2024 Entry Level Draft - Confirmed Flyers pick at #12

[flyer4ever]

I am now focused on the 2026 draft. Two years for the BITFU. Graham McKenna just led in goals scored at the U18 World Championship, AS A 16 YEAR OLD, including a hat trick in the gold medal game. This is my wish. 

[BobbyClarkeFan16]

1 minute ago, ctid said:

How about going after a guy like Shane Wright? He's 20, still potential to be a 1C even though he dropped a little in his draft year and is taking his time developing. What's the word on him, can he be lured away from Seattle or are they going all in on him? 

I'd love Shane Wright. The guy is dripping in talent. I'm thinking with the 'tard gone in Seattle, the next coach will be more inclined to get Wright into the lineup and play him more. That was definitely a Dave thing not playing him, similar to what he did with Konecny because Konecny wasn't veteran enough. I'm sure Francis is going to basically tell the next coach that they have to give Wright playing time because he was the first ever franchise pick and that they need to start seeing a return on the investment.

 

If it's true that the Sabres are looking at Scott Laughton and if the Flyers are looking for a center prospect, Jiri Kulich or Noah Ostlund would also be ideal, especially Kulich. He's going to be a real good one.

[ctid]

1 minute ago, BobbyClarkeFan16 said:

I'd love Shane Wright. The guy is dripping in talent. I'm thinking with the 'tard gone in Seattle, the next coach will be more inclined to get Wright into the lineup and play him more. That was definitely a Dave thing not playing him, similar to what he did with Konecny because Konecny wasn't veteran enough. I'm sure Francis is going to basically tell the next coach that they have to give Wright playing time because he was the first ever franchise pick and that they need to start seeing a return on the investment.

 

If it's true that the Sabres are looking at Scott Laughton and if the Flyers are looking for a center prospect, Jiri Kulich or Noah Ostlund would also be ideal, especially Kulich. He's going to be a real good one.

If Seattle are under pressure to get to the playoffs and contend due to being a new team and generating interest/investors/whatever, the. A package including Konecny might entice them. Or Farabee plus a 1st. I wonder if Briere talked with Seattle when he was shopping Cutter. But it sounds like it's a long shot to pry him out of there.

 

Don't know much about Kulich or Ostlund, but I believe you if you say they are worth it

[flyercanuck]

36 minutes ago, flyer4ever said:

I am now focused on the 2026 draft. Two years for the BITFU. Graham McKenna just led in goals scored at the U18 World Championship, AS A 16 YEAR OLD, including a hat trick in the gold medal game. This is my wish. 

 

Gavin. 

 

See my post from yesterday in the Phantoms Flyers prospects thread. 

 

 

 

Edited May 6 by flyercanuck

[flyercanuck]

McKenzies rankings...

 

https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/bob-mckenzie-s-nhl-draft-ranking-an-unpredictable-ride-after-macklin-celebrini-1.2116004

[radoran]

2 hours ago, BobbyClarkeFan16 said:

That was definitely a Dave thing not playing him,

 

It's also a franchise that is more concerned with making the playoffs than developing players.

 

Sound familiar?

 

The coach is given a charge of making the playoffs and he tries to do his best to make that happen. That may not mean letting Wright take lumps in the NHL.

 

I don't agree with it, but Seattle saw Vegas and wanted "their" successful playoff franchise.

 

Everybody wants short cuts.

 

They make long delays.

 

Edited May 6 by radoran

[BobbyClarkeFan16]

1 hour ago, radoran said:

 

It's also a franchise that is more concerned with making the playoffs than developing players.

 

Sound familiar?

Fair enough. At the same time, in the outgoing interviews, players said if he remains then they want out. He clearly made enemies in the locker room and nobody went to bat for him when he got fired. I'm not sure he'll work in the NHL again in a head coach capacity. I think he'll return to the NCAA. Some just can't coach at the NHL level. He clearly has issues.

[BobbyClarkeFan16]

So, with regards to the draft, if none of the three centers are there and if Yakemchuk and Silayev are gone, how many would be comfortable if they reached slightly for Michael Hage? He's expected to go 16th/17th, so not a real huge drop. Great skill, great physical attributes and great character to endure through the year he had. He's going to go to a really good hockey program in Michigan, so he's going to be coached well when he arrives.

