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What to Make of the Flyers Draft Haul
Photo Credit: AP Photo/Steve Marcus
Coming into this weekend, the Philadelphia Flyers were already defeated. They had tried to create cap space by attempting to trade their 35-year-old underachieving diminutive winger Cam Atkinson, who they were due to be still on the hook for $5,875,000 this season. But after working out a deal to send him to the San Jose Sharks. Cam quickly rejected it thanks to his modified no-trade clause.
Resulting in the team having to place him on waivers with the intent to buy him out. Doing so will save the Flyers over $3.5 million in salary next season but will cost them nearly two million in 2025 for him not to play for them.
Now, I know that Atkinson is a veteran player who is coming into the final years of his career, but to NOT be able to find any other trades for him, even if they were to retain some of his salary, seems laughable.
Especially since the Tampa Bay Lightning were able to create $11 million in salary cap space mid-draft by trading one of their overpaid blueliners in Mikhail Sergachev to Utah, who is signed for seven more years at $8.5 million a season, and Tanner Jeannot to the Kings. Mind you, both of these trades came with no mention of Tampa Bay having to retain any salary. These sudden draft day deals are the ones that create championships or at least keep teams competitive year in and year out. Case in point: because of these masterful moves on the draft floor, the Lightning will be able to re-sign both Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman. Something that before today seemed highly unlikely.
Also, leading up to the draft, we heard rumors about Philadelphia desperately trying to make a deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets, among others, to try to secure a top-five selection. It was a move they could have clearly made with all the draft assets that they had previously acquired, but when it came right down to it, the Flyers were unwilling to ante up and make a deal with them giving up or folding on their pursuit. They lost out on the chance to select their prized prospect, Matvei Michkov’s former teammate and friend Ivan Demidov, whose elite passing skills would have paired perfectly with Michkov’s innate finishing ability.
Only to later pass on the opportunity to select a multiple World Junior Championship gold medal-winner/ NCAA National Championship award-winning defenseman in Zeev Buium. And the most lethal scorer in this draft in Cole Eiserman, whose 127 career goals for the Red, White, and Blue saw him surpass the likes of Auston Matthews, Patrick Kane, Phil Kessel, and Cole Caufield to become the National Development Program’s new all-time goal scorer. For them to only to reach for a center at 13, which wasn’t even projected to go until the mid to late twenties overall.
Jett Luchanko- 1st Round Pick 13th Overall from the Guelph Storm
So, who is this guy the team passed on so many other seemingly excellent prospects to select? Well, that would be none other than Jett Luchanko—a fast-rising prospect who opened a lot of eyes late in the season. Being one of the youngest players in this draft class, Jett started the year as a virtual unknown, but with each passing game, he gained more and more respect from scouts around the league. Why? You may be asking, well, let’s just say he is a player who undoubtedly lives up to his name.
Because every time, Luchanko steps on the ice, the opposition is left saying who was that or what just happened. That’s because Jett (pardon the pun) is known to turn on the afterburners as soon as he touches the puck. Seriously, Jett is hands down the fastest player in this draft class. Now, while he can score goals, as evident by the 20 lamp lighters that he was able to accumulate this season, he is more of a playmaker. A setup artist, if you will, who achieved 54 assists on the year.
And, if you’re on the ice with him, please pay attention and keep your stick down. Because, as they say about some gifted shooters, the puck doesn’t stay on his stick long. The only difference is that Jett is not just going to throw it at the net immediately. His excellent on-ice vision allows him to play two steps ahead of everyone else, so if a shot is not there, he is going to find his target instantly and launch an absolute cruise missile to an awaiting teammate’s stick blade.
These are all good things if your name is Matvei Michkov.
After making that selection, the Flyers made another head-scratching move when they chose to trade away their second-first round pick, 32 overall, that they received from the Panthers when they dealt away their long-time captain Claude Giroux. They dealt that pick that they waited so long to receive to the Edmonton Oilers for a future 1st round pick in either 2025 or 2026, depending on where the Oilers finish next season. A move that could possibly leave the Flyers with three first-round selections in 2025.
Jack Berglund- 2nd round 51st Overall
So, with that, Philly had to wait until the 51st pick to make their next selection, which they used to select another center. This time, it was a 6’3, 207-pound Swedish one that goes by the name Jack Berglund.
