Flames continue to prioritize pivots by drafting Theo Stockselius
The Calgary Flames were serious about stocking up on centres.
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After selecting Cole Reschny and Cullen Potter with their first-round picks in the 2025 NHL Draft, the Flames followed up by welcoming Theo Stockselius at No. 54 overall on Saturday morning.
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'I saw that last night — Cole Reschny and Cullen Potter. It's two really good centremen,' Stockselius told Postmedia. 'So now we have three good centremen.'
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The scouting report on Stockselius, who averaged 1.28 points per game this past season in the Swedish junior league, is that he's a crafty playmaker with strong two-way instincts.
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Asked if he is working to emulate any current NHLers, he mentioned Flames captain Mikael Backlund and Joel Eriksson Ek of the Minnesota Wild, saying 'both are really good all around the ice.'
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Specific to Backlund, he added: 'In the future, I really want to play like him.'
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In the future, he could perhaps be replacing him.
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Stockselius, who is listed at 6-foot-2 and 181 pounds, notched 22 goals and 51 points in 40 appearances this season with Djurgardens.
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While he managed only one marker at World Under-18s, he must have been feeling a little snakebitten since he racked up 20 shots on net. He also contributed four assists and won 64.29 percent of his draws at that international showdown.
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Stockselius was tracking the draft on Saturday from his home in Sweden when his phone buzzed with a Snapchat alert from a good buddy. Anton Frondell, the third-overall pick of the Chicago Blackhawks, was in the crowd of prospects at Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles.
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'He writes, 'Congrats!' ' Stockselius relayed. 'And I said, 'What?' Then I looked up at the TV and Calgary picked me. So it was Anton Frondell who texted me first.'
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