was his conference’s forward of the week recently.

Potter is playing in ASU’s top two forward lines, but his team is struggling a bit, he’s winning just 45% of his draws and scoring at a bit below a point-per-game pace.

Prior to suffering a skate cut, Stockselius was his team’s top centre and was scoring at over a point-per-game pace and winning 46% of his face-offs.

Phillips has been a fixture on the top two pairings for Green Bay as a shutdown defender, aside for a few weeks when he was out with an injury.

We’ve discussed Wyttenbach in the past: he’s off to a great start to his college career, scoring at a point-per-game pace and generally being consistently noticeable in games.

Lane is playing on the second line for a pretty decent Harvard team.

Leander’s a top pairing defender for a Swedish junior team that’s struggling a bit in the standings.

Matveiko is playing as his team’s second line centre. He’s scoring at a point-per-game pace and winning 49% of his face-offs.

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