Flyers 2021 Entry Draft Final Thoughts

It’s been a busy few days for Flyers fans, with the Ellis acquisition, expansion draft, and Gostisbhere’s departure that it could be real easy to have forgotten about the upcoming 2021 NHL Entry Draft. But while it may have slipped through the cracks, it is still very much happening, and the Flyers are still slotted to pick at 13th overall.

We have been covering and breaking down a number of the potential talents that may or may not be available in one of the hardest draft years to gauge talent in recent memory over these past few weeks. We’ve looked at both players we like and players the Flyers have been linked to, with myself generally trying to remain as objective as possible.

But no longer. In a year where I am confident that there will be a far higher number of high profile busts and gems than usual, the Flyers are drafting in a position that is incredibly difficult to mock. This draft has no set number one pick, players are going to be coming off the board seemingly at random, and while I’m not a scout, I’ve found myself becoming incredibly opinionated on certain players.

Before really digging in, though, I think it is important to separate the concept of best player available (BPA), versus drafting for positional need. While both have merit, I tend to lean more towards need when drafting towards the middle of the round, so my opinions may end up being far removed from the consensus.

I’d also like to add that the Flyers very well may trade this pick. Fletcher seems to be almost itching to do so, which is something I would definitely support. All of these prospects are raw, and none seem to be ready to jump into the NHL right away, so if Fletcher is determined to make a run while Giroux is still around, this would be the pick to trade.

Breaking down by position, I would most prefer that the Flyers take a defenseman. Their forward prospect pool is flush with talent, and while top end talent is lacking, the defensive prospects beyond York and Zamula is fairly barren. I also learned through this process that the Flyers have a number of talented prospects capable of playing wing, making drafting a winger in 2021 somewhat of a mistake. There’s also a few goalies expected to go in the first round, but picking one of them feels like a disaster waiting to happen.

With a number of talented forwards and defenseman towards the top, it’s possible one of the more “blue chip” prospects could drop which would obviously be the pick, but more than anything I love Carson Lambos here at 13

NHL Central Scouting has Lambos as the fifth best defenseman in the draft, but I think that could definitely be underselling him. All of the top five defenseman listed here are likely going to become big talents, but other than Owen Power and Simon Edvinsson, both of whom will certainly be off the board by then, I like Lambos as the best combo between how safe a pick he is versus his ceiling.

Players like Luke Hughes and Brandt Clarke may seem like safer picks, but Lambos’ ceiling is something I really love. Looking the other way, players like Corson Cueleumans and Daniil Chayka have too many question marks for me regarding hockey IQ, and while both could become good players, are way too much of a reach at 13 for my tastes.