Gang, it’s no secret that things haven’t gone as planned for the Calgary Flames this season. But with the Flames currently owning five selections in the first three rounds of the upcoming 2026 NHL Draft, there’s no better time than the present for Flames fans to turn their eyes towards the future.

In that light, hey, let’s get excited about the CHL-USA Prospects Challenge, which takes place over the next couple of nights in scenic southern Alberta! The Scotiabank Saddledome will play host to the first game, pitting a Canadian Hockey League super-team of prospects selected by the NHL’s Central Scouting Service against the U.S. National Development Program’s Under-18 Team, a super-team of homegrown American prospects who’ve played together for over a year already.

The game kicks off just after 6 p.m. MT and you can catch it on TSN!

The Canadian Hockey League

Central Scouting put together this grouping of exciting youngsters from across the three CHL member leagues, with nine WHLers, nine OHLers, and four QMJHLers. If you’re comparing the relative draft rankings placement of the two rosters, the CHL group definitely has the edge in terms of draft buzz. But the challenge could be a talented group that hasn’t played together very much, if at all, coming together quickly against the Americans.

Here’s the roster, with placements on Steven Ellis’ November draft rankings from Daily Faceoff as appropriate.

Goaltenders:

#29 – Zachary Jovanovski – Guelph (OHL) // 19 GP, 10-7-1, 3.83 GAA, .882 SV%
#30 – Harrison Boettiger – Kelowna (WHL) // 10 GP, 5-2-1, 2.37 GAA, .921 SV%

Defencemen:

#4 – Ryan Lin [R] (alternate captain) – Vancouver (WHL) // 24 GP, 5 G, 28 PTS // ranked 6th by DFO
#5 – Carson Carels [L] – Prince George (WHL) // 23 GP, 8 G, 24 PTS // ranked 14th by DFO
#10 – Daxon Rudolph [R] – Prince Albert (WHL) // 21 GP, 6 G, 17 PTS // ranked 10th by DFO
#19 – Charlie Morrison [L] – Quebec (QMJHL) // 10 GP, 1 G, 3 PTS
#72 – Xavier Villeneuve [L] (alternate captain) – Blainville-Boisbriand (QMJHL) // 23 GP, 5 G, 27 PTS // ranked 13th by DFO
#84 – Giorgos Pantelas [R] – Brandon (WHL) // 22 GP, 2 G, 15 PTS // ranked 31st by DFO
#94 – Chase Reid [R] – Soo (OHL) // 25 GP, 10 G, 28 PTS // ranked 8th by DFO

Forwards:

#2 – J.P. Hurlbert [RW] (alternate captain) – Kamloops (WHL) // 25 GP, 18 G, 44 PTS // ranked 12th by DFO
#9 – Egor Shilov [C] – Victoriaville (QMJHL) // 23 GP, 11 G, 31 PTS // ranked 29th by DFO
#12 – Liam Ruck [RW] – Medicine Hat (WHL) // 25 GP, 8 G, 24 PTS
#16 – Adam Novotny [LW] – Peterborough (OHL) // 24 GP, 14 G, 26 PTS // ranked 19th by DFO
#17 – Alessandro Di Iorio [C] – Sarnia (OHL) // 6 GP, 3 G, 6 PTS // ranked 32nd by DFO
#24 – Maddox Dagenais [C] – Quebec (QMJHL) // 23 GP, 9 G, 18 PTS // Pierre Dagenais is his dad, ranked 40th by DFO
#25- Ryan Roobroeck [LW] – Niagara (OHL) // 22 GP, 12 G, 22 PTS // ranked 7th by DFO
#26 – Chase Harrington [LW] – Spokane (WHL) // 22 GP, 7 G, 16 PTS
#27 – Caleb Malhotra [C] (captain) – Brantford (OHL) // 23 GP, 10 G, 29 PTS // Manny Malhotra is his dad, ranked 18th by DFO
#61 – Ethan Belchetz [LW] – Windsor (OHL) // 23 GP, 16 G, 28 PTS // ranked 4th by DFO
#81 – Beckham Edwards [C] – Sarnia (OHL) // 23 GP, 9 G, 19 PTS // ranked 27th by DFO
#96 – Mathis Preston [RW] – Spokane (WHL) // 21 GP, 8 G, 17 PTS // ranked 11th by DFO
#98 – Nikita Klepov [RW] – Saginaw (OHL) // 24 GP, 14 G, 33 PTS // ranked 22nd by DFO

Keep an eye on J.P. Hurlbert, a Texas product who left the U.S. National Development Program to join the Kamloops Blazers, and who’ll be joining Flames prospect Henry Mews at the University of Michigan next fall. He’s a really fun player to watch and has emerged as the WHL’s scoring leader early in this season.

