Photo Credit: Vasili Gianarakos
With the 2024 NHL Entry Draft only hours away the Philadelphia Flyers have two first round draft picks and potentially even four draft selections in the first two rounds.
As a result, this upcoming draft looks to be an important one in the overall landscape of the Flyers rebuild and its ability to succeed.
For example, the four picks in the initial two rounds of this draft could end up becoming substantial pieces of Philadelphia’s roster down the line. If the Flyers were to somehow hit on all four picks it could drastically change the future of the franchise.
Primarily, the twelfth overall draft selection is an interesting one based on how the first round of this draft may play out.
From first to fifth overall it appears the prospects that will get selected are rumored to be Macklin Celebrini at first overall and then any combination of Artyom Levshunov, Ivan Demidov, Anton Silayev and Cayden Lindstrom. After the fifth overall selection is where things really start to get interesting with this draft.
Between the sixth overall draft choice to the sixteenth pick things seem to be wide open. There’s several different variations of where prospects could fall depending on certain preferences from teams and where they have players slotted on their draft boards.
Specifically, some combination of prospects that could be available to the Flyers at twelfth overall may consist of, Konsta Helenius, Cole Eiserman, Sam Dickinson, Carter Yakemchuk, Berkly Catton, Tij Iginla, Zayne Parekh, Zeev Buium, Bennett Sennecke, and Michael Brandsegg-Nygard.
With the following prospects listed above all projected to be selected anywhere from sixth to sixteenth amongst a variety of different mock drafts the chances are high the Flyers will have the opportunity to draft a talented player.
That’s what makes this draft particularly fascinating because typically around twelfth overall this many sought after prospects that could be argued as top ten talents aren’t usually available.
What this type of draft cements is that no matter how the selections fall Philadelphia will most likely have an enticing group of prospects to choose from.
Which Prospects Would be the Best Fits for the Flyers
Berkly Catton:
The 5 ’11, 170 pound centerman currently plays for the Spokane Chiefs in the WHL.
Catton registered 116 points in 68 games scoring 54 goals and 62 assists. In terms of points per game for draft eligible players he is third in the last 20 years at 1.71 ppg behind Connor Bedard, but ahead of players such as Leon Draisaitl, Seth Jarvis and Mat Barzal.
One aspect that stands out in Catton’s game is his skating and acceleration. This allows him to separate from defenders and create odd man rush opportunities, as well as, clean zone entries. Such plays lead to the centerman creating transition offense through the middle of the ice very often.
Catton has a precise wrist shot and is able to change the angle on his wrist shots to deceive goaltenders. This is an underrated factor to his game as he’s described by most to be a pass first player.
Catton is a very effective playmaker. His vision on the ice and ability to slow the play down, draw defenders to him and open up space for his teammates is quite impressive. The forward’s knack for slowing the game down and making the appropriate play speaks to the hockey IQ he possesses.
Catton can try too much at times, which can be a detriment to his game due to forcing plays that may not be there. This is one area he can improve upon by holding onto pucks longer to see if a play or space on the ice might open up.
In certain cases his off puck play is leaving things to be desired especially for a center. At points Catton can look for offense and the fast transition play out of his own zone instead of focusing on the defensive play and which opposing player needs to be covered.
Konsta Helenius:
Konsta Helenius is a center prospect out of Finland.
He scored 14 goals and 22 assists for 36 points in 51 games while playing for Mikkelin Jukurit in the top men’s league in Finland.
When looking at points per game amongst Finnish draft eligible players Helenius’ 0.71 points per game is third all time behind just Aleksander Barkov and Patrik Laine.
Helenius is a plus skater in regards to his stride, edgework, lateral movement and skating mechanics. Though his separation speed and acceleration is something that can be improved.
He has an accurate shot that can beat goaltenders from distance whether he’s using his wrist shot or one-timer.
The talented center’s passing ability might be his greatest asset. As he’s able to set up teammates effortlessly due to his vision.
