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Flyers Fans Should Root for Avalanche and Oilers, Not Other Way Around

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(Photo: AP)

As it stands, the Philadelphia Flyers actually only have one first-round pick in the upcoming 2025 NHL Draft.



If the team is to either stockpile young talent, trade for a young star, or perhaps both, they need that to not be the case.

The Flyers traded Sean Walker to the Colorado Avalanche for a 2025 first-round pick at the NHL trade deadline in March and punted the No. 32 overall pick (Sam O’Reilly) to the Edmonton Oilers at the 2024 NHL Draft, swapping that out for a 2025 first-round pick instead.

But, the problem is that there is a caveat. Both first-round picks acquired by the Flyers are conditional, and the conditions are that both picks are protected.

The Avalanche’s pick is top-10 protected and the Oilers’ pick is top-12 protected, meaning that both Western Conference powerhouses will keep their selections in the 2025 draft if they continue to struggle.

This is an important distinction because, if the season ended today, the Avalanche would be picking at No. 2, and the Oilers would be picking at No. 7. As for the Flyers, they’d be picking sixth.

Mark that down as three potential top-7 selections.

So, if the Avalanche and the Oilers do indeed lose their wheels this season, the Flyers would be picking three times in the 2026 NHL Draft instead of 2025. That is a fine outcome, but it leaves the future of Philadelphia up to guesswork at this point in time.

The 2025 NHL Draft is generally considered to be one of the deepest drafts in recent memory, while little is known about the 2026 draft so early into the 2024-25 season.

Gavin McKenna, the cousin of Connor Bedard, and Viggo Bjorck are considered to be the two top forward talents of the 2026 class, but after them, hardly anything is set in stone.

Flyers’ Draft Needs

Recent developments have shown us that the Flyers are in desperate need of upper-echelon defense prospects.

So far, Egor Zamula and Adam Ginning have not proven themselves or shown they are capable of playing meaningful minutes at the NHL level on a consistent basis.

Oliver Bonk’s below-average training camp indicates that he is not as close as previously thought. Spencer Gill, on the other hand, had an impressive training camp, but he will need to work on filling out his thin frame in addition to improving his skills on the ice.

That leaves Emil Andrae and Hunter McDonald, two 22-year-olds who have to work on completely different things. Andrae may be the closest to the NHL, but even he has not been able to break through and establish himself on a porous Flyers defense.

The 2025 draft class gives the Flyers an opportunity to address the defense, as well as their long-standing need of projectable top-six centermen, at the same time.

Projected No. 1 overall pick James Hagens is likely out of the question, barring an unmitigated disaster, but top center prospects like Anton Frondell, Ivan Ryabkin, Roger McQueen, Caleb Desnoyers, Michael Misa, and Adam Benak would all be more than adequate consolation prizes.

Defensively, Matthew Schaefer, Logan Hensler, Sascha Boumedienne, Artem Vilchinsky, and Blake Fiddler all have the size and skills to potentially become top-pairing NHL defensemen.

But, thanks to the Avalanche and the Oilers, the Flyers can only think about nabbing one of those names right now. Not three.

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GMAN

Delusional thinking that the Av’s will be bad enough to pick top 10 or that the Oilers will be bad enough to pick in the top 12.
Last year the Oilers started slow, made a coaching change and ended up playing in the finals.
The Flyers will end up with all three picks in the 2025 draft. The only difference will be if they utilize all 3 on their own or use them as a package in a trade to move up or to obtain a 1C or 1D.

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