The Philadelphia Flyers entered the NHL Draft Lottery with an 85.7% chance of selecting 12th overall and came out with exactly that pick as no team moved up or down for the first time since 2010.
The San Jose Sharks won the lottery and will be selecting first overall, Chicago is right behind them with the second overall pick, followed by the Anaheim Ducks, Columbus Blue Jackets, and the Montréal Canadiens to round out the top-5. The Sharks will also be selecting 14th overall as they own the Pittsburgh Penguins’ first round pick due to the Erik Karlsson trade from last summer.
The Flyers had an 85.7% chance of selecting 12th, but they also had an 8.9% chance of slipping to 13th, a 5.1% chance of jumping 10 spots to 2nd, a 0.2% chance of dropping to 14th, and a 0.1% chance of jumping to either 3rd or 4th. Although they technically had a 2.5% chance of finishing 1st, they would not have been able to actually win the lottery after the rules changes implemented in 2021.
The Flyers currently have 10 picks in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft which includes 2 first round picks, 2 second round picks, a third round pick, 2 fifth round picks, 2 sixth round picks, and a seventh rounder. One of their second rounders belongs to Columbus but they have the choice of holding on or deferring. It is slotted to be the 36th pick and one has to believe they will hold on and defer to 2025 instead – which would give Philadelphia 3 second rounders next year.
Intriguing prospects like Konsta Helenius, Tij Iginla, Carter Yakemchuk, and Cole Eiserman could all be available and fall into the Flyers’ lap at number 12, adding another good prospect to their impressive pool. Last year, the Flyers drafted Matvei Michkov 7th and Oliver Bonk 22nd and are hoping for another big splash this summer.
