The Edmonton Oilers are off to the Western Conference Final after Kasperi Kapanen jammed the puck past the goal line in overtime Wednesday night. An ugly, ugly goal to earn a 1-0 overtime win in Game 5 and knock the Vegas Golden Knights out of the playoffs in swift order.
The Philadelphia Flyers being involved in these playoffs one day will be fun, but instead we’re here looking back on a miserable season and thinking about a new head coach and all the they might draft at the 2025 NHL Entry Draft this June. But, the Oilers win did lock something in to do with that very draft.
Last June, the Oilers swapped first-round picks with the Flyers. They grabbed the 32nd overall pick — that Philadelphia got from the Florida Panthers as part of the Claude Giroux trade — from the Flyers and sent them a protected first-rounder for this year. Now with the Oilers pick, we were hoping for Edmonton to flame out (like the Avalanche did) and that pick would go as high up in the draft order as possible.
Unfortunately, Connor McDavid and his team keep on winning hockey games and they won so much that the range in which the pick will end up as sunk to the end of the first round. Thanks to the Oilers making the Western Conference Final, their first-round pick will be in the 29th to 32nd overall range, guaranteed.
But what will have to happen for that draft pick to land in a certain spot? We’re glad you asked.
- 29th overall: Oilers lose Western Conference Final, Toronto Maple Leafs have to make Eastern Conference Final and lose
- 30th overall: Oilers lose Western Conference Final, Carolina Hurricanes or Florida Panthers make ECF and lose
- 31st overall: Oilers make Stanley Cup Final and lose
- 32nd overall: Oilers win Stanley Cup
Because the Oilers have a better regular season record than the Hurricanes and Panthers, if they did not make the Final, it would have to be the worst of the two options in that two-pick range for the Conference Final losers. But if the Maple Leafs joined them as a Conference Final loser, since Toronto had a better record than Edmonton, it would be the best possible scenario at 29th overall.
So, for those wanting to maximize the value of the Flyers’ draft picks. You might just have to cheer on Scott Laughton and his Leafs to overcome their own disastrous Game 5 and win two consecutive games against the defending Cup champions.
There should be interesting prospects available around that range. If we go by the latest mock draft from The Athletic’s Corey Pronman, Arizona State freshman center Cullen Potter would be a very fun pick in his range; Big, physical center from Quebec, Bill Zonnon would be a great get this deep in the first round; and then you even have a skilled Swedish center like Eric Nilson who should certainly be available. No matter what, even if it’s the 32nd overall pick, there should be very intriguing players available that would add a lot to the Flyers’ prospect pool.
We’ll see how this all shakes out.
