CARSON CARELS 2026 NHL Draft Prospect

In this episode of The Draft Board Hockey Show, Linc and I talk about one of the top defenseman of the 2026 NHL draft, Carson Carels, who plays for the Prince George Cougars in the WHL, as we break down his game and some of his positive and negatives attributes. He is one of the best defenders in this draft class! Could he be the a Top-5 pick? There's lots to discuss!

Hosts: Mark (NHL Draft Pros) and Linc (New Wave Hockey)

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the Draft Board Hockey Show. My name is Mark. And as always, I'm joined by my co-host, the one, the only. Linkovich Chamouski. What's going on, my friend?

SPEAKER_01 0:11

We're doing good. You know what's even better? The heater that Carson Carls has been on. Oh my gosh. I look, there's no there's no preamble. There's no nothing. We're just gonna get right into who we're talking to. We're talking about Carson Carls today. And my goodness, I feel fantastic to talk to start talking about him. 73 points now on the year. 20 goals in the year.

SPEAKER_00 0:30

Let me bring up some uh Mark.

SPEAKER_01 0:32

Oh, yeah. Well, I'll let you I'll let you get into it. But like I'm I'm excited to talk about this guy. I love this guy. Talk about the points. There it is. Well, 57 games played, 20 goals, 53 assists, 73 points. Midway through the season, we did not think this possibility was was possible for Carson Carls. We didn't think that he was a guy who was capable of putting up offensive defenseman-like numbers. But now he's on the cusp of putting up 80 points in his draft year season as a WHL defenseman. That's huge. It's incredible. I'm almost rethinking what my projection was of Carrolls. I I've been such a huge fan the entire time. A lot of it, we're gonna get into the whole thing, but I I know me and Mark are both fans of him. We're both gonna have him high, hopefully in our top five. I'm praying. I'm I hope so.

SPEAKER_00 1:15

Yeah, we're gonna we gotta talk about that. Now, the first thing is he's a six foot two, 194 left shot D, and man, can he skate? Great skater, great edge work, unbelievable, all that fun stuff. Now, the thing is that I want to talk about after the world juniors, did you know that he went on an absolute monster of a heater? He was like, I think 18 games straight with a point 15. Like, I can't even I just remember seeing the stats, and I'm like, he just went on an absolute bender.

SPEAKER_01 1:44

Well, bender is not the right term because he's been completely honest game. Yeah, since the world juniors, it looks like he's only had three games without a point, but he's had more multi-point games than he's had more multi-point games than he had, games where he's had no points. He's been the driving force for this Prince George team in the WHL. He's been fantastic, and I want to touch a little bit more on the skating. His skating is absolutely sublime. I'm a big fan of it. Uh, the way that he sits back into his stride, he generates a lot of power from his stride. And he's, I mean, we're gonna talk about it the entire time. He's got a great balance, he's got a great rush defense, he keeps his entire body open to play. So he's great at receiving the pass, great at dishing out the pass. He's a great, he's great at uh recognizing the play. But Mark, you know what my favorite thing is about him. It's it's probably your favorite thing about him, too, is he is physical as all hell. This guy is mean. I know you're showing some offensive highlights. He is great with the stick, and he's a very smart player. I think the IQ is one of the biggest traits that he has in him, but his physicality is otherworldly. He loves to put guys on their butt. I'm a huge fan of what he does in his own.

SPEAKER_00 2:56

You have to be physical as a defenseman, like especially to be like a top-rated defenseman. I think that sometimes you know we overlook like if if a player is only offensive or if they're really defensive, but if you have that physical edge to your game, you have to have that. And yeah, Carson Carls, he's uh he's got a little bit of edge to him, and I and I love to see that. But like you said, the other parts of his game, the skating. The skating is you love to see a defenseman who can wheel around the ice and absolutely has no problem. Like when he joins a rush, you ever watch him? He's always looking, like you can see, he's like a shark in the water, and if he sees a second to join a rush, he is gone. Like he is gone and he is up there. And so I love to see that in a young defenseman. Now, the point totals, I don't know necessarily if it indicates that he has that high offensive uh ceiling that the numbers are showing because right now Prince George, uh, the defensemen on that team, like you're looking at Anasimov and Domansky are the two next D. So he's getting a lot of power play time, a lot of you know he kills penalties too, which is really nice. I think that sometimes, though, the offensive numbers might not really show, paint a picture, I guess you could say, of his offensive ceiling. I don't know if I see him running a number one power play in an NHL. Let's just put it that way.

SPEAKER_01 4:12

I think you're right. It depends on the team.

SPEAKER_00 4:14

Yeah, it depends on the team.

