In at least the last decade, there hasn’t been an NHL Entry Draft with this much intrigue, flip-flopping of mock drafts, and potential for changes within the top-10 – let alone the top-3 – until 2022. A lot of it has to do with the fact that this draft has been tabbed as not having that generational talent or franchise-altering superstar that most of the other drafts had. No disrespect is intended to players like Shane Wright, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Logan Cooley among many others but they don’t, at least as of today, hold the same hype or potential as previous number ones like Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid, or Auston Matthews had ahead their draft days.
Nevertheless, the idea that anyone can be chosen at any given pick makes this draft that much more excitable. The Montreal Canadiens who are hosting the two-day event are set to draft first overall and after months of speculation that they’d be taking Wright without a shadow of a doubt, all that has seemingly combusted because they have had their eyes set on the uprising Slafkovsky. At this point, all we can do is speculate, a lot of it can be smoke for their rival GMs, but sitting at number 5, the Flyers could very well get a player they didn’t expect to fall.
In 2012, Nail Yakupov was the clear cut consensus top choice and the Edmonton Oilers were very happy with their selection. In 2013, Nathan MacKinnon stole the show from the moment he was eligible to be drafted to his actual draft day. Aaron Ekblad was the consensus top pick in 2014 when Philadelphia was hosting, Connor McDavid in 2015, Auston Matthews in 2016, Nico Hischier ran away with the top pick in the final months leading up to the 2017 draft, Rasmus Dahlin in 2018, Jack Hughes in 2019, Alexis Lafreniere in 2020, and Owen Power in 2021. If any of these players dropped a pick or two, it would’ve been head-scratching and breaking news. However, with all the smoke coming out of Montreal that they’re still debating between 3 players – with most of their attention being on Slafkovsky now – there’s a legitimate chance that Wright could slip to the second spot and maybe even a little further down. Now of course, he wouldn’t drop all that much but after being the consensus number one pick for his draft class for the last few years, it would be a little surprising. Some scouts have said he reminds them of Nolan Patrick with his work ethic and attitude and Flyers fans know very well how that one ended.
For the Philadelphia Flyers, who have the 5th overall pick, the debate after the draft lottery was sorted out was between Simon Nemec and David Jiricek. Then Matthew Savoie’s name popped up out of nowhere, only for Cutter Gauthier to steal the limelight and enter the top-5 conversation. Now there’s a chance that Logan Cooley drops from his top-3 standing and that would be a gift for the Flyers if he was able to slip through the cracks. TSN’s Bob McKenzie’s final draft rankings really threw a curveball to most in the hockey community because the draft guru himself gave Slafkovsky the top ranking, with Wright dropping to 2nd, and Cooley staying put at 3. Cutter Gauthier jumped to his 5th selection with both defensemen sandwiched in between him.
Canada’s Sportsnet dropped their final mock drafts as well and threw a curveball at number 3 with the Coyotes selecting Gauthier, Seattle taking Nemec at 4, which left Cooley to the Flyers at 5. Marco Kasper jumps all the way up to 6th for the Blue Jackets, Joakim Kemell at 7 for the Senators, and Jiricek, who seemed destined to become a Flyer about a month ago, dropped to 8th.
The Coyotes are known to throw curveballs with their first overall selections over the years when they selected Barrett Hayton with the 5th overall selection in 2018 over plays like Filip Zadina and Quinn Hughes, as well as the 2019 draft when they selected Victor Soderstrom over the likes of Cole Caufield, Spencer Knight, Matthew Boldy, and Cam York. Taking Gauthier with the third pick wouldn’t be as much of a stretch as their Barrett Hayton selection but it would change the course of the draft, and the top-10 specifically.
The Flyers, who have been in the thick of trade rumours for Chicago’s Alex DeBrincat, have essentially notified the Blackhawks and the rest of the NHL that they need to be really blown away if they intend on trading such a high draft pick. Chuck Fletcher and Brent Flahr have made mention to the fact that they know there are a few players that can make an almost immediate impact on their everyday roster and no one has to tell them that it would come at a very cost effective price – considering how cash strapped they are as they head into another re-tool. Whenever the draft does kick-off and whoever drops or jumps up, the Flyers are going to get a very good player and one that will make an impact for a team that is desperate for youthful injection. Cooley would be a fantastic grab if he does fall from his perch, Gauthier has really impressed several general managers within the top-10 after a lacklustre beginning to his year, either one of Nemec and Jiricek seem to be the safest choices at number 5, and Savoie is a sneaky wild card who has all the tools to be a great centre if you ignore his size.
Flyers fans, we have waited for this day ever since the regular season ended – maybe even before that with how bad the 2021-22 season was – but the draft is finally here tonight and the Flyers seem destined to make their selection unless Fletcher is absolutely blown away by an offer.
