We are about two weeks away from when the NHL will announce to the world where the lowly non-playoff teams will get to pick in the annual draft lottery. The Philadelphia Flyers, in case you haven’t noticed, are among those teams waiting to find out where they will pick. And on Monday, May 8th at 8 p.m., the results of the lottery will be revealed to the world. For us Flyers fans, this is about all we got right now!
So, where do the Flyers stand? As of right now, they would be in seventh place overall if you went by rankings. There is a possibility to move up. Remember, a few years ago the Flyers were supposed to be 13th and got the second pick! Yeah….and then they picked Nolan Patrick. So, anything can happen. You hope to get the right slot and get the right player when you make that pick.
As of right now, the Flyers have a 6.5% chance to grab the top spot instead of the favored Anaheim Ducks. In the immortal words of Jim Carrey….”So you’re saying there’s a chance?”. Yes, there is. Not likely, but it could happen. That would mean the Flyers would get Connor Bedard and, if he can stay healthy, could be the next Philly superstar right there with Joel Embiid, Bryce Harper, and Jalen Hurts.
There is a fun website called Tankathon. In it, they have a draft simulator to see where the team would get in the lottery. I did it seven times. In the seven times I did it, the Flyers respectively picked at: 7th, 7th, 8th, 2nd, 7th, 8th, and 8th with San Jose, Columbus, St. Louis, Arizona, Anaheim, Columbus, and Anaheim nabbing the top spot. So, even with a computer simulation, it’s not very likely.
Last year, the Flyers picked fifth overall after dropping one spot. However, they still landed Cutter Gauthier. He seems to have had a good year in college this past year scoring 16 goals with 21 assists. He also scored 19 goals in 22 games for the U.S. National Development Team. He will return to Boston College for a sophomore campaign. I wouldn’t rule out seeing him next spring when the college season is over.
For now, we got to wait and see and hope the little balls bounce our way….and not for the Pittsburgh Penguins! Daniel Briere will soon be on the clock. Let’s hope he’s up for the task.