Carson Carels enters the 2026 NHL Entry Draft as one of the more polarizing defensive prospects in the draft class. The 17-year-old left-shot defenseman excelled offensively in his second season with the Prince George Cougars, racking up 20 goals and 73 points in 58 games. A workhorse in the truest sense, Carels carried a league-leading workload of 27:32 of ice time per game to anchor the Cougars' back end.
At 6-foot-2 and 198 pounds, Carels already possesses the physical maturity of a pro giving NHL front offices a highly projectable physical package on the blue line. He’s a fluid, powerful linear skater with a cannon of a shot and a physical edge that makes life miserable for opposing forwards. However, beneath the heavy minutes and incredible production there’s a complex developmental profile. While the University of North Dakota commit possesses the clear foundational habits to transition smoothly to the NCAA ranks, his long-term projection as an NHL asset will ultimately depend on elevating his steady, baseline processing to match his elite physical skillset.
Physical Play
Carels’ ultimate calling card as a player is the physicality he brings to the game on a consistent basis. Carels is an absolute competitor. He doesn’t just handle the physical contact of the game, he intentionally seeks it out. Carels regularly looks to punish opposing players with heavy open-ice hits. He finishes every check along the wall, and he boxes out the front of his net with fire and persistence. When Carels finishes his checks, he isn’t just looking to make contact, he’s looking to put his opponent through the boards. Every physical play is executed with the distinct purpose of forcing them to pay a physical price for every inch of ice. Carels' mean streak and relentless competitive motor serve as his primary differentiating factors, making him exactly the type of player front teams actively hunt for when building a roster designed to win in May and June.
Production
Carels' ability to hit the 20-goal mark from the blue line stems directly from a pro-caliber shooting arsenal characterized by exceptional mechanics and raw power. When operating at the point, Carels features two main weapons that he utilizes interchangeably. Whether stepping into a one-timer or rolling downhill from the blue line, his slap shot can be devastating. He maximizes his reach as he leans into his shot, torques his upper body, and flexes his stick to generate the velocity and power required to beat goaltenders clean from high in the zone.
He possesses a perfect complement in his wrist shot, which can also beat goaltenders from distance. Carels consistently gets his eyes up to identify shooting lanes, positioning the puck outside his body prior to his release. He has the capability to change the angle and drag his release when necessary, however, even without utilizing those specific mechanics, his power is enough to overpower goaltenders from the top of the circles. While his lane manipulation along the blue line remains straightforward, the pure velocity paired with clean catch-and-release mechanics make him a constant threat to beat goaltenders clean from distance.
His impressive assist totals, producing 53 helpers in 58 games, are largely anchored by his incredibly structured and low-risk approach to playmaking. Rather than trying to force high-danger seam plays or over-handling the puck at the blue line, Carels’ style of generating offense centers around delivering simple, perfectly placed pucks. He excels at identifying the immediate open option, presenting an easy-to-corral pass, and hitting his forwards flat on the tape to maintain possession, or teeing up a pass perfectly in a teammate’s wheelhouse for a one-timer. However, an executive-level caveat to his production is the situational dependency of these primary assists. A significant portion of his primary assist production occurs on the PowerPlay, where he is afforded the luxury of time and space to quarterback and pick apart opposing PK setups. 27 of his 53 assists have come on the PowerPlay, accounting for over 50% of his assist production. At 5v5, where time and space are less abundant, his style of manipulating opposing players and creating passing lanes in the offensive zone is far less dynamic. This reliance on the PowerPlay suggests his current playmaking archetype shows more an efficient distributor within a structured system rather than a dynamic, individual 5v5 offensive play driver.
Rush Plays
Much of the offense Carels creates at 5v5 stems directly from his skating ability. He operates primarily as a dynamic puck transporter rather than a pure puck mover, electing to carry the puck up-ice and either lead the rush or join the play and work into open space. He utilizes intelligent routes when activating, understanding the importance of incorporating depth into the attack. By systematically staggering his entry as he joins the play, he creates secondary layers while working into quiet ice, opening clean passing lanes for his teammates to hit him in full momentum.
When he carries the puck up ice, he’s able to use his pace to push opposing defenders back off their blue line, allowing him to create high-danger opportunities off the rush through timely slip plays or structured drop passes. Additionally, Carels displays impressive small-area puck skills when jumping into the rush, frequently handling pucks cleanly in tight, high-pressure pockets and finding consistent success in doing so.