SPEAKER_01 4:15

It does depend. I think it does depend on the team. I don't think he's there. Like it was weird to say, because he's a very mobile prospect, but are way more inclined to drive offense from the point like Chase Reed, even Keaton Verhoff as well. So to some extent, Albert Smeets. I think that's completely fine for him, though. I think he will be able to be on a power play, a second power play. But this is a guy who you throw out on your first penalty kill. He is going to be a first pairing defenseman. The ideal part partner for Carson Carls is a very good offensive, uh, offensive defenseman who has a right shot. That is the perfect ideal pairing for a guy like Carson Carls. And I don't think you can have there isn't there's not an NHL organization that is not looking for that. Every single NHL organization is looking for a guy who can give you this sort of stability on the blue line. He's got a really good shot, albeit with a pretty long windup, but uh he gets so much out of his passing game. He is very smart, he sees lanes so well. In fact, with his stick as well, he is insanely accurate both on the shot and the pass. His outlet passes have been fantastic as well. His game in the neutral zone in general has been really good, whether he can carry the puck, which he's been getting better at. He doesn't have the best stick handling, but he's been getting better at it every single game, seriously. He's been markedly better this season. Um, I look, I've been a huge fan. I and though I will say he's not gonna be a number one power play defenseman. He's not a guy who you're gonna rely on for more. May I think you'll top out around like 60 points as a defenseman. You'll still take that every single day. That's a huge, huge win. That's amazing. If you can get that, oh yeah, you you if you can get that consistently on a consistent basis, that's a guy you take top two. Like, but I I don't know if I don't know, I don't know if you do that. You have a lot of upside in a guy like Keaton Berhoff, you have a lot of upside in a guy like Chase Reed, especially a guy like Albert Smeets, who is a wild horse as well. He's a bit he's he's just as physical. But uh Carson Carls he's a great mix of everything as a defenseman. I've kind of favored him as a guy that I want the Flyers to take just because of how well rounded he is and how much he can support uh his his teammates and his other defensemen as well. I I I really had a hard time critiquing his game. He's been somebody that I've just been a huge fan of, and I really think that he is going to end up being up being taken pretty high in this draft. I think the NHL Central Scouting had him at three for North American skaters ahead of guys like uh ahead of guys like Chase Reid. So that's and also Tynan Lawrence and also Kayla Mahotra. So you're seeing how highly coveted this guy is already becoming. I think with this offensive streak, there's a chance he could rise to be maybe even the number one defenseman on Central Scouting Board. I don't think it'll happen, but I'm not saying it's impossible. He is a very special defenseman. I really like Carson Carrolls.

SPEAKER_00 7:14

Yeah, you know what? And the other knock on him, obviously, is he's a left shot D, right? The NHL, they covet the right shot D. And so he's not he doesn't have that right shot D. And that that might sometimes drop. Um, like I said, the skating is unbelievable. He he does have like a simplistic kind of game. Like it's not he he doesn't razzle dazzle, like he's not like the uh Chase Reeds or the Villeneuve, which are you know, you can just they just shine when the spotlight's on him, but he he always shows up on the scoreboard. He does uh really smart plays, like you said, the outlet passes are good, the puck retrievals are good because of his skating. Uh yeah, he's got he's his overall game. Like, I don't see any real weaknesses in his game, we'll say, as opposed to like other players, you can kind of pick some little things that he they need to work on. Like his skating is phenomenal for you know, he's six foot two, 200-pound defenseman, transitions, you know, forward to backwards, backwards to forward, the four-way mobility, all that fun stuff. Like you watch him skate and you're like, ooh. And another consideration was is that because he wasn't, you know, he's not one of the top prospects at the beginning of the year, but he made it on team Canada, and that is very impressive, especially for a 2008 defenseman, besides uh Keaton Vierhoff, you know what I mean? Like, and people were like, Wow, Carson Carl just made Team Canada, yeah, he did because he's that good, and then he popped off, like we said, after the world juniors offensively in the dub, and everyone's like, Oh, okay, yeah, this kid's the real deal. Yeah, he is.

SPEAKER_01 8:40

He was the youngest player on Team Canada by a couple of days. Uh, he's only a few days older than Keaton Verhoff. I think it's like maybe three or four. But there you go, he's being selected for these big minutes, and he was playing big minutes for Canada at the World Juniors. He was being relied on defensively. He was a better second pairing. He was he was better on the second pairing than guys like Ben Danford were. And again, he was really helping a struggling Canadian team on the back end um at the world juniors. I was a really big fan of him, uh, watching him in person. Uh, I was sitting next to a couple guys who were like, Carol's guy, yeah. I like how he defends. I I will say with with the left shot, um, usually, because most people are most people are right-handed. Uh, it's like I I think it's like 90%, whatever. Point is, I think with the left shot, it'll make him kind of more solidified as an active stick guy. He has his dominant hand on the top of his stick, so he's gonna be naturally better at defending. Um, I don't know if that's gonna hurt him per se, uh, when it comes to the draft, but there's totally a world where the two right-hand shot defensemen go higher than Carrolls and Smeets, which I don't think is completely out of order, but I really think a team who picks fifth or fourth or whatever the heck they pick Carson Carroll, they're getting a steal. This kid is really, really going to be special. You're gonna love this guy and covet on your back end for a long, long time. So big, big fan of Carson Carls.

