Flyers mock draft 3.0: Center James Hagens’ size shouldn’t be a concern at No. 6

Now that the NHL scouting combine is in the past and the annual predraft press conference by general manager Danny Brière and assistant general manager Brent Flahr has wrapped up, what the Flyers may do June 27 in the first round of the NHL draft is getting a little clearer.

Or maybe it isn’t.

The only ones who know how it will really play out will be in the Flyers’ war room in Atlantic City because, as Brière said Tuesday, there are differing opinions.

» READ MORE: Danny Brière won’t say whether the Flyers will draft a center with the No. 6 pick, but it sure looks that way

“No offense to all the experts out there that watch these players on tape once or twice, and they make their own rankings, and it’s great and it works for them, but I’m going to trust our guys that I’ve worked with for a lot of years,” he said.

As Brière also said, it’s a bit of a domino effect, based on what teams above them do. And with the opening round of the NHL draft less than nine days away, things are always moving and shaking — except for The Inquirer’s latest mock draft. Here is Version 3.0.

In our first mock draft, this spot belonged to Caleb Desnoyers, and in our second, it belonged to Hagens. That still is the case after Tuesday’s press conference.

Why? Time to read between the lines.

“It’s something to consider,” Brière said when asked about how important size is at No. 6. ”Just like the skating, the hockey sense, the competitive edge, it’s part of it. It probably doesn’t play into it as much as how competitive he is and the hockey sense. I think those things are probably more important, even the skating.

“We’re aware of it [taking size into consideration], but at the same time, we want to be careful. There are other areas we can protect those guys with the [Garnet] Hathaways of this world … the [Nick] Deslauriers, the [Nick] Seelers, like those guys. We’re aware, but at the end of the day, it shouldn’t sway us too much.”

Insert eye emoji because Hagens is listed at 5-foot-11. And he’s the only top-tier center under 6 feet.

» READ MORE: NHL draft: Could the Flyers keep it in the family with two-way ace Caleb Desnoyers?

And then Flahr added this:

“Obviously, with the number of picks we have, if there’s guys that may be lacking something, whether it’s skating ability or maybe a little size or whatever, those are the things you can try to do as the draft goes along,” he said.

“At six, I don’t know if we would be taking a swing. There’s a number of players there that are in that range that aren’t really swings for me. There’s different strengths and weaknesses and different types of players, maybe, but they’re all going to be good players down the road.”

Hagens possesses elite skating and playmaking ability, is dynamic on the ice, and could work seamlessly with rising star Matvei Michkov.

“I think we’ve shown that we’re not afraid [to take a swing], but we’re going to do what we feel is the best player,” Brière said Tuesday. “It doesn’t mean we’re just going to swing for the fun of it and keep you guys on your toes. We’re going to go with who we think the best player is. And look, our guys [on the scouting staff] have done a lot of work.”

The question for this pick has morphed from whom they will take to whether they even will be picking at No. 22.

“We’ve said from the beginning we’d like to try to move up, if it was possible, but right now, there’s just not a lot of options there,” Brière said. “Teams are all looking to move up, so we’ll have to be patient. And maybe there’s an opportunity that comes where we can create value going the other way also.”

» READ MORE: Flyers to hold 2025 NHL draft party at the Hard Rock in Atlantic City

If the Flyers move up into the top five, this pick surely would be involved. If they even move up a few spots to take someone like Barrie defensemen Kashawn Aitcheson, Henry Brzustewicz (Denver Barkey and Oliver Bonk’s teammate on London of the Ontario Hockey League), Wisconsin’s Logan Hensler, or recent Penn State pledge Jackson Smith, this pick, and potentially No. 31, would be involved.

If they stay at No. 22, let’s stick with Fiddler again because, like Hensler and Brzustewicz, the Flyers could always use another right-shot defenseman with size.

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

Now that we know the Flyers are picking at No. 31, with the Edmonton Oilers losing to the Florida Panthers in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final, things are a little more interesting. There still is some debate regarding whom they will pick — if the Flyers keep this selection — but in the first mock draft, it was top-tier skater Cullen Potter, and in the second mock draft, it was Vansaghi.

Let’s stick with Vansaghi, a guy the Flyers like and have seen a lot as he was teammates with college free-agent signee Karsen Dorwart at Michigan State. The St. Louis native plays a physical and hard-nosed game comparable to Montreal Canadiens forward Josh Anderson.

The catch is that they might be able to get Vansaghi in the second round, as the Flyers pick at 36, 40, 45, and 48. Other options at 31 include winger Jakob Ihs-Wozniak, whom NHL prospect analyst Corey Pronman of The Athletic has the Flyers taking in his latest mock draft at 32, and goalie Jack Ivankovic or Joshua Ravensbergen, both of whom were connected to the Flyers in NHL.com’s latest mock draft.

» READ MORE: Flyers draft: Matthew Schaefer and Danny Brière’s little-known connection and other notes from the NHL combine

When asked Tuesday about first-round potential, Flahr didn’t hide from the possibility of a goalie going in the top 32.

“Potentially one this year. … There’s a number of goalies, even as the draft goes along, that our guys are high on and think there’s a lot of potential there that maybe we use that pick for a positional player rather than a goaltender in that spot, just based off of what we have,” he said. “But we will manage that as the draft goes along. You have seen the draft before, as soon as one goalie goes, usually it’s a bang, bang, bang, they start to go.”