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FN Draft Profiles: Slovak centre Tomas Chrenko could be a fit for the Flames
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Photo credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
Ryan Pike
May 30, 2026, 12:00 EDTUpdated: May 30, 2026, 01:14 EDT
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Every few years, one of the countries in the global hockey world seems to mature, step up, and become a force. Over the last decade or so, you could make a case that Slovakia has really found its footing in the international hockey sphere and become a country that produces some really strong talent for the NHL Draft.
In the 2026 NHL Draft class, one of the two top Slovaks is centre Tomas Chrenko.

What do scouts think of Tomas Chrenko?

A product of Nitra, Slovakia, Chrenko is a right shot centre listed at 5’11” and 170 pounds. He’s a November 2007 birthday, so he’s one of the older first-time eligible players in this draft class. His dad, who s also named Tomas, played pro hockey in Europe for two decades and now runs HK Nitra in the Slovak Extraliga as general manager.
Now, young Tomas came up through HK Nitra – you can giggle about nepotism, but he’s a high-end player and that’s the club team in his hometown so it’s where he would’ve ended up regardless of who ran the team. Like a lot of high-end Europeans, he’s played a level or two ahead of his age group for awhile, debuting in the Slovak under-20 league in his 15-year-old season.
He debuted in pro hockey in 2024-25, his 17-year-old season, while spending part of the season with Nitra’s under-20 team, too. He also represented Slovakia’s national team at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup and the Under-18 Worlds. This season, he played primarily in pro hockey in the Extraliga, aside from a handful of under-20 teams. He also represented Slovakia at the World Juniors – Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis praised his power play work at the World Juniors.
Speaking of Ellis, here’s what he wrote about Chrenko in his recent May draft rankings:
Chrenko’s international numbers have been excellent. Between his play at the U-18s last year and the World Juniors this season, no draft-eligible Slovak comes close to being as effective at blasting pucks past goaltenders. He also put up 31 points in 44 games in the top Slovak league this year, and while it’s a little lower on the totem pole among European leagues, he still played anywhere from 13 to 20 minutes a night against pros. He’s not big, and some scouts wonder if he’d be better on the wing in the NHL. But as a pure shooter, especially on the power play, there’s a lot to love. Chrenko needs to round his game out a bit more to convince me he’ll be an NHLer, but the talent is definitely there.

How has Tomas Chrenko performed?

Chrenko had nine goals and 31 points through 44 games in the Slovak Extraliga. He led all under-19 players in that league in goals, points and games played. On a per-game basis, he out-produced everyone else with 0.70 points per game. He helped HK Nitra win his league’s playoff tournament, too.
He had eight points in five World Junior games, and was named a top-three player on his team in the tournament.

Would Tomas Chrenko be a fit for the Flames?

Man, the Flames crave right shot centres like someone in the desert craves water. Chrenko would potentially be a nice compliment, in handedness and play style, to recent picks like Cole Reschny, Cullen Potter and Theo Stockselius.
Generally-speaking, Chrenko is seen in the public rankings as a fringe first-rounder; he’s a late first on some rankings or an early second-rounder on others. If the Flames decide to use their many second-round picks to stock up on players, Chrenko feels like he could be a great fit for what they need more of in their system.

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