The 2025 edition of the National Hockey League’s draft lottery is complete, gang! We now know roughly when the Calgary Flames will select, and when they won’t.
The Flames didn’t win either lottery drawing, so they missed out on two (very slim) chances to move up to sixth overall. Instead, they stayed at 16th overall, and promptly transferred that pick to the Montreal Canadiens to conclude the 2022 trade for Sean Monahan.
But the Flames still control two first-round picks in the 2025 NHL Draft, and our pal Steven Ellis at Daily Faceoff put out a mock draft examining how the first round could play out.
The Flames have two selections in the mock draft: 18th overall, from New Jersey via the Jacob Markstrom trade, and 22nd overall, from Florida via the Matthew Tkachuk trade.
At 18th overall, Ellis has the Flames sticking close to home and selecting centre/right wing Ben Kindel from the Western Hockey League’s Calgary Hitmen:
The Flames need center depth, but I don’t love any of the options at No. 18. But Kindel is someone I think Flames fans would really grow to like. First off, he plays locally. But more importantly, he was one of the WHL’s most thrilling prospects this year. He’s equally good as a shooter and a playmaker and is the driving force of Calgary’s attack. Kindel does a great job of finding open space and exploiting it and he has a shot he can unleash from just about anywhere. I hope he improves his skating, but working with pro-level coaches will help.
At 22nd overall, the Flames stay in the Western League and nab centre Braeden Cootes from the Seattle Thunderbirds:
Cootes continued to establish himself as a force to be reckoned with at the U-18s. For those who didn’t watch him, he showed tremendous poise and smarts in open space. The hard-nosed forward won almost every battle in the offensive zone and seemed to thrive no matter who he played with. Flames fans are going to love his work ethic and how he reads plays.
What do you think of the two selections? Do you think the Flames should grab two Western League forwards in the first round, or spread things around a bit in terms of leagues or positions? Let us know in the comments!
The 2025 NHL Draft takes place June 27 & 28 from Los Angeles, CA.
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