It’s almost time for the annual NHL Draft, and there is a lot of unpacking for the Calgary Flames. With a treasure chest of draft picks, especially two back-to-back in the second round, the Flames are in an interesting position.
Whilst it’s extremely unlikely that they’ll be able to trade up to first overall, there are other options still available. What makes this draft interesting is that, other than McKenna to Toronto, there seems to be no consensus about who is going where.
The Flames themselves, sitting in sixth overall, seem to have a different project pick in every mock draft. Some have the Flames picking Keaton Verhoeff, others Chase Reid, or even Carson Carels, and now Viggo Björck is believed to be favoured.
The rise of Viggo Björck
Viggo Björck is viewed as one of the most polarising players in the upcoming draft. Some believe he could go as high as fifth overall, whereas others don’t even have him in the top ten.
The Flames are in need of a centre to add some scoring depth, and Björck would likely fit into the second line, eventually, if selected. Craig Conroy also acknowledged watching the Swede five times in person and doesn’t see his size as an issue.
Björck played in the Swedish professional leagues for Djurgårdens IF last season. The 5’10 18-year-old enters the draft following a 15-point season (from 42 regular-season games) for Djurgårdens. He ended the season on the top line and also won a gold medal at the World Junior Games. In those games, he recorded an impressive nine points in seven games.
By the time the season ended, Björck was getting more than 20 minutes a night as a then-17-year-old.
His brother, Wilson, was drafted in the fifth round of the 2025 draft by Vancouver. Could it be a Western Canada double for the Björck family?
Trades still aren’t out of the question
Craig Conroy has made it well known that he is very open to trading up. With a plethora of picks lower down, he is reported to be confident that trading up using their current number six and other collateral is possible.
Vegas’ recent Stanley Cup final loss cemented 30th as the second draft pick for the Flames. Conroy stated on the Barnburner podcast that he wants to use this to trade up. Any trade-up would likely cost the Flames both first-round picks.
The San Jose Sharks have often been cited as potential trade partners, although the price to move to second may be too high. It would certainly involve the aforementioned picks, but also likely a premium asset. The issue the Flames have there is that there are limited players that first the bill that Conroy would be willing to trade.
Conroy has already stated that he only considered four Flames untouchable. Outside of those four, there aren’t many assets that you’d suspect the Sharks would want. They could potentially be interested in a prospect, such as Cole Reschny, but would the Flames be willing to give up part of their own rebuild?
Could Chicago or Winnipeg become trade partners?
Chicago sits at fourth overall and would be a more realistic trade partner with the Flames. Chicago has added several young forwards in recent years, such as Connor Bedard, but the defence has slipped. This is one of the main reasons that Chicago, despite multiple high picks in recent years, hasn’t moved on beyond the bottom of the league.
Could the Flames turn their 6th overall and Zach Whitecloud, for example, into moving up to fourth?
One final rumour that has been making the rounds recently concerns the Winnipeg Jets. Again, using Whitecloud, the Flames could use 30th overall and a few players to potentially have two picks in the top ten. Yegor Sharangovich is also reportedly on the Jets’ wishlist.
Trading for next year
Despite having a warchest of picks, trading up in the draft when in the top ten is already tricky. The Flames are well documented to have offered three first-round picks in exchange for first overall when Nathan MacKinnon was available. The value of the top picks is more than most teams would be willing to pay.
That’s not to say that it’s impossible, but whatever the Flames do, another year of struggle is likely ahead.
The Flames are already being touted by many to finish at the bottom of the NHL next year. Trading away many assets over the last few years has left the Flames light all over the ice. Whilst there is a solid core of young players coming through, how many are actually NHL-ready, or likely to be anytime soon?
Calgary already has two first-round picks next summer, so would it be worth exploring trading for future drafts now?