With the rebuilding Philadelphia Flyers unable to make it into the postseason this year, management has had to switch gears and focus on the off-season a little earlier than expected. With that being said, the first thing on the docket for the team is the league entry draft, which will be held on June 28th and 29th.

Now, if you read my articles, you know that I tend to put out a complete seven-round mock draft for the Flyers every year. So, to keep up with tradition, here is my pre-draft lottery attempt at predicting whom the Flyers might select when the draft commences this summer.

As most of you know, the Flyers will have multiple first-round picks in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft thanks to them affording their long-time Captain Claude Giroux the opportunity to make a playoff run with the Florida Panthers in a deal that also brought the team Owen Tippett who is now flourishing in the Orange and Black. So, obviously, that means that the possibility of them selecting a game-changing prospect that they so desperately need has now doubled.

By now, you’re probably wondering just what this draft has to offer. Well, unlike other years, this draft is chalked full of defensive talent, and clubs that are looking to strengthen their blue line should be able to get a top-tier defender well into the second round.

However, when you consider that the Flyers were able to add 21-year-old Jamie Drysdale this season to a defense that already has a 23-year-old Cam York, who the Flyers took back in 2019 with their 1st pick, not to mention taking defender Oliver Bonk from the London Knights with their 22nd overall pick last summer, and Emil Andrae with their second-round pick in 2020. I think we can agree that moving forward their defense does not seem like as big of issue as it once did.

So, instead, I feel the Flyers should utilize their first selection in this draft on a prospect who could bring aid to their league’s worst powerplay unit.

Round 1:

This year, the Flyers power play unit was only able to capitalize on the man advantage 31 times out of the 254 opportunities that the referees allotted them. And when your favorite team is only scoring at a rate of 12.2% of the time when they are on the power play, it should come as no surprise to hear that Philadelphia was also among the worst in the league in goals per game as well with the club only managing to light the lamp 2.82 times a game.

Lucky for them, though, this draft’s most prolific goal scorer has seen his draft rankings take a nosedive as of late due to some scouts saying that he loses focus and just starts running around chasing hits. At times, it has also been reported that he can be less than thrilled to get back and play defense. But honestly, I wouldn’t worry about it because this franchise is filled with defensible, responsible players. What they don’t have a lot of are players with natural goal-scoring abilities that will allow them to score 40 goals a season effortlessly. Thankfully, though, that is just what Cole Eiserman is capable of.

Cole Eiserman

Cole is a 17-year-old left winger who played for the United States National Development Program this year. He stands at 6’0 and weighs in at an impressive 198 pounds. An NHL frame, mind you, that allowed him to score 55 goals and 31 assists for a total of 86 points in 54 games played this season. And while those totals were good enough to see him average over a goal a game and 1.59 points per game, it should be noted that 22 of those goals came while his team was on the powerplay.

Now, you may be saying that I’m crazy, but I’m not. I feel Eiserman will be long gone before the Flyers make their selection, mainly because he just scored six goals in four games in the U18-World Championships, but if for some reason he’s not, the Flyers should run to the podium to draft him. I mean, crazier things have happened, right? Matvei Michkov fell to us last year. So, for our sake I hope the other so-called experts are correct, and teams do decide to pass on him because of his supposed lack of defensive prowess. Because this prospect’s 124 career goals for the Red, White, and Blue have seen him surpass other former NTDP greats like Austen Matthews, Patrick Kane, and Phil Kessel’s previous totals.

However, if Cole is already off the board, then I would say to go with defense. The Flyers couldn’t go wrong with drafting any of the following defensemen that drop to them: Artyom Levshunov, Zeev Buium, Zayne Parekh, Anton Silayev, Sam Dickinson, or Carter Yakemchuk.

Dean Letourneau

The Flyers’ subsequent first-round pick is from the Panthers, who appear to be set to make another long playoff run this season. So, it should be viewed as a chance to grab a player with a lot of potential but who may need a little more seasoning.

That player, in my mind, should be a scoring center. The Flyers have a bunch of clones down the middle right now. Each has the same exact skillset. They are defensibly responsible but cannot score goals on a consistent basis.

And with the possible addition of a guy like Dean Letourneau, who scored 61 goals and 66 assists for 127 points in 60 games played for St. Andrews College this year, that would all change.

Dean, who towers over his competition at 6’7 and 209 pounds, instantly brings a certain intimidation factor when he’s the first thing the opposition sees when they reluctantly find their way to the opening faceoff dot.

However, as his point totals would allude to, his size is not the only thing that should scare the opposition, for Letourneau does not skate awkwardly as most big men do. Weirdly enough, he is very agile and utilizes his immense stature and strength to power his long strides to create separation from his opponents so that he can then launch absolute missiles past the goalie. Much like a guy named Eric Lindros did for this city for many years while wearing the orange and black. And it is because of these rare attributes that you don’t usually find, all in the same player that has made the NCAA hockey powerhouse known as Boston College come offering a scholarship to Dean to play for them.

