- May 21, 2026
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One of the 2026 NHL Draft class’ top defensemen is off the board. The Calgary Flames selected Carson Carels, 18, with the sixth-overall pick Friday night at KeyBank Center in Buffalo.
Carels, a bullishly strong, punishingly physical blueliner at 6-foot-2 and 198 pounds, broke out offensively with the WHL’s Prince George Cougars this past season, jumping from six to 20 goals and more than doubling his career-best point total from 35 to 73 year over year, showcasing a strong sense of when to join the rush and attack while possessing a deadly shot release. He brings interesting offensive ability, but it’s his all-around shutdown skill set that had scouts drooling all year.
Carels is known to possess elite instincts and intelligence when defending. Combine that with excellent mobility allowing him to shadow high-end attackers and a brute physical game and you have a player who projects as a shutdown beast who can play 25 minutes a night and be trusted in high-stakes situations at the NHL level.
In a way, Carels has been preparing for that heavy workload his whole life. He’s a true farm boy, having grown up tending to more than 500 cattle in Cypress River, Man. He mixes hard family work with his training every offseason.
His mental makeup screams reliability, and he showed that for Canada at the 2026 World Junior Championship, where he was one of the nation’s best blueliners. This coming season, he’ll play at the University of North Dakota, where he’ll test himself even further, no longer a man among boys but playing his heavy defensive game against grown men.
Carels is still continuing to get stronger and fill out his frame, so he’s likely one to two years away from truly making an NHL impact. But he will more likely than not become a top-pair defenseman and likely an analytics darling because he does so many things well.
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Carels, a bullishly strong, punishingly physical blueliner at 6-foot-2 and 198 pounds, broke out offensively with the WHL’s Prince George Cougars this past season, jumping from six to 20 goals and more than doubling his career-best point total from 35 to 73 year over year, showcasing a strong sense of when to join the rush and attack while possessing a deadly shot release. He brings interesting offensive ability, but it’s his all-around shutdown skill set that had scouts drooling all year.
Carels is known to possess elite instincts and intelligence when defending. Combine that with excellent mobility allowing him to shadow high-end attackers and a brute physical game and you have a player who projects as a shutdown beast who can play 25 minutes a night and be trusted in high-stakes situations at the NHL level.
In a way, Carels has been preparing for that heavy workload his whole life. He’s a true farm boy, having grown up tending to more than 500 cattle in Cypress River, Man. He mixes hard family work with his training every offseason.
His mental makeup screams reliability, and he showed that for Canada at the 2026 World Junior Championship, where he was one of the nation’s best blueliners. This coming season, he’ll play at the University of North Dakota, where he’ll test himself even further, no longer a man among boys but playing his heavy defensive game against grown men.
Carels is still continuing to get stronger and fill out his frame, so he’s likely one to two years away from truly making an NHL impact. But he will more likely than not become a top-pair defenseman and likely an analytics darling because he does so many things well.
Continue reading...