The hockey IQ the young forward possesses is off the charts which can be seen clearly through his anticipation skills.
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Helenius is constantly able to put the puck into scoring areas of the ice before his teammates even reach those areas. Additionally, the centerman’s forechecking is something to highlight as well. The way he pressures opposing defenders opens lanes and scoring opportunities for his teammates.
One thing lacking in the center’s skating is explosiveness, which can impact his ability to separate from defenders and create transition offense. This is an aspect of his game that Helenius can definitely improve upon.
Sam Dickinson:
The 6’3, 204 pound defender registered 70 points in 68 games for London in the OHL this past season.
Dickinson is a great skater who’s always looking to join the rush. The defenseman’s skating prowess has benefited him defensively and ensures he doesn’t put himself in bad situations as he can recover quickly due to his proficient skating ability.
Dickinson can also blast the puck from the point. Most notably he has a huge shot and can find open lanes from the point with both his one-timer, wrist shot and slap shot.
Dickinson is certainly an impressive offensive defenseman. His high hockey IQ and the ability to handle pressure from opposing forecheckers speaks to how his transitional play typically gets started.
One underrated part of Dickinson’s game is his defensive play. Specifically, his stick work is very effective. He also uses his big frame to box players out and position himself accordingly in battles along the boards.
Some things the left shot defender can work on is not trying to do too much on the ice. In certain situations Dickinson would be more successful going with the simpler play instead of forcing something that isn’t there.
The fact Dickinson played with Oliver Bonk of the London Knights who the Flyers drafted during the 2023 first round makes the defenseman all the more enticing for Philadelphia.
If the Flyers do select Dickinson that could cement a future defensive pairing for the organization that already has chemistry in both Bonk and Dickinson.
Will the Flyers Trade Up in the Draft?
Dating back to last week there’s been rumors surrounding the Flyers and their intent to move up in the first round of the 2024 NHL draft.
Initially, these rumors started with Philadelphia being interested in Ottawa’s seventh overall selection.
However, it appears that deal is one that is no longer on the table according to a report from NHL Rumors Daily on X.
Instead, Flyers General Manager Danny Briere has been aggressively trying to move up the draft board even further according to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun.
On TSN’s insider trading segment LeBrun stated that, “What we’re being told is the Flyers made a pretty aggressive pitch to the Blue Jackets on Wednesday offering a swap of 1st RD picks also a roster player also perhaps next year’s 1st RD pick part of a package to try and get the 4th overall pick, I believe the answer was no.”
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman brought forth similar sentiments in regards to the Flyers and Blue Jackets trade negotiations on the 32 Thoughts podcast.
Friedman mentioned, “Columbus wanted something big. The #12, the 32nd pick, and Colorado’s 1st next year, and what I heard was that was too much for Philly. BUT, the two teams were expected to speak again, today on Friday.”
With reports coming from both LeBrun and Friedman on a possible trade between the Flyers and Blue-Jackets surrounding the fourth overall pick, it appears as though trade talks could ramp up again.
One interesting theory is that Matvei Michkov becoming a Philadelphia Flyer earlier than expected could be correlated to Briere’s attempts to move up in the draft.
The Flyers know they need to add more high end talent in general. But Michkov’s early arrival may give them even more reason to do so if the right opportunity arises.
Trading up to acquire the fourth overall pick would result in Philadelphia adding another high end prospect, which they desperately need.
Clearly, the Flyers are motivated to be aggressive and swing for the fences. If they did acquire the fourth pick in the draft some potential targets for Philadelphia could be Ivan Demidov, Cayden Lindstrom or Zeev Buium.
Ultimately, time will tell if the Flyers move up and secure the fourth overall selection in the draft. One thing to keep in mind is that top five picks in the NHL draft are rarely ever traded away especially in the salary cap era.
As a result, it will be interesting to see if the trade talks between Philadelphia and Columbus intensify any further.
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