Ahead of the Philadelphia Flyers’ pre-draft press conference, long-time insider, Bob McKenzie dropped his final draft rankings heading into a very coveted NHL Entry Draft that will be staged in Nashville on the 28th and 29th of June.
McKenzie first started talking about Matvei Michkov’s unavailability to NHL general managers and scouts during the season and how that could have hurt his draft stock a little bit because of the unfamiliarity with such a coveted prospect in contrast to the others that should fall within the top-5 and top-10:
“The misgiving is that they just don’t know him like the other prospects. NHL GMs weren’t allowed to go to Russia to see him play live, they haven’t had many live viewings of them, they haven’t had the opportunity to sit down and talk to them. They will now though, he’s going to be in Nashville on Monday and he’s gonna meet with all the top teams that requested interviews…that’s the big problem, this player just isn’t on the same playing field as the other guys in terms of familiarity.”
When asked what will happen if Michkov escapes the grasp of the Montreal Canadiens at number 5, he went down the list of the next three teams picking at 6-7-8 and gave us a juicy nugget in anticipation for next week’s first round:
“All 3 of those teams I believe will be interviewing Michkov in Nashville. I don’t think it fits for Arizona, I think there will still be too many good players left on the board that they would like to get and get right now, maybe that could help them out. But I think Philadelphia is in a rebuild so they’ll give it a serious look for the future but the Washington Capitals, everyone believes that’s where he’ll end up if the first 7 teams don’t take him.”
At one point Michkov was neck-and-neck with Connor Bedard, but then the latter just took off a year before the draft and has remained at the top as he became what many are deeming a generational talent and can’t-miss-prospect. Then it became a debate on maybe Michkov going 2nd, but then Adam Fantilli won the Hobey Baker Award as the NCAA’s best player, while Michkov was seemingly avoiding the scouts and general managers in Russia.
Then it became a debate on maybe Michkov goes third, but then Leo Carlsson had a quietly good season in the SHL coupled with the Russian-factor kicking in for Michkov. Some were worried about his chances over flying across the pond whenever his KHL contract comes to an end, and some believe he’s pulling a Jaromir Jagr and purposely tanking his stock for a preferred team in mind, but however you look at it, he’s an exceptional talent and should be taken by anyone after Chicago.
If the Flyers have the opportunity to nab the Russian phenom, they should do it without hesitation. Ivan Fedotov’s case seems to be an anomaly at this point as we have seen players like Kirill Kaprizov and Ilya Sorokin finish off their duties in the KHL before making their NHL debuts 2-3 years down the road. He’s the type of player and prospect the Flyers desperately need and are currently lacking in their pipeline, and with his contract running through the 2025-26 season, he’d be ready just in time for the Flyers perceived line of contention.
As this was happening on TSN, Frank Seravalli from Daily Faceoff chimed in with yet another article and rundown of recent news around the NHL and mentioned how the Flyers were recently offered a late first round pick as well as a second round pick for Scott Laughton from the St. Louis Blues. The Blues have 3 first round picks this year – 10th, 25th, and 29th – and reportedly offered either the 25th or 29th as well as 2nd round pick in 2024 since they own their own and Toronto’s. Brière has already refused to deal Laughton for a late first round pick before, and it seems like he’s playing hardball in pursuit of a much better offer.
We need to remember that the Flyers aren’t actually going through a fire-sale, he’s just doing his due diligence by listening to all trade offers coming his way for many players that include Laughton and Travis Konecny. The Flyers want to move on from Kevin Hayes and at some point Tony DeAngelo, but they can’t help it if other teams are sniffing around their goods and willing to offer packages that could entice them one way or the other.
Laughton is a crucial part of the Flyers’ core. They know that, he knows that, and the league knows that. To pry him out of Philadelphia, it’s going to take a lot and they’re in no rush with the veteran signed for another 3 years at a relatively low cost of $3 million. His trade value will still be high during the regular season and into the following offseason.
When it came to questions about Hayes, Brière said that it won’t be easy replacing the veteran in the lineup and that they still find him to be a valuable piece for the organization moving forward. He mentioned that nothing is off the table but it sounds like making a move for the sake of making a move is not the way he’s going to operate. However in saying that, I think we all know that he could also just be trying to save face, not ruin Hayes’ trade value, and is keeping things close to his chest since a change of scenery is beneficial for both sides.
I understand the need to get younger quicker, get rid of all the contracts and start anew, but Brière and Keith Jones mentioned countless times that they’re not going to tear things down in one summer. It’s a process of 3-4 years and their eyes are always looking towards 2025-2026-2027 and beyond. Brière wants a second round pick with the Flyers not having one due to the Rasmus Ristolainen trade back in 2021, and it seems like many teams will be willing to offer a first and a second for Laughton.
Stay tuned for more details as we approach the draft with the Flyers hoping to not only get a second round pick, but re-enter the first round for the third time.
Daniel Brière and Brent Flahr made mention that they are focused 3-4 years down the road and not necessarily for 2023-24 in the sense that they are okay and willing to draft a prospect who isn’t NHL-ready right now. They will draw the line with character issues as they don’t want to go down that road, especially with high-end draft slots. When it comes to issues relating to skating, size, strength, and shooting, those are things that can always be worked on and won’t be the penultimate issue when deciding who to draft.
That verbiage could indicate that Matvei Michkov is their target considering the fact that he won’t be eligible to join the NHL until 2026, but that could also mean they’re looking at other Russian prospects for the 22nd pick in Mikhail Gulyayev and Dmitri Simashev. It doesn’t only restrict them to Russian forwards as players like Dalibor Dvorsky and Nate Danielson aren’t NHL-ready either. They will focus on the best player available, but being NHL-ready right now isn’t going to be their driving force.
Flahr also touched on the goaltenders and said that the 2023 class has many solid goalies to choose from that could be falling in and around the 2nd and 3rd rounds. After Carter Hart, the Flyers have Samuel Ersson, Felix Sandström, and Alexei Kolosov with Ivan Fedotov technically still under contract for one more season. If they do indeed trade Hart at some point, drafting a goaltender in this draft might be a necessity and they’ll have several to choose from in Michael Hrabel, Carson Bjarnson, and Adam Gajan among others – acquiring a second round pick is important to them and this could be why.
The Flyers currently have 10 draft picks: 2 in the first, 2 in the third, 2 in the fourth, 1 in the fifth, 2 in the sixth, and 1 in the seventh. They also have 2 firsts next year, 3 second round picks, and 1 in each of the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh rounds. Trading any of the aforementioned players will garner even more draft capital, and that should be a boon for Flyers fans coming off the Chuck Fletcher era that saw priceless and invaluable draft picks traded for middling players in a never-ending cycle of re-tools.
“Everything” is still on the table, the Flyers would love to add more draft capital – especially a second round pick – and they will do their due diligence with their player interviews. Matvei Michkov will be meeting with the Flyers at some point before the draft and if McKenzie’s words speak true, there’s a very good chance that we will be drafting the phenom. The Flyers’ brass is more worried about the years beyond 2023-24 and that would fit their timeline like a glove.
This draft has been more exciting than any of the recent ones combined and with a front office hell-bent on acquiring more and more picks ahead of this draft and the next, it is truly exciting times for the Flyers and their fanbase.
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