The Philadelphia Flyers have clinched the fourth-best odds to land the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, but they also created more questions than answers.
The long-standing goal of the Flyers has been to, somehow, some way, draft the top-line center of their future. A running mate for Matvei Michkov, if you will.
Jett Luchanko, the 13th overall pick from last year’s draft, has some potential, but very few believe he can reach the heights of a star center.
Fans, understandably, are still hung up on Minnesota Wild draft pick Zeev Buium, a wildly skilled, smooth defenseman who was available to the Flyers, only for the Flyers to trade down one spot to select speedster Luchanko instead.
Should the Flyers land the top draft selection this year, it creates an interesting paradox.
Erie Otters rearguard Matthew Schaefer, a World Junior Championships gold medalist and Hlinka-Gretzky Cup winner, is widely regarded as the top player heading into the 2025 draft.
Would the Flyers dare draft a defenseman and punt their center needs to the back of the first round, or even 2026?
The comparison, unfairly, at that, becomes Luchanko and Schaefer, or Buium and one of James Hagens, Anton Frondell, Michael Misa, Caleb Desnoyers, Jake O’Brien, and Roger McQueen.
Of course, the most likely outcome is Luchanko and one of the aforementioned centers, and no franchise defenseman in the cupboard once more.
Medicine Hat Tigers starlet Gavin McKenna has 129 points in 56 WHL games this season and will have another year of junior hockey before his name is called first in the 2026 draft.
Can the Flyers afford another dismal season just to have a chance – not a guarantee – at this player?
There are many, many factors to consider now and in the future. While Thursday night’s 5-4 loss to the Buffalo Sabres may feel like victory for Flyers fans, the job has only just begun.
According to Tankathon, the Flyers have a 9.5% chance at landing either the first or second pick in the 2025 draft, a 0.3% chance of landing the third pick, a 15.4% chance of staying put at fourth, a whopping 44.6% chance of moving back to fifth, and 20.8% chance of moving back two spots to sixth.
Could the Flyers pick first and take their top player? Sure. Could the Flyers move back two spots and take the de facto runt of the litter amongst the draft’s top centers? Certainly!
This is all to say that, yes, the Flyers have put themselves in a great position to land a key future piece after stealing a loss (win?) from under the Sabres’ noses, intentionally or not.
What they do next is equally as important as the road they took to get here.
The Flyers’ front office will have a ton of work to do between now and June 27, when they’re slated to pick thrice in the first round. Add in four second-round picks, and the Flyers can easily address the needs they have at defense, center, and goalie.
But, for now, all eyes are on Philadelphia heading into the unofficial start of the 2025 offseason.
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