The Philadelphia Flyers will be doing their due diligence this summer in solidifying their biggest weakness, which is down the middle, and that can be achieved through the draft if they get a little lucky.
3 names come to mind in Anton Frondell, Roger McQueen, and Caleb Desnoyers as centres the Flyers should be hoping to land. Michael Misa and Jimmy Hagens would be even better but they would need some serious luck to be able to get either one.
Ranked 5th to last in the NHL heading into Tuesday night’s slate of games, the Flyers have won 3 of their last 4 games after having previously dropped 11 of 12.
Their latest “surge” in the standings has only taken them to 5th-last, but the saving grace to potentially dropping off a bit more is that they’ve played more or the same amount of games than all the teams behind them, so losing out could see them potentially drop to 4th-worst at least.
With 71 points in hand, the Flyers are tied with Boston who has 1 more game played, but Nashville might unfortunately have third last wrapped up with the Flyers 9 points up with the same amount of games played.
With wins over Buffalo and Nashville last week, the Flyers seemed to have hurt their draft stock, but things are looking up again if you are still rooting for them to tank. They are tied with the Bruins in points and now Pittsburgh is up 3 points, Anaheim is up 5 points, and teams like Detroit, Columbus, and the Islanders are ahead by 6-8 points of the Flyers.
To finish out the season, the Flyers are on the road against the Rangers, Senators, and Sabres and will be hosting the Islanders and Blue Jackets. A few more wins might damage their chances at drafting a marquee player considering how the draft might roll out.
As we take a peek towards the draft rankings, Matthew Schaefer is expected to go first overall and he should be followed by Misa, Hagens, and Porter Martone. After an arduous stretch, the top-4 is all but solidified, which allows the draft to officially commence with the 5th overall pick.
After them it’s going to boil down to team needs but with several rebuilding teams looking for depth down the middle, it makes it almost imperative that the Flyers finish within the bottom-7 at the very least. Following the aforementioned quartet are Frondell, McQueen, and Desnoyers and then after them is a slew of wingers, defensemen, and a few mid-tier centres.
Anton Frondell
Injuries had derailed Frondell’s season to start but the young Swede has done very well for himself in the Allsvenskan, which is the tier right below the SHL. He recorded 11 goals and 25 points in 29 games for Djurgårdens IF and has added 17 points in 16 games on the international stage thus far.
Frondell had 19 points over his last 11 games and produced at a very high rate, just in time for the NHL Draft. While he’s only 17 years old, he’s produced at a higher clip than what William Nylander and David Pastrňák did at the same age and in the same league.
He’s a 200-foot centre, has a great two-way game, extremely creative, and is a big body with more room to grow as he currently stands in at 6’0” and around 200 pounds. An underrated part of his game is his shot, which has been described by some as “explosive” but the overall consensus is that Frondell is the next best thing outside of the top-4 and more importantly he’s a natural centre.
Corey Pronman – The Athletic – January 28th: “He makes difficult plays with consistency and can do so on the move. Frondell skates well and competes hard, often outmuscling others bigger than him so despite his average size, he has a translatable style of play to the NHL that appeals to scouts.”
Ryan Kennedy – The Hockey News – January 27th: “Injuries have kept Frondell off-balance this season, so it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster. At the end of the day, he’s a big center who protects the puck, much like Leo Carlsson.”
Sam Cosentino – Sportsnet – January 22nd: “Utilizes his size well to present a solid, two-way game. His season has been slowed by injury, but if he can maintain his health and continue his fine play, he too may find himself amongst the top three.”
Hannah Stuart – Bleacher Report – January 20th: “He’s currently up at the top level, and he has looked like he belongs. He has dynamic puck skills and is great at handling in small areas. He’s been leaning into the more physical aspects of his game and using it to win pucks, which is always better than just being physical for the sake of it.”
Roger McQueen
Another player where injuries have derailed their draft season but even with just 17 games under his belt, McQueen is looked at as a legitimate prospect that can squeak into the top-5 based on team and team needs.
The youngster was sidelined in October and had been out for nearly 4.5 months as he returned to the ice at the beginning of March. It’s been a slow start-up for McQueen who started his campaign with a 4-goal game and followed it with back-to-back multi-point efforts.