Rush Defending
Carels has no issues defending routine rush plays, with the ability to manage his gap using his skating and edgework to jump up and kill plays when necessary. However, when rush situations become more complex, his processing speed can become exposed. In isolated, high-speed sequences that require split-second decision-making, his reads can lag a fraction of a second behind the play. Plays that require a well-executed surf can become challenging, as his timing can be slightly off. Carels will often attack straight at the opponent in scenarios that require calculated angling to kill the play, leading to him getting burned as the puck gets by him. This tactical breakdown is tied directly to a specific mechanical habit where, while pivoting, Carels’ feet become wide, preventing him from properly distributing then shifting his weight and covering ground efficiently.
Similar calibration errors occur when he pinches aggressively to kill plays early. With a miscalculated angle, the puck ends up behind him, and he finds himself chasing the play. When defending dynamic 3v2 rushes, he can become overly reactionary rather than proactively recognizing unfolding patterns and cutting off imminent threats before they enter high-danger areas. With the high pace and intensity of the NHL, complex scenarios requiring split-second decisions will be far more abundant and carry significantly higher consequences. At the next level, a slow read or a miscalculated angle often leads directly to a high-danger chance against, if not a goal. Developing the ability to recognize unfolding patterns, anticipate plays, and make those reads just a fraction of a second quicker will be his most critical area for growth. This is a standard developmental adjustment that typically occurs once a prospect of his caliber adapts to the structure and specialized demands of the pro game.
Defensive Zone
Carels’ defensive zone prowess is evident on a consistent basis. He is constantly aware, scanning and processing the ice before locking onto his man. He deploys a quick stick, using his strength to strategically kill plays and cause disruptions in the defensive zone. Carels is highly effective along the walls as well, intelligently establishing inside position and angling off opponents to create stalls and disruptions. He is highly disciplined when using his body to follow through and play through the hands to fully kill the play. Upon forcing turnovers, Carels is able to quickly transition pucks and begin the breakout for his team, either with a direct play to create a quick counter-strike, or by knocking pucks loose and placing them into areas where his teammates can recover them.
Breakouts
When retrieving and breaking out pucks, Carels is incredibly efficient. Before each individual retrieval scenario, Carels pre-scans and approaches at a proper angle, allowing him to process how the play is developing and read the opposing team’s forecheck. He recognizes high-pressure zones and demonstrates the ability to make poised, controlled plays under pressure, often trapping multiple forecheckers below the puck as it leaves the zone.
Carels also shows the awareness to set subtle pick plays as his partner goes back for a retrieval, demonstrating his understanding of how to create extra time and space for his defensive partner. He has found immense success with multiple styles of breakouts, ranging from efficient strong-side exits and more complex pop plays to the middle, to simple rim plays. Every time he handles a retrieval, he is able to create scenarios where he identifies the right player to move the puck to at the right time.
Setting Pace
There is a distinct uniformity to the way Carels drives play from the back end, as his breakouts, regroups, and transitions all default to the exact same pace and flow. He executes with efficiency and precision, but the plays that start on his stick are very predictable for opposing defensive setups. While this will lead to reasonable success as his game transitions to pro, the elite defenders in the game have the ability to dictate the pace of a shift.
Whether it is by speeding up with their feet, slowing the play down to draw in opposing players, moving the puck fast, or executing calculated strikes, there needs to be some variance to truly throw off NHL defensive structures on a consistent basis. That unpredictability from the game’s top defenders is what allows them to create offense for their team. Without this variance, it leads to a very rigid style of play, and Carels delivers in that way. Positively, Carels consistently makes clean plays and moves his team up the ice. However, it does occur in a very predictable rhythm, which limits how dynamic he could be when starting plays and moving the puck up the ice.
Carson Carels presents NHL front offices with one of the safest, most projectable blueprints among the blueliners in the 2026 draft class. His game is defined by a massive, minute-munching utility and a fierce competitive drive that translates seamlessly to the physical demands of professional hockey. While his sheer production at the WHL level has been elite, the way in which he’s producing doesn’t suggest he projects to be an elite NHL point-producer from the backend, as he lacks the ability to truly manipulate plays in the ways that the game’s elite defenders can.
Carels is a safe, efficient puck transporter who will execute low-risk breakouts with mechanical precision and provide an intimidating, hard-nosed defensive presence that teams covet for grueling playoff series. Ultimately, Carels projects as a sure-fire top-four defenseman who can cleanly anchor a pairing, absorb heavy matchup minutes, and play a highly disciplined, mistake-free style. Any franchise drafting him is adding a foundational, culture-setting competitor to their back end.