Now, if you don’t know Berglund, he is a 200-foot center who doesn’t put up a ton of points but has sneaky good hands and a surprisingly high finishing rate. Obviously, with his size, he does well in board battles and can drive the puck to the net with ease without even noticing his opponent’s attempts to strip the puck from him. But as far as where he could fit in terms of the NHL, I think his ceiling is a third-line gritty center.
There are a lot of other players I would have selected here, but Danny Briere said he thought the center position was a need for them, so another center he went out and got.
After making this selection, the Flyers saw a guy they really liked still on the board, so they traded back into the second round to take a defenseman this time.
Spencer Gill- 2nd round 59th Overall from the QMJHL Rimouski Oceanic
Spencer is a big-bodied defender who likes the offensive side of the game. He possesses a pretty decent shot, and he pairs it with a good release. This season Spencer was able to score 12 goals and 34 assists for a total of 46 points in 65 games played.
He needs to clean up his skating and work on his decision-making.
If they wanted to take a blueliner this high, I would have taken a guy like Charlie Elick with the 32nd overall pick and not traded it to Edmonton. I think they would have gotten a much better defender who skates well and makes much better decisions on the breakout.
Heikki Ruohonen- 4th Round 107th Overall Pick U20 SM-Sarja
Without a 3rd round pick because of all the trades, the Flyers’ next selection came in the 4th round, where they took yet another center. This time, it was Heikki Ruohonen from Finland. A 6’2 204 pound center who scored 20 goals and 27 assists for 47 points in 37 games played at the junior level.
Now, Rouhonen is not the most physical player, and he won’t blow you away with any one skill over another player, but what he will do is outwork you. And what apparently is a must now if you want to be drafted by the Flyers is he is a 200-player. One that will play you just as hard in the defensive zone as he will in the offensive zone. Fun fact here is that Heikki is committed to playing for Harvard University in the coming years.
If they wanted to take another center with this pick, I would have suggested a very underrated player in Tomas Mrsic, who scored nearly a points-per-game for the Medicine Hat Tigers of the WHL this year.
Noah Powell 5th Round 148th Overall Pick RW USHL
In the 5th round, we saw the Flyers take their first winger, Noah Powell. He is an overager who was able to triple his point production from last season. Noah, who exemplifies what it is to be a late bloomer, went from scoring just eight goals last year to leading the league this past season, scoring an awe-inspiring 43 goals, with 16 of them coming while on the power play, which was also a league-best total.
Like Ruohonen, Powell is an intelligent player who loves to use his 6’2, 201-pound power forward frame to drive to the center of the ice and get a scoring attempt closer to the paint.
He is committed to playing for Ohio State next season, and I think his game should transition well there.
If it were up to me with this pick, I would have taken a chance on a 17-year-old 5’8 diminutive forward by the name of Justin Poirier from the QMJHL. Poirier was still on the board when the Flyers made this selection, and he is nothing but a pure goal scorer. This season, Poirier put up a league-leading 51 goals. He averaged 1.20 points per game while still maintaining a +40 average. Just my opinion, but I would much rather take a chance on Poirier, who is a pure goal scorer, rather than a guy who couldn’t put up numbers in his draft year, so he decided to stick around and accumulate huge stats playing against much younger prospects.
Ilya Pautov 6th Round 173rd Overall Pick
In the later rounds, you begin to take more chances, and Pautov is just that. While he will do some things that impress the heck out of you, there are still many areas where his decisions will have you shaking your head.
Despite all that, his puck handling is strong, and his point totals reflect that. With him scoring 15 goals and 30 assists for 45 points in 46 games played in the MHL (Russia’s junior league)
But, as impressive as those stat lines are for a 6th-round player, he tends to shy away from contact, and that simply won’t bode well for him if he ever wants to come over to play in North America.
Again, while I don’t necessarily hate this pick, I would have rather seen them take a chance on a guy like Nathan Free. A player who scored 32 goals and 33 assists for 65 points in 60 games played this season for the Brooks Bandits of the BCHL.
Scheduled to follow his former teammate Aiden Fink to Penn State next season, I think Nathan Free is going to have a breakout year in the NCAA next season.
Austin Moline 7th Rd. 205 Overall Pick
For their last selection this year, the Flyers took a 6’4 194 pound right-hand-shot defender by the name of Austin Moline from Shattuck St. Mary’s—a big-bodied defender who has good mobility and isn’t afraid to jump up into the rush.
He will play next season for the Brooks Bandits of the BCHL and has agreed to attend and play for Northern Michigan University after that.
