Thanks to dropping their last two games of the season, the Philadelphia Flyers had the fourth-best odds in this year's upcoming draft lottery. For those of you mathematicians out there, that was a 9.5% chance to nab that top spot. It also gave them a 15.4% chance of standing pat or a 65.4% chance of dropping back to fifth or sixth place.
It's times like these that you can have a lot of fun playing with NHL Tankathon's lottery draft simulator. I ran it ten times and scored first place twice, second place three times, and lower than fourth place four times. The real results, which took place Monday night, gave the Flyers the sixth overall pick.
With all this said, what are the Flyers' biggest draft needs? Likewise, let's say that the Flyers can draft anywhere between first and seventh place, to be fair. Are there any NHL-ready prospects that could come out of this draft and help immediately? Let's look at their biggest needs with that lottery pick and see if any top prospects in those areas could fit.
1. A Dominant Center
Yes, the Flyers drafted a center last year with Jett Luchenko. He looks like he might be a great pick, but he is probably a year or two away from making his presence felt. As of right now, the only true centers the Flyers have are Ryan Poehling and Sean Couturier. Poehling is a decent third or fourth-line center, while Couturier is now in the Jordan Staal portion of his career; his best years are behind him, he's not the guy he once was, but he is still a solid vet with high hockey IQ. Noah Cates has also played some at center, but the team needs a bona fide center.
Michael Misa is one of those guys who could be a game-changing center. If he somehow falls to the Flyers, he is someone that this team needs to snag. However, he is expected to be one of the first two guys taken. If that's the case, Sweden's Anton Frondell could be someone to keep an eye on.
2. A Large, Punishing Defender
I'm thinking of a Chris Pronger type of guy here or a Zdeno Chara. At the very least, a Chris Therien. While it would be nice to see if we can get a scoring defender who could quarterback the power play like an Erik Karlsson, it's probably best to see if Jamie Drysdale can still fill that role (or Cam York if he is still around). This team needs a big, hulking defender who will pulverize opponents coming into the zone. They don't need to recklessly get penalties, but someone who can intimidate the other offense would be great.
In that role, Matthew Schafer could fit. He's 6"2 and 185 lbs. Ok, that's not huge, but it is big, and he is drawing a lot of comparisons to Cale Makar. He is projected to be the top pick. If the Flyers stay at fourth or lower, a good selection could be Radim Mrtka. He's a 6'6", 198 lbs behemoth. For his size, he's pretty quick and agile.
3. A Sniper at the Wing
The Flyers have some firepower on the wings, like Tyson Foerster and Matvei Michkov. However, you can never have enough. It'd be great to have a solid line, or two, with guys who could score at will. This is similar to when the Flyers had Daniel Briere, Simon Gagne, Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, and Claude Giroux together.
Earlier, I mentioned Swedish sensation Frondell. His teammate, Viktor Eklund, is rated as the top Swedish prospect who is small at 161 lbs but has peppered opposing goalies at a high rate. He could be the top winger in the draft. The one who could challenge that position is Porter Martone, a guy who has lit the OHL up this season. At 6'3" and 208 lbs, that's the sort of guy that the Flyers seemingly typically have gone for.
4. A Solid Goalie
The Flyers need some help in goaltending. Last year's draft selections of Carson Bjarnason and Yegor Zavragin appear to be very promising. Much like Luchenko, however, we are probably a few seasons away from seeing either one of them. Are there any draft-day goalies who could start next season?
Joshua Ravensburger posted 2.93 GAA and a .903 save percentage in the WHL and is widely touted as the best goalie in this year's draft. Standing at 6'5" and coming in at 190 lbs, he could have the size and ability to hop right into playing. Finland's Petteri Rimpinen has bounced back after going undrafted last year and has played well in the Finnish La Liga with a 2.38 GAA and a .911 save percentage.
These are great stats and are impressive. However, are they the kind of guys who could step in right away? If the Flyers hold onto all of their draft picks, these players could be great late first-round picks if they fall that far. Are they worth a top 5 or top 10 pick? Not sure.
What direction will the Flyers go? We'll have to sit and wait and see what develops.