It’s natural to try to look at something new and compare it to something you are much more familiar with. While comparing NHL Draft prospects to current NHL players isn’t the most perfect science, it does give us a fuller picture of a prospect’s playstyle and potential impact in a lineup.
Last week, Elite Prospects released their comprehensive draft guide, a yearly tradition that’s become the largest collection of game reports and draft knowledge that is available publicly. Part of their lists, for prospects through the second round, is to give a few NHL comparables for each player if they reach their highest potential.
This year, six different prospects were likened to current and former Flyers, so let’s dive into those players below.
Jackson Smith and Travis Sanheim
The team over at Elite Prospects is a bit higher on Smith than most other publications and scouts, slotting him in at the No. 6 spot instead of the 10-15 range that he falls on other rankings. Smith, a smooth-skating offensively dynamic defenseman from the USNTDP, put up 54 points in 68 games with the WHL’s Tri-City Americans.
If we were to guess, we’d guess that Smith received a Sanheim comparison due to two things – his skating, and his tendency to have the most mind-boggling turnover. Early on in Sanheim’s career, and sometimes even now, Sanheim made some awful turnovers that really made you question his situational awareness on the ice. Smith is the same, and it’s turned some scouts away from him as a high pick. His skating, meanwhile, is ultra-smooth and deceptive, similar to how Sanheim just glides through all three zones.
This is Jackson Smith. He's a 6'3 defenseman with highly projectable defensive habits, dynamic feet, and does stuff like this… pic.twitter.com/8Y8DUgWxoI
— Cam Robinson (@Hockey_Robinson) October 25, 2024
Caleb Desnoyers and Sean Couturier
This is an interesting one, and the logic is likely this: Desnoyers is a fairly reliable all situations center in the QMJHL, where Couturier was also a fairly reliable all situations center. For us, we don’t necessarily see quite the same level of offense from Desnoyers that Q-era Couturier showed, but this makes some sense from a hockey IQ perspective. Desnoyers is one of the highest level thinkers of this class, as was Couturier at the time. If Desnoyers’ NHL career is that of a healthy Couturier? Well, it would be a slam dunk pick at No. 6 for the Flyers.
Victor Eklund and Travis Konecny
For one of the most high motor and high skill players in this draft class, comparing Eklund to Konecny makes a lot of sense. Eklund is absolutely everywhere on the ice, and can kinda do anything you ask. He’s a physical player for an under six foot winger, wins tons of battles, and is just a sparkplug on the ice. He’s fun in a ton of the same ways that Konecny is, and feels like a guy that will be one of the ~10 best players of this class.
Two minutes of Victor Eklund's (#2025NHLDraft) best offensive plays from this season.
— Lassi Alanen (@lassialanen) June 3, 2025
High-end down-low playmaking blending in with the pace and physical skills, beautiful snipes from mid-range, catch-and-release wristers and quick releases, etc. pic.twitter.com/V1I6kaACD9
Cameron Reid and Cam York
Cam and Cam! The defenseman from the Kitchener Rangers is a smooth skating, dynamic offensive defenseman that is a bit undersized. There’s worry in a similar way with draft-year York that the offense isn’t good enough to compensate for a barely six-foot frame, but honestly this concern is probably overblown. If Reid can learn to play defense similar to how York did, there’s a good player here.
Ryker Lee and “taller” Bobby Brink
Listed two inches taller than Brink at 5’11.5″, Lee isn’t the most dynamic skater on the ice, but he finds a way to be in and around offense all the time. He’s a dynamic creator of offense, shifty with the puck on his stick, and possesses a high level of hockey IQ. He’s also following a similar developmental path as Brink did with the NCAA, as he’s headed to a powerhouse collegiate program in Michigan State.
Ryker Lee (2025) is a 6-foot tall, 181-pound forward with quick hands and an ability to score goals in bunches for the @MadCapsHockey. I made a highlight video from his 2024-25 season in which he was named the @USHL Rookie of the Year. 🔽
— Ryan Sikes (@rms_hockey) May 22, 2025
Link: https://t.co/PkGqmP9Xhs pic.twitter.com/p3DYU2Byac
Alexander Zharovsky and Andrei Kuzmenko
Zharovsky’s boom or bust in every way he possibly can be, showing flashes of high-end skill that leaves you wondering if he should be a first-rounder, and then moments where you don’t even realize he’s on the ice. That’s honestly pretty similar to how Kuzmenko’s career has been thus far, where he’s had moments of brilliance as a top-sixer, and then moments where he’s looked barely NHL caliber.
Alexander Zharovsky appreciation post.
— Briser la glace (@Briserlaglace_) May 30, 2025
Top-3 hands of the #2025NHLDraft ? pic.twitter.com/8zn3QdInyd
Eddie Genborg and Garnet Hathaway
Genborg is such a fun, old school player that could be a physical bottom-sixer who’s actually effective. He hits everything, and they aren’t exactly cheap hits that don’t leave a mark on an opponent. Similar to Hathaway, Genborg doesn’t go out of his way to throw a hit, but he takes every opportunity in front of him to demolish an opponent. And, he does it all without regularly taking himself out of the play, so we think the Hathaway comparison is pretty valid.