If it were up to me, I would have selected Christian Humphreys from the United States National Development program with this pick. No, they don’t need another center after drafting so many, but he is a PA native who is scheduled to play for the University of Michigan and was able to post 23 goals and 35 assists for 58 points in only 52 games played this year.
In closing, I would give the Flyers a draft grade of C-. They had a lot of picks that they could have used to move up to select a real game changer, but they didn’t pull the trigger on a deal. Instead, they settled for a lot of guys who like to make their way to the center of the ice to the high-scoring areas. And, even though they had the chance to draft a franchise-changing offensive talent like Cole Eiserman, they passed on him so they could draft even more two-way centers that play a 200-foot game but will never blow you away with their offensive production. Call me crazy, but don’t they already have a bunch of those with guys with Sean Couturier, Scott Laughton, Morgan Frost, Ryan Poehling, and Noah Cates all being on the roster for next season?
With Just Hours to go before the Draft, Briere is showing that he is Willing to Go “ALL IN” to Improve his Club
Photo Credit: SKA St. Petersburg
With the 2024 NHL Draft (which will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada this year) now only a few hours away from commencement, the Flyers General Manager Danny Briere has shown that he is willing to ANTE UP and go ALL IN to improve his club.
And why shouldn’t he? Especially after his gamble of selecting Russian forward Matvei Michkov with the seventh overall pick last year (who at the time was under contract for three more years to play in the KHL) just paid off after the news broke earlier this week that Michkov’s team, SKA St. Petersburg has officially let him out of his deal so he could chase his dream of playing in the NHL.
With a year now under his belt as the Flyers GM, Danny has now come to The Neon City armed with his best poker face, ready to take on some high-stakes action. He has a lot of chips with him in which to play with, that include multiple first-round picks in this year’s draft as well as multiple in the 2025 draft. With that being said, that leads us to the team’s latest rumor that Dealing Danny has already tried to make a move by offering up their 12th overall pick this year, a roster player, and a 2025 first-round pick to Columbus, for the Blue Jackets 4th overall pick in this year’s draft.
Now, while the Blue Jackets have turned down this trade offer, it doesn’t mean they won’t revisit the idea on the draft floor or that Philly won’t be trying to make a similar one with another team within the top five in order to try and get a prospect who could quite possibility make the Flyers opening night roster next season out of camp.
I don’t know about you, but I like this idea given the fact that with Michkov becoming available now instead of 2-3 years from now, it has sped up their rebuild significantly. Philadelphia last season surprised a lot of people with their play, so much so that they were able to hold down a playoff spot in the Metropolitan Division for well over 100 straight days before folding during the last two weeks of the season.
But, with that in mind and the addition of possibly the second-best player to come out of last year’s draft now in the mix, there is no better time than now to backdoor some people and come out once again on top.
The only question is, who did Briere have in mind to acquire with that fourth overall pick? My guess would be one of Michkov’s fellow Russian comrades.
The obvious choice would have been to go after Matvei’s former SKA teammate, Ivan Demidov. Ivan is a 6’0, 192-pound skilled puck handler whose distributing skills would pair perfectly with Michkov’s elite finishing ability.
This past season, Demidov played primarily for SKA’s 1946 MHL (Junior Hockey League) Team, where in 30 regular season games, he was able to produce 23 goals and 37 assists for 60 points. And if that two-points-per-game average wasn’t impressive enough, the fact that he was able to maintain a +47 average should be.
But with the possibility that Demidov would already be off the board come the fourth overall pick, Briere could have also been looking to draft either one of these Eastern European defensemen named Artyom Levshunov or
Anton Silayev.
Artyom Levshunov -may not be Russian, but he is from Belarus, a country that directly borders Russia and only gained its independence from them in 1991 after the fall of the Soviet Union. What’s most intriguing about Levshunov is that this 6’2, 209-pound right-hand shot defender is probably the most NHL-ready blueliner in this draft class. Because instead of playing oversees Artyom was able to kick start the learning process of the North American style game by playing in the USHL for the Green Bay Gamblers in 22-23 and for the Michigan State Spartans of the NCAA this past season, where he was able to post nine goals and 26 assists for 35 points in only 38 games played.
Artyom would bring the team four-way skating mobility, which allows
him to cycle the puck with ease around the offensive zone, making him a true power play threat, an attribute that the Flyers desperately need to add to their arsenal.
