Aside from centre, the Calgary Flames’ biggest draft need is a left-shot defenceman.
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When the Flames pick 18th overall, Cameron Reid may still be on the board. The left-shot defenceman plays in the Ontario Hockey League for the Kitchener Rangers, coming off a good second season in the league.
Let’s take a look at what the 18-year-old left-shot defenceman has to offer.
<h2>Scouting report</h2>
Reid was born in Aylmer, Ontario, east of St. Thomas, Ontario, where Joe Thornton grew up. He stands at 6&#8217;”, 193lbs, and is best described as a power play quarterback.
Steven Ellis of <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/2025-nhl-draft-rankings-schaefer-misa-hagens-top-75-before-u-18-world-championship">Daily Faceoff</a> had this to say about the 18-year-old defenceman:
<blockquote>“Reid closed out the regular season by playing some of his best hockey. He’s started to put up points consistently, and he’s shooting in more dangerous areas, too. Reid isn’t big, but he can shut guys down. Reid can do a little bit of everything – his three-zone game is so good, and he’s got the intelligence to beat so many players in 1-on-1 situations. Some scouts think he’ll go higher here – I see a good value pickup if taken after, say, No. 12.”</blockquote>
Here’s what David Saad of <a href="https://dobberprospects.com/player/cameron-reid/">Dobber Prospects</a> noted in a January scouting report
<blockquote>“Reid has been one of the more surprising standouts of the past month and seems to be involved in everything Kitchener does. Despite his relatively small frame, this especially applies to his defensive game. Reid is remarkably effective with his stick, is very fluid with his motions and reads play spectacularly. Sprinkle in some really impressive offensive IQ and some remarkable mobility, and Reid being outside the top 32 may be laughable in hindsight.”</blockquote>
Jason Bukala from <a href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/scouts-analysis-ranking-the-top-64-prospects-for-the-2025-nhl-draft/">Sportsnet</a> notes that his skating is Reid’s biggest strong suit, and that he has the future role of a power play quarterback.
<blockquote>“Reid is compact in stature, but plenty strong in the trenches. He doesn’t shy away from physical contact, but his most elite element is his skating ability. Reid has the agility and explosiveness to close on opponents defensively and spin off checks to launch the attack offensively. He walks the offensive blue line with purpose as the power play quarterback in Kitchener and produced 14G-40A in the regular season. Reid is deployed in all situations for the Rangers. He averages north of 24 minutes per game TOI.”</blockquote>
<h2>The numbers</h2>
Reid made his Ontario Hockey League debut in 2023-24 with the Kitchener Rangers, scoring just two goals and 23 points in 49 games. In 10 post-season games, he added five assists.
The left-shot defence had somewhat of a breakout in 2024-25, scoring 14 goals and 54 points in 67 games, helping the Rangers reach the post-season again, where he picked up five assists in 14 games as the Rangers were eliminated by the London Knights. Reid also finished with a plus/minus of 39, seventh best among OHL defenders.
<h2>Availability and fit</h2>
The Flames have a whole bunch of right-shot defencemen in their organization, but not a whole lot of left-shot defencemen. <a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/02/14/flames-prospect-etienne-morin-is-showing-steady-improvement-in-qmjhl/">Étienne Morin</a> is the most notable left-hand defence prospect, but Jérémie Poirier, Axel Hurtig, and Eric Jamieson all fit the bill.
Adding a potential high-end left-shot defenceman to the cupboards could pay off big time in the future, even if Reid won’t make an impact as quickly <a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/03/02/zayne-parekh-becomes-first-ever-ohl-defenceman-with-multiple-30-goal-seasons/">as a prospect like Zayne Parekh</a>.
As for availability, Reid is projected to go around where the Flames will pick. His consolidated ranking from Elite Prospects has him as the 17th-best prospect, with his highest ranking being 12th by TSN’s Craig Button, and his lowest by Tony Ferrari of The Hockey News.
A future defence pairing of Reid and Parekh would be fun.
<hr />
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for <a href="https://flamesnation.ca/combinations">FlamesNation</a>, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. They can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
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Aside from centre, the Calgary Flames’ biggest draft need is a left-shot defenceman.
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2109" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="328"></div>


When the Flames pick 18th overall, Cameron Reid may still be on the board. The left-shot defenceman plays in the Ontario Hockey League for the Kitchener Rangers, coming off a good second season in the league.

