The first round of the draft was intriguing for the Flyers. They drafted a player off board, sort of speak, in Jett Luchanko, and Danny Briere made two trades. The orange and black traded back a pick to select a player that can skate in Luchanko, and but Briere also traded the 32nd pick for Edmonton’s first round pick in 2025 or 2026.
Today is day two of the draft. The Flyers only own one second round pick (51), as the Columbus Blue Jackets wanted to defer the 36th pick to 2025. All in all, the Flyers could have three first round picks and three second round picks in 2025, if all goes according to plan. With that being said, who is left in the second round that might catch the eye of Briere?
Dominik Badinka, Malmo (SHL)
Badinka stands at 6’3 and weighs 185 pounds, but he has a lot of attributes that teams look for in a defenseman. He is a right-handed defenseman that posseses mobility. That alone is intriguing for gap control purposes, and he is good in his own end.
This young man in Badinka has NHL size, and speed to crack the NHL at some point.
Charlie Elick, Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
Elick stands at 6’2 and weighs 202 pounds. He has ability to be a future shutdown defenseman in the NHL, mainly because of his frame and build.
He is a good skater, even so much do, if he gets beat the other way he can chase down his opponents well. Elick isn’t an offensive minded defenseman, but he isn’t a liability either. He has the size and work ethic to translate his game to the NHL at some point.
Cole Hutson, USA U18 (NTDP)
Huston is the brother of Lane Huston., and everyone sees how that has worked out for Montreal. This year they have a chance at landing another Hutson.
One thing that stands out are Cole’s offensive abilities. This young man can really move the puck well, and cover ground on the same token. He’s a good left-handed defenseman that stands at 5’10 and weighs 159 pounds.
Nikita Artamonov, Nizhny Novgorod (KHL)
A teammate of Silayev, Artamonov has some skill on the left side. This left winger is intelligent, intelligent with the puck. He makes the right play with the puck, and he also excels with positioning. He would be worth the gamble at this stage of the draft, especially with Danny Briere having success with Russian prospects coming to North America.
