And With the 5th Pick in the 2022 Draft, the Flyers Select…

It’s official, Philadelphia has the No. 5 pick in the upcoming draft. So what will the Flyers do? They surely will be out of the running for this year’s expected top pick, center Shane Wright. Will they trade the pick to get a proven player who can give them the firepower they need now? Will they take a young developmental player who could be in Philly in 4-5 years? Is there a prospect that can come in and be the spark they need now?

And what will they prioritize? Unless they trade Carter Hart, they really don’t need to draft a goalie with the first pick. So do they pick a winger or center? Do they try to fix the holes on the blueline again?

For recent history, the last five players chosen at No. 5 are: Kent Johnson (C) by Columbus, Jake Sanderson (D) by Ottawa, Alex Turcotte  (C) by Los Angeles, Barrett Hayton  (C) by Phoenix, and Elias Pettersson (C) by Vancouver. Of these picks, Pettersson has been an all-star, scoring 32 goals this season. Sanderson and Turcotte have yet to make the NHL. Johnson was a late season call up this year and Hayton split time between the NHL and AHL levels this year.

Some forwards who could be intriguing include:

• Juraj Slafkovsky, a 6’4″ Slovakian left winger who has been playing in the Finnish League.
• Cutter Gauthier, a 6’2″ left winger who’s played for Team USA.
• Conor Geekie, a 6″3″ center from Winnipeg whose brother, Morgan, plays for Seattle.

On defense, the Flyers could end up with:

• Lian Bischsel, a 6’5″ hulking Swedish defender.
• Kevin Korchinski, a 6’2″ defender who lit up the WHL for Seattle with 4 goals and 61 assists.
• David Jiricek, a 6’3″ defenseman from Czechia .

A lot of what happens next will depend on what moves, if any, the Flyers make. Do they make any trades? Do they sign any top free agents? When that clears up, we’ll have a better idea of what direction the Flyers are heading.

The NHL Draft is July 7-8. Stay tuned!