He recorded 1 assist in his first 3 games after returning from injury but since scored 2 goals and added 6 assists in the following 6 games to boost his stock. Despite the injury concerns, many scouts are ranking him this high based on potential alone as he has the capabilities of becoming a goal scoring threat down the middle.
He steps in at a hulking 6’5” stature and weighs in at around 190 pounds, which means there’s a lot more room to fill out eventually but he’s graced with a nasty combination of size and game-breaking ability that would give the Flyers exactly what they’re looking for down the middle.
He plays for the Brandon Wheat Kings in the WHL, which is a team the Flyers are very familiar with as they’ve drafted Ivan Provorov, Nolan Patrick, and Carson Bjarnason in recent years. Last year he recorded 21 goals and 51 points in 53 games and this year he had 9 goals and 18 points in 14 games.
Injuries certainly make this a risky pick but if Frondell and Desnoyers are off the board, it’s a pick they should at the very least consider as McQueen finished off the season for the Wheat Kings strongly.
Corey Pronman – The Athletic – January 28th: “He has game-breaking ability with the puck and can dominate a game. He’s extremely talented as a puckhandler, but he can also generate offense around the net and doesn’t shy from physical play.”
Ryan Kennedy – The Hockey News – January 27th: “Consider this a holding pattern spot for McQueen, who has been sidelined by a suspected back injury most of the year. At the end of the day, when healthy, he’s a towering center who can produce in bunches.”
Sam Cosentino – Sportsnet – January 22nd: “There is a cautionary tale here based on what we saw last year with Cayden Lindstrom going fourth to Columbus. With everyone else healthy and playing, it’s hard to use eight early-season games and a good draft minus-one season to project McQueen over the group ahead of him.”
Hannah Stuart – Bleacher Report – January 20th: “His only real drawback for us is his skating mechanics; everything else, like his tenacity, hockey IQ, and puck skills, have us convinced that his offensive potential is the real deal. He feels very worth taking a swing on this high (No. 6), depending on who’s left on the board.”
Caleb Desnoyers
Brothers with Flyers prospect Elliot Desnoyers, Caleb comes in rated very highly and could be someone that falls into the Flyers’ lap within the top-6, maybe top-7 depending on the health of McQueen.
Nevertheless, Desnoyers racked up 35 goals and 84 points in just 56 games for the Moncton Wildcats of the QMJHL. He also added 5 points in 5 games at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup and 2 points in 2 games during the CHL Prospects Challenge.
He possesses a unique skillset of size and speed as he comes in at 6’2” and about 180 pounds. Similarly with a lot of tall draft prospects, they tend to have a little bit more room to grow out and that could be the case for Desnoyers, which would make him even more of a threat.
He’s got the playmaking ability down, he likes to get into the dirty areas, has great hockey IQ, and his overall gameplay makes him intriguing enough to contend for a top-4 pick should he finish off his season with a bang.
Desnoyers is quietly underrated but has forced his way into the conversation with a strong 2024-25 season. While his consistency can improve, Desnoyers would be a perfect complement to Jett Luchanko for the future of the Flyers down the middle, forming a formidable 1-2 punch of speed, skill, and motor.
Corey Pronman – The Athletic – January 28th: “He’s tall and fast and makes a lot happen with and without the puck. Desnoyers displays excellent skill and playmaking ability. He creates offense on the move, off the perimeter and at the net.”
Ryan Kennedy – The Hockey News – January 27th: “An absolutely awesome force out of the ‘Q,’ Desnoyers plays a strong game and has a solid frame to build on. Leading his Wildcats in scoring by a considerable margin.”
Sam Cosentino – Sportsnet – January 22nd: “By the time we get to the draft, he may very well end up being a top three pick. His details and compete level present a game mature beyond his years.”
Hannah Stuart – Bleacher Report – January 20th: “We see flashes of the dynamic features of his game, but we don’t see them consistently enough for my liking yet. Still, he brings value every time he steps onto the ice, and he can build on that to improve the aforementioned aspects of his game.”
A lot of this is contingent on the Flyers bottoming out in the final month of the season and while their schedule isn’t favourable, you just never know with this group.
If they can get their hands on either centre, it would help out the rebuild immensely as they fill out a grave positional need.
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