The Philadelphia Flyers acquired the 59th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. This came from Nashville in exchange for their 3rd round pick (77th overall) in the 2024 NHL Draft and a 3rd round pick (from Minnesota) in the 2025 NHL Draft they acquired last night.
The Flyers traded up to select Spencer Gill from the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. Gill was born on August 17, 2006 in Riverview, New Brunswick, and currently measures in at 6’4” and 185 pounds.
Playing for Rimouski Oceanic in the QMJHL, Gill drove his stock up in his most recent season. Ranking 11th among QMJHL defenseman in scoring, he recorded 46 points (12 goals, 34 assists) in 65 games. He finished the previous year with 4 points – all assists – after 41 games played. We can imagine why there was some excitement with this pick.
He is described as a tall, mobile puck-mover, and the Flyers’ core defensemen are all on the smaller side. So, no surprise they selected a 6’4” defenseman in today’s portion of the draft. When Charlie O’Connor of PHLY Sports asked Flyers general manager Daniel Brière why Zeev Buium (6’0”) was passed on, he confirmed that theory.
“Well, when you look at our defense, you have it right. I think Zeev Buium is gonna be a great player, and he’s someone we considered strongly. But with Cam York, Jamie Drysdale, Emil Andrae – at some point, it gets tough to go with the smaller guy. But he’s a fantastic player.”
This is still a project pick, however. It’s not a bad thing, but Gill will need to fill in some weight (only 185 at 6’4”). Even though he is large, he still needs to learn how to take advantage of his size, which comes with some opportunities of growth for the defensive zone.
However, it looks like for now that the Flyers are going to get a towering, puck-moving defensemen who will push and maintain the pace of play that’ll be needed for the future of Philadelphia.
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