SPEAKER_00 10:03

Well, like you said, you know what? The numbers don't lie, and 73 points in 57 games, 20 goals, like come on.

SPEAKER_01 10:13

I can't even believe it.

SPEAKER_00 10:14

Yeah, yeah, that's a defense. We gotta remember, like, he's gonna pop off over 80 points in in his draft year. Like, how can you not you know discuss that too, right? Even though, like I said, I I I don't see him as a number one play driver in terms of like power play and stuff like that. Maybe but you know, I could be wrong because when you're putting out that man, that those kind of numbers, I mean, hey, you can't dismiss that, right? Um, but yeah, is there anything uh that you think that needs a little bit of work? Because we've just basically just gushed over Carson Carls here, and uh he he's he's not perfect, of course.

SPEAKER_01 10:50

Uh no one really is. I think some of the shot power can be improved upon. It's it's a poorly kept secret that he's gonna be going to the NCAA next year. I I think he might end up landing in North Dakota, which he is he has a really good relationship with a guy like Keaton Berhoff. They know each other well, they're both from the WHL, of course. They've been playing with each other for a long time. I think that would be a perfect landing spot as his line mate. They were pretty good linemates at the World Juniors as well. I was just about to say if they were if they were paired together uh next year in North Dakota. Watch out. They won't be talking about they won't be talking about Michigan or Michigan State or bot Bosca, it'll just be Nordak, all right? It'll be like the 2000s or something like that. Come on. I know some Nordak fans are watching, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:33

If they can land him, you are like solidify, you're stacked on the point with him, especially if they play together. Like, oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 11:41

For sure.

SPEAKER_00 11:42

And you could put them as yeah, you can put them as your top D on a PP, actually. You know, there's not too many times that they put 2D on the point. It happens. I wouldn't do it.

SPEAKER_01 11:50

Oh, they've they've they've been doing it. Uh Jake Livanovich and Keaton Verhoff were the top D on North Dakota. So they there they can totally do it again. Another thing, too, uh, just because we're we're sort of talking about like what he can fix. I think his shot power can totally improve. Uh, he gets a lot of balance and strength from his skating and his overall strength. He's a big guy. This guy is a big muscular dude. I was there. I got to interview him. He scared the crap out of me. All right. He he is he's he's farm tough. He's literally from a farm in Manitoba. So watch out when this guy gets going. But I think he can improve some of his sh overall shot power. Um, I I think he can really become a more deadly defenseman in terms of goals. Um, but he a lot of his goals have been from just creeping up. Like in this play here, he attacks the zone. He really forechecks very, very well. He supports the rush like kind of like a Miro Heisken, but he doesn't really have the mobility that Miro Heiskenen has. He is more of a shutdown guy, but the way that he jumps up into the play and he supports the rush, you don't see many defensemen do that to a success rate that he's had. It it's it's really, really special. Another thing, too, that I will I will say some of his puck carrying is hurt by the fact that he is not the best stick handler. He's pretty solid, but he's pretty one note side to side, and he's a good puck protector, but he'll lose the puck, he'll lose the puck every now and again. He'll try to do too much every now and again. He's not a natural stick handler, and I will say some of his mobility is better on defense than it is on offense. But I'm not gonna complain when a guy can quick turn and lay somebody out and not make uh a dazzling move at the blue line. He plays a very simple game, like you said earlier, and I think he's gonna stick to that. It's a very translatable game, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:34

And I like you said, the stick handling is not great, but he does have great puck protection, like he uses his body well to shield the puck, and so you like to see that. And the other thing, like you said, when he activates, but he's such a good skater that he doesn't get caught like too often, where if he loses the puck.

SPEAKER_01 13:50

I'm so glad you brought this up.

SPEAKER_00 13:51

Yeah, he flies back, like he he he is so supportive in that aspect. So I don't mind seeing that because there's some players, and I'll give an exam, and I well, I um there's some players that if they if they get caught up the rush, they kind of they get stuck, we'll say, in the uh other zone. So, but he doesn't do that because he's so fast and he's so defensively oriented and or minded that he just rushes back and he is supporting big time. So I I yeah, there's not too many negatives we'll have to say about Carson Carls, and it's gonna be interesting to see where he lands.

