Vegas, here we come! We are just under two weeks away from the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. The Philadelphia Flyers have nine draft picks in hand. If the Columbus Blue Jackets send their 2024 second-round pick to the Flyers after the first round, Philadelphia will have ten draft picks in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft.
There are a ton of different takes regarding how the Flyers will approach the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. At Flyers Nation, Jake Modugno and I (Eric Reese) decided on a one-and-done mock draft.
The 2024 NHL Entry Draft, presented by Upper Deck, takes place on June 28th and 29th at The Sphere in Las Vegas, NV.
Round 1; Pick 12
Jake: Cole Eiserman; LW; USNTDP (USHL)
Unless Sam Dickinson or Berkly Catton falls to Philadelphia, or the Flyers make a surprising trade, Eiserman would be the best available pick here. He has an incredible shot and skates like the wind, making up for what he lacks defensively. Sure, the Flyers may be a little wing-heavy, but he would almost instantly be a top-three prospect alongside Matvei Michkov and Oliver Bonk.
Eric: Cole Eiserman; LW; USNTDP (USHL)
Sam Dickinson, Zayne Parekh, Tij Iginla, and Berkly Catton are all gaining stock as the 2024 NHL Entry Draft draws closer. I expect them to be off the board and unavailable. Eiserman could be available. He is a scorer who could help fix the powerplay in Philadelphia, one that finished last in the NHL.
Round 1; Pick 31/32
Jake: Aron Kiviharju; D; HIFK (Liiga)
Kiviharju is an intelligent, solid two-way defenseman who held his ground well in the Liiga. He has pronounced vision and could become a future powerplay quarterback with his playmaking capabilities and ability to break out of the zone.
Eric: Leo Sahlin Wallenius; D; Vaxjo Lakers HC (J20 Nationell)
Sahlin Wallenius is a sound defenseman who can also contribute to the powerplay. He was an alternate captain for the Vaxjo Lakers J20 HC, named the J20 Nationell best defenseman, and won a bronze medal at the U18 IIHF World Juniors with Sweden.
Round 2; Pick 36* (CBJ)
Jake: Jesse Pulkkinen; D; JYP (Liiga)
Pulkkinen has incredible size at 6’6” and 216 pounds, which is deceiving of his offensive talents. He is a fantastic puck handler who can create offense from the blueline at one end while washing out his opponents at the other.
Eric: Spencer Gill; D; Rimouski Oceanic (QMJHL)
Earlier, Jake pointed to a two-way defenseman. Gill is a sound two-way defenseman, responsible in the defensive zone. In 2023-2024, he won the gold medal with Canada at the U18 IIHF World Juniors.
Round 2; Pick 51
Jake: John Mustard; C; Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL)
A gifted playmaker who is strong on his feet, Mustard is a first-round talent who will likely drop and give the Flyers another much-needed center in the pipeline behind Denver Barkey.
Eric: Linus Eriksson; C; Djurgardens IF (HockeyAllvenskan)
As Jake mentioned, Daniel Brière needs to snag a center. Close to how Jake described Mustard, Eriksson is a first-round talent dropping into the second round. Again, that is music to the ears of Philadelphia hockey fans. Eriksson captained the U18 Swedish World Junior team that won the bronze medal. He averaged a point per game (7GP; 1G, 6A) as the top playmaker on the roster.
Round 3; Pick 77
Jake: Ilya Nabokov; G; Metallurg (KHL)
While Sam Ersson and Ivan Fedotov are the tandem for the next two years, they must replenish their goalie pipeline. Felix Sandström is a pending UFA, Cal Petersen will leave after the season ends, and Carter Hart will never play in Philadelphia again. Alexei Kolosov, Egor Zavragin, and Carson Bjarnason are next in the system. Zavragin is a few years away from North America, Bjarnason struggled in the WHL, and Kolosov is the only North American pro of the three. Enter Nabokov, a super-athletic 21-year-old who put up a freakish .930 SV% in the KHL this season that could provide healthy prospect competition and boost to the system.
