Carson Carels would be 'ecstatic' to be drafted by the Calgary Flames
NHL 2026 draft prospect Carson Carels has been open about the fact that he would love to be drafted by a Canadian franchise.
The Prince George Cougars defenceman, who was born in Cypress River, Man., is projected to be one of the first players to have his name called at the draft this June.
While he won’t be going first overall to the Toronto Maple Leafs, there are many Calgary Flames fans who would like to see their team take him with the sixth-overall selection. If that were to happen, it sounds like the 17-year-old would be over the moon.
The 6-foot-2, 198-pound blueliner joined Sportsnet 960’s Pat Steinberg and Logan Gordon for a chat on Tuesday afternoon and spoke about how thrilled he would be to hear the Flames call his name.
“It’d be really exciting. I’d be ecstatic, for sure,” Carels said. “I think Zayne [Parekh] would probably be the first person that calls me, he’d be over the moon. I’d be really excited.”
Carels is widely regarded for his skill on the back end, as evidenced by his 20-goal, 73-point season with the Cougars. The left-shot blueliner explained that there’s far more to his game than just offence, however.
“I’d say I’m a two-way defenceman,” Carels explained. “I don’t really sacrifice defence for offence. I’m always taking care of my own zone first. I have a little bit of extra aggression that I usually take out on opponents by either hitting them or getting under their skin.
“That’s kind of my game. I like to be in their face and shut down those top guys. I think along those lines, I’m that guy and just a big, heavy, puck-moving defenceman that’s going to create a lot of offence just by being the third wave of offence and just getting up the ice.”