Photo Credit: Zack Hill
The Philadelphia Flyers hold the fifth overall pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft which begins tonight at 7pm EST in Montreal. There are different routes the Flyers could go in regards to what they decide to do with the pick. They could fill their most pressing organizational need with a right-handed defenseman. They could take a scorer. They could add depth down the middle by taking a center. They could trade the pick for an established star such as Alex Debrincat or Pierre Luc Dubois. They could trade back a handful of spots and try to pick up a second-round pick after they paid it to Arizona to take on Shayne Gostisbehere last offseason.
No matter what they decide to do, the Flyers are in a good spot with the pick. They will get a young player they can build around for a long time. According to the Flyers’ brass, they have identified their top-five talents in the class and would be happy coming away with any of the five.
Many scouts and professionals in the industry believe that the top two players in the class are Shane Wright and Juraj Slafkovsky. After those two, Logan Cooley, Matthew Savoie, Simon Nemec, and David Jiríček make up a “second-tier” of prospects.
The Canadiens are in all likelihood going to take Shane Wright. There have been rumors that they don’t love him and he might not have done enough in his draft year to really blow teams away to stay at number one. Don’t buy it. He’s going to be taken first. The Canadiens also are trying to trade back into the top ten after picking first overall. The team most likely to trade their pick is New Jersey at second overall. So, if the Devils and Canadiens can figure out a deal, Montreal will pick first and second. There hasn’t been a lot of chatter connecting those two teams, though things can definitely pick up as we move closer to 7pm.
New Jersey, though many believe want to trade their pick, could end up taking Juraj Slafkovsky. He has the highest upside in the draft. Adding him to a core that already includes Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier makes the Devils a lethal team for years to come. If New Jersey decides to go the trade route, keep an eye on current St. Louis Blues superstar Vladimir Tarasenko. Tarasenko was a popular name on the trade front last summer after coming off a weak season in St. Louis. Some thought a change of scenery might be needed but Tarasenko responded with an 82-point, 34-goal season. Tarasenko carries a $7.5M cap hit in 2022-23 before becoming a UFA next summer. It would not be surprising to see the Devils send the second pick to St. Louis in exchange for Tarasenko. It would give them a bonafide sniper to put on the same line as Jack Hughes, a rising star in himself, and give them a head start on negotiations if they decide to make him a part of their future. It also gives St. Louis a chance to take Slafkovsky, a player with a similar skillset as Tarasenko, at second overall. It makes them younger, cheaper, and maybe a bit faster. Not to mention, it opens up more options for them to re-sign their pending UFAs.
The Arizona Coyotes are picking third. They absolutely will make the pick. Whether they decide to go defense or add a forward is unknown. If they decide to take a forward, it will likely be Logan Cooley. He has the potential to be a very good number two center in the NHL, sooner rather than later. His offensive skill coupled with his hockey IQ and defensive abilities makes him a very attractive piece for an Arizona team that needs all the help it can get. Other possibilities at forward include Matthew Savoie and Cutter Gauthier. Savoie’s size may be a red flag for some teams, maybe not enough of a negative to make him undraftable this high, but his long-term outlook profiles better at wing than center. His skills offensively are undeniable as well as his top-notch speed. Gauthier has been another story. He has been flying up draft boards leading up to tonight. He has previously been ranked as someone who could be taken around 10th, but that no longer looks accurate. His size and shot have helped propel him so far up that it wouldn’t be surprising to see him crack the top five.
The fourth pick belongs to the Seattle Kraken. This is another team who will absolutely make their pick. Seattle had the opportunity to make itself a pretty decent team coming into the expansion draft and they decided to go in another direction, to say the least. With high-profile names from almost every team available, Seattle elected to go the cheap route and take on young players with small cap hits. Seattle is likely going defense with this pick. Simon Nemec is the first name that comes to mind. He could anchor the right side of that defense for the next decade. Nemec likely isn’t NHL ready at the moment but could push for a spot coming out of camp next year. While Seattle lacks scoring from everywhere, finding a top-pair defenseman this high in the draft should be too good to pass up. Nemec likely becomes the first defenseman drafted because of his two-way abilities and he’s close to beings NHL ready.
At fifth overall, the Flyers are going to make the pick unless things on the Alex Debrincat front really pick up. According to reports, the Flyers were unwilling to include the fifth overall choice in a package for the American sniper. In reality, this pick depends on what the Kraken do. If the Kraken take a defender, it leaves the Flyers with either Nemec or David Jiríček (more likely) to choose from. If Seattle should decide to draft a forward like Gauthier or Savoie, the Flyers could move back a few spots, add some assets, and come away with a solid forward or if they get really lucky, a top-pair defenseman. The most likely outcome here is the Flyers staying put and taking Jiríček. Like Nemec, he is also right-handed and he fits what the Flyers need. He won’t make the team out of camp and likely won’t play at all in the NHL in 2022-23 since the Flyers are also looking for a third-pair right-handed defenseman in free agency or via the trade route. Bringing back Justin Braun, someone who is familiar with the team and the area, makes a lot of sense on a one-year deal. This gives the Flyers a cheap, reliable stopgap while Jiríček works on his game to crack the opening night roster in 2023-24.
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Somehow fletch will bungle this, he just does. I hope they select Jiríček.