Recently, many of the best young prospects gathered in Minneapolis for the 2025 World Junior Summer Showcase, a week-long event that includes Canada, the United States, Sweden, Finland, and Czechia where teams practice and play exhibition games to help with the selection process for the 2026 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship.
Related: 3 Final Takeaways From World Junior Summer Showcase Week
Following the event, Scott Wheeler, Corey Pronman, and Max Bultman of The Athletic put out projected rosters for all five countries that attended the event. The Calgary Flames were well represented at this event and on these projected rosters, so let’s discuss which Flames’ prospects participated in the event and which ones are projected to represent their countries.
Zayne Parekh – Team Canada
The Flames drafted Zayne Parekh with the ninth-overall pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. Before this draft, he was widely regarded as one of the best skaters in the class and potentially the best defensive prospect eligible to be drafted in 2024 after putting up 33 goals and 63 assists for 96 points in 66 games as a defenseman in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).
After being drafted, Parekh returned to the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit for the 2024-25 season, where he built off his incredible 2023-24 campaign. He scored another 33 goals and added 74 assists for 107 points in 61 games, which made him the OHL’s leader in goals and points among defensemen for the second straight season.
For Parekh, it is not a question if he has the talent to make this roster. Not only was he a top-10 pick, but he has also been ranked fourth in The Athletic‘s top drafted prospect rankings for 2025 (Top 100 drafted NHL prospects ranking: Schaefer, Misa, Demidov lead Wheeler’s summer 2025 list, The Athletic, July 14, 2025).
The question is, more so, will he be playing in the NHL this season with the Flames? With the Flames already having Mackenzie Weegar and Rasmus Andersson on their roster, there is reason to believe the Flames won’t want three offensive-minded defenseman on their right side. However, at this point, Parekh’s talent feels undeniable, and regardless of roster construction, it feels like he has an excellent chance to make the Flames roster after immediately making an impact last season, scoring his first-career NHL goal in his first and only NHL game.
If he is a consistent part of the Flames lineup next season, it is unlikely they will let him play in the World Juniors with them expecting to be in the hunt for a Stanley Cup Playoff spot again. If this is the case, it would be a massive blow for Team Canada to potentially losing one of the best defenders in the tournament.
Cole Reschny – Team Canada
The Flames selected Cole Reschny with the 18th-overall pick in the first round of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. He is a shorter, but highly-skilled winger who dominated the Western Hockey League (WHL) last season for the Victoria Royals, scoring 26 goals and totalling 92 points in 62 games. His 92 points were the second-most among draft-eligible players in the WHL last season.
While Reschny is exceptionally talented, he still needs time to develop his game before he will be ready to play in the NHL. For the 2025-26 season, he has committed to the University of North Dakota and will be one of many Canadian Hockey League (CHL) players making the transition into college hockey.
Right now, The Athletic has him penciled in on Canada’s fourth line, so there could be some potential that Hockey Canada opts to go with a forward like Nashville Predators prospect Brady Martin, who may be better suited for a bottom-six role. However, Reschny’s previous international appearances could give him the edge on some of the borderline guys trying to crack the roster after having five goals and eight points in five games at last year’s Under-18 IIHF World Juniors.
Cullen Potter – Team USA
Cullen Potter was the Flames’ second first-round pick of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. They selected him 32nd overall after a strong freshman campaign at Arizona State University, where he had 13 goals and 22 points in 35 games.
The Athletic‘s projected lineup has Potter listed as the third-line centre. Much like Reschny, Potter is on the smaller side, but his elite speed, mobility, and playmaking help make up for the lack of size. The concern for him making this team is that he doesn’t profile as the typical third-line centre, and with Team USA having other options with more size and who may be better defensively, Potter will need a strong start to the season to solidify his spot.
However, in their roster projection, The Athletic noted that Potter was one of the biggest standouts among Americans at the showcase and his history of having eight points in seven games at the Under-17 IIHF World Juniors and another eight points in seven games at the Under-18 IIHF World Juniors could give him the edge over his biggest competition, Cole McKinney, who was not as impressive in either one of these events.
Henry Mews – Team Canada
Henry Mews is the one guy we are going to talk about here who is not listed on Canada’s projected roster or in the extras. However, The Athletic notes that “Canada will likely also bring Flames prospect Henry Mews to run one of its power plays if they lose some combination of Sam Dickinson, Zayne Parekh and Matthew Schaefer” (2026 World Juniors roster projections: Predicting lineups for Canada, USA, Sweden, Finland, Czechia, The Athletic, August 5, 2025).
The Flames selected Mews in the third round of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. He is a mobile offensive defenseman, which makes him the perfect candidate to fill in and quarterback a power play. While he is not in the projected lineup as of now, it is hard to believe that none of Dickinson, Parekh, and Schaefer will make the NHL this season considering they are all ranked in the top six in The Athletic‘s top 100 drafted prospect rankings.
Flames Should Be Well Represented on the International Stage
The Flames having several players projected to play in the 2026 World Juniors is an excellent sign for the organization. It shows that they had done a solid job drafting young talent despite only drafting inside the top-10 once since 2016 when they selected Matthew Tkachuk sixth overall.
While these rosters are far from set, it will be interesting to follow along and see which players can elevate and solidify their spots on their respective countries’ rosters in the coming months and compete in the World Juniors, which are set for its typical start on Boxing Day, (Dec. 26, 2025.)
