Flames Select Spokane Chiefs Forward Chase Harrington in 2026 NHL Draft

The Calgary Flames solidified their future offensive depth by selecting Spokane Chiefs forward Chase Harrington with the 36th overall pick in the second round of the 2026 NHL Draft. The selection, which took place Saturday morning during the Upper Deck NHL Draft, marks a significant milestone for Harrington, a native of Prince George, British Columbia, who has spent the last several seasons developing in the Western Hockey League. Standing as one of the premier playmakers in the Washington-based franchise, Harrington’s rise through the scouts’ rankings culminated in this early second-round call. The Flames utilized their high second-round position to secure a player who has demonstrated consistent offensive growth and reliability in high-pressure situations. Harrington enters professional hockey following a year where he established himself as a primary scoring threat and a leader in the Spokane locker room. This move represents a strategic investment by the Flames’ scouting department, which has recently prioritized versatile forwards with high hockey IQ. As Harrington transitions from the junior ranks to the professional level, he leaves behind a notable legacy in Spokane, having earned substantial recognition for his contribution to the team’s offensive systems and overall culture. The selection was confirmed by local reporting from krem.com.

Calgary Claims Harrington at 36th Overall in Second Round

The Calgary Flames opened the second day of the 2026 NHL Draft by addressing their needs on the wing, selecting Chase Harrington at 36th overall. According to krem.com, Harrington was the prize for a Calgary front office that looked to capitalize on his standout performance during the 2025-27 season. The 36th pick is often a territory where teams find high-ceiling talent that may have narrowly missed the first-round cut, and Harrington fits the profile of a skilled forward ready to compete for a roster spot in the near future. This selection is not merely a depth move but a deliberate choice to integrate a player with proven scoring efficiency in the WHL into the Flames' system. Management in Calgary appears to have valued Harrington’s ability to generate production without sacrificing defensive responsibility, a trait that helped him stand out among his peers in the draft class.

The logistics of the draft saw Harrington waiting through the first 35 picks before his name was called. For the Flames, this pick signifies a focus on the fertile recruiting grounds of the Western Hockey League, a circuit known for producing professional-ready skaters. By selecting Harrington so early in the second round, Calgary analysts suggest the team sees him as a potential top-six contributor who can eventually bridge the gap between their current veteran core and their emerging youth movement. The scouting reports leading up to the draft often noted Harrington's balanced offensive game, which the Flames will now look to refine within their American Hockey League affiliate before he makes the eventual jump to the NHL stage. The transition marks the beginning of a professional contract negotiation phase that typically follows such high-profile selections.

High Scoring Totals Define Harrington’s Career in Spokane

Harrington’s draft stock was largely built on a foundation of elite production during his tenure with the Spokane Chiefs. As reported by krem.com, the forward appeared in 61 games last season, where he notched a career-high 28 goals. This scoring prowess was complemented by his playmaking abilities, resulting in a total of 57 points for the year. Such numbers are indicative of a player who can carry the offensive load for his team, often finding the back of the net in crucial moments. Over the course of his entire career in Spokane, Harrington participated in 194 regular-season games, accumulating a total of 130 points. This longevity and consistency provided NHL scouts with a deep sample size to evaluate his transition from a young prospect into a marquee WHL athlete.

The data from Harrington's final amateur season shows a significant jump in efficiency compared to his earlier years in the league. His 28 goals in just 61 games reflect a shooting percentage that outpaced many other draft-eligible forwards in the Western conference. This spike in production led to him being named Spokane’s Co-Player of the Year honors, a distinction that validates his importance to the roster beyond the stat sheet. For the Flames, these metrics provide a level of statistical security. They are drafting a player who has shown he can improve year-over-year while remaining durable enough to play nearly every game on a demanding WHL schedule. The leap from a reliable secondary scorer to a primary offensive driver was the catalyst for his 36th overall selection, as teams rarely pass on players who show such a clear upward trajectory in their development years.

Historical Context of Spokane to Calgary Transitions

The selection of Chase Harrington establishes a renewed connection between the Spokane Chiefs organization and the Calgary Flames. According to krem.com, Harrington is the fourth member of the Chiefs to be drafted by the Flames in the history of the two franchises. This picks breaks a lengthy drought, as he is the first Chief chosen by Calgary since Mitch Wahl was selected in 2008. The nearly two-decade gap between Spokane-to-Calgary selections highlights how specific organizations sometimes go cycles without intersecting in the draft, making Harrington's pick a notable outlier in recent draft strategy for the Alberta-based NHL club. It suggests that the Flames' current scouting staff found something in Harrington that previous regimes did not find in Spokane prospects over the last 18 years.

