If you watched ESPN last night, you saw the results of the 2024 NHL Draft Lottery. If you hadn't seen it, you didn't miss much. Everyone in the top 16 spots just stayed where they were. Nobody moved up and nobody moved down. Yawn......No excitement there.
At least the Flyers didn't move down. Even better, since Pittsburgh finished outside the top 10, their draft pick automatically became San Jose's as part of the Eric Karlsson trade this past offseason. They could still get a first-rounder if the Hurricanes make the Stanley Cup final, though, as part of the Jake Guentzel trade. They are down 2-0 to the Rangers in the second round.
So, the Flyers will be drafting in the 12th spot. This is a historic first for Philly. They have never drafted in that spot before. Twice, they drafted 11th (Jeff Carter in 2003 and Sam Morin in 2013). The Flyers should also receive the Panthers first-round pick from the Claude Giroux trade. That pick will depend on where they finish in the playoffs. They are currently down 1-0 to the Bruins in the second round.
However, if you hope they can package those two picks to move up and snag Macklin Celebrini, keep dreaming. San Jose will have two top-15 selections. They aren't going to give a talent like that up. It's possible the Flyers could crack the top 10, but it is more likely that Daniel Briere will use those picks to restock the farm system (or trade the later pick if next year's draft class looks more enticing).
So, who has been taken in the last few NHL Drafts at 12th place? What kind of talent could Flyers fans hope to see donning orange and black?
Last year, the former Arizona Coyotes selected left winger Daniil But from Russia. The 19-year-old put up decent numbers in the Russian MHL but struggled this year for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in the KHL, scoring just 11 goals. In 2022, Columbus chose defensive player Denton Mateychuk from Canada. He seems to be a high-scoring blueliner, scoring 17 goals this year for Moose Jaw in the WHL.
The Blue Jackets also selected Canadian center Cole Sillinger, the son of former Flyer Mike Sillinger, in 2021. Sillinger jumped right to the NHL without a stop in the AHL and has been somewhat steady on a bad team. He has scored 32 goals in 220 games, including 13 this year.
2020 saw the Florida Panthers select Finish center Anton Lundell. Lundell has two NHL seasons under his belt, scoring 12 goals this year after notching 18 the season before. In 2019, the Minnesota Wild chose American Matt Boldy. Boldy has been quite the young star, scoring 31 goals last season and 29 this year
Fun fact: the last NHL All-Star selected with the 12th overall pick was blueliner Cam Fowler, drafted by the Ducks in 2010. We'll see if the Flyers can break that trend this year.