The Calgary Flames just made a little franchise history at the 2026 NHL Draft, and it comes with a familiar question attached: can they build another defensive backbone the old-fashioned way, through the first round?
When Calgary took Prince George Cougars defenceman Carson Carels sixth overall, it became the highest the organization has ever drafted a blueliner. It also marked the 13th time the Flames have spent a first-round pick on a defenceman, and the second such pick in the last three years.
That kind of draft pattern has shown up before in Flames history. Their first-round defensive picks have tended to arrive in clusters, and the results have been mixed.
One stretch produced a pair of franchise-defining players. Another gave them useful NHLers, but not the same kind of long-term foundation.
The most successful run came in the late 1970s and early ’80s, when the then-Atlanta Flames used five first-round picks on defencemen over seven drafts. The group included Richard Mulhern in 1975 at eighth overall, Dave Shand in 1976 at eighth overall, Brad Marsh in 1978 at 11th overall, Paul Reinhart in 1979 at 12th overall and Al MacInnis in 1981 at 15th overall.
Cliff Fletcher was running the show then, and “Trader Cliff” had a clear way of doing business. He trusted his scouts, moved players through the system quickly, and didn’t hesitate to deal away pieces if they didn’t fit what he and the coaching staff wanted. That approach worked especially well with the defencemen who stuck.
Mulhern became a full-time Flame in 1976-77 before being traded to Los Angeles in the middle of the 1978-79 season. Shand also reached full-time NHL status in 1976-77, then was moved to Toronto after the 1978-79 campaign. Marsh became a regular in 1978-79 and even wore the captain’s letter after the move to Calgary, but he was dealt to Philadelphia early in 1981-82.
Reinhart and MacInnis were the real prizes. Reinhart, who played more like a rover than a traditional defenceman, fit the Flames’ up-tempo style and stayed with the club from 1979-80 through 1987-88.
Before injuries slowed him down, he was one of the most electric players on the roster. MacInnis needed a couple of call-ups before becoming a full-timer in 1983-84, but once he arrived, he stayed put all the way through 1993-94.
By the time he left, he had piled up franchise records and added a Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe Trophy from the 1989 postseason to his résumé.
That pair gave Fletcher something valuable: a true base on the blue line, with enough quality around them to build from.
The next time Calgary tried to stack first-round defencemen, it was the mid-1990s. After Chris Biotti in 1985 - a pick who maxed out as a solid minor-leaguer and never played an NHL game - the Flames returned to the position in consecutive years, taking Denis Gauthier 20th overall in 1995 and Derek Morris 13th overall in 1996.
Both became dependable NHL defencemen. Gauthier brought a punishing physical edge, while Morris developed into a versatile, effective 200-foot player.
Still, they never quite formed the kind of long-term core that Reinhart and MacInnis did. Gauthier and Morris were full-time NHL teammates for only three seasons, from 1999-2000 through 2001-02.
Since then, Calgary has used first-round picks on defencemen only five times: Dion Phaneuf in 2003 at ninth overall, Tim Erixon in 2009 at 23rd overall, Juuso Valimaki in 2017 at 17th overall, Parekh in 2024 at ninth overall and now Carels in 2026 at sixth overall.
With Parekh and Carels added through the draft, and Kevin Bahl and Simon Nemec acquired from New Jersey a couple years apart, the Flames appear to be collecting the pieces for something bigger on the back end. Whether those pieces lock together the way Calgary hopes is still to be seen.
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