Cole Reschny has quickly become one of the most talked-about names in the Calgary Flames’ rebuild, and it’s easy to see why he lands at No. 3 in The Win Column’s 2026 prospect rankings. Drafted by Calgary in 2025 out of the Victoria Royals, he was the first real center prospect the organization added during this stretch, and the Flames sent him to the University of North Dakota for his first NCAA season.
The numbers show steady progress. Reschny put up 59 points in 61 games for Victoria in 2023-24, then jumped to 92 points in 62 games the next season. At North Dakota in 2025-26, he posted 35 points in 36 games, finishing just shy of a point-per-game pace and tying for second on the team in scoring.
Season Team League GP G A PTS
2023-24 Victoria Royals WHL 61 21 38 59
2024-25 Victoria Royals WHL 62 26 66 92
2025-26 Univ. of North Dakota NCAA 36 6 29 35
His first season in college hockey also included a run with Canada at the World Juniors, where he played a major role and produced five points, with four goals and one assist, in seven games.
What makes Reschny stand out is the way he impacts the game in every area. He plays a full 200-foot game, stays responsible in all three zones, and knows how to shut down breakout attempts by keeping pressure on opponents and the puck. He’s also effective on the back check and can handle defensive assignments, including penalty-kill time, without giving up much of his offensive value.
With the puck, his best trait is his passing. Reschny sees lanes others don’t, and he can fire sharp, clean feeds through traffic to find teammates in dangerous spots. His puck control helps that skill play up even more, because he’s tough to separate from the puck and can wait out a play until the pass opens.
The biggest knock on his game is speed. He’s not a burner, and his acceleration isn’t at an elite level either. That said, his positioning and hockey sense help cover for it, and adding more explosiveness would only make him more dangerous.
The next step is straightforward: keep building out his game at North Dakota and get himself ready for the pro level. After the NCAA season, there’s a chance the Flames sign him to an Entry-Level contract and bring him in near the NHL season. This looks like his final season before making the jump.
Long term, the projection is clear enough. Reschny has the profile of a second-line center, and Calgary will be hoping he can develop into the kind of center talent they’ve been searching for. He may not look like a franchise center right now, but he has the tools to become one of the league’s best 2Cs, a real 1B option.
In Other News...
One Saddledome Night Still Defines The Flames For A Generation
On May 29, 2004, the Saddledome felt like the center of the hockey world again, hosting a Stanley Cup Final game for the first time in 15 years as the Flames welcomed Tampa Bay. Calgary made the night matter, skating away with a 3-0 win in Game 3 behind a disciplined effort, timely scoring and strong goaltending in front of a crowd that had waited a long time for that stage to return.
The game became one of those franchise touchstones that still hangs over the building years later, a reminder of how close the Flames came to turning that run into something even bigger. The series went all seven games, and Tampa Bay ended up lifting the Cup, but for one Saddledome night the Flames had the league exactly where they wanted it and gave their fans a memory that still defines an era. [Read more 🡒]
Sharangovich Knows He Must Deliver More For A Scoring-Starved Flames Team
Yegor Sharangovich spent the offseason taking a hard look at his game, and the Calgary Flames are hoping that self-assessment leads to a much-needed bounce-back. After a low-scoring season from the club, Sharangovich knows he has to be better, especially in the areas that can help him hold onto pucks and drive play when the offense dries up.
He said his focus has been on improving his performance in puck battles and in his own zone, part of a broader effort to get back to the scoring form he has shown before. The work has not just been mental, either, with changes to his training approach designed to help him rebuild his all-around game and give a thin Flames attack another reliable option. [Read more 🡒]
Flames Have Another Center Prospect Worth Watching Closely
Jonathan Castagna is becoming an interesting name to track in the Flames system, especially after the organization brought him in as part of the MacKenzie Weegar deal and later signed him to an entry-level contract that begins in 2026-27. After a strong junior season at Cornell, the center got a look at Flames rookie camp and now looks headed for the Calgary Wranglers next season, where the club will get a better sense of how his game translates against pro competition.
For Calgary, the appeal goes beyond just another center body in the pipeline. Castagnas faceoff work and leadership have stood out, traits that can help a young player carve out a real role quickly if the rest of his game keeps coming along. The Wranglers should give him a chance to compete for top-line center duty, and for a prospect still early in his development, that is a meaningful opportunity to watch closely. [Read more 🡒]