Historically, the Spokane Chiefs have served as a consistent pipeline for the NHL, but the specific path to Calgary has been less traveled in the modern era. By looking back at the 2008 selection of Mitch Wahl, one can see the evolution of what NHL teams look for in WHL talent. While the game has become faster and more reliant on skill than raw size, the Chiefs have adapted their coaching to produce the type of mobile, intelligent players that Calgary is currently seeking. Harrington now joins a small list of athletes who have bridged the gap between these two specific cities. This historical parallel serves as a reminder of the cyclical nature of professional scouting. For the Flames, Harrington represents a return to a familiar scouting territory that has yielded results for them in the distant past, and his success will be a litmus test for the team's current evaluation of players coming out of the United States division of the WHL.

Analyzing the Market Impact and Flames Roster Construction

The decision to draft Chase Harrington at 36th overall carries specific economic and roster implications for the Calgary Flames. In the current NHL salary cap environment, teams rely heavily on finding "entry-level" talent in the second round that can provide high value at a controlled cost. Harrington’s 57-point season in the WHL suggests he possesses the offensive ceiling required to contribute while still on a rookie contract, which is vital for a team like Calgary that must manage veteran salaries. While krem.com focuses on his local Spokane impact, the broader industry view sees this as a move to bolster Calgary’s right-side offense, where they have faced depth challenges in the professional ranks.

Furthermore, the selection reflects an industry-wide trend where WHL scoring is weighted heavily. The 28 goals Harrington scored last season are a currency that translates well to professional projections. In the market of player assets, a second-round pick is a high-capital investment. By selecting Harrington, Calgary is betting that his 130 career points in Spokane are not just a product of a specific system but are transferable skills. For the Flames organization, this helps balance their prospect portfolio, which has recently leaned toward defensive acquisitions. Harrington provides a necessary counterweight to those defensive pieces, ensuring the franchise has a balanced pipeline of talent. His arrival in the Calgary system will likely influence how the team approaches free agency in the coming years, as a successful second-round pick can often fill a roster hole that would otherwise cost millions of dollars to address via the open market.

Spokane Development and Local Washington State Influence

The impact of Harrington’s departure to the NHL ranks will be felt deeply within the Spokane community and the broader Washington state hockey landscape. As a Co-Player of the Year for the Chiefs, Harrington was a central figure in the team’s promotional and competitive identity. Reporting from krem.com notes that his 194-game tenure made him a fixture at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. For local fans, seeing a player develop through nearly 200 games only to be selected by a major Canadian franchise like Calgary is a validation of the Chiefs' development program. It reinforces Spokane’s reputation as a premier destination for young athletes looking to reach the professional level.

The loss of Harrington’s 28 goals will create a significant void in the Spokane lineup for the upcoming season, necessitating a shift in the team’s offensive strategy. However, his selection also serves as a powerful recruiting tool for the Chiefs. When the organization can point to Harrington’s 36th overall selection, it helps them attract the next generation of high-level talent to Eastern Washington. The local impact also extends to the regional rivalry within the WHL’s U.S. Division. Teams in Seattle, Everett, and Tri-City now see one of their toughest opponents moving on to the professional ranks, potentially shifting the competitive balance in the division. For the Spokane sports market, Harrington represents another successful chapter in a long history of professional athletes who honed their craft in the Inland Northwest before making it to the global stage of the NHL.

Projecting Harrington’s Path to the NHL Roster

Following the draft selection, the immediate future for Chase Harrington involves a series of structured steps designed to integrate him into the Calgary Flames’ organization. Typically, a second-round pick will attend the team’s summer development camp, where coaches and trainers evaluate their physical readiness and technical proficiency. According to stats provided by krem.com, Harrington’s 130 points in 194 games show he has the durability to handle the grind of a professional season, but the jump from junior hockey to the NHL often requires a period of physical maturation. Most analysts expect Harrington to potentially return to junior or move to the AHL affiliate to refine his game before seeing regular ice time in Calgary.

The Flames will likely monitor Harrington’s progress closely over the next 12 to 24 months. His ability to reproduce his 28-goal pace against more seasoned professionals will be the primary factor in his promotion timeline. If Harrington can maintain his playmaking efficiency while adapting to the faster pace of the professional game, his stint in the minors may be brief. The organization's history with Spokane players suggests they are willing to be patient to ensure a prospect is fully prepared for the rigors of the NHL. Fans in Calgary and Spokane alike will be watching the preseason rosters and training camp reports to see how quickly the Prince George native can translate his junior success into a permanent role. For now, the selection stands as a major achievement for both the player and the Spokane Chiefs, setting the stage for the next phase of Harrington’s career.