Now and then, a draft prospect falls for a variety of reasons. Maybe concerns about the player suddenly pop up. It could be that other players start to have their rise just before the draft begins. The Philadelphia Eagles have been the recipients of this in the last two drafts selecting Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith in 2022 and Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean in this year's draft.
Last year, the Flyers were rewarded with a falling Matvei Michkov. His KHL contract scared off several potential teams and the Flyers picked him up. Now, it looks as if he could be part of the team's near future. There is a prospect in this year's draft that could fall. While he could go somewhere in the top seven, if he is available at the 12th spot, I wouldn't be surprised if Daniel Briere pulls the trigger and takes him. His name is Berkly Catton.
The knock on Catton is that he is undersized. He is 18, stands at 5'11", but weighs 170 lbs. So he is not big and bulky. That leaves him with enough ability to fly down the ice. Last year, he scored 23 goals for the Spokane Chiefs of the WHL. He topped those stats with 54 goals, 62 assists, and 116 point performance this year. That placed him third in goals, tied for 12th in assists, and fourth in points in the WHL, one of the best junior hockey leagues in the world. He is also quite versatile as he can play center and either wing position.
He goes as high as third to as low as 14th. Most have him around the seventh to ninth in terms of his draft ranking.
Logan Horn of the Hockey Writers says:
""Catton excels in all facets of the game, with no glaring weaknesses whatsoever besides his lack of size. He is excellent on his edges which more than makes up for his average top speed, allowing him to blow by opponents with clever routes and pure agility. Catton is so slippery in fact that he draws a ton of penalties at the junior level, which he can often capitalize on as the motor that runs his team’s top power play unit. ""
He's been compared a lot to Zach Benson. In Benson's first year, he scored 11 goals with 19 assists on a bad Buffalo team as an 18-year-old. If you had put Benson in Philly and surrounded him with guys like Travis Konecny, Owen Tippett, and Joel Farabee, he'd have better stats.
Likewise, if Catton drops in the draft, the Flyers should consider him. The team lacks a true speedster. He could change that. It would be a good investment to match up with Michkov in future years.