The upcoming draft could change the trajectory of the Philadelphia Flyers depending on how they decide to utilize their abundance of high draft picks. It’s a unique situation to be in, they have a lot of options at hand. More importantly, their highest draft pick is most likely going to be a forward, which poses some questions. If things line up properly, they could be on their way to assembling a long term playoff contender.
Flyers Draft Options
Centre Depth
The Flyers ended their season with a bleak situation at centre. Trading Morgan Frost and Scott Laughton forced them to call up players from their AHL affiliate to fill the lineup. While they had accumulated a lot of assets, it became obvious that their centre depth needed help. So as pre draft excitement began to rise, the Flyers acquired Trevor Zegras from Anaheim in a deal that subtracted one of Philadelphia’s second round picks in this year’s draft. If he can return to being a solidified top six centre as he had a couple seasons ago, their situation down the middle improves drastically. Unfortunately, there’s still more work to do.
Zegras does have notable 1C potential, but his most realistic projection at the moment has him as a 2C. So as he sits somewhere in the top six, they’re going to need to either trade for, sign, or draft a number one centreman by any means possible. The Flyers are also picking sixth overall and barring a miracle, Michael Misa won’t be in their range. Every other centre in this draft class has lower odds at being a 1C so they’ll likely put heavy emphasis on selecting who they think has the highest upside among those available.
Caleb Desnoyers
Several draft projections have shown Flyers landing Desnoyers at sixth overall and for good reason. Caleb is a well rounded player, often being described as proficient in most aspects of his game. Not only has he displayed offensive production at an elite level, he’s also highly capable in the defensive zone. He’s sort of “Sean Couturier 2″ in a sense. While it may seem redundant to have two of the same player in the lineup, Couturier could be an excellent teacher for Desnoyers and set him up for success long term.
If the plan is to draft a centre to play with Michkov, Caleb might be an ideal fit. When Couturier played with him last year, he handled defensive responsibilities so Matvei could think more offensively and also had great chemistry with him on the attack. This kind of dynamic with Desnoyers plus a sniper such as Owen Tippett or Tyson Foerster could craft a very effective first line.
Desnoyers is a relatively safe player to draft, however there are a couple of concerns. Some of his traits, such as his shot, are just average when compared to other closely ranked forwards. Additionally, he’ll need to get stronger if he wants to continue playing a physical game. He’s six foot two, so he has the potential to be a fairly intimidating first line centre, but it would come with time. Fortunately, his currently present issues have a good chance of being addressed within development should the Flyers choose to select him.
Options at Both Wings
If the Flyers lineup has one speciality, it’s an abundance of talented right wingers. With Konecny, Michkov, Tippett, Foerster, and plenty more in the organization, their right side shouldn’t be a problem for a long time. Their left wing is a drastically different situation however, to the point that Foerster, Tippett, and occasionally Michkov play on their off wing to offset the talent discrepancy. Drafting another right winger would mean that either a player’s being traded or also being moved to the left side. Regardless, players with high upside should always speak volumes to a general manager.
Porter Martone
An obvious option is, Porter Martone, a right wing offensive dynamo and power play specialist whose ceiling is one of the highest in the draft. If he’s available to the Flyers at sixth overall, he’d be one of their safer options. He could very well be a first line winger, the kind of talent the Flyers need at the moment. His game, especially considering his performance at the 2025 IIHF World Championship, will likely translate well in a relatively short time frame, which fits well with the Flyers’ plans.
The decision to select him would simply revolve around managing their winger situation afterwards. Could Michkov play left wing long term? Or can Martone’s game translate on his off wing? The real gamble lies in the team more than the player.
Bleak Options at Left Wing
Surprisingly, there’s very little, if any left wingers being ranked in the top 10. Selecting what they’d consider to be the most talented one in the draft would still be considered a reach at sixth overall. They’d be better off trading upwards to select them, which would highly depend on their interest level. However, their sixth overall pick exits the conversation and moves to the early teens. In that case, they’d be choosing who they think is the best left wing still available in that range.
Carter Bear
Usually it’s hard to find players with fairly high NHL certainty past the top ten selections. However, Carter Bear‘s solidified himself as one of the most enticing options in that range when looking for high upside. He’s relentless on the attack, proficient in puck battles and an excellent playmaker. His high energy game carries over into the defensive zone too with great tenacity on the backcheck. Most importantly for the Flyers, he can play both left wing and centre. He’ll likely develop better as a winger, however the versatility could have value for the Flyers long term.
At this point of the first round though, there’s usually a few more weaknesses to notice. For one, he’s not much of a playmaker. His game is more based around his engine and tireless play. Most notably though, he’s going to need to work on his form as a skater as it’s a bit clunky at the moment. He seems to take short strides but very quickly, perhaps a product of his style of play but it will be something to work on during development. As any ideal option for the Flyers in this draft, selecting him is a decision made based off of a promising ceiling, as he projects as a high producing second liner.
Draft Time
The draft is finally nearing and the Flyers still have plenty of options available to them. The outlook on Philadelphia’s future heavily relies on the next few hours. Fortunately, the nature of the Zegras trade shows that Briere’s highly focused on crafting the Flyers lineup carefully and still prioritizes long term results. As speculation continues, only time will tell how it all plays out.
Main Photo: Eric Hartline- Imagn Images
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