Way Too Early Philadelphia Flyers 2024 First Round Mock Draft
Although the 2023 NHL Draft is well in the rearview mirror, it’s still never too early to plot the next move. The Philadelphia Flyers still have more work to do in their quest to rebuild. Well equipped with two first-round picks, it’s time to see which top talents are up next for the Flyers.
Most of the teams that finished towards the bottom of the NHL standings in 2023 look like they’ll be taking a step forward, either by way of better player health or roster improvement. The Philadelphia Flyers are not one of those teams; they arguably got worse after jettisoning veterans like Kevin Hayes, Ivan Provorov, Tony DeAngelo, and James van Riemsdyk. As a result, the Flyers’ success lies in the hands of their up and coming prospects.
In fact, it’s likely that the Philadelphia Flyers could be an even worse team as a whole by the end of the 2023-24 season. Players like Travis Konecny and Carter Hart have been subjects of trade rumors for a while now, and neither player is tied down long-term. Hart will be an RFA at the end of the season, while Konecny will be a UFA in 2025 and will be able to walk for free – the prospect of which will continue to grow if the Philadelphia Flyers do not show massive improvement by then.
The Chicago Blackhawks figure to be an improved team following the additions of Connor Bedard, Taylor Hall, Nick Foligno, and Corey Perry, and the integration of stud youngster Lukas Reichel. They’ll still be a bad squad, but not as bad as the Anaheim Ducks, who are yet to reach the cap floor. The San Jose Sharks are still trying to trade Erik Karlsson and don’t have a sliver of hope for an improved 2023-24 season. The Columbus Blue Jackets made several additions this offseason, and the Montreal Canadiens can expect to be a healthier team, and add by subtraction. The Arizona Coyotes can be a sleeper middle-of-the-pack team if they can sort out their goaltending and defense. If the Philadelphia Flyers sell off Konecny and Hart, they’ll likely be duking it out with the Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks for sole possession of the NHL’s basement.
With the third pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, the Philadelphia Flyers select…
player. 68. Ivan Demidov. 3. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Forward. SKA St. Petersburg
Assuming Macklin Celebrini and Cole Eiserman are off the board by pick three, Ivan Demidov makes the most sense for the Philadelphia Flyers. By the time the 2024 NHL Draft rolls around there might still be a Russian stigma, but that won’t stop the Flyers. They already got the big fish in Matvei Michkov, and Demidov’s contract in Russia only lasts until 2025. He’ll be able to come over before Michkov does.
Choose your fighter: Ivan Demidov vs. Matvei Michkov in their draft-minus-one seasons in the MHL. #2024NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/JLIVxNytq2
— Lassi Alanen (@lassialanen) July 13, 2023
Ivan Demidov might end up as the most dynamic forward in the 2024 draft class at the end of the day. There’s really nothing the Russian does poorly, and he combines his lightning speed with some nifty mitts and an Einstein-like hockey IQ. He could be a better prospect than Matvei Michkov. Demidov has both the intelligence and the skill to play all three forward positions in all three zones, and that’s an exceptionally rare quality in today’s NHL. At the height of his abilities, Demidov would be a game-breaker on a nightly basis.
Macklin Celebrini and Cole Eiserman have dominated the scoring in their respective leagues and levels of competition, so that will keep them atop draft boards for now, and maybe through the year. The Philadelphia Flyers already have Michkov, and also have the likes of fellow Russians Alexei Kolosov and Yegor Zavragin in the pipeline. Michkov and Ivan Demidov at their full potential might become a dynamic Russian duo unlike one the National Hockey League has ever seen.
With the 24th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, the Philadelphia Flyers select…
player. 68. LHD. Zeev Buium. 24. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. University of Denver / USNTDP
Following their formula from the 2023 NHL Draft, the Philadelphia Flyers go defense after taking a top-tier forward, and take Zeev Buium from the University of Denver. This pick is top-10 protected from the Florida Panthers, and for the sake of this writing, I’m assuming the Panthers make the playoffs again but don’t advance as far as they did this past postseason.
Buium, a California native like Cam York, comes from a hockey background. Zeev’s older brothers Shai and Ben both play hockey and both play defense, and Shai is a top prospect for the Detroit Red Wings. Shai Buium was drafted 36th overall in the 2021 NHL Draft.
At 5’11”, Zeev Buium is shorter than both of his brothers, but packs a punch at both ends of the ice. The silky 17 year old blueliner impressively played 93 total games in 2022-23, putting up seven goals and 58 points across all competitions. Buium is quite a bit older than his peers as a December birthday; Macklin Celebrini was born in June and Cole Eiserman won’t even turn 17 until the end of August. His age and average size might cause some teams to pass on him, but Buium would be a no-brainer for the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Flyers don’t have any true high-upside prospects on the left side of their defense to slot in behind Cam York and Travis Sanheim. Egor Zamula and Emil Andrae will jostle for that spot in the short-term, but Zamula is coming off of a major injury and Andrae stands at just 5’9″. Andrae impressed in development camp, but it remains to be seen whether or not he can overcome his diminutive stature at the top level.
Zeev Buium scores on the penalty shot!
— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) April 25, 2023
9-0🇺🇸@usahockey | #U18MensWorlds pic.twitter.com/cbzMtBiU3I
You know what’s better than one Cam York? Two. Adding Zeev Buium a few years after Cam York reaches his prime would give opposing coaches fits at night, as they try to figure out how to stop both defenders. Even better is that Buium would also give the Philadelphia Flyers a viable power play quarterback for their second unit; the Flyers had the worst power play in the NHL in the 2022-23 season. That, with some added forward depth, would go a long way towards making the Philadelphia Flyers contenders again.
Defense wins championships, and almost all of the recent Stanley Cup winners had defenders who were worth their weight in gold at both ends of the ice. Devon Toews, Cale Makar, Victor Hedman, Mikhail Sergachev, Alex Pietrangelo, and Shea Theodore can do it all. The Philadelphia Flyers need to do the best they can to start building something like that.
Next. Is Macklin Celebrini Worth Tanking For?. dark