The Calgary Flames just got another name added to their prospect map, and this one comes with a little more local flavor. Jakob Leander, the Flames’ 2025 seventh-round pick, was selected by the Calgary Hitmen with the No. 48 overall pick in the recent CHL import draft.
Leander is a defenseman from Sweden who put up 12 points in 36 games for HV71 at the Swedish Junior level in 2025/26. He’s one of the younger pieces in a Flames pipeline that has changed fast under general manager Craig Conroy, especially after the organization added nine more prospects over the weekend and pushed itself into one of the deeper prospect pools in the NHL.
For a team that spent years trading away draft capital and prospects under Brad Treliving while chasing a Stanley Cup, the shift has been dramatic. Now that Calgary is leaning into a rebuild, the focus has turned squarely to the players coming up behind the NHL roster.
Leander joins another Flames defense prospect already linked to the Hitmen. 2025 second-round pick Theo Stockselius is also a possible future Hitman, giving Calgary two blue-line prospects whose rights are owned by the WHL club.
Whether either player actually makes the move to the WHL soon remains unclear. Both currently have contracts in Sweden, but from the Flames’ point of view, getting them closer to the organization would make plenty of sense. It would also give Calgary a better look at two young defensemen as the club keeps building out its prospect group.
As the Hitmen put it in announcing the pick: “How Swede it is! 🇸🇪”
“With the 48th overall pick in the #CHLImportDraft the Calgary Hitmen select @NHLFlames prospect Jakob Leander.
Welcome to the Hitmen, Jakob! pic.twitter.com/JsprO0qHMQ”
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