Looking at one player the Calgary Flames could take with their first four picks in the 2024 NHL Draft

Wheeler notes that Catton is a great playmaker who uses his speed to beat defenders. Defensively, he is in no way lazy because he also uses that speed to get back into position. On top of that, he kills penalties, which is a great sign for a young player.

The only drawback with Catton is that he’s only 5”10”, 170 lbs. He’s fairly short, especially for a centre, so there are concerns he could eventually move to the wing, where he’d still be a top six player.

Leo Sahlin Wallenius

Another need in the Flames’ farm system is defencemen, because you can never have enough defence prospects.

Leo Sahlin Wallenius (also stylized as Leo Sahlin-Wallenius) is a left-shot defenceman who plays for the Växjö Lakers organization in the Swedish Hockey League. Sahlin Wallenius has yet to make his SHL debut, but he plays in the Swedish J20 Nationell (their top junior league) where he has 11 goals and 42 points in 43 games this season. For defencemen, he ranked second in points and tied for sixth in goals.

Wheeler reports that he’s one of the best skating defencemen available in the draft. On top of that, Wheeler points out that his playmaking ability is good and isn’t afraid to be involved in the offence. Defensively, his skating allows him to return to position quite quickly while his stick position is great as well.

Sahlin Wallenius stands at 6”0”, 176 lbs so he can afford to put on some extra muscle, but there’s a lot to like in the two-way defender’s game. Wheeler ranks Sahlin Wallenius as his 27th-best draft prospect.

Lucas Pettersson

The centre position is a need, so why not draft a Swedish two-way centre after trading Elias Lindholm?

Lucas Pettersson is a left-shot centre who plays for MoDo Hockey in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. He mainly played for their junior team, where he scored 27 goals and 57 points in 44 games, an improvement over his five goals and 19 points in 29 games the season prior. He finished tied for third in goals and 10th in points.

Wheeler points out that Pettersson was the first player from this draft to play in the SHL, where he played five games and was held off the scoresheet. This could be because he’s a reliable two-way centre who is a quick thinker with a “dangerously accurate snap shot.” On top of that, Wheeler reports he’s a “fairly fast skater” which helps his defensive game.

Similar to Catton, Pettersson is under six feet tall, standing at just 5”11”, 168 lbs. However, his two-way game is more developed, so it looks likely he’ll stay at centre for the time being. Wheeler ranks Pettersson as the 36th-best draft prospect.

Melvin Fernström

Just because the Flames have a bunch of wingers in the farm system like Matt Coronato, Samuel Honzek, Jakob Pelletier, Aydar Suniev, and a few others, doesn’t mean they can’t draft a few more!

Once again, we’re heading to Sweden to look at Melvin Fernström. If Catton is the playmaker and Petterson the two-way forward, well, Fernström is the shooter.In Sweden’s junior league for the Örebro HK organization, Fernström scored a league leading 31 goals and finished tied for third in points with 63 of ‘em. Like Pettersson, Fernström had a cup of coffee in the SHL where he was held pointless in six games, as well as three playoff games where he picked up 25 penalty minutes.

Wheeler points to his shot as his bread and butter, calling it “a heavy wrister” and that Fernström has “an excellent one-timer”. It’s also pointed out that he knows how to get open, finding open space during five-on-five action. The skating doesn’t look great, but Wheeler believes that Fernström is a strong skater that allows him to track back defensively. There’s also some grit in his game, which explains the 25 penalty minutes in three games.

The knock on Fernström is that he’ll sometimes take bad penalties and he’s a lot less polished than the other draft prospects we’ve looked at. Still, he’s a very intriguing player who could be available when the Flames draft late in the second round.