Eric: Ryerson Leenders; G; Mississauga Steelheads (OHL)
Expect a run on goaltenders to begin in the third round. Unfortunately, other options like Carter George and Evan Gardner could be unavailable for the Flyers. However, Leenders is not a settlement. A patient goaltender, he finished this season with the best save percentage in the OHL (90.9%) to complement his Hlinka Gretzky Cup and U18 World Juniors gold medals. Philadelphia is at the mercy of how other teams select their goaltenders, but Jake brings up another ideal avenue in Nabokov if George, Gardner, and Leenders are all taken.
Round 5; Pick 148
Jake: James Reeder; RW; Dubuque Fighting Saints (USHL)
Reeder is a compact winger who drives to the net. A point-per-game player in the USHL who can pass the puck well, look for him to build on his 20 goals in Dubuque again before he heads to Denver for college in 2025-2026.
Eric: Ethan Procyszyn; RW; North Bay Battalion (OHL)
Procyszyn is a possession forward with size. He plays a physical style with the offensive playmaking upside in addition. In 2023-2024, he reached new highs in goals and assists.
Round 5; Pick 150
Jake: Gabe Smith; C; Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL)
Smith provides size down the middle at 6’4” and 207 pounds. His offense leaves more to be desired (23 points in 54 games), but he is a great defender and uses his size to his advantage. Noah Cates comes to mind.
Eric: Oskar Vuollet; C; Skelleftea AIK (SHL)
Not losing sight of team needs, Vuollet is a viable option in the center role. Opposite a skater like Eiserman, Vuollet is a center first but can flex to be a left winger. Earlier in this mock, I claimed Sahlin Wallenius as a J20 Nationell defenseman for Philadelphia to select at the end of the first round. In the back end of the fifth round, the Flyers could draft Vuollet, who scored the second most goals (29) and finished fifth overall in points (61) in the J20 Nationell before finishing his 2023-2024 campaign in the SHL. Vuollet is a fifth-round steal.
Round 6; Pick 173
Jake: Jake Fisher; C; Fargo Force (USHL)
Fisher had a good season with 47 points (23G, 24A) in 51 games. His upside, especially for a center-desperate team like Philadelphia, is high, and he can build his offensive game even more when he heads to Denver next year.
Eric: Xavier Veilleux; D; Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL)
Veilleux is committed to Harvard with a few drafted prospects like Sean Keohane (Buffalo Sabres), Kyle Aucoin (Detroit Red Wings), and Jack Bar (Dallas Stars). In 62GP with the Lumberjacks, Veilleux totaled 32 points (3G, 29A), adding another goal with four more assists in the postseason.
Round 6; Pick 177
Jake: Jackson Unger; G; Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)
You can never have enough goaltenders in your organization. Unger rebounded from a disastrous 2022-23 by going from an .867 SV% to a .908 SV% this season, leading Moose Jaw to a surprising WHL championship and Memorial Cup berth.
Eric: Ruslan Gazizov; C; London Knights (OHL)
Gazizov should not be available in the sixth round, but everyone passed in the last two NHL Entry Drafts. This time, it will be hard for the Flyers to ignore Gazizov, especially after the season alongside Barkey on the Knights. This selection almost picks itself. If Gazizov is available this late in the draft, it is a no-brainer for Philadelphia.
Round 7; Pick 205
Jake: Noah Steen; LW; Mora IK (HockeyAllsvenskan)
Steen has good size for a winger at 6’1” and 192 pounds. A few aspects of his game need work, but he can fill the net. He needs to score a little more to have a real NHL future.
Eric: Joseph Connor; C; Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL)
A commit to Northeastern University, Connor turned in a sturdy season with the Lumberjacks, averaging more than a point per game. Connor scored 60 points (31G, 29A) in 50GP. Next season, he will play with other NHL prospects like James Fisher (Columbus Blue Jackets), Joaquim Lemay (Washington Capitals), and Jake Boltmann (Calgary Flames).
