Flyers’ draft positioning secondary to getting the pick right

As the Flyers play out the season, fans are scoreboard watching, hoping Buffalo, Boston, and Seattle go on on minor hot streak to climb the standings and send Philadelphia the other way. And, the Flyers to lose more than they win the last four games.

Heading into Friday\'s games the Flyers see themselves tied with Boston (who has played one more game) for the fourth-worst record, so the fourth-greatest chance of landing the top pick. But while many people are putting a lot of weight on where the Flyers finish at season\'s end, it\'s crucial that the Flyers brass look at the bigger picture. They have to realize that the positioning isn\'t the most important thing. The most important thing is simply not botching the pick, wherever and whoever they might decide to select (assuming they keep that high pick on June 27). You would love to see Flyers general manager Danny Briere hit another home run or grand slam with the possible top-five pick. You would hate to see the pick become Nolan Patrick 2.0.

In late April of 2017, the Flyers entered the NHL Draft Lottery in the 13th slot, not great by any stretch. However, when NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly revealed the Winnipeg Jets logo in thirteenth position, the Flyers got lucky. What looked to be a pick outside of the top 10 immediately got them in the hunt for the bigger fish available. A top three pick was in the cards. It then got better, with Dallas ending up with the third pick. Moving up eleven spots and getting the second pick? Hell yes! The hope that came with landing that second pick was contagious. The Flyers (and particularly Claude Giroux) were going to get that offensive help to get them back on track while taking some of the pressure off Giroux\'s shoulders. With a crop of blueliners developing, the Flyers soon looked to be making deep playoff runs and hopefully contending for a Cup.

As we all know, New Jersey won the top pick and took Nico Hischier. Dallas took Miro Heiskanen third. Colorado took Cale Makar fourth. And Flyers general manager Ron Hextall took promising center Nolan Patrick second overall. At the time it seemed like the right call, landing a center and one that seemed to have talent. However Patrick\'s first two seasons weren\'t jaw-dropping, scoring 30 and 31 points in his first two seasons, respectively. In the summer of 2019 Patrick was diagnosed with a migraine disorder, causing him to miss the entire 2019-20 season. A return in 2020-21 saw Patrick score four goals in 52 games. Clearly, his health issues and lack of production culminated in the forward being shipped off to Nashville for Ryan Ellis in the summer of 2021. In short, the pick (and subsequent return in the Patrick trade) was an absolute disaster, especially considering what Heiskanen and Makar -- both available at the time -- have evolved into.

So the key in this 2025 NHL Draft isn\'t getting the fourth pick or having the good luck to land a higher than expected pick when the lottery takes place. What is imperative is the Flyers at least make contact if they decide to take big swings, not strike out. A team (not named Buffalo) has a much better chance of becoming a contending or championship team if the high picks they use aren\'t flops. They can\'t be debacles. They can\'t be head-scratchers. You cannot be the 2015 Boston Bruins and somehow select Jakub Zboril, Jake DeBrusk, and Zachary Senyshyn with three consecutive first-round picks when Brock Boeser, Kyle Connor, and Travis Konecny were there for the taking. It will severely hamper or quickly dash hopes for helping your team towards its ultimate goal.

Of course hindsight is 20/20. Nobody has a crystal ball to predict how this upcoming class of 2025 pans out two, three, five, or even 10 years down the road. A center struggling in his rookie year doesn\'t mean it\'s a bad pick. Nor does a great rookie season mean his jersey will be hanging from the rafters 15 seasons from now. But these upcoming picks the Flyers have must be used constructively to push the team\'s rebuild further along.

The Flyers rebuild took hold in the summer of 2023 after Cliff Fletcher was shown the door and Danny Briere was named general manager. It would take time. It wouldn\'t be easy. There would be (and still is) pain. Neither Briere, President of Hockey Operations Keith Jones or Governor Dan Hilferty sugar-coated things. It wouldn\'t happen overnight. But at the 2023 NHL Draft, six teams ahead of Philadelphia decided Matvei Michkov wasn\'t worth the risk over an established North American or European prospect. Nobody knew why the Flyers were given this gift. But Briere didn\'t hesitate.

Waiting possibly three years for Michkov, and given the geopolitical situation, some believed it might have been another wasted pick. Particularly when safer picks were available that didn\'t come with possible political ramifications. Some suggested three years might be the best-case scenario and Michkov might never been in a Flyers uniform. However, Flyers general manager Danny Briere hit a home run with the pick, almost shocked that Michkov had dropped that far. Now Michkov is most likely one of the cornerstones for the Flyers future and should be one of the nominees for this year\'s Calder Trophy for Rookie of the Year. The jury might still be out in some circles, but it would be hard to argue Briere screwed the 2023 first-round pick up.

In 2024, Briere made a splash of sorts with Jett Luchanko being selected with the Flyers\' first pick. Luchanko dazzled in training camp, leaving then head coach John Tortorella to figuratively fight for Luchanko\'s place on the Flyers roster. The teenager hit a wall of sorts in the opening games of the season before being sent down to the Ontario Hockey League\'s Guelph Storm. And did a lot of dazzling there too. But it\'s expected that Luchanko is going to be part of the future in some capacity with Philadelphia, be it a top-six or middle-six center.

So over the course of his first two NHL Drafts, Briere appears to have not totally screwed the Flyers with bad selections. Of course if Luchanko and/or Michkov fall off a cliff, then the gloss or shine on these recent picks will wear off quite quickly. A better or clearer picture will be formed in the seasons to come. In short, it looks like Briere and his scouting staff have done the job thus far.

Which brings us to the next few weeks and when the final selection order is determined. Having the top pick means you have the pick of the litter. You just have to get the pick right. A team like the Flyers, intent on continuing their rebuild, simply can\'t afford to lay an egg with their own high pick. Especially if they don\'t use those picks as part of a package to land a high-end (and youthful) center or forward.

This crop of draftees doesn\'t seem to have a generational game-breaker like a Connor McDavid or Sidney Crosby. So with no one pick separating themselves from the rest, there\'s no general consensus who goes first between Matthew Schaefer and Michael Misa. Ideally Briere gets the pick right and the Flyers have another piece that will make them better at some point. But getting the high first-round pick completely wrong is a step backwards. Danny Briere\'s possibly highest draft position to date as Flyers general manager can\'t be screwed up. The selection, if a good one, won\'t automatically get the Flyers a Stanley Cup. But getting it wrong will make that goal a hell of a lot harder to accomplish.

Talking Points