The NHL Draft Lottery was an event full of surprises on this past Monday. However, the Philadelphia Flyer fans were not pleased with their outcome. Finishing 29th in the league in the regular season, Philadelphia had the fourth best odds at the first-overall pick. Interestingly enough, that is a position the franchise had yet to possess, and now still. Unfortunately, the Flyers found themselves in their worst possible outcome, falling two spots to sixth overall for the first of their 2025 draft picks. To add insult to injury, the New York Islanders, a division rival, won the lottery by jumping nine spots from their original position. While this is a disappointing outcome, it’s worth noting that Philadelphia has two other first round picks in this year’s draft from Colorado and Edmonton.
Flyers Evaluating Their Options from 2025 Draft Picks
The Flyers’ lineup has long been in dire need of a high quality centreman and defenceman. As they missed out on another postseason, their first-round pick became viewed as an optimal way to fill one of those needs. Seeing that the projected first-overall selection, Matthew Schaefer is out of the Flyers’ reach, they should have their sights set on drafting a centreman. Fortunately, most of the highest prospects this year are centres with solid top-six potential.
Their options down the middle may include Caleb Desnoyers, Jake O’Brien, and Roger McQueen. Other options are Porter Martone, the highest rated winger in the draft, as well as James Hagens and Anton Frondell, though the latter two will likely be selected within the first four selections. These are still promising players to choose from, though how they choose to approach their selection will be crucial.
Strategic Planning
Knowing that a defensively responsible centreman with high offensive upside would be the ideal linemate for Matvei Michkov, Caleb Desnoyers could be an obvious choice for the Flyers. As a two-way forward, he’s racked up 84 points in 56 regular season games. Then he continued that pace, with 24 points in 13 playoff games. However, it’s difficult to ignore Porter Martone. A power play specialist who’s also seen success in his point totals this year with 98 points in 57 regular season games. 29 of those points being on the man advantage.
If both players are available to the Flyers, they will have to either prioritize their power play or centre depth. Sixth overall may be the highest pick they make during the rebuild process. Therefore, they will need to be careful in determining how to fill the lineup’s most important roles.
Trade Possibilities
While top-ten picks are rarely traded in any draft, we can’t rule out the idea. Flyers’ general manager Daniel Briere could be viewing their sixth-overall pick as an asset for a high value deal. For example, Utah was another team that saw their draft pick soar upwards during the draft lottery, landing fourth overall. While this is a lofty position for them, picking from a centre heavy draft class may not be overly beneficial. The reason? Well, if you are considering that they already have plenty of depth down the middle.
Moving down a couple of spots, while receiving a key roster piece from Philadelphia might serve their needs better. As opposed to if they choose to go that route. Regardless of how low the odds are for such a trade, Briere should at least to check for any opportunities he may see during the draft.
Proceeding With Caution
The importance of this draft pick is mostly tied to its timing. It will occur during an offseason where Philadelphia will begin making substantial additions to their lineup. However, it’s worth noting that how they choose to reform the team’s structure is going to be dependent on who is eventually hired as head coach. During John Tortorella’s time with the Flyers, he often had high expectations for each team member. Now, that worked well for accountability, but also subjected underperforming players to harsh criticism.
With a relatively young roster, encouraging development needs to be a top priority. That is especially so with prospects potentially making the shift to the NHL this year. Deciding who should lead the Flyers as they make the transition into playoff contention should make an impact on how they approach the draft this year and constructing a more competitive lineup, hopefully beginning to reflect what the end result of Briere’s long term plan might look like.
Main Photo Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
The post Philadelphia Flyers Plans for Sixth Overall Selection in 2025 NHL Entry Draft appeared first on Last Word On Hockey.