As the NHL Draft gets closer, things begin to get a little clearer on which teams are interested in what players. With that, some teams are not averse to throwing up smoke screens to get other teams off their trail. The Flyers are very known for that.
No one knew that Philadelphia was interested in Jett Luchanko when they traded down with Minnesota last year. And with the amount of players that have been linked to the Flyers ahead of Friday, who knows what Danny Briere might be thinking.
After Matthew Schaefer and Michael Misa, the rest of the draft could go an infinite amount of ways. There’s even a chance that chaos could happen immediately with the Islanders or Sharks. And many teams have indicated that they are open to trading their top-10 pick as well.
Knowing how the NHL tends to operate, this could all be talk and things will be extremely normal on Friday night. But the Flyers should have a few options to choose from no matter how the draft board falls. And they could steal a player that someone below them is interested in.
Scott Wheeler focuses on prospects and the NHL Draft for The Athletic. In dropping his final mock draft, he touched on an interesting note involving the Flyers and Bruins.
More draft week intel from my mock:
— Scott Wheeler (@scottcwheeler) June 24, 2025
Sounds like Bruins also have interest in moving up.
My sense is the Flyers and Bruins at 6-7 like the same three players: Martin, O'Brien and Hagens. Everyone keeps telling me those three won't get past 6-7. And yet, there appear to be eight…
All three would fit the number one thing the Flyers are looking for: a center. Brent Flahr mentioned in the Flyers pre draft ability that the team won’t necessarily draft a center with their first pick. They could go with the best player available based on their board, regardless of position.
Brady Martin has been the popular pick for most when discussing who the Flyers could select if available. And why wouldn’t you want someone who likens himself to Sam Bennett? The thing is, he projects to be a second or third line center at best. And despite his strong work ethic and relentless physicality, there are concerns about his offensive upside at the NHL level.
Jake O’Brien could be one of the best passers in the draft with his skilled vision on the ice. That’s why he racked up 66 assists in 66 games. He’ll need to round out his offensive game at even strength as he tends to get a lot of points on the power play. The Flyers could use that, however, and they aren’t afraid to take a swing on talent.
James Hagens would be the best player out of the trio and the Flyers should jump for joy if he’s available. He entered the year as the consensus top pick before a “so-so” first collegiate season for Boston. He was still one of the top freshman in collegiate hockey. He has the ability to transition the puck up the ice and the creativity to follow through on the play. The knock on him may be his size and if he can make it at the NHL level.
We’ll soon find out exactly what the Flyers are thinking. This could be true and they select one of the above players, or they go off the board with another selection. It all depends on what the five teams ahead of them are thinking.
As who knows, the Bruins might try to jump ahead of the Flyers if they see someone they really want. Anything is possible.