Sometimes, the Flyers like to have a little family reunion on the team. Joe and Jim Watson played together. If your last name was Sutter, chances are you wore orange and black at some point in the 80s (Brent, Duane, and Darryl). Mark Howe shared the ice with his brother Wayne. Most recently, Noah Cates spent a year with his brother Jackson.
One of the top prospects in this year's draft is Caleb Desnoyers, the younger brother of prospect Elliot. Elliot, a fifth-round pick in 2020, had a fantastic debut year with the Phantoms but has cooled off some since. It is unclear if the pending free agent still fits into the Flyers' plans. However, his younger brother might.
Caleb stands at 6'2" and weighs in at 180 lbs. In two seasons with the Moncton Wildcats of the QMJHL, he has scored 55 goals with 85 assists in just 116 games. That's a 1.21 points per game average. In just about every mock draft, he is in the top 10 picks, usually falling no further than seventh. Acquiring him in the draft might take a lot of prayers and luck.
The Hockey Writers says of his abilities.
"Caleb Desnoyers’ draft stock is as high as ever. The 6-foot-2 center is a superb playmaker with some of the best hockey IQ in the class, which has been the main driver of his offensive results."
With his high hockey IQ, he has drawn comparisons to Ryan O'Reilly and Jonathan Toews. He could be someone who could lead the power play or just feed a streaking Matvei Michkov. If the Flyers want a game-changing center, he can be one. With him being a left-handed shot, he could also be moved over to the left wing if needed.
Desnoyers has been mocked as high as fourth (Utah Mammoth) and could be gone before the Flyers get there. But if he slips in the draft, he could be someone that the Flyers jump on quickly. He might not need a lot of time to season up in the AHL, especially if he has a great training camp. Who knows, he and Jett Luchanko could be patrolling center as the heads of the top two Flyers lines soon. You know what, I can't be mad at that.