The Calgary Flames used the 100th pick in the fourth round of the 2026 NHL Draft on Egor Barabanov, and they’re getting a player whose game has climbed fast.
Barabanov comes from St. Petersburg, Russia, but he had already moved to the United States by age 13.
From there, he came up through the New Jersey youth hockey system, then moved into the USHL with the Sioux Falls Stampede and later the Madison Capitals. This past season, he made the jump to the OHL and joined the Saginaw Spirit.
The numbers show a steady rise at every stop. In 2023-24 with Sioux Falls, Barabanov posted 17 points in 60 games.
The next year, split between Sioux Falls and Madison, he jumped to 39 points in 56 games. Then came the breakout: 91 points in 68 games with Saginaw in 2025-26, including 28 goals and 63 assists.
That production put him second on his team in scoring and fourth in the OHL, behind only teammate and fellow draftee Nikita Klepov, who led the league.
Barabanov was born in 2006, which made him a double overager when he was selected. His draft season, in that sense, was really back in 2023-24. Even with that wrinkle, the offensive trend is hard to ignore: his production more than doubled from season to season.
What stands out most is his passing. Barabanov is at his best when he’s threading pucks through traffic and finding teammates in spots that don’t look open.
He can slow the game down, hit cross-ice passes, and create high-danger chances. He’s not just a distributor, though.
He can shoot the puck, settle it and fire a wrist shot, or drift into space and redirect one home. His hands are another clear asset, helping him maneuver around defenders and slip out of pressure in tight areas.
The questions are mostly away from the puck. Barabanov has had moments where he doesn’t bring enough physical engagement, whether that comes down to effort or strength.
His defensive play has also been uneven. At times he gets his stick into lanes and keeps his feet moving, but there are other stretches where he looks disconnected.
There’s also the matter of how much of his production came from playing alongside two offensive stars, with some stretches suggesting the skill was showing through the environment as much as through a fully formed individual game.
Barabanov is headed to the University of Massachusetts for 2026-27, where he’ll be joined by Flames prospect Max Curran. The NCAA gives him another chance to prove that this past season was no fluke and that his offense will translate again.
Because he’s already 20, his college run may not last as long as usual. If he has a strong freshman year, he could be in the AHL as soon as 2027-28.
For Calgary, this is not a normal draft path. Barabanov was taken two drafts after his draft season, so he’ll need to move quickly compared with most players in the 2026 class. The upside is clear enough, though: if his offensive game pops at UMass, the Flames may have found a middle-six forward who ends up looking like a much better value than people expected.
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