Predicting the sixth pick, how Trevor Zegras impacts Flyers’ plans, and more from Jackie Spiegel’s Reddit AMA
Flyers fans had a lot of questions ahead of this weekend's NHL draft — and Inquirer writer Jackie Spiegel answered them all during a Reddit AMA.
The Flyers are almost on the clock. The first round of the 2025 NHL draft is on Friday at 8 p.m., and the Flyers have three picks on the first day, starting at No. 6 overall. Flyers beat reporter Jackie Spiegel took to Reddit to answer all your questions about the draft. Here are a few highlights…
Q: Now that Trevor Zegras is on the Flyers, should they target size as a big part of their evaluation, as he is undersized, and the Flyers are one of the smallest teams? Who do you think they will get?
Spiegel: Size is always valuable to the Flyers, but I do think the addition of Trevor Zegras shifts who they take with the No. 6 pick. There was a lot of thought that James Hagens would be in their wheelhouse as a potential 1C and complement for Matvei Michkov — and as we reported, they did meet with him last week in town — but that was before they brought in another center, in Zegras, on the smaller side.
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Hagens has such high-end, dynamic talent, and he’s one of the top players in the draft, but when you have guys with skill, upside, AND size, it makes it tougher to take him. As for who they will get and who I think they will get, they are probably not going to be the same. A lot depends on who the teams in front of them take, but I do know they have guys like Caleb Desnoyers, Porter Martone, Brady Martin, and Jake O’Brien high on their list. If Anton Frondell is there? That’s a top take too. It’ll be interesting to see how the dominoes fall.
Q: Fate of the world on the line, who do you predict the Flyers take at 6?
I hope this answer doesn’t impact the fate of the world! Why? Because you really never know what teams are thinking, but also, as previously mentioned, a lot of it is a domino effect.
Now, if the cards fall as expected, and it’s 1) Matthew Schaefer, 2) Michael Misa, 3) Frondell, 4) Desnoyers, 5) Hagens ... I do think the Flyers go with O’Brien. They could go Martin, too, but the ceiling on O’Brien as an NHL center is probably higher than Martin’s at this time.
There is a lot to like about Martin, so it’ll be a tough call — and he could go to Utah at No. 4 for several reasons. The Flyers need center depth, so the only wild card that could be pulled is winger Martone.
Q: Who do you think the Flyers could/should look to take in the second round? Do you think the Flyers keep all three Round 2 picks?
At this point, I do think the Flyers will keep all three picks in the second round. We’ll be putting out our final mock draft — including the second round in this one — on Friday morning but names to keep an eye on are Michigan State’s Shane Vansaghi, Minnesota two-sport star Mason West, late-bloomer 6-foot-6 defenseman Haoxi (Simon) Wang, and Russian goalies Semyon Frolov and Pyotr Andreyanov.
Q: There has been a lot of talk around who the Flyers take at 6, but who is on your radar for the other two first-round picks? Do you think they might go goalie with one of them?
I’ve long held the belief that with the bottom half of the first round filled with quality blueliners, the Flyers will take at least one defenseman at either 22 or 31. Wisconsin’s Logan Hensler, Kitchener Ranger Cameron Reid, and the sons of NHLers, Blake Fiddler (dad is Vernon Fiddler) and Sascha Boumedienne (Josef Boumedienne’s son), are high on their radar, as is winger Daniil Prokhorov at 22.
Center Will Horcoff and defenseman Henry Brzustewicz could go at 31; the Flyers probably know the latter well as he is a teammate of Denver Barkey and Oliver Bonk in London. West and Vansaghi are probably taken high in the second round but could also go at 31.
Q: If the Flyers still select a center at No. 6 (which I’d actually prefer) after acquiring Zegras, does that suggest anything about how the front office views Jett Luchanko?
I don’t think it does because I know they like Luchanko’s speed and know he’s young and still developing. But, I do know that the Flyers keep pushing to see Luchanko shoot more and not primarily be a passer. I think because he does lean that way — and is good at it, especially with his high-octane speed — they may want someone else who has the ability to score a smidge more.