Anton Silayev
Is still a relatively raw prospect whose immense size of 6’7 and 207 pounds, when paired with his elite skating ability, has seen his stock rise immensely. So much so that before this past season started, most experts didn’t even have him ranked on their draft boards. But I guess when you’re that big and can skate as well as he can, it’s hard not to be spotted by scouts who are in the stands.
If Anton can find a way to add some aggression and physicality to his game this summer, he could find his way onto an NHL roster sooner rather than later.
Any of these players would make good additions to the Flyers prospect pool, not to mention help to ease Michkov’s transition to the NHL. But time will tell if Briere will be able to get his way by trying to move up in the draft to select one of them. We will just have to tune in tonight to find out.
How did the NHL get to the point where they are handing out No Movement/Trade Clauses like Candy?
Photo Credit Lenny Redkoles
With the Philadelphia Flyers General Manager Danny Briere trying to find some way to create cap space before free agency commences on July 1st, yet another player has blocked a deal from happening.
Recently, the Flyers were searching for a way to prevent them from having to shell out $5,875,000 again to an underperforming 35-year-old winger in Cam Atkinson. Who was only able to accumulate 13 goals and 15 assists for 28 points this past season. Folks, if you do the math, it adds up to him making $214,285.71 per point, and at least in my mind, that doesn’t cut it. But, after the team had worked really hard laying out a deal that would alleviate at least some of the burden with them possibly having to retain some of his contract, Cam, who still holds a modified no-trade clause at this the last year in his contract nixed the deal because he did not wish to play for the San Jose Sharks who the deal was in place with.
But, as far as the team goes, this is not the first time this has happened. In fact, since the official induction of the No Trade Clause (NTC)/No Movement Clauses (NMC) back in 2005, CBA’s that included the initiation of the Salary Cap. In the past the Flyers have had multiple stars block trades from happening. For instance, Giroux blocked a supposed very lucrative return from the Colorado Avalanche from occurring before the team had to eventually settle for what they could get from Florida (which, lucky for them, turned out ok, I guess). But their bad luck extends beyond that. It also includes players from other teams’ example being when defenseman Torey Krug from the St. Louis Blues blocked a trade that would have brought him to Philly using his no trade clause.
Now, long before the 2005 CBA made it official, players were asking for and receiving no-trade clauses/no-movement clauses in their contracts, but they were only handed out to elite players who were faces of the team’s franchise. A guy who a team would draft and hopefully want to keep until they decide to hang up their skates for the last time. But, now it has just gotten out of hand.
Take the Flyers, for example. We already talked about Atkinson having one but that was gifted to him by Columbus’ former GM Jarmo Kekalainen some years ago. When Chuck Fletcher was in power, he handed out like candy for example when he signed Travis Sanheim to an eight year $50 million deal that pays him $6.25 annually until 2031. Chuck gave him a full no-trade clause for the first four years of the deal and a modified no-trade clause for the last four years. This means if the Flyers ever wished to trade him, Sanheim would be allowed to come up with a list of 12 teams he would be able to reject a trade to. Another Fletcher folly was Sean Couturier’s eight-year $62 million deal. Where Chuck gave Coots a full NMC until 2029 when he will be 36 years old, and a modified no-trade clause in his final season of the deal, that’s a long time to retain that right, especially after having had multiple seasons where he has not played entire seasons or half seasons due to injury. At least those players are considered top-line players and not fourth-line brawlers like Nic Deslauriers, who good old Chuck gave out a modified no-movement clause to in the first two years of his four year seven million dollar deal he signed him to back in 2022.
Even though I had more faith in Briere in this respect when he took the job, he ended up giving in and allowed a utility defenseman in Nick Seeler to receive a no-trade clause for the first two years of his new contract.
I get the players and their union wanting to fight for this, given the fact that these players have families and whole lives outside of hockey to think about, but at the end of the day, these clauses were made to be given to the elite, not some a random scrub player who doesn’t even make the roster every night. By allowing this, franchises are putting themselves into compromising situations that could have been avoided. And because of that, they are being forced to make drastic unwanted changes to their roster, like moving out other players that they would otherwise like to keep in order to combat the bad decisions made prior when they agreed to sign a player who was good a few years ago when they signed him but has underachieved ever since.
It may be a competitive market out there. Teams may have to give a little in order to make a deal with a player they want, in order to prevent others from doing just that. Still, if the owners came together on this issue and refused to offer this once luxury bargaining chip to players who don’t deserve it, they could shift the power back in their direction. If they don’t, they will continue to be snake-bitten by their bad contractual decisions for years to come.