Could Flyers take a swing and draft a defenseman at No. 6? Ranking the top blueliners available in the class.

Assistant general manager Brent Flahr sat down for his final pre-NHL draft news conference alongside Flyers general manager Danny Brière on Tuesday and was asked how he views the top of the class and its strength in terms of position.

“It’s pretty well talked about, that early in the draft in the top 10, there are a number of centermen, which isn’t always the case,” Flahr said. “There are a few defensemen, a couple of high-end wingers. There’s obviously a lot of different options there. We obviously are well aware of our own needs, but at the same time, there’s some players, especially at No. 6, we’re going to go with the best player on our board.”

Defensemen? That certainly raised an eyebrow or two at the Flyers Training Center.

So did Brière when asked about taking a swing or going outside the box at six, saying: “I think we’ve shown that we’re not afraid to do that,” like taking Jett Luchanko at No. 13 last year. While Flahr did downplay a swing at six, it does open some thought bubbles because this time of year is filled with smoke screens and sleight of hand.

» READ MORE: Flyers met this week with James Hagens, who could be available with the No. 6 pick

So, could the Flyers go with a defenseman at No. 6?

It takes a few years for defensemen to develop their game, and there’s no guarantee what the Flyers’ blue line will look like when the 2025 class is ready. But several first-round options shoot right-handed, which the Flyers need in the system.

As of Saturday, the Flyers only have Jamie Drysdale on the active roster as a right-shot, with Rasmus Ristolainen recovering from tendon surgery. In the system, there are 2024 second-rounder Spencer Gill, 2021 sixth-rounder Ethan Samson, Oliver Bonk, who will be turning pro in September, and Helge Grans, who made his NHL debut this season for the Flyers.

That’s it.

So it doesn’t seem preposterous if the Flyers go after a right-shot defenseman in the first round. Maybe at six? Here’s a ranking of the blueliners in the class whom the Flyers could take in the first round, beginning with three potential options at six.

A trend in this class is size, and Mrtka comes in at a whopping 6-foot-6, 218 pounds. Add in that he’s a right-shot defenseman who says his comparable is the Detroit Red Wings’ Moritz Seider and, yeah, insert eyes emoji. Mrtka is an off-the-board option at No. 6.

A two-way defenseman, Mrtka came to the United States in late November to play for Seattle of the Western Hockey League. He notched three goals and 35 points in 43 regular-season games, had three assists in six playoff games, and added another four points at the U18s for Czechia.

Despite his size, Mrtka, the second-best defenseman behind No. 1 pick Matthew Schaefer, is a strong skater and talented puck mover who can also play a physical game — which he’s working on building.

» READ MORE: Flyers draft: Roger McQueen comes with legitimate injury concerns, but his upside is tantalizing

“When I was young, I was always big, so when I hit somebody, I made it to the penalty box,” he said. “So, I kind of played without [the] body to [stay] on the ice. Right now, when everybody’s getting bigger and stronger, I can play more physical.”

Except for when he played against former Flyers forward Jaromir Jagr in Czechia’s top professional league. Last year, in one game, the 53-year-old star didn’t play, but Mrtka said of Jagr: “It’s like ‘God’ on the bench.”

“Even our coach told us that you can’t really play against him physical, because he’s that strong," Mrtka said, adding: “And you don’t really want to play physically against him, because if you would injure him, probably a whole nation would be kind of mad at you."

Speaking with The Inquirer in Buffalo, Aitcheson was soft-spoken, but it’s a far cry from how he plays on the ice. The 6-1, 199-pound left-shot D-man is known for his mobility, offensive game, and being a heat-seeking missile when it comes to open-ice hits.

“I think I’m just pretty good at it,” he chuckled, joking that he’s been hitting since before he was allowed to. “I have a knack for it, and it gets the energy in the game.”

But while the 18-year-old Toronto native, who could be a swing at six, compares his game to Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy. He also bears a resemblance to the guy whose number he sports, Hall of Famer Ray Bourque. He’s definitely a mixture of the two, noting that his strengths are his “compete, work ethic, and probably skating.”

» READ MORE: Flyers hire former Capitals head coach Todd Reirden to lead their defense and penalty kill

Playing for Barrie of the Ontario Hockey League, the same junior team as Flyers forward Tyson Foerster, Aitcheson finished third among defensemen with 26 goals and seventh with 59 points in 64 regular-season games. He added another six goals and 12 points in 16 playoff games.

“Love the physicality side, and how you can kind of catch people coming across the middle and even in the corner battles, just going at them,” said Aitcheson, who switched to defense at the age of 9 and joked that he was just “trying to survive” back then. “I also like how the game is in front of you, how you can kind of control the play of the game and the pace of the game, and the team kind of relies on you.”

Well, if the Flyers end up drafting Smith, they won’t have to go too far to see how his development is going. The 6-3, 190-pound defenseman recently committed to Penn State.

“[I’m a] big defenseman who skates really well, has a lot of offensive upside, but can also play on the D side of the puck, can run a power play, can play PK as well. So, kind of an all-around defenseman with offensive potential,” the right-handed defenseman said in Buffalo.

