The Calgary Flames made a strong addition to their prospect pool when they drafted defenceman Carson Carels with the sixth-overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
Calgary hasn’t made the playoffs since the 2021-22 campaign and have been slowly adding talented players to their system, including the likes of dynamic blueliner Zayne Parekh, and forwards Cole Reschny, Jack Hextall, and Cullen Potter through the first round of the draft to go along with Carels.
Carels was one of the top defencemen in junior hockey last season. The 6-foot-1, left-handed blueliner finished fourth among defencemen in Western Hockey League scoring with 20 goals and 73 points in 58 games to go along with his plus-23 rating and 66 penalty minutes.
He helped his Prince George Cougars to a 44-22-2 record, which was good for the sixth-best record in the league.
“He’s an A-plus player. He can do everything,” Cougars coach and general manager Mark Lamb told TSN in August. “[I think] he’s gonna turn into a top two D in the NHL. He’ll be that guy in Calgary because he can really handle a lot of minutes and play in all situations.
“There’s not a real weakness in his game; it’s just a fine-tuning thing.”
Drafted 16th overall by Prince George in the 2023 WHL Draft, Carels made an immediate impact with the team, recording six goals and 35 points in 60 games in his first full WHL season in 2024-25.
He was a key part of the Cougars’ defence corps the past two seasons and helped them remain in contention in the Western Conference with the team’s window wide open to compete for an Ed Chynoweth Cup.
Carels was one of 22 players selected to represent the CHL at the CHL USA Prospects Challenge in November and was named as part of that team’s leadership group as an alternate captain.
Going into the NHL Draft in June, Carels was ranked No. 3 in TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button’s final draft list and No. 4 in TSN’s final draft ranking.
“He’s a real mature kid with a strong work ethic,” said Lamb. “He’s a sponge. He welcomes any type of coaching that you can give him, and it doesn’t matter if it’s on or off the ice. He’s real respectful and is really someone that you’d want to be around all the time.
“He’s a special kid and there are lots of kids like him, but those kids who really care, they’re coachable. They have the work ethic and you know they’ll find their way.”
The Cypress River, Man., native was also the youngest player on Team Canada’s roster at the 2026 World Juniors and the fifth youngest defenceman in World Juniors history to play for Canada.
He joined forward Gavin McKenna and defenceman Keaton Verhoeff as the only players eligible for the 2026 NHL Draft to be included on Canada’s World Junior team.
For Lamb, Carels’ success as a player goes much deeper than the stats. He believes his leadership and willingness to learn and keep improving is what has helped set him apart from his peers.
“He’s very coachable and I think it starts with that,” said Lamb. “He buys in so much on the coaching part and what he’s supposed to do. He takes all the stuff we’re trying to implement to the team and takes it to heart.
“He then turns into another guy who is sending the same message [to the rest of the team]. He’s a hard leader, and he’s very serious. You can lean on him, put pressure on him, and he just does that to his teammates also.”
Lamb attributes Carels’ strong work ethic to his background from growing up on a cattle farm in Manitoba.
Like Carels, Lamb also grew up on a farm and went on to have an 11-season NHL career. He believes the habits and morals that Carels picked up in that environment will only help him as he begins his NHL journey.
“I’m not saying you’ve got to be a farmer to be a good hockey player,” said Lamb. “It’s just the attitude that you learn [is the biggest asset]. The biggest thing is you get up in the morning, and you go to work.”
Ahead of the draft, Carels announced he committed to play for North Dakota in the NCAA for the 2026-27 campaign. The 18-year-old had his initial experience with the Flames at the team’s development camp in July but isn’t expected to be with the Flames for their full training camp in September due to his NCAA commitment.
For Flames fans who want to keep an eye on his progress, Lamb encourages people to watch his play when he doesn’t have the puck.
“Fans can expect a real competitive two-way player,” said Lamb. He really understands the game without the puck, which is one of the hardest things to teach the God-given talent that these kids have.
“Kids who have had success with the puck, they’ve got to learn to play under a team environment and team concept. But what he does is take care of his own end and let the rest of it come into play. He’s an unbelievable offensive player too, and he’s physical, but that’s why everyone likes him so much.”