Edited May 7 by BobbyClarkeFan16

[ruxpin]

41 minutes ago, BobbyClarkeFan16 said:

So, with regards to the draft, if none of the three centers are there and if Yakemchuk and Silayev are gone, how many would be comfortable if they reached slightly for Michael Hage? He's expected to go 16th/17th, so not a real huge drop. Great skill, great physical attributes and great character to endure through the year he had. He's going to go to a really good hockey program in Michigan, so he's going to be coached well when he arrives.

I'd try to trade back if so.

[radoran]

1 hour ago, BobbyClarkeFan16 said:

Fair enough. At the same time, in the outgoing interviews, players said if he remains then they want out. He clearly made enemies in the locker room and nobody went to bat for him when he got fired. I'm not sure he'll work in the NHL again in a head coach capacity. I think he'll return to the NCAA. Some just can't coach at the NHL level. He clearly has issues.

 

I'm not arguing in favor of Hackstool. I'm saying the franchise told their coach to make the playoffs, not develop players.

 

And then fired him for not doing what they wanted and accused him of not doing what they didn't want.

 

Which is exactly how you described the Flyers in the same situation with Konecny.

 

The problem is starting with the wrong goal.

 

"Making the playoffs" in a league where HALF the teams make the playoffs is a 50/50 proposition.

 

"Winning a championship" is a horse of an entirely different color.

 

There are three teams five seed or below to win the Cup since 1980.

 

Anything can happen. It almost always doesn't.

 

[flyer4ever]

15 hours ago, flyercanuck said:

 

Gavin. 

 

See my post from yesterday in the Phantoms Flyers prospects thread. 

 

 

 

Thanks for the edit. I got a little jacked watching the GMG. 

[GratefulFlyers]

well the Flyers coming into tonight's lottery with a solid 2.5% of nailing down the overall 1st... If only they'd tanked dammit they coulda had the Sharks' 18.5% odds ... or Chi's 13.5%... //sarcasm

 

Seriously is a less than 1 in 5 shot worth an entire season of deliberate suckage...? Remember down the stretch when the Flyers couldn't beat the worst of the worst, Chi, Montreal... the whole season would've looked like that.

 

OTOH I must admit I'm not nearly as enthusiastic as I was about the overall direction Jones/Briere/Tortorella seem to be going. Probably because I have no idea what direction that is. They're still talking a (fairly) good game about "more work" and "we're not there yet" but I get the feeling they think Michkov will be transformative on Day One... never mind that he may not ever get to Philly.

 

 

[ruxpin]

50 minutes ago, GratefulFlyers said:

well the Flyers coming into tonight's lottery with a solid 2.5% of nailing down the overall 1st..

They have 0% chance at first overall.  They can only move up 10 slots, so the best they can do is JVR..er....Patrick...er....second.

[ruxpin]

51 minutes ago, GratefulFlyers said:

OTOH I must admit I'm not nearly as enthusiastic as I was about the overall direction Jones/Briere/Tortorella seem to be going. Probably because I have no idea what direction that is. They're still talking a (fairly) good game about "more work" and "we're not there yet" but I get the feeling they think Michkov will be transformative on Day One... never mind that he may not ever get to Philly.

 

I'm with you here.

[GratefulFlyers]

5 minutes ago, ruxpin said:

They have 0% chance at first overall.  They can only move up 10 slots, so the best they can do is JVR..er....Patrick...er....second.

 

Ah right I forgot about that. Okay so no #1. But if I understand you correctly the Flyers can land another "can't miss" prospect like JVR or Patrick. Whew...and I thought they had nothing to look forward to tonight.

[flyercanuck]

1 hour ago, GratefulFlyers said:

well the Flyers coming into tonight's lottery with a solid 2.5% of nailing down the overall 1st... If only they'd tanked dammit they coulda had the Sharks' 18.5% odds ... or Chi's 13.5%... //sarcasm

 

Seriously is a less than 1 in 5 shot worth an entire season of deliberate suckage...? Remember down the stretch when the Flyers couldn't beat the worst of the worst, Chi, Montreal... the whole season would've looked like that.

 

 Well, the flipside of this is what you've seen out of the Flyers for 20 years....not much. They make the playoffs, they miss the playoffs. They make it, they miss it. Once in a blue moon they win a round. I really don't see the thrill in that at all. Maybe if I just started watching hockey a couple years ago I might find it exciting, but this eternal ordinary, middle of the road thing has worn thin. 

