Gang, we’re at the point of the off-season were preparations are beginning for the upcoming season. The winter holidays feature the IIHF’s World Junior Championship, featuring the top junior-aged men’s hockey players from throughout the world. And the summer features events that start putting those national junior teams together.

Five months out from the event, which Calgary Flames prospects could be at the 2026 World Juniors?

Due to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, Russia (and Belarus) have been barred for IIHF competitions since 2022.

2024 first-round pick Matvei Gridin would probably be a strong contender for a spot on the Russian national junior team… if they were allowed to participate. 2025 seventh-round pick Yan Matveiko would be a long shot. Both are 2006 birthdays, so this would have been their final year of eligibility.

2024 sixth-rounder Hunter Laing and 2025 sixth-rounder Aidan Lane are both Canadian and haven’t amassed the body of work to be serious contenders. 2025 seventh-rounder Jakob Leander, of Sweden, and 2025 fifth-rounder Ethan Wyttenbach, of the United States, are in the same boat.

Laing is a 2006 birthday, so this is his last year of eligibility. Lane, Leander and Wyttenbach were all born in 2007, so they’ll still be eligible for next year’s tournament.

2024 second-rounder Jacob Battaglia, of Canada, was not named to their Summer Showcase roster. However, he was excellent for Kingston of the OHL last season and with a strong enough start to the season he could force his way into the conversation. He’s never played for Canada at any major events, so he has an uphill battle ahead of him. He’s a 2006 birthday, so this is his last crack at the tournament.

The good news is that 2025 second-rounder Theo Stockselius (of Sweden) and 2025 third-rounder Mace’o Phillips (of the United States) both played at the Under-18 Worlds back in the spring. They’re also both 2007 birthdays, so they’re eligible for the tournament next year, too. They’re both, however, trying to get roster spots on pretty stacked national junior teams. We suspect both players would be on the radar of their associations, but they both feel like players that probably have better chances of making next year’s team.

The Flames had four players represent them at the Summer Showcase. Three of them aren’t quite locks for their national junior teams, but they are very much in the mix: 2024 third-rounder Henry Mews (Canada), and 2025 first-rounders Cole Reschny (Canada) and Cullen Potter (United States).

Mews is a 2006 birthday so this is his last chance. Reschny and Potter are both 2007 birthdays, so they’ll be eligible next year, too.

Let’s get one thing out of the way: 2024 first-round Zayne Parekh, in his last year of eligibility as a 2006 birthday, is probably destined for a roster spot. He’s an incredible offensive talent and, honestly, we’ve spent the last two years trying to find new ways to write about his many accomplishments. He’s very good.

But there’s a pretty decent chance that he starts the 2025-26 season with the Flames. And if he’s good enough to still be on the NHL roster when December rolls around, we’re not entirely convinced that he’ll be made available to the Canadian national junior team. Yeah, Parekh could be a difference-maker and help Canada win games. But he could also be one for a Flames team that really wants to make the playoffs this season.

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