This season, skating for Tri-City of the WHL, he had 54 points in 68 regular-season games and three points in five playoff games, and added four goals in seven games for the gold-medal winning Canadians at the U18 World Championship.

He is ranked No. 6 in the final ranking by Elite Prospects, so it’s no wonder his comparison is Miro Heiskanen.

“He’s a big defender that skates really well and has a high-end offensive ability. You just don’t see that very often, that combination,” Stu Barnes, his coach in Tri-City, told The Inquirer. “He’s able to get the puck out of his zone a number of ways. … He has the ability to skate the puck out of the zone or pass it out of the zone really effectively. So not only can he get it out of the danger area, but he can get it back down to the other end and create some offense. So, he’s an exciting player.”

The Flyers’ second pick in the first round is No. 22, and draft analyst Corey Pronman of The Athletic thinks they take Hensler. A 6-2 right-shot, two-way defenseman who just wrapped up his freshman year at Wisconsin (12 points in 32 games) and helped the U.S. win gold at World Juniors? Not a bad pick.

“I use my skating and my size to disrupt plays and also to transition the puck north,” he said. “Also have that offensive ability, too — it’s a little more natural — and kind of use that to my advantage when it’s there.”

A Jake Sanderson comparable who isn’t afraid to make and learn from mistakes, he played on the power play for the Badgers.

“I think moving up around, smooth, quick, and sufficient is a big piece, and I think I learned that this year,” he said. “That control piece is huge; you always have a chance to score.”

A lanky, 6-2 Swedish defenseman who shoots left, Boumedienne had quite a draft year. First, he rose from a “B” ranking by NHL Central Scouting in October to the 18th-ranked North American skater in his class.

How? Skating on the blue line for the NCAA runner-up, Boston University, he had 13 points in 40 games. He then headed to the U18 World Championship and set a record for defensemen with 14 points (one goal, 13 assists) in seven games, including five assists against Switzerland and four against Czechia. Oh, and he skated more than 26 minutes in four games.

» READ MORE: Flyers draft: Could Anton Frondell, who many rate as the top goal scorer in the class, be their Aleksander Barkov?

“I consider myself a two-way defenseman who uses my skating all over the ice to make it hard on the opposing team, eliminate time and space for them and just in general, make it hard on them,” he told The Inquirer. “Then a guy who loves to join the rush and kind of create offense, in that second wave, where the guys can hit me and create quick offense off that.”

Boumedienne wears No. 78, the same number his father, Josef Boumedienne, wore during his professional hockey career. The former NHLer is now the GM for Team Sweden — the same GM who tapped Sam Ersson to represent Tre Kronor this year — and was an influence on his son, who switched from forward to defense at the age of 13 because, “I wanted to be like dad.”

Fiddler also has an NHL dad, but unlike Boumedienne, he did not follow in his father’s footsteps. Vernon Fiddler played forward, and Blake Fiddler, who switched to defense at the age of 10 or 11, has five inches on his dad at 6-4.

“I’m a big, long, rangy, two-way D-man, smooth skater, good skater, especially for my size,” the 17-year-old right-shot Texan told The Inquirer. “I’m a guy that can do a little bit of everything, and I defend hard, use my legs to defend, and can also chip in offensively and produce offense with my skating and skill.”

This past season, playing on the penalty kill and power play, he had 33 points (10 goals, 23 assists) in 64 regular-season games and an assist in seven playoff games for Edmonton of the WHL. He was also impressive at the Under-18 World Championships, with two goals and three points in seven games for the bronze medal-winning United States.

Fiddler, who models his game after NHL defenseman John Klingberg with both wearing No. 3, is The Inquirer’s pick at No. 22 for the Flyers in our third mock draft.

He’s a defenseman who could be around at No. 31. The Flyers didn’t chat with him in Buffalo, but Brzustewicz is a familiar face to the Flyers — he’s the teammate of prospects Oliver Bonk and Denver Barkey in London, Ontario.

“I think I’m a two-way guy who plays in all situations,” the 6-1 righty said. “My game accelerates in all three zones. I think I can play all three zones really well, and I just try to be steady.”

The brother of Calgary Flames prospect Hunter Brzustewicz, Henry has a heavy shot and had 42 points (10 goals, 32 assists) and 77 penalty minutes in 67 regular-season games and five points in 17 playoff games for the Memorial Cup champion Knights. The win caused a midweek arrival at the combine, so that could explain the lack of a meeting with Philly.

“Henry can wear many hats. Henry has worn many hats,” London’s U.S. scout Bill Sullivan said. “If you need him to do some things on the power play, he’s more than capable. If you need to partner him with a Sam Dickinson and have him play a little bit more of a shutdown role, he’s shown he’s capable of doing that.

“ … His skating is very good and continues to improve, and the way he adapted his game in the playoffs and the Memorial Cup to be a part of a big winning cause showed a lot of maturity, and it showed the level of dedication to his role that he was willing to make.”