The Philadelphia Flyers have had a season they won't forget in quite some time. For the first time since 2020, they made it back to the playoffs, and they picked up a playoff series win over the rival Pittsburgh Penguins in perhaps the most intense "Battle of Pennsylvania" to date. This offseason, the Flyers already retained goalie Dan Vladar on a long-term contract extension, and look to have momentum to sign Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale. Not to mention, they made the big splash of signing Anaheim Ducks center Leo Carlsson to a massive offer sheet, which they ultimately lost out on.
What else could the Flyers do this offseason to really get fans talking? Well, the organization does have a plan to bring a big event to Philadelphia.
The Athletic's Kevin Kurz revealed that the Flyers are pushing to host the 2027 NHL Draft in Philadelphia. Kurz says that there was a contingent of Flyers brass in Buffalo during this year's NHL Draft, and hope to get an answer from the league this week.
Flyers looking to host NHL Draft for first time since 2014
The Flyers have only hosted the NHL Draft once, and that was back in 2014. For those curious, the first overall pick of that year's draft was Aaron Ekblad to the Florida Panthers. Some other notable picks in that draft include Leon Draisaitl to the Edmonton OIlers at No. 3 overall, William Nylander to the Toronto Maple Leafs at No. 8 overall, and Dylan Larkin to the Detroit Red Wings at No. 15 overall. As for the Flyers, they used the 17th overall pick in that year's draft on defenseman Travis Sanheim.
For the 2027 class, the projected No. 1 overall pick is Michigan defenseman Landon DuPont, who scored 18 goals and recorded 55 assists in 63 games with the WHL's Everett Silvertips.
Flyers fans will be hoping they are not a factor in the draft lottery. After all, they were expected to be a lottery team entering this past season, only to shock the world by clinching a playoff spot by holding onto third place in the Metropolitan Division. They advanced to the second round, but ran into a buzzsaw in the form of the eventual Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes. The Flyers still have work to do to get to the Hurricanes' level of competitiveness, but they are banking on their young players and prospects to take that next step next season.
We'll see if the Flyers do luck out and secure the hosting rights to their second NHL Draft by the end of this wwek, based on the reporting from The Athletic.
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