So, I have to ask. Would you prefer the Flyers go out and draft ANOTHER center whose aspirations are to win a Selke someday, or would you prefer them to draft someone like Dean, who averaged well over two points per game this season and is now drawn comparisons to Buffalo’s Tage Thompson? It seems like an easy choice to me…

If Dean is already off the board, the team should look to select the US National Team defenseman, Cole Hutson.

2nd Round:

Here is where it begins to get a little bit unclear as of right now. The Flyers have the possibility of making multiple second-round selections in this year’s draft. However, the chance of that happening will be up to the Columbus Blue Jackets, who, because of the trade between the two clubs that sent Ivan Provorov packing, have up to the end of the first round this summer to decide whether they will be handing over their second-round pick to Philadelphia in this draft or in 2025.

Along with that, since, the Flyers traded away their original second-rounder to the Carolina Hurricanes in a deal that rid them of the burden of Tony DeAngelo. They will reluctantly be able to fall back on the compensatory pick they received after their 2018 1st-round pick, Jay O’Brien, refused to sign.

So, with that being said, if we’re being logical here and just take into effect how bad the struggling Blue Jackets have been playing over the last couple of years, I think it’s safe to say that they will probably decide to go ahead and make their 36th overall pick and thus choose to defer to have to give the Flyers their 2025 second-round pick instead.

John Mustard

That leaves the Flyers with only the 51st overall pick in the second round, which I think they should use on left winger John Mustard from the USHL’s Waterloo Black Hawks. John, who stands at 6’0 and 185 pounds is one of the younger players in this draft class at just 17 years old. But, despite his age or lack thereof, he was able to lay down some impressive totals in what was his first and will likely be his last season in the USHL, seeing that he is set to attend and play for Providence College next year. Those totals were as follows: in 60 games played, Mustard was able to tally 29 goals and 27 assists for a total of 56 points.

But beyond his point totals, I think that the Flyers would love to add a player like him because, as Scott Hartnell and Wayne Simmonds did before him, John enjoys doing the little things others shy away from. For instance, Mustard will lead the forecheck and, without hesitation, will jump into a board battle or take a beating in front of the net to assist his team in scoring a goal.

If John is already off the board, The Flyers should go with 6’3, 209-pound Charlie Elick, who is a RHS defenseman from the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL.

Round 3:

Justin Poirier

In the third round, I think that the Flyers General Manager Danny Briere won’t be able to pass up on selecting a diminutive French-Canadian forward who probably reminds him a lot of himself. That player is none other than the 5’8 winger named Justin Poirier from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Bair-Comeau Drakkar. But don’t let Poirier’s lack of size fool you. He should be revered just as much, if not more, than most of the players in this draft class. For Justin has never received a puck on his stick that that he immediately did not want to fire past the goalie, which is probably why this season, he was able to compile a combined regular and post-season total of 67 goals and 106 points.

But of course, there’s a reason why most in the know think that Poirier will still be available this late in the draft. And that’s because his greatest attribute of being willing to fire the puck is also his greatest downfall. What I mean by that is he does it to a fault. Justin’s desire to put the puck in the back of the net is so strong that he sometimes develops tunnel vision, where he misses out on seeing a teammate who may be in a better position to make a play.

I wouldn’t let that stop the team from drafting him, though, as he is young, and I can remember a specific player by the name of Simon Gagne who played the game much the same way early on in his career as a Flyer, and he turned out to be ok.

Round 4:

As of right now, the Flyers do not have a fourth-round pick because they dealt it at the deadline in order to acquire the Sabers veteran defender Erik Johnson.

Round 5:

The Flyers traded away their fifth-round pick in the Giroux trade but were able to acquire two fifth-round selections in this year’s draft from other teams. One from Vegas when they acted as a broker in the Noah Hanifin deal. The other was a throw-in from the Kings when they sent Zack MacEwen there in exchange for Brendan Lemieux.

Now that we are getting into the later rounds, it might be time to take a look at a late-blooming overage prospect who would be ready to make the jump to the professional level sooner than the majority of prospects in this draft.

Anthony Romani

One player who fits that bill for me is Anthony Romani of the Ontario Hockey League’s North Bay Battalion. Anthony is almost 19 years old now, which made him draft-eligible last summer, but after having a subpar draft year. He finally got his opportunity to get top-line minutes this season, as well as more time on the man advantage.

And ever since being handed the reigns, Romani has not let them go. Seeing that since game one this season, he has been one of the league’s top offensive threats, scoring 58 regular season goals and 53 assists for a total of 111 points this season in just 68 games played.

Now that the team has already addressed their lack of scoring, I feel they can bring in some grit on the back end.

This season, I think it’s safe to say that we all were impressed with what Sanheim, York, and Drysdale could do offensively, but for every offensively-minded defenseman you have on your roster, you have to have a stay-at-home guy to pair with them. A player who can keep watch while the others are away and, when needed, can clear the porch of any unwanted guest that may come trying to claim squatter’s rights.

