It’s finally here. The 2025 NHL Draft takes place tonight, June 27, and the Philadelphia Flyers still have all three of their first-round picks.
There have been plenty of players moving up and down the board over the last two months, and it still looks like things could be up in the air up until the picks are announced.
While the pool of players for the Flyers to take at sixth overall is relatively small, things open up wider at 22 and even more at 31.
Let’s take one last look at who the experts have the Flyers picking in their final mock drafts.
ESPN (Doerrie)
6th: James Hagens
“The Flyers need centers more than anything, and if Hagens falls into their lap at No. 6, they need to follow suit with their Matvei Michkov approach and take the kid who had no business being available to them. The possibility of adding Michkov and Hagens to their top line without drafting in the top five in those years would be astronomically valuable to the organization.
Hagens would immediately become the Flyers’ best prospect at center, and the team doesn’t need to rush him through school with Sean Couturier, Noah Cates and newly acquired Trevor Zegras already on the NHL roster. When he’s ready, Hagens can step in to provide a jolt of offense the Flyers sorely need. His speed, puck skill and excellent playmaking ability will fit nicely beside Michkov, especially if he regains his play-driving ability in another season at Boston College. The details of his game will allow him to earn the coach’s trust and become a staple of the Flyers’ offense for years to come.“
Doerrie has the Flyers taking Hagens over Caleb Desnoyers and Jake O’Brien, with Brady Martin and Porter Matone going off the board before them. Hagens could be a steal at six after being near the top of the class for most of the season.
22nd: Daniil Prokhorov
“The freight train on skates is gaining a full head of steam heading into Friday night’s first round, and the consensus is that a lot of teams love his style of play and believe he’ll go in the early 20s. Teams with multiple first-round selections tend to take swings with their picks, and Prokhorov is certainly one.
The Flyers are likely to take a big swing with at least one of their firsts, and a sizable, violently physical kid who has raw offensive abilities that can translate into a power forward is exactly the kind of talent someone like new head coach Rick Tocchet would be very excited to develop.“
The Flyers drafting Prokhorov wouldn’t be surprising, but it’d be much more appealing with a second-round pick rather than their second selection of the first round. The polarizing Russian winger could fall down the board much like similar prospects in years past.
31st: Bill Zonnon
“Adding a playoff-performing forward with two-way ability and a relentless playing style feels like the perfect Philadelphia Flyer move.
Zonnon has some of the best details in the draft, with excellent forechecking, good defensive instincts and a willingness to get in the dirty areas to win battles. He plays one of the more translatable games of the remaining players, and never cheats for effort.
The Flyers will need players who can fill those roles as they look to contend in the future, and Zonnon has projectable offensive playmaking traits. If he can improve his skating through development of his stride mechanics, there’s a real path to being a fan favorite in the middle six.“
No real notes here. Zonnon would be worth a swing here late in the first round.
The Athletic (Wheeler)
6th: Brady Martin
“The Flyers are high on all three of Martin, O’Brien and Hagens, and I’ve had two different people say O’Brien and Martin “don’t get past the Flyers.” And yet, if Utah doesn’t take one of them, I think there’s a chance both are here and as a result one of them *does* get past the Flyers. I know they’ve spent extra time with all three of those guys. But there are a lot of people in the NHL who think they’re going to take Martin. I could see a scenario where Martin was the guy they liked and thought they could get, and Hagens was the guy they didn’t think would get to them, but would take if he did, for example. I’m partial to Hagens, but a lot of the teams near the top love Martin, and it’s easy to see why if you know him.“
Wheeler mocks Martin to the Flyers over Hagens and O’Brien, which would likely leave some fans in Philadelphia a bit upset. Still, he also notes that the Flyers are high on all three of them, so hopefully, showing Hagens around the facility wasn’t a smokescreen if you’re pining after the BC product.
22nd: Daniil Prokhorov
“Prokhorov is really trending up right now based on the conversations I’ve had, and regardless of who the Flyers take at No. 6, they could/probably should look to add size to their pool with this second selection. Nesbitt, if he’s here, would make a lot of sense as a potential 3C of the future behind whoever they take at No. 6 and Jett Luchanko. But Prokhorov, as a big, strong, competitive secondary-scoring winger who can skate, makes a lot of sense for them, too. They’ve also got a contingent of Russians, which it never hurts to have when adding another. He’s going to go by the early 20s, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him go in the late teens.“
Wheeler’s notes on Prokhorov’s stock open my mind a bit more to the Flyers taking the Russian winger, but a Martin-Prokhorov combination at 6 and 22 would likely take away some of the goodwill Briere gained with the Zegras trade.