 

1 hour ago, GratefulFlyers said:

 

OTOH I must admit I'm not nearly as enthusiastic as I was about the overall direction Jones/Briere/Tortorella seem to be going. Probably because I have no idea what direction that is. They're still talking a (fairly) good game about "more work" and "we're not there yet" but I get the feeling they think Michkov will be transformative on Day One... never mind that he may not ever get to Philly.

 

 

 

 Ya, there's no plan for a "rebuild". They're going to continue to add middle of the round draft picks to the middle of the road team and hope something comes of it. That's a pretty lame plan. If I was a BlackHawks fan, I'd be getting pretty excited about what they're building there...with 3 cups still in their memory from knowing how to do it before.

[ruxpin]

36 minutes ago, GratefulFlyers said:

 

Ah right I forgot about that. Okay so no #1. But if I understand you correctly the Flyers can land another "can't miss" prospect like JVR or Patrick. Whew...and I thought they had nothing to look forward to tonight.

LOL  yeah, they can land a future Hall of Flameout at #2 tonight if they get really, really, lucky.

[radoran]

1 hour ago, GratefulFlyers said:

Seriously is a less than 1 in 5 shot worth an entire season of deliberate suckage

 

Seriously, is twelve years of utter futility worth another twelve years of utter futility?

 

There's a fundamental difference between telling a team to deliberately lose and constructing a roster that won't "compete for a playoff spot." The Sharks weren't trying to lose games. They just sucked.

 

Was just missing the playoffs a great indication of the future? Was losing to the Cup Finalist Rangers in 7 in 2014 a good sign? Was finally winning a round in 2020 a good sign?

 

Middling, bubble playoff teams stay middling, bubble playoff teams.

 

Two years away from being two years away...

 

1 hour ago, GratefulFlyers said:

I get the feeling they think Michkov will be transformative on Day One...

 

They'll finally have their Ovechkin.

 

Now about their Backstrom...

 

We are seriously in a position where after the Flyers loss to Chicago in 2010 we will see the Blackhawks win three Cups with Kane and Towes and re-load with Bedard and another top 4 pick while the Flyers won the trades and have one playoff round win in twelve years and might have a potential star coming in two years.

 

Edited May 7 by radoran

[ctid]

So if the lottery gods shine favorably on the Flyers, do they go Demidov and let Michkov and Demidov define the next 10-15 years of Flyers hockey? IMHO he is the best prospect after Celebrini. Or do they go slightly off the board and target the big power forward center in Cayden Lindstrom? Or have first choice of the plethora of D-men and probably choose a bust? I know, this discussion is statistically pointless and in a few hours it won't be relevant. But the interesting thing about this draft is after Celebrini and down to 12-13 pick, they could go in any order. Been a while since I've seen scouts opinions differ so much.

Edited May 7 by ctid

[ruxpin]

9 minutes ago, radoran said:

They'll finally have their Ovechkin.

 

Now about their Backstrom...

 

We are seriously in a position where after the Flyers loss to Chicago in 2010 we will see the Blackhawks win three Cups with Kane and Towes and re-load with Bedard and another top 4 pick while the Flyers won the trades and have one playoff round win in twelve years and might have a potential star coming in two years

 

So, where's the problem?

 

[FD19372]

1 minute ago, radoran said:

 

Seriously, is twelve years of utter futility worth another twelve years of utter futility?

 

There's a fundamental difference between telling a team to deliberately lose and constructing a roster that won't "compete for a playoff spot." The Sharks weren't trying to lose games. They just sucked.

 

Was just missing the playoffs a great indication of the future? Was losing to the Cup Finalist Rangers in 7 in 2014 a good sign? Was finally winning a round in 2020 a good sign?

 

Middling, bubble playoff teams stay middling, bubble playoff teams.

 

Two years away from being two years away...

 

 

They'll finally have their Ovechkin.

 

Now about their Backstrom...

 

We are seriously in a position where after the Flyers loss to Chicago in 2010 we will see the Blackhawks win three Cups with Kane and Towes and re-load with Bedard and another top 4 pick while the Flyers won the trades and have one playoff round win in twelve years.

 

Our team ownership group is content with being a one and done playoff team, so they can selfishly pocket maybe one round of playoff money. This is why I equated the hirings of Jones and Briere, to putting a lipstick on a pig. I hope and pray they succeed in Philly. Chicago's ownership group appears to be competent, and know how to bottom out to reload their franchise to return them to glory. I'll save all the conspiracy theories of how the draft lottery is rigged for an original six team, for someone else to discuss.

