Flyers Draft: Takeaways From Briere & Flahr’s Pre-Draft Availability

VOORHEES, N.J.–With the NHL Draft now just 10 days away, Flyers’ general manager Danny Briere and assistant GM Brent Flahr addressed the media ahead of next Friday’s first round.

The Flyers will have many questions surrounding them during the draft process. Could they trade up? Will they make all seven picks? What positions will be drafted? These are all questions that Briere and Flahr answered during their pre-draft media availability.

We have the questions; we have the answers. Now, let’s look at some of the key takeaways from Tuesday’s media session.

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Could The Flyers Move Up?

“It feels like everybody’s trying to move up at the moment, you know, and we’ve, we’ve said from the beginning we’d like to try to move up, if it was possible. But right now, there are just not a lot of options there. Teams are all looking to move up, so we’ll have to be patient.” Briere said on the possibility of moving up.

Takeaway: I wouldn’t expect to see the Flyers trade up from No. 6, but keep an eye on the other picks. As of now, it seems as if picks No. 3 and No. 4 are the available picks ahead of No. 6. You’ll read more later, but it seems as if the Flyers are content with the pool that will be available come that spot.

That said, Briere was clear that they are interested in moving up, and his confidence about players available at No. 6 leads me to believe they are looking to move up from No. 22 or the Edmonton pick. With the surplus of picks, the Flyers will be active.

Flyers Feel They Are Still In “Tier 2”

“After spending the time that we’ve done the last few weeks, and watching more video on those guys, we feel more and more comfortable and confident that we’re inside (Tier 2). You know, there’s obviously the number one guy that everybody sees, but after that. On the night that it happened (draft lottery), yeah, I was bummed, falling back two slots. But after the last couple of weeks, I feel really good about it.” Briere on whether they feel like the draft lottery bumped them.

Takeaway: Building off the prior, unless the Flyers are deadset on a guy and want to secure him, they won’t move up from No. 6. To me, this quote makes it seem like they are confident and happy with the prospect pool around their pick. However, it also makes me believe that they’re not just looking at the leftovers between Schaefer, Misa, Hagens, Frondell, Desnoyers, and Martone. The Flyers likely added Brady Martin, Roger McQueen, Jake O’Brien, and possibly a defenseman at No. 6, giving them choices to pick from, not just the leftovers.

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Best Player Available at No. 6

“Yeah, there are obviously some pretty well talked players about early in the draft. There’s a number of centers, which isn’t always the case. There are defensemen, high-end wingers; there are different options there. So, we are obviously well aware of our own needs. At the same time, there’s some, you know, players, especially at number six.” Flahr said about whether or not the Flyers will draft the best player available or for need at No. 6.

Takeaway: This, again, builds off the prior takeaway. Flahr mentions the plural for both defensemen and wingers. We all know about the centers in the top-heavy draft. However, the wingers are few and far between. Martone is obviously among the elite prospects. The only other “high-end” winger is Victor Eklund. Could this mean they are considering him at No. 6? For the defenseman, Radim Mrtka is likely to be the first defenseman not named Matthew Schaefer selected. But again, plural. Does this mean Jackson Smith is getting a look at No. 6? Or even Kashawn Aitcheson could be a possibility.

Regardless, this more or less solidifies that the Flyers will be drafting what their scouts believe is the best player available at No. 6.

Don’t Rule Out Making All Seven Picks

“After spending a lot of time with their guys, there’s a lot of players that our guys like in that window after 22 to 48. So there’s actually a really good chance that we keep the picks and we really build around those guys.” Briere said during his media availability.

Takeaway: Look, it would be crazy and absolutely unnecessary to make all seven selections in the first 48 picks. BUT, let’s look at it from Briere’s point of view. Teams are likely to be lowballing offers due to the Flyers’ surplus. Briere knows it, and he is not going to make a deal just because they have a lot of picks. With that, I would not be shocked if the Flyers held on to every pick and made all seven selections.

During his exit interview, Briere mentioned the possibility of making all seven draft picks and holding onto the prospects selected as trade assets in the future. While prospects are a little bit riskier as trade assets, it seems like this could be a real possibility.

It is an important reminder, however, that if the Flyers do make every pick, there is no guarantee that they hold on to every single player they pick. Prospects can still be traded for talent.

Is There a Goalie the Flyers are High On?

