Flyers Mock Draft 2.0: Did the Lottery Results Change the Plan?

The Philadelphia Flyers were handed the worst possible outcome of the 2025 NHL Draft Lottery. Two teams, the New York Islanders and Utah Mammoth, made significant jumps, pushing the Flyers down two spots.

After finishing the season with the fourth-worst record in the league, the Flyers will be picking sixth overall.

In my first Flyers mock draft, I had the team selecting James Hagens, a center from Boston College. I had that pick at No. 5.

While the Flyers are only picking one spot later, Hagens to Philly seems less likely than it once was.

Picking for need in the first round is always a dicey game–nine times out of ten, you leave money on the table. The Flyers desperately need centers and will likely look to address that in the draft. With prospects like Hagens, Michael Misa, and Anton Frondell, it is an easy choice.

However, now the expectation is for neither to be available at six, unless they get lucky. The results of the draft lottery changed the easy plan. Now at six, do the Flyers reach for a center, or do they take the best player available?

Caleb Desnoyers, the brother of Elliot, should be the next center off the board. If the Flyers do go center, I expect it to be him. Brady Martin, this year’s late riser, is also being linked to the Flyers in mock drafts by Craig Button and Scott Wheeler. Even Jake O’Brien could be in talks at No. 6.

However, are those three players better picks than Porter Martone? Some recent mock drafts have had the Flyers passing on the power forward in favor of a center. That leads back to the question at hand: Should the Flyers draft for need, or best player available?

Read More: Flyers Mock Draft 1.0: Round One

Picks 1-5

1. NYI-Matthew Schaefer, LD, Erie Otters (OHL)
2. SJS-Michael Misa, C, Saginaw Spirit (OHL)
3. CHI-James Hagens, C, Boston College (NCAA)
4. UTAH-Roger McQueen, C, Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
5. NASH-Porter Martone, RW, Brampton Steelheads (OHL)

The first two picks should not be overthought. It’s been this way for months now. I can see the Islanders talking about James Hagens first overall; hometown kid, a point-per-game player at the NCAA level, and five months ago, he was in the top pick conversation. However, as I said, it should be simple for the first two picks.

Chicago at three could be where things get interesting. They have three great young centers in Connor Bedard, Frank Nazar, and Oliver Moore, albeit Moore has already been pushed out to the wing. That won’t stop him from a return to the middle in the future, but it tells that the Hawks won’t be afraid of drafting another center.

Utah will be the first team to shake things up, in my opinion. A right-shot defenseman to pair with Mikhail Sergachev for a long time would be ideal, but that would be too far of a reach. Instead, they’ll look for a forward with size. Instantly, you’d think Desnoyers or Martone, but that doesn’t shake things up enough. Instead, I think they take the risk on Roger McQueen, the 6’5″ center.

Nashville is then on the clock, and they make the fastest pick outside of the top two. Porter Martone is a talented player—a big, physical skater with a powerful yet fine-tuned scoring touch. He is my early favorite to be the best player from this class when it’s all said and done. Once the Predators are on the clock, it is a fast and easy choice.

Now, the Flyers are on the clock, and with Utah getting bold, the Flyers get lucky.

Round 1, Pick 6: Anton Frondell, C, Djurgårdens IF (HockeyAllsvenskan)

Flyers Mock Draft 1.0: (R1P5) James Hagens, C, Boston College

Anton Frondell was a player widely expected to go in the top-five, and even be the first center not named Michael Misa off the board.

However, the young Swedish center decided to go to the U18 Worlds, where he looked very sluggish. Even though he had just finished up his HockeyAllsvenskan season and helped earn Djurgårdens IF’s promotion to the SHL, Frondell made the long trip to Texas for the international tournament in front of many NHL scouts.

Not having his typical dominance at Worlds may cause Frondell to slip further than expected, but he won’t get past the Flyers. It’s easy to overlook his struggles at Worlds when you count that he joined Sweden mid-tournament, immediately after his Djurgårdens IF season concluded.

The Flyers would be getting an elite play-driving center who has a knack for finding his teammates in the right places, and can score himself. He makes things happen, and that’s what the Flyers need. He has true 1C potential, and the Flyers can’t pass that up.

Not to mention, Frondell plays a solid two-way game. He is a reliable defender who won’t be a liability, and has a great stick; Frondell uses his defensive game to create offense.

Injury is a concern, but if he can stay healthy, Anton Frondell could be a superstar.

Read More: Flyers 2025 NHL Draft Prospect Profile: Anton Frondell

Round 1, Pick 24: Joshua Ravensbergen, G, Prince George (WHL)

Flyers Mock Draft 1.0: (R1P24) Jack Murtagh, C, USNTDP

While goalie is a glaring issue for the Flyers, drafting one is not as pressing a matter. The Flyers have two great goaltending prospects in Yegor Zavragin and Carson Bjarnason, who will be ready before any goalie prospect in this draft class will be.

However, if Joshua Ravensbergen falls to the Flyers, it will be hard for them not to pick him. There is a ton of potential in the Prince George netminder, and unlike the other two top-goalie prospects in this draft class, Ravensbergen is 6’5″.

Of course, size is not the be-all and end-all for goaltenders, but it can certainly make someone a more enticing selection.

In two seasons in the WHL, Ravensbergen has a save percentage better than .900 in each season, a 2.46 GAA in his first, and 3.00 this past season. His record is a combined 59-17-5 throughout his 17-year-old and 18-year-old WHL campaigns.

Goalies won’t be flying off the board in the first round, so there is a good chance Ravensbergen will be available with the Flyers’ second first-round selection, and they make the no-brainer.

Round 1, Pick 25: Ivan Ryabkin, C, Muskegon (USHL)

Flyers Mock Draft 1.0: (R1P25): Sascha Boumedienne, LD, Boston U. (NCAA)

In my first Flyers mock draft, I had the Flyers selecting defenseman Sascha Boumedienne. That would have been a dream. He is a massive, smooth-skating, offense-producing defender–there’s not much to dislike.

Unfortunately, contrary to his teammate Frondell, Boumedienne had his coming-out party at U18s. I don’t see a world where he makes it this far in the draft. Instead, the Flyers go back to the best player available and take Ivan Ryabkin.

Rybakin was once mentioned in the same breath as Matvei Michkov and Ivan Demidov, and was a projected top-ten pick. Now, four teams in one year later, Ryabkin is projected to go in the late first.

It was not the best season for the young Russian prospect. He started the season in the KHL, where he struggled mightily, then was loaned to the VHL, where the struggles continued. He had a stint in the MHL, where he began to get his footing back, but ultimately decided to come to America and play in the USHL, where he returned to form.

Ryabkin posted 19 goals and 11 assists for 30 points in 27 games for the Muskegon Lumberjacks in the USHL this season. He has an offensive game that could be weaponized by whoever drafts him. He is excellent on the puck, has slick hands, and has a really good shot. There are shades of Michkov in his game.

Drafting Ryabkin is a risk, but when you have three first-rounders, you can afford to take a risk with one.

Read More: Exploring Trade Up Options for the Flyers

For more Flyers news and up-to-date coverage, visit Philly Hockey Now and like our Facebook page.
Follow us on 𝕏:
@wmjsports
@PhillyHockeyNow