The upcoming NHL Draft has Flyers fans pumped and ready to go and for good reason, as the team has been linked to almost every big name for trade purposes. Even with the possibility of moving up and snagging the best player available.
Will some of these picks help the Flyers get back to relevancy here in the near future? We shall see, but here are some late first round prospects that Flyers fans should keep an eye on.
C, Cole Beaudoin
Flyers’ General Manager Danny Briere snags a sizeable Center that played for the Barrie Colts, a 6’2 Cole Beaudoin. Obviously, the Flyers know the Barrie organization well, with drafting Tyson Foerster back in 2021. Yes, Brent Flahr was the Assistant General Manager then for the orange and black.
Beaudoin is a sturdy power Center, and is willing to take a beating on his way to the net. The majority of the time, however, he takes two or three defenders with him to the net, thus creating space for his teammates to pot the easy goal. He’s very creative with the puck, and in his second season for Barrie he was more of a playmaker with netting 28 goals in 67 games played. Moreover, he did register 34 assists, as well, to pair with his top penalty killing skills. Beaudoin was one of the most versatile Centers for Barrie, even with his size.
The Flyers could benefit from a fearless player that is willing to sacrifice his body for a dirty goal, and one that has a high motor. Beaudoin is apparently a hard-worker, and if one saw Beaudoin play this past season, then they would have noticed his good pair of hands. Beaudoin has excellent vision of the ice, and has a lethal wrist shot to pair with his good vision of the ice.
C, Dean Letorneau
Letorneau happens to be one of the tallest draft eligible prospects in 2024. He stands at 6’6 and is just 18 years of age. He played for a Canadian High School hockey team at St. Andrew’s College in Ontario, where he led all U18 AAA players with 127 points. Letorneau netted 61 goals and 66 assists in 56 games. He also led the Prep Hockey Conference with 25 points (14 goals, 11 assists).
He likes to play a fast-paced game. Letorneau, Believe it or not, is a good skater for his size, he likes scrums, but more importantly, he has good vision of the ice. Letorneau is very good at creating, while making something out of nothing
The Flyers could really benefit from Letorneau’s talents with creating offense. As it stands, Morgan Frost is the most creative with the puck for the orange and black.
RHD, Charlie Elick
The rule of thumb for most NHL teams is to draft the best player available. This is whom they believe is the best player available, not according to the big board, or whom I think is the best player available.
If the Flyers do in fact draft a defenseman with the 12th overall pick, then it’s highly likely that they select a Forward with their second pick in the first round. However, if the Flyers do draft a Forward with the 12th pick, then it could be likely they draft a defenseman with the second pick in the first round.
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Charlie Elick would be worthy of this selection by the orange and black. Elick stands at 6’3 and weighs 200 lb, some would see this as a project. Pick. The project is being able to unlock his talents offensively. If he was more offensive, he would be worthy of a top 10 selection possibly.
His skating is top notch actually for his size. Elick is very impressive with his gap control, and keeping players in front of him. He rarely gets beat the other way, and if it happens that said player might want to keep the puck. His bread and butter is moving people away from the net, tying up sticks, and just being a force to be reckoned with in front of the net.
