It’s that time of the year for The Win Column’s NHL Draft Rankings and Draft Profiles! Earlier on, we released the TWC consolidated 2026 NHL Draft rankings. The 2026 NHL Draft will take place on June 26 and 27 in Buffalo.
Ranked 11th on our consolidated rankings is forward Oscar Hemming, who is the brother of Stars draft pick Emil Hemming. He’s a left-shot forward out of the NCAA at Boston College.
Who is Oscar Hemming?
| Player | Position | Shoots | Height | Weight | Born | Nationality | 2026 Draft Ranking |
| Oscar Hemming | LW/RW | Left | 6’4″ | 198 lbs | August 13, 2008 | Finland | TWC Rank #11, CS Rank #11 |
Hemming is a big body who seems like he would be physically ready for the NHL. He also joined Boston College in mid-December, making himself one of the youngest NCAA players.
Hemming’s on ice production
| Year | Draft Rel. | League | Team | GP | G | A | P | P/GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | D+0 | Hlinka Gretzky Cup | Finland U18 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 1.2 |
| 2025-26 | D+0 | NCAA | Boston College | 19 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 0.42 |
Hemming saw himself move up the lineup as the season went along, eventually finding himself on the top line with James Hagens. He can play both wings, showing off his versatility. With his size, he is not afraid to take part in the physicality of the game, but is also able to set up plays and seems to play like a power forward.
Hemming’s strengths
Size
Hemming is a big body. At just 17 years of age, Hemming already has the size of an NHL player. Size is not everything, of course, but this will only help Hemming adapt to the heavy play of the NHL a lot earlier in his career. A lot of rookies will come into the league undersized, and one of their biggest adjustments will be adapting to the heavy style of play in the league. For Hemming, he won’t need to worry about this and should be able to fit in.
Puck skills
Don’t be fooled by just his size; Hemming has a sneaky, strong set of hands. Hemming has the skills and ability to get into tight areas and still keep possession to find offensive chances. This would be very helpful for the Flames as they have prioritized taking smaller players with higher potential. With Hemming’s size and puck skills, if the Flames do decide to select him, he would be a fantastic complement to the Flames’ smaller, skilled prospects. With his puck skills, he cannot only be
Hemming’s areas of improvement
Hockey IQ
Like many young players, Hemming’s decision-making will need to improve as his career moves along. The NHL is a fast-paced league, and right now, Hemming will make the odd rushed play or turnover due to being a tad step behind. At the end of the day, at his level, this is not a crucial area of improvement; to get the most out of his potential and potentially become a top-line player, this will need to be an area that improves.
Offensive Consistency
Hemming has shown great flashes in the NCAA with his offensive production, but to be a true top-line player, he will need to be more consistent in this area. He put up a respectable eight points in 19 games, but more will be expected from him next year. Off the ice, he will need to find his way to get open in dangerous areas, as well as use his strength of stick-handling to drive the play.
Hemming’s Comporables
| Scenario | NHL Comparable | Position | Why |
| Best Case | Valeri Nichushkin | Winger | Size and Puck Skills |
| Likely Case | Nino Niederreiter | Winger | Physical play and sneaky offensive skills |
In an ideal world, everything in Hemming’s development goes perfectly, and he becomes a Nichushkin-level player. Someone who has a big, threatening size, puck protection skills, and is very strong in the offensive zone.
However, just based on his style of play, a safe bet would be him becoming a Nino Niederreiter-type player. A winger who can protect the puck and play the body, but someone who really tops out as a middle-six contributor.
Fit with the Flames
| Organizational need addressed | Big middle-6 winger |
| Realistic pick range | 10-15 |
| NHL timeline | 3 years |
| Flames fit verdict | Somewhat fit |
The Flames address their need of needing to add more sized skill to their prospect pipeline; the team has quite a backlog of wingers on their current roster. Their biggest need is a top-line potential centre, and although Hemming provides the team some flexibility in playing both wings, he doesn’t address the major need of centre.
He would still need around three years to beocme NHL ready, and at that point, Wyttenbach, Reschny, Potter, Basha, and Stromgren will be on the team. Even with current players on the team now, like Huberdeau, Sharangovich, and Coronato. There may be a bit of a logjam that the team will need to sort out.
Summary
Hemming seems like a buy-low safe bet based on his big size and his puck skills, yet he may not have the ceiling of a top-line power forward. Even if he doesn’t become this top-line power forward, GM’s would be very happy to get a middle-six power forward who can contribute a respectable amount offensively. The key for Hemming to become a top-line threat would be quicker decision-making and more patience.