“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. This would be the second center taken by the Flames this year (he played the wing at the U-18s), but one worth targeting for a middle-six spot.”

“Calgary adds a highly intelligent, diligent pivot to its prospect pool in Hextall with its second pick after going defense with its first selection. He’s a slick playmaker with excellent offensive sense who doesn’t shy away from going into traffic to make plays. Though his skating doesn’t stand out and he hasn’t been a prolific scorer, his strong two-way detail makes him a very safe bet to be a useful pro down the middle.”

“If they go forward at No. 6, I could see the Flames taking a D like Piiparinen or Håkansson here to give their pool something a little different on the back end; they’ve already got the Villeneuve and Bleyl types, so I’m not sure they’ll double down on that. But if they go D with their first pick, I wonder about Hextall, Klepov, the Rucks and Mathis Preston with this one.”