Are Flyers a TRUE Team in Connor Bedard Sweepstakes?

Rebuilds in the NHL are different.

There can be tanking for long periods of time, or really short rebuilds where teams rebound quickly and become contenders.

One thing that helps a short rebuild is lottery luck. Teams like New Jersey and the New York Rangers have been able to flip around rebuilds quickly and construct contending teams by winning the NHL’s draft lottery.

Which brings us to the 2023 draft.

Everyone knows who Connor Bedard is at this point. He will be the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft, no question. Bedard broke Wayne Gretzky’s and Eric Lindros’ World Juniors records in the recent tournament, and the elusive center is going to be a star in this league.

Jockey for position

Fans want to know who will be in the Connor Bedard Sweepstakes as teams like Chicago, Columbus, Anaheim, and Arizona — among others — jockey near the bottom of the NHL.

Where do the Philadelphia Flyers fall in that category?

Since the Christmas break, they’ve won six of their last seven games and are improving as a team. The Flyers don’t have a lot of high-end firepower, as entering the second of a home-and-home series against the Washington Capitals on Saturday, they rank 26th in goals scored, and are 29th in the NHL on their power-play (16.5%).

So offensively as a whole, the Flyers usually don’t score as much as they are now. They have turned things around since the holiday break.

The Flyers have scored four or more goals in their last six wins. Their power-play has had some OK moments, but not as much consistent success as the overall scoring. Players like Travis Konecny,  Owen Tippett, Noah Cates, Joel Farabee, Morgan Frost, Cam York, and others, have shown there is growth in their game. It’s turning into wins. They are maturing before our eyes. 

Wednesday’s 5-3 win over the Capitals was the first game of the second half of the season — Game 42 — and the Philadelphia Flyers are finally starting to see consistency in their structure as a team.

Bedard odds drop

The fans who want the Flyers to improve their lottery odds for Bedard believe the winning is counter-productive. The players in the room and head coach John Tortorella, of course, want to see results, and that means wins.

Games like Wednesday’s against Washington are what you want to see out of a young, rebuilding squad. You have a good mix of players here to rebuild.

Now, playoffs? That’s a different story. That’s not in the cards this season.

As for the draft lottery, who knows? Maybe the Flyers get some luck and strike gold. According to Tankathon, they currently have a 6% chance to get the No. 1 overall pick. Columbus (18.5%) and Chicago (13.5%) lead the pack.

Hey, in 2017, the Flyers had only a 2.4% chance to go from No. 13 to No. 2 in the draft lottery. That’s just what happened, and they selected Nolan Patrick.

We’ll see how the rest of this season plays out, but for now, you must say this recent stretch of Flyers hockey has been refreshing.

Even if it has hurt their chances of landing Bedard.