Photo Credit: Vasili Gianarakos
With the 2025 NHL Draft set to begin later this evening at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles the Philadelphia Flyers have six draft picks in the first two rounds they may potentially use on prospects.
Aside from that, there’s always the possibility the picks could be traded for other draft capital, prospects or NHL roster players.
According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, Philadelphia appears to be interested in moving their 22nd and 31st overall selections if the right trade presents itself.
Considering the Flyers are likely only interested in trading said draft capital for roster players aged 22-26, it may limit the chance of any trades actually occurring.
Most NHL organizations typically aren’t in a hurry to part with young players entering their prime-aged seasons. Though there are always outliers, such as we just saw with Trevor Zegras.
For the purpose of this article we’ll assume Philadelphia will select all three picks within the first rounds of the draft.
Below is my Flyers mock draft and the prospects I believe the organization would possibly select with the sixth, 22nd and 31st selections.
6) James Hagens, C, Boston College (NCAA)
The 5-foot 11-inch and 176-pound center from Hauppauge, NY, was a scoring machine with the US National Team Development Program during the 2023-24 season, registering a dominant 102 points (39 goals, 63 assists) over 58 total games. Along with that, Hagens put forth 47 points (18 goals, 29 assists) in 26 contests in the USHL that same season.
(stats credit: Elite Prospects, https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/597747/james-hagens)
Similarly to Hagens, current NHL stars such as Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel, Clayton Keller, and Jack Hughes also scored over 100 points in the USNTDP in their draft seasons.
Another impressive feat for Hagens was securing the record for points at the U-18 World Championships which was previously held by Nikita Kucherov.
These stats don’t guarantee the young center is penciled in to be as impactful as the NHL players listed above but it’s certainly something to consider and take note of.
There’s no other way to describe Hagens other than exceptional playmaker. He sees the ice and can distribute the puck to open areas better than the whole draft class.
While his hockey IQ allows him to think several steps ahead of the opposition. He understands the areas of the ice he needs to place the puck to have success. Hagens demonstrates his ability to attack scoring areas on the ice because he passes with precision at the perfectly timed moments to find his teammates.
One component of Hagens play worthy of critique is his shot selection and shot generation. His shot has power but he needs to be more aggressive with his shooting and provide more frequent looks to the net.
This past season Hagens made the jump to Boston College of the NCAA and did not dominate as he did with the USNTDP.
As a result, his stock has fallen amongst league circles over the past 12 months, from potential first overall pick to out of the top five of the draft.
This is what has allowed Hagens to become a realistic option at sixth overall for the Flyers.
Despite the criticisms, fifty percent of his 26 assists were primary assists and Hagens also scored 11 goals for a total of 37 points in 37 games in his freshman season.
If James Hagens is available to select when Philadelphia is on the board for the sixth pick he’ll undoubtedly be the best player left in the draft at that point.
It would be a selection very reminiscent of when Matvei Michkov fell into the Flyers lap at seventh overall in 2023.
22) Blake Fiddler, RHD, Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL)
Blake Fiddler is a 6-foot 4-inch right shot defender and is the son of former NHL forward Vernon Fiddler.
Fiddler’s size makes him an attractive defender teams will be looking to target in this draft but his skating ability is what really allows him to stand out.
Typically, defenders of Fiddler’s mold don’t have the skating and transition ability that he does. This is just one reason as to why the defender is such a fascinating selection at 22nd overall.
This past season with the Edmonton Oil Kings, Fiddler registered 10 goals and 23 assists for 33 points in 64 games.
Offensively there is room to improve, however what allows Fiddler to be a pick most teams are comfortable with is the fact he plays the premium position of right defense.
Fiddler is a high IQ defenseman, who’s physical and extremely mobile for his stature. If he manages to improve his offensive game the 17-year-old could end up being one of the steals of this draft.
That alone makes Fiddler worth the selection for Philadelphia at 22nd overall.
31) Alexander Zharovsky, RW, Ufa Tolpar (MHL)
Alexander Zharovsky is an intriguing forward with high-end skill prominently featured within his game.
The 6-foot-1 and 176 pound right winger registered 24 goals and 26 assists for a total of 50 points with Ufa Tolpar of the MHL last season.
Zharovsky finished with the most points of all U18 players in the MHL during the 2024-25 season. Additionally, he scored 35 points in his final 22 games and appeared to start dominating the league.
The aspects of Zharovsky’s game that make him stand out as a prospect are his elite puck handling abilities and overall creativity.
He can weave through defenders seamlessly and create offensive opportunities in very tight spaces due to his stick handling prowess.
Some other facets of the wingers game that make him a swing on talent are his abilities to execute high danger passes and draw defenders to him using his puck handling skills.
One flaw of Zharovsky’s game is that he doesn’t use his wrist shot nearly as much as he could.
Despite that particular flaw and the questionable skating which mainly surrounds his explosiveness and acceleration, the talent Zharovksy possesses is too abundant to pass up on.
One piece of information to note that may tie the Flyers to Zharovsky is Danny Briere attending the Gold Star Hockey Development Camp recently.
The camp took place in Florida between June 20th-26th, and apparently 20 teams sat down with the prospect.
Philadelphia has been rumored to be interested in Zharovsky’s skill set due to that.
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