SPEAKER_01 14:22

Absolutely, absolutely. Yeah, I'm glad you brought that up. He does that in the neutral zone too, where he will just try to stop the breakout as soon as possible. But then I'm like, oh my god, he he successfully stopped the breakout, but he's got to get back, and then he's just already back. I'm like, yeah, what the hell? That's that's crazy. But you know, I it'll be so interesting to see where he lands uh lands. I I I I will say the biased Flyers fan hopes that he's uh he he lands a little bit higher. Oh my god, he uh oh, that would be so nice, wouldn't it? Oh my god.

SPEAKER_00 14:49

The Flyers need a because like you said, he brings that physicality and the Flyers love it. He's a great skater. Like this is he would look great in the orange, black, and white. Let me tell you something. That would be oh yeah, oh hey, we're gonna be in Buffalo if uh if we're there and and that goes down, we might be like you know, hugging in high five and right right on the spot.

SPEAKER_01 15:09

No, that that'll be that'll be that'll that'll be cause for celebration right there. That would be fantastic. I look, I I've heard many stories about how you're not supposed to cheer in the press section for certain picks, but I I don't care, nothing's stopping you and me, Mark. We we are cheering if Carson Carrolls comes to Philly.

SPEAKER_00 15:24

Um, so it'll be one of those interviews right away, just like run down there and be like, oh hey, Mr. Carls, we we gotta talk to you. We need some uh for sure.

SPEAKER_01 15:32

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_00 15:33

Um anything else you think we should do here? Is like what do you think? Is that pretty good?

SPEAKER_01 15:37

Well, I I mean we we could still talk about Scott Wheeler's rankings that just recently come out to let's see where he's got Carson Carls. Yes, of course. Um, I saw this in the middle of class and I was like, oh boy, I gotta I gotta open this up. He is Carl Seven. Oh boy, we're gonna have a lot to talk about because guess who he has just ahead of Carson Carls.

SPEAKER_00 15:59

Oh, oh, oh, oh, we have something to discuss. We are gonna get Mr. Scott Wheeler on our show, and we're gonna have to have a little talkie talkie with him. Ryan Lynn over Carson Carls. Again, this might be the right shot thing, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 16:14

Like, uh I just maybe you're right, but here's the thing I I just don't see a world where Ryan Lynn has been performing to the to the equal or betterment of a guy like Carson Carls. Um Carson Carl is the guy who's challeng challenging these big three up here, Reed, Smeets, and Verhoff. And Carls is really pushing these guys. I I think that he has a legitimate case to go that high. So I'm a little shocked, say the least, um, to see a guy who I'm kind of low on in uh Ryan Lynn be that high.

SPEAKER_00 16:48

Yeah, realistically, I mean, in terms of like the real draft, I don't see Lynn being in that vicinity, to be honest with you. You know, some six foot defenseman. Uh, I get it. He he is he does have some offensive, nice numbers, and he's a right shot D. However, yeah, I six foot two, 200-pound Carson Carls with like 80 plus points in the dub. I don't see how that happens. But I I mean, hey, you know what? We're gonna have to get uh Scott on the show and we're gonna have to ask him that. We're gonna pick his brain about that one. And that's gonna be like I think that first question is like, listen, the rest of the stuff looks awesome. Could I just one question? How do you have Ryan Lynn over Carson Carls? Just uh, you know, just you know what he he always has a great answer. You know, he always has great answers, and he's he's a great guy.

SPEAKER_01 17:31

I yeah, I I will say I have so much so much respect for Scott uh before I met him. And then when I met him, he's just a fantastic guy at the World Juniors. And uh he he's he's really funny too. He's a he's a great time. I he's gonna be he's gonna be a good interview, but we will have to we will have to bring him in. We're gonna have to grow him a little bit, unfortunately. We love you, Scott. Yeah, we're gonna have to we might have to have to ask you some hard questions, but we'll see.

SPEAKER_00 17:55

That's okay. We do hey, listen, we got rocky always butting heads. I mean that oh, yeah, come on now. It it's it's okay, you gotta have some fun, right? Absolutely. All right, so uh, I think that does it for Mr. Current. What a gem of a defenseman. Please come to the flyers. We'd love to see you. We'd love to see you in Philly. We for sure. So, yeah, I think that's it for this episode. And uh Lincoln and I am meeting up on Sunday, Brampton, to see the Brantford Bulldogs.

SPEAKER_01 18:26

Yeah, oh yeah. First live viewing of Caleb Alhotra. Oh, yeah, Lee and Mark are gonna get up to it. All right, it's gonna be pretty fun.

SPEAKER_00 18:33

We're gonna have a blast, my friend. All right, we'll see you soon, and uh everyone else, thanks for watching, and we'll uh we'll talk soon. Cheers.