The Las Vegas Golden Knights will appear in the 2026 Stanley Cup final after sweeping the Avs. They will face the Carolina Hurricanes, who beat the Montreal Canadiens 4–1. While normally the Flames wouldn’t have a vested interest in the Stanley Cup final, this year will be different.
When Vegas acquired Rasmus Andersson from the Flames, it included a conditional second-round pick in the 2028 draft. That condition was that if Vegas won the 2026 Stanley Cup, that second-round pick would become a first-rounder.
That would mean that for three seasons in a row, the Flames would own the Knights’ first-round pick, and potentially three in the 2028 draft alone. The other two would be the Flames’ own pick and the one that helped the Avs pry Nazem Kadri a few months back.
Whilst it’s two years off, and a lot of things may change, there are some exciting young talents projected to rank highly in 2028.
The 2028 Prospects
Maddox Schultz is being touted as the likely #1 pick in 2028. The C/LW from Canada is a high-scoring forward and has dominated the Under-18 AAA as an underage player. He has already been compared to elite playmakers for his vision and shot.
A 2025 Yahoo.com article described him as “the next big thing”, a big claim for a player who was just fourteen at the time. CBC News also compared him to Sidney Crosby in a news article.
Liam Pue is rated as a close #2. The RW, also from Canada, is a big, skilled centre with a strong hockey IQ. His numbers for Langley in the 2024–25 JPHL were 40 goals and 22 assists from 35 games, an impressive return.
Elsewhere, defencemen such as Matyas Michalek from Czechia and Drew Daley, again from Canada, are expected to draft higher.
The Flames’ own pick in 2028 could be enough to secure one of these picks for themselves, but Vegas’ might be better than most think.
Vegas, a collapse waiting to happen
Whilst making the Stanley Cup final is impressive, the win-now mentality has a draft back.
They hold no picks in the first two rounds in either 2026 or 2027. They do still own the 2028, but that is conditional, as we’ve already discussed.
With an ageing team, emptying the cupboards, so to speak, of early-round draft picks. Vegas could soon find itself in a hole. Out of all of their most important players, on paper, only Jack Eichel, and, arguably, Noah Hanifin and Andersson, are under 30.
As the players age, they need to be replaced. Would they be likely to get the returns that they paid for these players? It’s highly unlikely.
There is a realistic scenario that, by the time the 2028 draft comes around, the pick that currently belongs to Vegas will fall in the top ten.
This only highlights the danger of win-now mentalities, something that the Flames found to their cost under Brad Treliving.