Let’s take a look at what the 18-year-old left-shot defenceman has to offer.
<h2>Scouting report</h2>
Reid was born in Aylmer, Ontario, east of St. Thomas, Ontario, where Joe Thornton grew up. He stands at 6'”, 193lbs, and is best described as a power play quarterback.

Steven Ellis of <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/2025-nhl-draft-rankings-schaefer-misa-hagens-top-75-before-u-18-world-championship">Daily Faceoff</a> had this to say about the 18-year-old defenceman:
<blockquote>“Reid closed out the regular season by playing some of his best hockey. He’s started to put up points consistently, and he’s shooting in more dangerous areas, too. Reid isn’t big, but he can shut guys down. Reid can do a little bit of everything – his three-zone game is so good, and he’s got the intelligence to beat so many players in 1-on-1 situations. Some scouts think he’ll go higher here – I see a good value pickup if taken after, say, No. 12.”</blockquote>
Here’s what David Saad of <a href="https://dobberprospects.com/player/cameron-reid/">Dobber Prospects</a> noted in a January scouting report
<blockquote>“Reid has been one of the more surprising standouts of the past month and seems to be involved in everything Kitchener does. Despite his relatively small frame, this especially applies to his defensive game. Reid is remarkably effective with his stick, is very fluid with his motions and reads play spectacularly. Sprinkle in some really impressive offensive IQ and some remarkable mobility, and Reid being outside the top 32 may be laughable in hindsight.”</blockquote>
Jason Bukala from <a href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/scouts-analysis-ranking-the-top-64-prospects-for-the-2025-nhl-draft/">Sportsnet</a> notes that his skating is Reid’s biggest strong suit, and that he has the future role of a power play quarterback.
<blockquote>“Reid is compact in stature, but plenty strong in the trenches. He doesn’t shy away from physical contact, but his most elite element is his skating ability. Reid has the agility and explosiveness to close on opponents defensively and spin off checks to launch the attack offensively. He walks the offensive blue line with purpose as the power play quarterback in Kitchener and produced 14G-40A in the regular season. Reid is deployed in all situations for the Rangers. He averages north of 24 minutes per game TOI.”</blockquote>
<h2>The numbers</h2>
Reid made his Ontario Hockey League debut in 2023-24 with the Kitchener Rangers, scoring just two goals and 23 points in 49 games. In 10 post-season games, he added five assists.

The left-shot defence had somewhat of a breakout in 2024-25, scoring 14 goals and 54 points in 67 games, helping the Rangers reach the post-season again, where he picked up five assists in 14 games as the Rangers were eliminated by the London Knights. Reid also finished with a plus/minus of 39, seventh best among OHL defenders.
<h2>Availability and fit</h2>
The Flames have a whole bunch of right-shot defencemen in their organization, but not a whole lot of left-shot defencemen. <a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/02/14/flames-prospect-etienne-morin-is-showing-steady-improvement-in-qmjhl/">Étienne Morin</a> is the most notable left-hand defence prospect, but Jérémie Poirier, Axel Hurtig, and Eric Jamieson all fit the bill.

Adding a potential high-end left-shot defenceman to the cupboards could pay off big time in the future, even if Reid won’t make an impact as quickly <a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/03/02/zayne-parekh-becomes-first-ever-ohl-defenceman-with-multiple-30-goal-seasons/">as a prospect like Zayne Parekh</a>.

As for availability, Reid is projected to go around where the Flames will pick. His consolidated ranking from Elite Prospects has him as the 17th-best prospect, with his highest ranking being 12th by TSN’s Craig Button, and his lowest by Tony Ferrari of The Hockey News.

A future defence pairing of Reid and Parekh would be fun.

<hr />

Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for <a href="https://flamesnation.ca/combinations">FlamesNation</a>, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. They can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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