The U.S. National Under-18 Team

This is the U.S. National Development Program’s under-18 team. They’re largely the same group that was the under-17 team a year ago, so they have a ton of experience playing together. Their schedule is a mix of United States Hockey League opponents, as well as games against various national and college teams. Last week these guys faced Cole Reschny and the North Dakota Fighting Hawks in an exhibition game, for example.

This year’s USNDP crop isn’t exactly a murderer’s row. Zero Under-18 Team players were selected in the first round in 2025, and this year’s team is trending in that direction – the top player on Daily Faceoff’s rankings, Mikey Berchild, is ranked 43rd. That said: they’re no pushovers, and what they may lack in high-end skill they make up for in being a really experienced, cohesive group. They’ll need to rely on their team game to beat the CHL’s crew.

Goaltenders:

#1 – Luke Carrithers // 11 GP, 3-8-0, 4.02 GAA, .862 SV%
#30 – Brady Knowling // 12 GP, 2-7-1, 3.89 GAA, .874 SV%

Defencemen:

#4 – A.J. Francisco [R] // 21 GP, 2 G, 14 PTS
#5 – J.J. Marthaler [L] // 21 GP, 0 G, 1 PT
#10 – Luke Schairer [R] // 21 GP, 0 G, 5 PTS // ranked 50th by DFO
#13 – Abe Barnett [L] (2027 draft eligible) // 21 GP, 0 G, 3 PTS
#14 – Logan Lutner [R] // 21 GP, 1 G, 2 PTS
#22 – Nick Bogas [L] // 21 GP, 1 G, 2 PTS
#24 – Tyler Martyniuk [L] (2027 draft eligible) // 21 GP, 0 G, 2 PTS
#28 – Sam Wathier [L] // 21 GP, 1 G, 2 PTS

Forwards:

#7 – Wyatt Cullen [LW] // 5 GP, 1 G, 5 PTS // Matt Cullen is his dad
#8 – Dayne Beuker [C] / 21 GP, 4 G, 11 PTS
#9 – Sammy Nelson [C] // 21 GP, 6 G, 15 PTS
#11 – Mikey Berchild [LW] (alternate captain) // 18 GP, 5 G, 13 PTS // ranked 43rd by DFO
#12 – Casey Mutryn [RW] (captain) // 21 GP, 5 G, 13 PTS // ranked 44th by DFO
#16 – Parker Trottier [LW] // 21 GP, 3 G, 7 PTS // Bryan Trottier is his grandfather
#17 – Jamie Glance [RW] (2027 draft eligible) / 21 GP, 7 G, 17 PTS
#18 – Brody George [LW] // 21 GP, 1 G, 6 PTS
#19 – Lukas Zajic [RW] // 21 GP, 5 G, 8 PTS
#20 – Blake Zielinski [RW] // 1 G, 0 G, 0 PTS; 18 GP, 3 G, 15 PTS with USHL Des Moines
#23 – A.J. Garcia [C] // 21 GP, 6 G, 8 PTS
#26 – Victor Plante [LW] (alternate captain) // 21 GP, 9 G, 19 PTS // Derek Plante is his dad
#27 – Logan Stuart [C] (alternate captain) // 20 GP, 4 G, 10 PTS // Brad Stuart is his dad

Keep an eye on Plante, who has two older brothers currently playing college hockey at the University of Minnesota-Duluth – Penguins prospect Zam and Red Wings prospect Max.

The Flames selected a pair of players from last year’s CHL-USA Prospects Challenge in the 2025 draft: first-rounder Cole Reschny (Team CHL) and third-rounder Mace’o Phillips (Team USA). Time will tell how many players that hit the ice at the ‘Dome on Tuesday night end up pulling on a Flames jersey when June rolls around.

Which prospects are you most excited to see at the CHL-USA Prospects Challenge? Let us know in the comments!

This article is brought to you by Platinum Mitsubishi

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