Combine Notebook - 05.06.26

BUFFALO — The meetings are done, now it's time for the numbers game!

The 90 prospects here for the NHL Scouting Combine will continue to be put through the paces Saturday morning as the fitness testing portion of the week-long event kicks into high gear.

And with that, the opportunity to hear from this year's class of Draft-eligible players arrives as well. A half-dozen skaters - Caleb Malhotra, Gavin McKenna, Chase Reid, Alberts Smits, Ivar Stenberg and Keaton Verhoeff - met the media Friday afternoon, with more sessions to come once each player has completed their testing Saturday.

For more on Friday's news of the day, check out this Notebook!

That's A Wrap!

Flames management had a busy week, meeting with around 70 of the 90 players present at the Combine.

And given the club's Draft capital, it's easy to understand why. Calgary holds 11 selections in the upcoming Draft, which will also be held here in Buffalo June 26-27, the most they've held in a single year since 2002. The Flames made 12 picks that year in Toronto (forward Eric Nystrom was their first selection at No. 10) in a Draft that occurred a full five-and-a-half years before this year's top-ranked North American skater - Penn State winger Gavin McKenna - was born.

There's optimism abound, in particular at the possibility of selecting an impact player at No. 6 in 21 days' time.

But for GM Craig Conroy, the possibilities are endless, too.

"The one thing about this Draft, is I’m not sure there’s a consensus way this is going to go," Conroy told Flames TV earlier this week. "We don’t know who is going to be available at No. 6, but we know it’s going to be a good player, because we know the players we like.

"It’s going to make the Draft exciting."

And given that, realistically, Calgary could end up with 10% or more of the players on hand at the Combine as part of their 2026 Draft class, Conroy figures the week's work could help pay dividends as his group goes over their list in pen over the coming weeks.

"With all the picks we have, in your mind you’re like ‘These could be the guys you’re going to have on your team moving forward,’" explained Conroy. "The kids are so good, they just come in, they’re pretty genuine with what they say, it seems like they’re getting less rehearsed as I’ve been here. They really are honest with their answers.

"These are people that we have a chance to have, and to be part of our organization. It’s pretty exciting to know the opportunity we have to draft (many) of these players."

Hawks Fly Together

Keaton Verhoeff made the jump from the WHL's Victoria Royals to the University of North Dakota at the age of 17 this past summer, and the product of Fort Saskatchewan parlayed that experience into a bronze-medal performance with Canada's World Juniors entry this past summer, a team that also included McKenna and Flames first-rounders Zayne Parekh and Cole Reschny.

Verhoeff was asked by Flames TV Friday about moving on to college hockey after one 21-goal, 45-point season on Vancouver Island, and he shared details on how the move South - a season that included a run to the Frozen Four in Las Vegas - has helped spur his game along.

"For myself, going through this year playing against those bigger and faster guys has been super-good for my development," the 6-foot-4 blueliner said. "I think I rounded out my game and became a more mature defenceman."

The Fighting Hawks blueline featured five NHL-drafted d-men and two of them played NHL games at the end of the season including Flames rookie Abram Wiebe. But despite being the so-called 'young guy,' Verhoeff still finished third among North Dakota rearguards with 20 points in 2025-26.

And he had a familiar face on the roster going through a similar experience. Like Verhoeff, Calgary first-rounder Cole Reschny made the move from Victoria to Grand Forks in the summer of 2025, and when asked about his teammate, Verhoeff beamed at the thought of what lies ahead.

"We've been going through the process together," he said. "The guys there have been super-good to me and Cole as well. For his game, he’s always going to be that high-skill forward that works. He’s a guy that is able to produce and able to set his teammates up.

"It’s been an honour to play with him the past two years, to be around him both on and off the ice. To see the way he carries himself has been pretty special."

Call On Connor

McKenna was the centre of attention in a well-attended media session Friday afternoon, and when he wasn't answering questions about Toronto traffic or his season at Penn State, he took time to share details of a chat he had with Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard recently. 

Bedard was the No.-1 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft after spending his junior career with the WHL's Regina Pats, and both he and McKenna (formerly of the Medicine Hat Tigers) were spotted at the Memorial Cup in Kelowna last week, too. 

And even though Bedard is only two years McKenna's senior, the Whitehorse product reflected Friday on advice he received about navigating the Combine and Draft process.

"Earlier in the year, I talked to Connor a bit and asked for some advice," said McKenna. "We’ve gone through some similar things with media, pressure and stuff like that; being Western Canadian boys, we both kinda know what it’s like a little bit. He kind of just tells me to trust the process and stay confident.

"I think hockey is a big confidence game, and I think when guys are confident, that’s when guys are at their best."