NHL Draft Notebook - 25.06.26

BUFFALO — The 2026 NHL Draft is one day away and CalgaryFlames.com is in the thick of all the excitement!

The NHL hosted a media availability Thursday morning with 15 of the top prospects eligible to be selected June 26-27.

We've curated some of the morning's highlights for this NHL Draft notebook!

Brotherly Love

The 2025-26 season has been a banner year for Viggo Björck.

He more than held his own playing against men in the SHL with Djurgårdens, posting 15 points in 42 games in the regular season and then averaged a point-per-game in the playoffs. He then helped Djurgårdens’ U20 club in the playoffs, rattling off 20 points in nine games alongside Flames prospect Theo Stockselius. He also represented Sweden on multiple occasions, notably playing at the World Juniors and the World Championship.

The spotlight hasn’t dimmed at all since May, when the forward was showcasing his high-end skill on the international stage. His name is a constant in conversations about this year’s crop of top prospects for the NHL Draft and his name is a fixture among the media when discussing who may hear their name called in the top-10 on Friday night.

Luckily, throughout the pace of what has been a super-charged season for the 18-year-old, he has someone to lean on.

His brother Wilson, a Canucks 2025 draft pick who recently wrapped up his freshman season in the NCAA with Colorado College, has been a constant source of support.

“We’re super close,” he said. “I did everything with him growing up. We didn’t get to play (together) that much growing up, we played one year in Djurgårdens, but I’ve always looked at his game and try to be like him. It’s always super special when you have someone close that you can do the same thing as (them).”

He also credits Wilson for helping him develop a gritty, hard-nosed playing style that has raised plenty of eyebrows when he squares off against much bigger, stronger players.

“Growing up with a brother and getting beaten a lot, maybe,” he laughed. “Two-year older brother, so I had tough matches with him growing up and I think that kind of forms your mentality.”

Reflecting on the whirlwind year he has had, Björck is looking to build off what he has learned.

“I wouldn’t say I had expectations but you always hope for the best and you want to do as well as you can. I didn’t think I would play in the World Championship with the men at the start of May. I think I improved over the season and I’m happy to keep doing that.”

Tiger Tracks

J.P. Hurlbert took his talents from the Lone Star State to the B.C. Interior last season, a year in which he earned WHL Rookie of the Year honours after putting up 97 points for the Kamloops Blazers.

Ranked No. 12 by NHL Central Scouting among North American skaters, the 5'11" forward will attend the University of Michigan in the fall alongside the likes of Flames prospect Henry Mews and Calgarian phenom Landon DuPont.

But Hurlbert, who hails from Allen, Texas, is proud of how the game has come along in his home state, and the NHL Draft prospect is taking his role as a role model seriously, too.

Part of that personal growth includes spending off-season time with those who came before him, including a Flames forward who’s provided inspiration and advice along the way.

“It’s growing more and more each year,” Hurlbert said of Texas hockey Thursday in advance of the NHL Draft. “For me, I get to go back home and skate with Blake Coleman, Stefan Noesen and (other) pros. 

“I look up to them, and you’re seeing kids that start to look up to us when we come home.”

Fans in Calgary know all about Coleman’s role in the Flames dressing room. On the ice and off it, the Texas Tiger has embraced a leadership role since arriving in Southern Alberta five years ago on the heels of back-to-back Stanley Cups with Tampa Bay.

In getting to know Coleman, Hurlbert has found a valuable sounding board and mentor.

A veteran voice to help the young star on his pathway to the pros.

“He’s tremendous,” the 18-year-old beamed when asked about Coleman. “So much skill, but I think he’s just a better person too. Super-welcoming, can talk to him about anything, ask him a bunch of questions. 

“He’s really great.”

Bonjour, Ilia

In addition to his on-ice resume, Ilia Morozov’s list of accomplishments off the ice are equally impressive.

The 6'3" centre and his family made the choice to have him move over to North America as a teenager and ensured he was fluent in English to ease the transition. He entered an American high school in Grade 10 and then completed both Grade 11 and Grade 12 the following year, allowing him to graduate when he was 16. He then enrolled at Miami University, where he is studying finance and has been able to take on a significant role as a 17-year-old.

In his sophomore season, he was tied for fifth in team scoring with eight goals and 20 points through 36 games with the RedHawks.

Now? In the midst of training for his second season and preparing for the 2026 NHL Draft, he’s taken on learning another language.

French.

“I started 70 days ago, two months and a half,” he said of his Duolingo streak, chatting with media the 2026 NHL Draft Top Prospects event on Thursday.

“I think French is pretty useful in the hockey community because there’s French Canadians. My mom chose to live in Switzerland for three years and she knows French pretty well. I just like the language. I think it’s pretty cool. It’s like the fifth (most) popular around the world after, I think, Chinese, Spanish, English.

“I’ve been telling them that I learn French a little bit and they ask me, like, hey, tell us something in French and I give them a couple sentences, and they’re like, ‘Wow.’

Morozov heads into the weekend sitting 10th on the NHL Central Scouting ranking of North American players.