Royals Rebound
On Friday, June 27, 2025, Calgary Flames GM Craig Conroy made the smartest decision of his career:
Selecting Cole Reschny with the 18th pick in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft.
As the highest drafted Royal ever, this is a huge accomplishment for Reschny, and one that he has earned every bit of. Hailing from Macklin, Saskatchewan, a small prairie town with a population of about 1,300, Reschny was drafted third overall by the Royals in the 2022 WHL Draft, paying off massively for Victoria as he quickly became the team's top centre.
In this past season, Cole led the team with 92 points in 62 regular season games, and scored a staggering 25 points in just 11 playoff games, posting the second-highest points per game in the WHL playoffs. In this span, he broke the Royals franchise record for assists in a season as well as points in a single postseason, both of which were previously held by Matthew Phillips, who will certainly be familiar to any Wranglers fans.
Reschny's biggest asset on the ice is, without a doubt, his mind. Every draft profile out there describes CR7 as a cerebral player with exceptional hockey IQ, and it's easy to see why. Reschny's hockey sense stands out from the moment he steps on the ice. He controls the play and carries the puck with confidence, effortlessly looping around the offensive zone and avoiding defenders with ease, looking for the perfect opportunity. If you can get open when Reschny's around, you'll almost certainly find the puck on your stick, and if he can find room behind the net? It's over.
Reschny's agility, vision, and excellent ability to protect the puck make him a nightmare to defend and a winger's dream. For example, Royals sniper Teydon Trembecky finished the 2023-24 season with ten goals. This year, on a line with Reschny, he lit the lamp 46 times, the third-most in the league. While a lot of this sudden change in production should certainly be credited to Teydon himself, the Reschny Effect is undeniable.
It's clear that the Calgary Flames can see this talent too. Following the draft, Craig Conroy praised Reschny's skill and competitive drive, stating that his performance in the playoffs was "unbelievable." Conroy also mentioned the elite defensive zone play that they see in the young centre, calling Reschny "a guy that you can win with."
After only winning two playoff rounds in the last ten years, some would say Calgary is in need of an offensive spark. What better to fuel the Flames than Cole?
