Last year, we broke down the history of the 12th overall pick in anticipation of the Flyers making that selection. Of course, they didn’t make that pick–they traded back to 13th and drafted Jett Luchanko. Thanks for making us look silly, Flyers!
Anyway, with the 2025 NHL Draft starting this Friday, we’re taking it a step further than last year and breaking down every first round pick the Flyers have–all three of them. Normally, we’d start from the 2005 draft at the dawn of the NHL’s cap era, but…there weren’t 31 teams until the 2017 draft. So, we’re going to start there for their 31st-overall pick. Keep in mind, then, that quite a few of these players are still very young–several haven’t even played in the NHL yet–so it’s difficult to assess if those picks have panned out or not yet.
And before we dive in: yes, we are fully aware that the Flyers are unlikely to make all three selections in the first round. A lot can happen between now and the moment Danny Briere’s called upon to make his selection! Let’s get into it.
The Draftees
2017: Klim Kostin (C), St. Louis Blues
Spoiler alert: Kostin may be the best player selected 31st overall of the entire bunch. He’s bounced around the NHL, including stops in Edmonton, Detroit, and San Jose after a few years with the team that drafted him, the Blues. The 6-foot-4 center has played 190 NHL games, and has scored 25 goals and 53 points. As far as drafting a fourth-line center goes, Kostin’s about as good as you can hope for.
2018: Alexander Alexeyev (D), Washington Capitals
In 80 NHL games, Alexeyev has one (1) goal and eight points; even for a depth defenseman, you’d want to see more offense than that. At 25 years old, it’s hard to see the Capitals committing to the pending RFA, as Alexeyev seems to be little more than AHL depth at this point.
2019: Ryan Johnson (D), Buffalo Sabres
Johnson has played 44 NHL games across the last two seasons, and in that time has zero goals and seven points. Like Alexeyev, it’s unlikely Johnson becomes much more than what he already is, even though he’s not turning 24 until next month.
2020: Ozzy Wiesblatt (C), San Jose Sharks
Wiesblatt never played a game for the team that drafted him, as he was traded to the Nashville Predators; he played five NHL games last season and recorded one point (an assist). At 5-foot-10, Wiesblatt’s got a hard path ahead of him to becoming an NHL regular, but he’s young enough (23) that it could still come together for him.
2021: Logan Mailloux (D), Montreal Canadiens
Woof, this was a controversial pick.
Looking past the character concerns, Mailloux’s had a successful run in the AHL so far and, in eight games with the Habs, has two goals and five points. While star-in-the-making Lane Hutson gets most of the attention in Montreal, there’s a lot of upside for the 6-foot-3 Mailloux as well, and one of the organization’s top five prospects according to Scott Wheeler’s pipeline rankings.
2022: Isaac Howard (LW), Tampa Bay Lightning
The drama continues, as Isaac Howard has made clear he is not signing with the team that drafted him. The Flyers are all too familiar with this sort of thing, but Howard is not the caliber of player that Cutter Gauthier was. Still, Howard’s had a successful NCAA career and, unless Tampa trades his signing rights, will become a UFA after one more year of play at the collegiate level.
2023: Mikhail Gulyayev (D), Colorado Avalanche
We are now firmly in the “too early to tell” portion of the article. Gulyayev has a been a regular on a solid KHL team (Omsk Avangard), and while he’s not generating a ton of points (27 in 131 games across two seasons), there’s still some NHL upside to his game, and Wheeler ranks him as the second best prospect in the Avalanche’s pipeline.
2024: Ben Danford (D), Toronto Maple Leafs
Danford could be an NHLer, as he’s sound defensively, but he’s likely a high-floor/low-ceiling third pair defender in time. At only 19 years old, however, there’s plenty of runway for him to develop into something more.
Historically speaking, it seems unlikely the Flyers will strike gold with the 31st overall pick. Not that long ago, pick 31 was a 2nd-round pick, and the “1st-round pick” moniker foisted on prospects taken there these days might be a little unfair. There are players who go in that range that turn into impact NHLers, though, so there’s always a chance–we just have to hope the Flyers get it right. Stay tuned for our dive into the 22nd overall pick!
