Philadelphia Flyers
Flyers Draft Day 2 Live Blog: Grades and Analysis
LAS VEGAS, NV. — After trading the 32nd overall pick to the Edmonton Oilers at the end of Day 1, the Philadelphia Flyers started Day 2 of the 2024 NHL Draft gambling on upside once again.
After drafting Jett Luchanko 13th overall on Friday night, the Flyers drafted Swedish forward Jack Berglund with the 51st overall pick.
Grade: C-
Berglund, a 6-foot-2 power forward, was a bit of a curious choice for the Flyers at this spot in particular. The son of former NHLer Christian Berglund is undeniably talented and comes with a lot of tools and potential, but like Luchanko, this was probably a bit early.
The Flyers left players like Will Skahan, John Mustard, Maxim Masse, Jesse Pulkkinen, Henry Mews, Teddy Stiga, and Brodie Ziemer available on the board; Berglund was ranked 131st by EliteProspects, 97th by Dobber Prospects, and 96th by Daily Faceoff.
The Flyers have made it abundantly clear that they are addressing the need for centers in the organization by any means necessary, though the operation doesn’t appear to be the most efficient.
Danny Briere and Co. followed that up by trading up with the Nashville Predators for the 59th overall pick, parting ways with the 77th overall pick and Minnesota’s 2025 third-round pick in order to draft defenseman Spencer Gill.
Grade: B+
Ok, so the Flyers improved the size on their blueline, as Briere alluded to at the conclusion of Day 1 while explaining the decision to pass on Zeev Buium. Gill is 6-foot-4 and a bit raw, but also brings a boatload of tools to the table. Gill models his game after Noah Dobson and likes to get involved offensively and move the puck.
Gill is also physical, as evidenced by his size, so there’s a lot of intrigue here. If the 17-year-old defenseman can translate his offensive abilities to the pros and add a bit more bulk to his tall frame, Gill could become a top-4 defenseman at the NHL level for the Flyers.
On the left side, the Flyers already have big bodies like Egor Zamula, Hunter McDonald, and Adam Ginning, but lack size and length on the right side entirely outside of 2023 fifth-round pick Carter Sotheran.
Grade: A-
The Flyers followed up the Gill pick with Heikki Ruohonen, a Finnish center with excellent skating who was ranked by most outlets inside the top-100. The Flyers traded picks 150 and 177 to the Calgary Flames to acquire Ruohonen.
The 18-year-old is committed to Harvard and is regarded as a playmaking center with good feet and a strong feel for the game at both ends of the ice.
This was probably the range I would have expected Berglund to go, so Ruohonen helps alleviate some of that reaching in that regard.
The Flyers drafted Ohio State commit Noah Powell 148th overall in the fifth round.
Grade: B
I’ll admit, I’d never heard of Noah Powell before today, but there’s actually quite a lot to like about him. Powell had a below-average season statistically in 2022-23 before exploding for 43 goals and 74 points in 61 games this year for the Dubuque Saints of the USHL.
A 19-year-old February birthday, Powell brings excellent size at 6-foot, 201 pounds, and is regarded as an intelligent power forward who is ready and willing to shoot the puck and get to the blue paint.
My only critism of this pick is that Mississauga center Luke Misa was still on the board, and he went to Calgary two picks later.
The New Jersey Devils just traded Akira Schmid and Alex Holtz to Vegas for Paul Cotter, a fourth-liner, and a 2025 third-rounder. How much do you guys reckon a guy like Scott Laughton could fetch in a trade?
Following up on the Powell pick, the Flyers selected Russian forward Ilya Pautov with the 173rd overall pick in the sixth round.
Grade: B
I think this is an interesting on. Pautov had 15 goals and 45 points in 46 MHL games this season; in comparison, Ivan Demidov scored 23 goals and 60 points in 30 games in the MHL.
Pautov is about average in the goals, points, and points per game categories, but was ranked 90th by FC Hockey. There’s definitely some skill here, but you’d like to see the offensive production catch up in the coming years.
With the theme of this Flyers draft being upside, this is a fine gamble in my eyes.
The Flyers concluded their 2024 draft by selecting Austin Moline at pick 205.
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Thanks Jonathan. Many still scratching their heads with the pick at 13. Not that he won’t be a player and we are all rooting for him, but it seemed early and we could have maybe got JL and another great prospect. Certainly a bit deflating. They’re losing a bit of the goodwill they’ve achieved in the last year with some of the moves…
My pleasure, Steve! I have to agree, unfortunately. I haven’t been blown away by this draft, but it’s clear they do have a plan and are executing it to whatever extent they can. I have to imagine more moves are going to be coming throughout the year.
Hoping there might be some movement in trade talks for a C.
I am too
I’ve BEEN waiting for two months
Luchanko considered the 5th best skater in this class……Mustard, Spellacy, Emery and Catton were rated higher .Have to assume he will spend another year with the Storm in the OHL and then get an entry level deal and spend some time in the AHL….so looks like 2026/27 season may be the first time he is in a Flyers uni for a regular season game.
I think it will be longer for Luchanko. Briere said he’s going to have two years in the OHL and, at some point, going to have to add some bulk, too. I think 2028 or 2029 would be reasonable for NHL.
Jonathan – What happened to the trade with Ottawa that supposedly had a framework in place prior to the draft?
Did that framework include draft picks, or did it include only players the teams already had?
I was curious only because if it’s still in the works, it might help make some sense out of some of the picks that happened during the last two days.
I suspect that the two sides came to an understanding of what it would take to move up should a certain player have slipped down for the Flyers, but I believe the price was ultimately too high for Philly.
Another 6 foot 4 d man . I love it . Love the size . Time will tell with Gill . We have developed and formed a nice little pool of bigger d men up and coming and in minors to develop.
Berglund like bonk had a dad in nhl. Dna counts with the grind of this league . The kids of last generation have added a whole level of skill to their games with this next generation , generally speaking
in Brent flahr we trust !!!!
When does rebuild begin no roster players traded and besides very good AHL players to fair NHL players, Luchanko and Gill did we get anything to get excited about, truthfully. Laughton, Konecny and later on Routsalainen need to go . Let’s do a rebuild not a repeat of last 20 years which seems to be happening. They value “their kind” for too long it’s not working , more action less talk !
Konecny needed to go , promise of fireworks never materialized , this roster is not very good and needs improvements and changes . Hold on to players till there’s no value or contract strangles us buyouts are getting OLD.
How much do you guys reckon a guy like Scott Laughton could fetch in a trade?…..just draft picks aside with no players coming back, I think a 2nd round pick in one draft, a 3rd round pick in a following draft.
That’s the point get 2,3 round picks and go with youngster , rebuild if you’re going to rebuild , sooner or later he gets us a Kevin Hayes return , this roster is weak , we need to build better. Him holding down spot does us no good .konecny too he’s not taking us anywhere so trade him and try hitting something with a decent return, they admit they aren’t competing for 2-3 years….show us , prove it!!!