Whenever he joins the Calgary Flames, Carson Carels is primed for a long career

'Time will tell when he’s ready to play, but there’s good people in Calgary and they’re going to make the best decision for Carson and the Calgary Flames going forward,' said Jim Playfair, who coached Carels in junior

It seems very likely that Carson Carels will join the Calgary Flames by the end of the 2026-27 NHL season. The sixth overall pick in June’s draft is heading to the University of North Dakota for a year in the NCAA, but he’s been open about his intention to be a one-and-done. By next spring, he could — or should — be wearing a Flames uniform.

You won’t find many people around the Saddledome who think that’s unrealistic. Jim Playfair, who worked closely with Carels as a coach with the Prince George Cougars for the past three years and spent two decades coaching in the NHL and AHL, fully believes it’s possible. It’s just not something he worries about much.

Not with Carels. “I don’t know if the starting point is so important, I think the longevity is going to be the key to his success,” Playfair explained. “Carson’s going to play when he’s ready to play.

I think the most important thing in talking about Carson is he’s going to play for 12 to 15 years in the league and be a really good player. “Time will tell when he’s ready to play, but there’s good people in Calgary and they’re going to make the best decision for Carson and the Calgary Flames going forward. They’re not going to rush him or put him in a position where it might become overwhelming.”

When Carels will arrive full-time in Calgary has been a topic of conversation since draft night. At development camp in early July, some people even wondered if he might be able to make the jump directly from junior to the NHL. That’s not happening, though.

There’s no need to rush Carels and the Flames are thinking long-term, just as Playfair suggested. “Could he play? He might be able to play, but is that best for his overall, long-term development?” said Flames director of player development Ray Edwards.

“We’re not worried about one year, we’re worried about 10 to 15 years. We’ve sat down with his representatives and his family and we’ll go through it with a fine-toothed comb and make sure we’ll do what’s best for him.” What’s best for Carels is going to college for a year, everyone seems to agree.

At North Dakota, Carels will be playing fewer games than he would in junior but will be competing with older, bigger, stronger players. It’s an ideal situation that the player himself believes will benefit him. “It’s going to be a good step for me to make a step instead of a leap to this next level

and I think UND is going to shape me to be a more complete player and continue in my maturity as a player,” Carels said. “I think there’s obviously temptations to try to hop in but in the long run, you don’t want a five-year career, you want to get to the 15 or 20 year mark. I think that extra year of college is going to set my body up right and set my mind and everything up for a longer career.”

That longevity comes up again and again when people in the game talk about Carels. Maybe that’s unsurprising for a sixth overall pick. The goal is never the opposite, after all.

But there are things about his game and his personality that Playfair believes make it more likely for Carels to play in the NHL for a long, long time. “I think you watch (NHL defencemen) and again, it’s how they approach their craft and how they approach each day,” Playfair explained. “When you watch Carson over the last couple years he doesn’t have major drop-offs in his game, he doesn’t have real bad games.

“He may have a shift or a period where he struggles a little bit but he’s not going to carry games over games and struggle. That’s the sign of a really, really good pro and when you do that in junior hockey, I think it’s a sign of somebody who’s got a really good, long-term NHL career.”