[GratefulFlyers]

11 minutes ago, flyercanuck said:

 Ya, there's no plan for a "rebuild". They're going to continue to add middle of the round draft picks to the middle of the road team and hope something comes of it. That's a pretty lame plan.

 

Well you left out trading, which is apparently how the Flyers plan to land high-end talent. If they can build a player-friendly environment it could work. The x-factor is Tortorella. There are players who will not play for him, probably just as many who would love to. Jones and Briere seem to have a stock of good will around the league. Maybe they get creative, bring in a game-changer when the team is closer to a legit Cup contender.

 

11 minutes ago, flyercanuck said:

If I was a BlackHawks fan, I'd be getting pretty excited about what they're building there...with 3 cups still in their memory from knowing how to do it before.

 

Sure but it's still a huge gamble and hard to believe tanking your way to success is any easier than trading for talent. Flyers' fans know full well that one of the 'Hawks best players shoulda coulda woulda been in the O&B instead. Depending on the luck of the bounce seems kinda lame too.

 

And of course the Blackhawks have an entirely different history, fan base, etc. I'm not saying it can't be done in Philly. In fact I bet Flyers' fans would appreciate a more complete rebuild if it was handled properly. But I don't see it happening. We're going with Developing, Trading and Hoping like 90% of the rest of the teams.

[ruxpin]

2 minutes ago, ctid said:

So if the lottery gods shine favorably on the Flyers, do they go Demidov and let Michkov and Demidov define the next 10-15 years of Flyers hockey? IMHO he is the best prospect after Celebrini. Or do they go slightly off the board and target the big power forward center in Cayden Lindstrom? Or have first choice of the plethora of D-men and probably choose a bust? I know, this discussion is statistically pointless and in a few hours it won't be relevant. But the interesting thing about this draft is after Celebrini and down to 12-13 pick, they could go in any order. Been a while since I've seen scouts opinions differ so much.

 

I go Levshunov or Lindstrom.   But knowing that, I want to see if I can get Columbus or Montreal to trade up to get Demidov.   

I'm okay with trading back to Arizona's/Utah's pick at #7 (it'll be 7th if the Flyers move up to #2)  if either a prospect or the 2nd rounder comes with it, or both.   A bunch of defensmen should be there at that point. 

[FD19372]

A bunch of mock drafts have the Flyers taking TJ Iginla, who is a center/wing. I would really like that pick. Man, if he can play at the same skill level and physicality as his dad, the Flyers can get themselves one hell of a player. This franchise needs more centers, that can really play.

[flyercanuck]

26 minutes ago, GratefulFlyers said:

 

Well you left out trading, which is apparently how the Flyers plan to land high-end talent. If they can build a player-friendly environment it could work. The x-factor is Tortorella. There are players who will not play for him, probably just as many who would love to. Jones and Briere seem to have a stock of good will around the league. Maybe they get creative, bring in a game-changer when the team is closer to a legit Cup contender.

 

 Ok, so we're going to trade for a #1 centre, a #1 defenceman, and a #1 goalie...among other things.  Will this come in a single package for Nic Deslauriers and a 2nd, or will several teams line up to help Briere and co. build a winner?

 

Bringing in the missing piece for a cup run is completely doable and that's exactly why you build up your prospect pool and draft capital. Building a championship team through trades for all the key components sounds more ridiculous than tanking for the 1st overall, doesn't it?

 

26 minutes ago, GratefulFlyers said:

 

Sure but it's still a huge gamble and hard to believe tanking your way to success is any easier than trading for talent. Flyers' fans know full well that one of the 'Hawks best players shoulda coulda woulda been in the O&B instead. Depending on the luck of the bounce seems kinda lame too.

 

And of course the Blackhawks have an entirely different history, fan base, etc. I'm not saying it can't be done in Philly. In fact I bet Flyers' fans would appreciate a more complete rebuild if it was handled properly. But I don't see it happening. We're going with Developing, Trading and Hoping like 90% of the rest of the teams.

 

Yes, the Hawks history includes winning multiple cups in recent memory by rebuilding the right way. The Flyers history is 5 decades old. Soon, nobody will be alive who actually saw them win. 

 

Did you actually say "developing".  The Flyers track record there is really, really bad. And OVER 90% of the teams who win the cup, do it by rebuilding...not trading for every key piece needed to win.

Edited May 7 by flyercanuck