Carson Carels is the name sitting at the top of Daily Faceoff’s latest Flames prospect list, and it comes with a hefty endorsement from Steven Ellis.
Ellis, in the middle of his annual look at every NHL team’s prospect pool, dropped Calgary’s ranking on Friday and made a bold opening claim: “The Flames might very well have the best pipeline in hockey.”
That’s a strong statement, but it fits the direction Calgary has taken since Craig Conroy took over in May 2023. The Flames have leaned hard into youth, moving out a lot of established NHL talent in exchange for younger players and draft picks. The result is a prospect group that looks dramatically different than it did not long ago.
At the top of Ellis’ Flames list is Carels, the club’s most recent first-rounder and sixth-overall pick. Ellis made clear why he’s so high on the defenseman.
In his view, Calgary may have landed the best left-shot blueliner available after the New York Rangers took Alberts Smits at No. 5.
Here’s how Ellis described Carels:
“It always felt like if the Flames were going to take a defenseman, they would try to snag the best left-handed blueliner on the board. The New York Rangers ultimately took Alberts Smits at No. 5, but I still like Carels more.
He was one of the best young defenders in the CHL, and scouts love him. Carels brings that rugged, heavy-lifting mentality he and his family use on the farm right onto the ice.
When you combine his elite defensive awareness, seamless two-way game, punishing physique and off-the-charts hockey IQ, you get a truly premium defensive prospect. He showed high-end flashes during the World Juniors, and he possesses every tool necessary to become a top-pairing defender one day.
You won’t find many more defensemen as rounded as him in the draft, and he hits like an absolute truck. Carels is the type of prospect who’ll work his tail off no matter what, and you have to love that.”
Ellis’ top five behind Carels also included Zayne Parekh, Cole Reschny, Matvei Gridin and Hunter Brzustewicz.
There is one wrinkle when comparing Daily Faceoff’s list to other prospect rankings: their criteria differ. Our annual prospect rankings use Calder Trophy eligibility, which means Parekh, Gridin and Brzustewicz have already played too many games to qualify under that system. Even so, Ellis’ list is still a useful snapshot of how one of the league’s most plugged-in prospect watchers sees the Flames’ future talent.
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