Darels Uljanskis

So, with that in mind, I would like to see the Flyers take Darels Uljanskis with their second pick of the fifth round. Darels is a 6’2 192 pound Latvian-born left-hand-shot blue liner with a mean streak.

If drafted by Philadelphia, the team could expect Uljanskis to float strong outlet passes to their wingers during breakouts. More importantly, though, Darles offers up the kind of security you only find in a good watchdog. An example of this is that Uljanskis never strays too far away from the blue paint of the goal crease. Because he knows that his main objective is to prevent goals from occurring, and the way he prevents that from happening is to make sure the opposition does not come anywhere close to his goalie. And if one does, look out because Uljanskis will start to foam at the mouth with excitement because he knows it is his time to shine. He also does much of the same in board battles. I don’t know what happens when those players gather along the boards or even if it’s legal, but I know that if Uljanskis is involved, he will be the one coming out of the pile with the puck.

And I think that Philadelphia could use someone like that, especially since Rasmus Ristolainen hasn’t been the player we thought we were getting lately.

Round 6

In the sixth round, the Flyers find themselves once again with multiple selections to make, thanks to their GM Danny Briere acquiring an additional one in a trade that sent a bad contract in Kevin Hayes to the St. Louis Blues.

Jake Fisher

So, let’s get to it. With this pick, the Flyers should draft a very underrated player who I think will make a name for himself next year in the NCAA while playing for the University of Denver. That player is none other than forward Jake Fisher. Like Romani, Fisher is a little bit of a late bloomer. He is 19 years old and stands at 6’2 and 192 pounds.
And it was in the USHL while playing for the Fargo Force this year that Fisher really began to draw some attention. Gifted with quick feet, a high hockey IQ, and a compelling shot, Jake was able to score 23 goals and 24 assists for 47 points in 51 games played.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1649922071089106944

Don’t get me wrong, Fisher has all the intangibles to deserve to be drafted higher, but unfortunately, this season, he was not able to demand the kind of ice time he needed to show what he really could do. So, like Philadelphia’s fellow Minnesota native prospect Alex Bump (who the team took with their 2022 fifth-round pick) did this year, Jake will need to prove he can compete in the much more physically demanding NCAA next season.

Jack Good

With their second selection of the Sixth round, the team should look to bring into the fold my suggested first-round pick, Dean Letourneau’s teammate. His name is Jack Good, and he is a guy who makes everyone around him better. He is the type of player that every team needs, a set-up artist if you will, that is just fine being the sidekick to a team’s superhero.

But that does mean that Jack can’t score goals of his own. To go along with his incredible 81 assists this season, Jack was able to score 40 goals, which brought his season point totals to an impressive 121!

And it’s because of this kind of production that Merrimack College was willing to offer him a scholarship to attend and play for them—making him, in my mind, just another reason to watch more NCAA hockey in the future.

Round 7:

Shew, this brings us to the last and final round of the draft, and this is where I think the Flyers should look to draft a goalie.

For years, the Flyers have struggled to find adequate help in between the pipes, but for once, even with Carter Hart’s sudden departure this season from the team, the Philadelphia goaltending depth chart is filled with talent. Rookie Samuel Ersson stepped up big this year as he took on the brunt of the load, playing in 51 games. To help him next season, Briere was able to do what was previously thought of as impossible and bring over the long-awaited “Russian Bear,” the 6’7 Ivan Fedotov, who they just resigned. But beyond them, the future looks bright as well, seeing they have Alexei Kolosov, Carson Bjarnason, and Yegor Zavagin, who are all developing at rates faster than expected.

But even with that kind of depth currently in the system, the Flyers know better than anyone that you can never have too many goalies. So, this is why I think they should draft a guardian of the blue paint, who I feel will one day be labeled as one of the steals of this draft.

Pavel Moisevich

And that player is 19-year-old Pavel Moisevich, a.k.a Pavel Moysevich. This 6’5 netminder from Belarus has already made it through Russia’s minor leagues to stake a claim in the KHL, playing for SKA St. Petersburg, with whom he is signed through the 26/27 season.

But the reason he will not be taken earlier in the draft is despite his best efforts, where he was able to post a 1.25 goals against average and a .942 save percentage in 13 KHL regular season games this year, is that he was buried on the teams’ depth chart. And by that, I mean he had to share the net with veteran netminder Nikita Serebryakov, who took up the majority of the starts, as well as the promising 21-year-old Artemi Pleshkov, and the Blue Jackets 19-year-old prospect Sergei Ivanov.

But that’s ok because I believe he will one day be better than all of them. And if the Flyers do decide to draft him, they will be the ones reaping the benefits.

With the team now having solid goaltending, Philadelphia will have no need to rush Pavel’s progression or try to expedite his arrival. They can just sit back and watch their great young goalie develop in Russia which is one of the primer goaltending factories right now.

Remember, this is just the first edition of my mock draft for the Flyers this season. It could very well change if they get gifted a better pick in the lottery. But if not, I would be thrilled if they were to make these picks in June.