Luke Misa, C/Mississauga
Luke Misa doesn’t carry John Mustard’s size, coming in at just 5’10, 165 pounds, but with an early birthday - November 25th, 2005 - he’s someone who could be on the fast track to the AHL starting in the 2025-26 season. And since he’s regarded as one of the better prospects in this draft, there’s no question that Misa can play a sound game.
He’s played in over 180 regular season games for the Mississauga Steelheads, and Misa has grown more productive with each passing year before crushing it with an 81-point, 26-goal season in 2023-24. Overall, he will be one of the OHL’s most dominant players in 2024-25, and it gives him a chance to just hone the final parts of his game that the junior circuit can offer before he’s ready to scale up to the pro level.
If you want the Flyers to draft a fast, smart, competitive playmaker, someone like Luke Misa has all the ingredients to be successful in that realm. He’s never been much of a goal-scorer in Mississauga until 2023-24, putting up just 43 across three seasons, but he will always find linemates open, dish them the puck, and let them score, something his 107 assists (and counting) prove.
Overall, Misa’s size could be the only major drawback here, but there is always the chance he adds more in time, which will only benefit him at the pro level when he eventually gets there. If drafted at 31st or 32nd overall, it would be tough for me to call him a reach. And all credit would go to Daniel Briere for making what would be an enticing selection toward or at the end of the first round.