#6: Adam Fox

Position: D

Age: 19

Team: Harvard Crimson (NCAA)

Drafted: 2016 #66 (Round 3)

Last Year Rank: #23

To say the Flames made out well with the 66th pick in the 2016 NHL draft would be an understatement. Adam Fox, so far, has been an absolute steal for the Calgary Flames.

The Jericho NY product has been nothing short of brilliant in his first NCAA season. Fox played for Harvard University in 2016-17 as a freshman and put the NCAA on notice. In his first year Fox put up 40 points (6G 34A) in 35 games for the Crimson and was an otherworldly +19. Fox lead all Harvard defencemen in points and was tied for third on the Crimson on total points. What’s even more impressive than the stat line is the fact that Fox walked into a stacked Harvard team, in one of the NCAA’s toughest conferences and looked like he had been there for years.

Not to be content with his stellar NCAA season, Fox was an integral part of Team USA’s U18 run through the World Juniors, culminating in a gold medal game win over team Canada. In that tournament Fox had 9 points (1G 8A) in 7 games and then took the ice with Team USA’s U20 team this summer and was once again more than solid. He had 4 assists in the 7 games he saw in that tournament as well.

The Flames hit a home run when they took the 5’11” blue liner in the draft. His play is certainly turning heads and there’s clamoring for Calgary to try and sign him after the upcoming collegiate season. While that sounds nice, the Flames would be smart to let him keep developing and getting better at the NCAA level. Fox blew the doors off the ECAC and performed like a vet on the global stage, so there’s no reason to think he’ll regress. It’s not often you see a young player have that kind of success in the NCAA’s this early on, but Calgary has to be sitting back and smiling at what Adam Fox has delivered in such a short amount of time.

(Stats Courtesy Elite Prospects)