Philadelphia Flyers
Where Flyers Stand in Draft Lottery; Could Choose Center
With five games remaining in what coach John Tortorella has called a “Godforsaken season,” the Philadelphia Flyers position in the NHL draft lottery is coming into focus.
The draft lottery will be held May 8 and will be televised on ESPN. The worse the team’s record, the better its chances in the lottery.
Then again, the Flyers had just a 2.4% chance to get the No. 2 pick in 2017. But they got lucky in the lottery, moving from No. 13 to No. 2. They selected center Nolan Patrick, who, unfortunately, has had an injury-plagued career.
At the moment, the Flyers have the NHL’s seventh-worst record. They have a 6.5% chance to get the No. 1 overall pick (hello, Connor Bedard), according to tankathon.
There is a slight chance the Philadelphia Flyers finish with the sixth- or eighth- worst record, based on the schedule and the tie-breaker (regulation wins). But the odds heavily favor the Flyers staying at No. 7.
They dropped four their fourth straight Tuesday, losing in St. Louis, 4-2.
Heading into Tuesday, Chicago, Anaheim, and Arizona were in full tank mode. Each had lost eight straight. Anaheim and Arizona were idle Tuesday, but the Blackhawks ended their skid with a surprising 4-3 win in Calgary.
The win could prove costly. Chicago dropped from the league’s worst record to the third-worst, based on the tiebreaker. The Hawks went from a 25.5% chance of getting the No. 1 pick (Bedard) to 11.5%.
Among the bottom seven, the Flyers are the hottest team. Despite their four-game losing streak, they are 5-3-2 in their last 10 games. During that span, they went from the NHL’s fifth- to the seventh-worst team.
Here are the worst 10 teams and their odds to get the top pick:
1. Anaheim, 56 points, five games left, 25.5% chance. (The Ducks own the tie-breaker — regulation wins — with Columbus and Chicago.)
2. Columbus, 56 points, five games left, 13.5%.
3. Chicago, 56 points, five games left, 11.5%.
4. San Jose, 59 points, five games left, 9.5%.
5. Montreal, 66 points, four games left, 8.5%.
6. Arizona, 67 points, four games left, 7.5%.
7. Flyers: 71 points, five games left, 6.5%.
8. Vancouver, 75 points, five games left, 6.0%.
9. Washington, 77 points, five games left, 5.0%.
10. St. Louis, 79 points, four games left, 3.5%.
Epilogue
If the Flyers stay at No. 7 after the draft lottery, tankathon projects they will pick Dalibor Dvorsky, a 6-foot-1, 201-pound center. TSN’s Bob McKenzie ranks him at No. 9 overall, and McKeen’s Hockey has him at No. 10. The NHL’s Central Scouting rates him No. 4 among European skaters.
Playing in the second-tier Swedish pro league even though he is only 17, the speedy Dvorsky is regarded as an excellent two-way player who has lots of creativity and wicked shot.
Dvorsky, who turns 18 on June 15, gave a strong account of himself while playing for Slovakia in in the 2023 World Juniors.
Disallowed Goal (!) Haunts Flyers in Loss to Blues
In the mean time . . .
Flyers prospect Alexis Gendron scored 3 goals for Gatineau Olympiques tonight on the way to a 6-0 win over the St-Johns Sea Dogs . . .
9 goals already in the playoffs . . .
A few thoughts:
If the Penguins miss the playoffs and then win the lottery, I’m out.
Chicago trades one superstar and is poised to get a new one right away.
Has a team won the Stanley Cup recently without at least one major superstar? When was the last time the Flyers had one? Giroux was a very good player but not quite to the dominant level of a Crosby or McDavid. I would say Lindros was our last one. Wherever they pick, the Flyers cannot afford a miss in this draft.
They need another First round pick this year or minimum a second very good draft 2023 with dept
Maybe a steel at Seventh round pick Who knows 🤷🏒🤔