“(There is) potentially one (first-round goalie) this year. There’s a number of goalies that I think I’ve mentioned before. There are a number of goalies, even as the draft goes along, that our guys are high on and think there’s a lot of potential there, that maybe use that pick (first rounder) for a positional player rather than a goaltender in that spot.” Flahr on the possibility of drafting a goalie with one of their first-rounders.

Takeaway: Do not expect the Flyers to draft Joshua Ravensbergen. Flahr mentions that there is one goalie they possibly have a first-round grade on. That is assumed to be Ravensbergen, as he is regarded as the top net-minder in the draft. Instead, Flahr mentions there are other goalies they like, and that could be considered as the draft goes on. He also says that those other goalies would make it easier to draft a skater rather than a goalie with one of the later firsts. Therefore, I don’t expect the Flyers to take a first-round goalie.

Center Will Be Addressed

“Finding centers is almost impossible. You’re not going to find a first-line or second-line center. A lot of teams will be willing to entertain a fourth-line center movement. A fourth-line guy, but they’ll want a second-line winger in return. So they’re hard to find. If we have the chance, we want to start, and we started that a couple years ago, and start drafting them and grooming them, and hopefully down the road–it might take three, four or five years–they’ll turn into good players that we can either use either or for an asset to acquire something that we need. It’s just that centers have a lot of value these days.” Briere on the mission to acquire a top-line center.

Takeaway: The Flyers will draft centers. This was sort of a no-brainer—no need to spend too much time on this.

Size Won’t Be Too Big of a Factor

“It probably doesn’t play into it as much as how competitive he is and his hockey sense. I think those things are right, more important, even the skating. We’re aware of it, but at the same time, we want to be careful. There are other players we can we can protect those guys with, you know, the Hathways of this world, the Delsauriers and Seelers, like those guys. We’re aware, but at the end of the day, you know, it shouldn’t sway us too much.” Briere on whether or not size will be a factor.

Takeaway: James Hagens fans unite! From the sounds of it, the Flyers won’t pass on a prospect, especially at No. 6, based on their size. There are plenty of uber-talented players in this class who are not six feet tall or higher. Speculators might have assumed that the Flyers could pass on a guy like Hagens for someone like Jake O’Brien just because of size. For now, it seems like that has been put to rest. The Flyers won’t draft because of size.

Briere Will Look to Add NHL Talent With Draft Picks … Cautiously

“You know, one thing I want to make sure to let our fans know is that the plan hasn’t changed. We’re not going to pay crazy assets just to do something crazy. It has to make sense. You know, if it doesn’t, we’ll select our players. It might be all the things, or there might be nothing that changes, but at the same time, if we have a chance to improve the team and it makes sense for the long term, we’re going to look into it. It’s on the table, but aggressive is probably the wrong word.” Briere on whether He’ll look to use draft capital for right now assets.

Takeaway: No. 6 seems pretty safe. If I was not before, I am 99% sure that the Flyers will not be trading the No. 6 overall pick. However, the other six picks could now they could be on the table. Briere did make sure he said what he had said over and over again. If the Flyers trade draft assets, it has to be for a player that makes sense. That would mean age has to fit in the timeline, and it cannot be a rental.

Carter Amico?

“There are other players, like (Carter) Amico, or, you know, who only played a couple of games. We’re lucky enough to have seen him last year. The good thing is, because of the number of injured players this year, central scouting and the league did a great job, you know, with the agents getting the information from the teams. We were able to send medical personnel to the combine. They interviewed the players that we specifically asked for, they were able to get their hands on, see where they are, have a look at their MRIs, through their agents, getting the information. So we feel a lot more comfortable now with where these players are at.” Said Flahr about injury concerns for several prospects.

Takeaway: I thought this was a very interesting statement from Flahr. Of course, he mentioned the injury-ridden players in this draft expected to go early like Roger McQueen and Anton Frondell before this quote. However, an interesting name slipped in there: Carter Amico.

Amico is expected to be an early day two selection, who missed a good chunk of time. The 6’6″ RHD was likely to be a first-rounder if he had not missed much time. He is now headed to BU. It was interesting that Flahr mentioned his name among the other prospects. It’s also worth noting that he did, in fact, meet with the Flyers at the combine. Maybe it was a slip-up of a prospect the Flyers are eyeing in round two, or maybe it was a smoke screen. Who knows, it is the Flyers we are talking about.

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