With the NHL draft 10 days away, Flyers general manager Danny Brière and assistant general manager Brent Flahr, who runs the draft, met with the media.
Moments before they sat side-by-side, the Flyers announced the acquisition of goalie Joseph Woll and defenseman Simon Benoît from the Toronto Maple Leafs for Sam Ersson, Emil Andrae, and a third-round pick in the 2026 NHL draft.
But this press conference was set up to chat about the draft. Here are three questions may have been answered on Tuesday.
Could the Flyers trade away or acquire more picks?
Maybe?
Brière did say he was OK with having only four picks now in the upcoming draft — one each in the first, second, sixth, and seventh rounds — and he did call the first- and second-round picks “the key.” But he also said everything is on the table.
“We’ve drafted so much the last few years [so] it might not be quite a bad thing to not have as many this year,” he said. “But, if I had the choice, yeah, I would rather have more picks.”
Fair, because who doesn’t want to keep stocking the cupboard? But what if it meant trading a first-rounder for a young player who could fit into the lineup today?
“Yeah, we’re getting closer to that. I don’t know that we’re quite there yet, but we’re certainly willing to listen on different ideas,” he said. “I’m not too keen on trading future first-round picks, because you never know where it can go, and we’re not at [where] Colorado or Carolina [are] at this point, where you know we’re going to be finishing [high] and picking late first [round]. I don’t think we’re quite there yet.”
Would they be open to drafting a small defenseman?
With Andrae, a small, puck-moving defenseman, now shipped north, could the Flyers be open to drafting someone to step into that role in a few years? There are several high-end offensive-minded blueliners available in the draft like Xavier Villeneuve, Tommy Bleyl, and Ryan Lin.
“If you’re drafting a small defenseman, they need to be dynamic, and there are a couple who could go into mid-to-later first round this year, but they are in the mix,” Flahr said, noting that not every small defenseman can be on the power play, which, to be frank, the Flyers’ power play needs help now.
Added Brière: “And that’s a big part of it too when you draft. Right now you might have some needs, but in four years, five years, that need might be different. So, especially in the first round, I think we try to be careful, try to go with the best player in this case, and keep developing, because we have a pretty decent pool of prospects coming. It’s not like we’re depleted; we still have some really good ones at almost every position.”
This is true, especially on defense with Oliver Bonk, David Jiříček, Ty Murchison and Hunter McDonald on the edge of making the main roster, and Carter Amico, Luke Vlooswyk and Spencer Gill working their way through the system.
But Flahr did point out that they could use some more depth on the left side — “not necessarily being the first round,” he was quick to add.
Any insight on the 21st pick?
Of course, moving up or down is always on the table for the Flyers as the draft starts to pick up speed. But with them picking at 21, Flahr has now set the expectation for fans that, “Anytime you’re drafting in the 20s, you’re not getting the perfect player that’s completely polished and finished.“
The Flyers do look for certain traits — i.e., when they took Tyson Foerster at 23rd overall in 2020 because of his body type and hockey sense, despite him needing to work on his skating. And the Flyers certainly do like projects, but those are usually in the later rounds.
“We’re not drafting mature football players that they’re ready to go next year,” Flahr said when asked if they skew toward a certain type of project. “So these kids are sometimes three, four years away and have a long, long road ahead. But there are some players that are fundamentally flawed skating, and that’s our scout’s job to say, ‘I don’t know if this can ever improve.’
“ … But there are certain traits, whether it’s hockey sense, competitiveness, skill level. You can overcome size if you’ve got the great motor, big heart, and you’re smart, and certainly when you’re small, you’ve got to have some speed, quickness. … So, there’s different types of players you want to take a chance on, but there’s certain traits you have to have.”
The interesting aspect for the Flyers is that at 21, there could be several high-end centers available. However, they are projected as middle-six pivots and, while the Flyers need a 1C, as Brière mentioned, that’s probably not going to happen where they’re picking.
But Brière and Flahr each mentioned that they will continue to target centers, with the GM adding, “I don’t feel like you can have too many centers, because it’s much easier to move a center to the wing.”
With that, players like Jack Hextall, Ilia Morozov, Alexander Command, and Maddox Dagenais potentially being available when it’s time for the Flyers’ pick.
And two names to keep an eye on are Morozov and center Ryder Cali. Why? It seems the Flyers tend to draft players who finish among the leaders in grip strength at the scouting combine’s fitness testing, like Jett Luchanko and Shane Vansaghi. Cali finished tied with defenseman Lincoln Kuehne in right-hand grip strength, and Morozov, who tied with defenseman Charlie Morrison for third, was atop the leaderboard for the left-hand grip strength.
Breakaways
One nugget on the current squad from Brière regarding Dan Vladař, who can sign an extension on July 1: “As far as the contract talks, we’re working on it. He said he was interested; obviously, the team is interested. We’re working toward something that we hope can get done eventually, but it’s not over the finish line yet.” … Gill and Carson Bjarnason were on the ice at the Flyers Training Center before the press conference started.
