It’s finally here folks, it’s finally here. After months and months of waiting, after months and months of speculation. The NHL Draft will commence tonight at 7:00pm finally. Who will the Flyers take at 7? Will the Flyers move up from 22?
These are some valid questions that some have at this time. Here is what I know:
Danny Briere has been aggressive, not just with making deals, but he has been on the phone a lot talking to many General Managers. In the end, that’s what good General Managers do, he’s trying to get the best value for the team to possibly speed up this rebuild. Briere wants another first round pick to move up in this draft, however, he doesn’t want to be seen as desperate. He wants the best deal, and Briere wants to maximize the return.
The Flyers will draft a Forward at 7, it’s inevitable. As many know the draft is a crap shoot. For instance, I see a lot of people posting that the Flyers would like to draft one of Ryan Leonard or Matvei Michkov. Great, but what if Michkov goes at 4 to the San Jose Sharks and Leonard goes at 5 to the Montreal Canadiens? Both wishes are now off the board, who do the Flyers select then? There is a lot of uncertainty, what I’m trying to say is don’t get wrapped up on one or two prospects, think of three or four prospects that the Flyers could draft, hence the reason they had conversations with at least 10 different players just for pick 7 alone.
I’m hearing that the meeting with Michkov went okay yesterday, and they still like him. They’re still looking to move up in this draft, however, I just don’t envision the Flyers being able to move up in this draft, but I’ve been wrong before. I just think the top six is set in stone, but could the Flyers trade back if Leonard, Zach Benson, and Michkov are all off the board when it’s time for the Flyers to make their selection with the seventh overall pick? It’s a possibility, the Flyers would like to recoup a second round pick and that was made evident last week during Brent Flahr’s presser with the media. This could be a perfect time to trade back is Plan A and B are off the board.
“We’d like to. Yeah, we’d like to. That’s not a secret. We’d like to add. Like Brent said, there’s some depth in this draft, so if we have the chance, yes, we would like to add in that gap between 22 and 87.” – Flyers’ General Manager Danny Briere said last week
Some notables names if Leonard and Michkov are off the board are Zach Benson, Dalibor Dvorsky, Oliver Moore, and possibly Will Smith. Personally, I do not envision the Flyers drafting a defenseman at seventh overall, rather I could see that at pick 22.
What will happen tonight on day one of the draft is anyone’s guess, but it should be fun. Buckle up Flyers fans, it’s going to be a wild few days in Nashville.
Our very own Vasili Gianarakos is in Nashville for the draft and he will have love updates for everyone. Thanks a lot to the awesome fans, without your support Vasili would not be credentialed for this event.
Justin Braun
Braun’s retirement didn’t last long. He signed a deal with the Straubing Tigers in Germany for the 2023-24 season. Good for him, usually the pay is good from what I understand.
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