31st: William Horcoff
“Even if they take a player like Nesbitt or Prokhorov with their second first, I could see the Flyers prioritize size again with their third pick and really make a dent in adding it at two or three of the selections. I’m not convinced they’ll take three forwards, as their pool could use another defenseman behind Oliver Bonk, but they have two second-round picks in the next 10 selections after this as well and could turn their attention to some D prospects who fit better in that range in this scenario. Prokhorov and Horcoff would really change the complexion and shape of their pool. Shane Vansaghi, who has some late-first-round momentum, could go here for the same reason.“
Horcoff has NHL bloodlines and the size at 6-foot-4 to give him a pretty high floor, but his ceiling could be lower than others available here at the end of the first round.
The Athletic (Pronman)
6th: James Hagens
“Like Nashville, I think the Flyers would be hard-pressed to get a center here (and you notice this creates a scenario where Martone continues to be available). The league consensus is that the three centers they are likeliest to take are Martin, Hagens or O’Brien. Hagens is a great player, but it would be three years in a row they would be taking a small forward, so that’s why the league thinks O’Brien and Martin are very much in play at 6.“
In Corey Pronman’s final mock draft of the year, published just hours before the first round, he has the Flyers going for the Boston College center over both Jake O’Brien and Porter Martone. But notably, he has the Nashville Predators taking Brady Martin at fifth overall. Could that be taking the Flyers’ preferred choice away from them in this scenario?
22nd: Will Horcoff
“Horcoff’s stock has been on the rise in recent months, and I expect him to be a first-round pick. His skating is an issue, but Horcoff is a huge forward with legit skill and hockey sense.”
Just like his coworker at The Athletic, Pronman has the Flyers taking the Michigan Wolverine center but with their second pick of the round, not their first. There are higher upside selections that could be made — Cullen Potter and Milton Gastrin are two centers who are still available, for example — but after taking the skill selection on Hagens, you can live with a much “safer” pick.
31st: Alexander Zharovsky
“Philadelphia takes a swing on the highly talented Zharovsky with its last pick in the first round. Zharovsky is a very skilled forward with good skating and looked quite big when I saw him at the Gold Star camp this past week. There’s significant interest in the league for him.”
This is the first time Alexander Zharovsky has been mocked to the Flyers in the first round. The small, ultra-skilled Russian winger has been one of the hypothetical second-round selections previously, but after impressing at Dan Milstein’s Gold Star Hockey event in Miami (which general manager Danny Briere was in attendance for) taking him at 31st overall can make sense. He is one of the fastest risers in the entire class and went from middle-six MHL player to start the season, to appearing in KHL playoff games to end it. Pure upside bet.
Sportsnet (Cosentino)
6th: Caleb Desnoyers
“A heavy dose of both will and skill, Desnoyers bottoms out as a second line centre who wins draws, has the ability to match-up and also produce high-level offence.“
Desnoyers at six would be a strong pick for the Flyers, but it is worth noting that Costentino’s mock draft seems a bit out there with James Hagens falling all the way to 10 and Jake O’Brien to 11. If that happens, the Flyers might have to trade up to get two of the top centers in this year’s draft class.
22nd: Cameron Reid
“May end up going a little higher than this spot, but if not, the Flyers will add a defenceman who is amongst the smoothest skaters in the draft. He defends well enough with good gap control and showed improvement in stick and body position as the season went on. He had difficult playoff match-ups that elicited positive results.“
Reid is a name to keep an eye on as the board gets into the high teens and low 20s.
31st: Cullen Potter
“GM Daniel Briere sees a lot of himself in Potter, whose dynamic skating ability jumps off the page in every viewing. He carved his own path by going to a lesser-known school as a younger college player and made a mark.“
Potter has the high-end skill that would make this a worthy selection for the Flyers.
TSN (Button)
6th: Porter Martone
Craig Button is the only one here to have the Flyers take a winger in Porter Martone with their first pick. He has Briere & Co. opting for the big winger over Desnoyers, which would be surprising, and O’Brien.
22nd: Jack Nesbitt
Nesbitt is one of the many forwards in the latter half of the first round with a wide range of potential draft slots. The 6-foot-4 center would add some size down the middle to the Flyers’ prospect pool, as Wheeler mentioned in his snippet for pick No. 22.
31st: Jack Murtagh
If the board falls as Button projects, the Flyers would just miss out on Reid and Potter at 30 and 29 — perhaps they’d trade up to snag one of those guys if it does?
Murtagh is a winger from the USHL and USNTDP who is committed to Boston University for the fall. The Flyers haven’t had tons of luck with collegiate players, but perhaps this time could be different.
