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Latest Daily Faceoff mock draft sees Flames select Viggo Björck and Maddox Dagenais in the first round
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Photo credit: Nick Wosika-Imagn Images
Dylan Nazareth
Jun 23, 2026, 10:00 EDTUpdated: Jun 23, 2026, 00:38 EDT
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It’s officially draft week in the NHL, meaning the last few mocks are trickling out before the real thing kicks off on Friday.
On Monday, Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis got the week going with his latest mock draft of the first round, including the Calgary Flames’ two picks. In his last mock, Ellis had the Flames going for University of North Dakota defender Keaton Verhoeff at sixth overall. Now, Ellis has Verhoeff falling to tenth, writing that Calgary will instead target Swedish forward Viggo Björck:
Björck is a good fit here. Björck played first-line minutes to close the SHL season out, which is incredible given he was 17 for most of the year. He impressed at the World Juniors and was one of my favorite players at the World Championship. He might be small, but he’s not afraid of physical play and is a wizard with the puck. With his combination of fearlessness and pure skill, the Flames would be very happy to add Björck to the fold and continue to build up their depth down the middle.
Ellis is just the latest NHL expert to predict Björck is on his way to Calgary, including both The Athletic’s Corey Pronman and Elite Prospects’ Cam Robinson last week. When the Flames received the sixth overall pick, many experts predicted the Flames would use the pick to take defender Carson Carels, but the Manitoba native is now expected to be taken earlier.
Meanwhile at 30th overall, Ellis has the Flames taking Quebec Remparts centreman Maddox Dagenais:
From a fit standpoint, I like this. A lot of Dagenais’ power-forward tendencies come from his bigger frame. But he’s far more than that. He’s a decent skater who battles so hard to win every individual puck battle. Dagenais also loves to keep the puck on his stick. Thanks to his pure muscle, Dagenais is a possession machine, rarely giving the puck up on the rush. Dagenais has a good shot release but tends to choose less-than-ideal locations to fire it off. Still, there’s a ton of upside, and he has experience playing both center and the wing, too.
Some have speculated that the Flames will use their second first-round pick on Medicine Hat Tigers winger Liam Ruck, then taking his brother Markus Ruck in the second round. However, after the Ottawa Senators acquired multiple first-round picks from the Florida Panthers this week in the blockbuster Brady Tkachuk trade, the opening round of the draft looks a little different. Now, Ellis has the Senators going for Liam Ruck at 25th overall, taking him off the board before the Flames have a chance to select him. Ellis predicts the Senators will then select Markus Ruck at 32nd overall.
The 2026 NHL Entry Draft kicks off this Friday at 5 p.m. MT from Buffalo, New York. Calgary has nine more selections in rounds 2 through 7, which run the following day beginning at 9 a.m. MT.

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