ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — The Flyers wrapped up their 2026 NHL draft work by taking Max Laatikainen in the seventh round at No. 213 overall.
The 17-year-old defenseman played this season mostly at the junior level in Finland. He had 11 points (three goals, eight assists) and a plus-10 rating in 22 games for Kiekko-Espoo.
He got a taste of Liiga, Finland’s top pro league. He had two assists in six games.
Laatikainen was the third defenseman the Flyers grabbed in this draft.
With the 53rd overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, the Philadelphia Flyers drafted right-shot defenseman Brek Liske to kick off their second day.
Liske, 18, is a 6-foot-2 jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none defenseman who enjoyed a productive playoff run with the WHL Everett Silvertips, scoring 17 points in 18 games.
In the Memorial Cup, however, Liske was scoreless in his five appearances.
A teammate of 2025 Flyers draft pick Luke Vlooswyk, Liske brings more size and familiarity to the Flyers' constantly evolving prospect pipeline, particularly when it comes to the defensive side.
"Name a skill, Liske probably has it. He’s aware and controlled on retrievals, even absorbing contact to make plays. Defensively, he’s steady and persistent, pushing rushing outside as he skates across the stop. He sticks with opponents and always gives himself a chance to get a stop – there’s hardly any idling in his game," EliteProspects wrote in their draft profile of the new Flyers prospect.
Liske was widely expected to be an early- to mid-second-round pick, and the Flyers made it happen at Pick 53.
At the right defense position, the Flyers now have Spencer Gill, Oliver Bonk, Luke Vlooswyk, David Jiricek, and Carter Amico with a logjam beginning to grow.
Left defense was less of a need for the Flyers after the selection of Maksim Sokolovskii on Friday night, though the number of right-shots the Flyers have after adding Liske is notable.
"While Liske does a bit of everything, his skating has been a limiter. He’s smart and aware, but lacks the explosiveness to consistently separate and create. Defensively, he’s a battler, but he lacks a bit of defensive range, and his heavier skating exposes the middle to attackers.
"At higher levels, Liske’s versatility will remain valuable. He’s proven capable of slotting into a variety of roles. Improved skating will bolster his game across the board. Though he has some second-pair potential, we project him more as a safer, all-around third-pair defenceman," EliteProspects also said of Liske.
ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Blues have added to their defensive corps, acquiring defenseman Brandon Carlo from the Toronto Maple Leafs for two third-round picks, Nos. 73 and 76.
The Blues came into Day 2 of the 2026 NHL Draft with three third-round picks at Nos. 73, 75 and 76.
Carlo, 29, has one year remaining on a six-year, $24.6 million contract at a $3.485 million cap hit ($4.1 million average annual value), and is owed $3.25 million in salary, likely a move as insurance for Adam Jiricek, in case the 2024 first-round pick isn't quite ready to make the jump to the NHL.
"That’s exactly it," Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said. 'We think that Jiricek
is going to come in and have a great training camp and I know you
guys are sick of me saying this, but the NHL fails more people than
players fail the NHL, so we don’t want to put someone in a position
where they’re surviving. We want to put them in a position where
they can potentially thrive. Jiricek is going to have the opportunity
to come in here and push, but we’re in for the marathon with this
young man. He played a lack of hockey last year, I think 90-plus
games, but if you look at the number of games he played the two years
before that, it wasn’t a lot. Sort of hope for the best and plan
for the worst might be the best way to look at this. It’s a
one-year deal too. We’re not bringing in a contract that’s going
to preclude someone mid-season or next season. This is reflective of
what I think the NHL should be as great competition, so when he’s
ready to take someone’s job, he will."
There's also the benefit of adding a veteran to a group with Colton Parayko, Philip Broberg and Cam Fowler, along with Tyler Tucker and Matthew Kessel, who is a restricted free agent, to balance out younger, more inexperienced guys like Logan Mailloux and Theo Lindstein.
"We’re excited that he’s got size and
length, his ability to kill plays, his experience I think," Armstrong said of Carlo. "It allows
us to have four experienced players right now in Broberg, Parayko,
Fowler and Carlo now, and then we have those younger guys that are
going to push and prod and try to work their way in there (Mailloux,
Lindstein, Jiricek). The way we were set before, we were going to
rely on three young players to take a big role and things that we
tried to accomplish the last few days of getting stronger up front
and having strong goaltending, we think we’re going to be more
competitive than we were last year and adding a defenseman there that
can make us stronger and also provide us the ability to let the
younger players to come at a more natural pace and also provide us
depth for injuries was important for us. This sort of piggybacks what
we’ve done the last couple days.
Carlo, who played three seasons with the Boston Bruins under Blues coach Jim Montgomery, played in 55 regular-season games with the Maple Leafs last season and had seven assists. Carlo's addition adds to the trade Friday of Mason McTavish, who played under new assistant coach Greg Cronin with the Anaheim Ducks.
"It’s been a benefit of having ‘Crow’
here on the Anaheim trade and having 'Monty' on the Boston
relationship," Armstrong said. "Obviously we rely on our pro scouts to do the due
diligence to prepare the information and then we verify our knowledge
with Monty. Monty speaks very highly of his time with him, even
higher of his character of how he fits into a team game. That’s an
added benefit of having that extra knowledge."
The Bruins had initially retained 15 percent of Carlo's contract from a previous trade when they sent Carlo to the Maple Leafs.
He was acquired by Toronto in a trade with Boston on March 7, 2025, for forward Fraser Minten and two draft picks, including a first-rounder.
He was drafted by the Bruins in the second round (37th overall) in the 2015 draft and has played 10 NHL seasons.
At 6-foot-5, 227 pounds, Carlo has 119 points (29 goals, 90 assists) in 692 regular-season games with a plus-137 rating.
Carlo has 14 points (five goals, nine assists)in 85 career postseason games.
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The Carolina Hurricanes traded down twice, but finally made their their first selection of the 2026 NHL Draft in the second round, selecting Swedish defenseman William Hakansson with the 51st overall pick.
"I mean, just happiness," Hakansson told media in Buffalo. "I'm here with my family. They helped me and you can really see them enjoying it, so a really fun moment to spend with them."
The 18-year-old blueliner is a strong, mobile defender, who split time playing between the SHL and HockeyAllsvenskan.
Hakansson also has notable size, standing at 6-foot-4 and weighing in at 216lb.
He's a well regarded skater for his size and while he doesn't have much offensive flash to his game, his defensive game is one of the best in the draft.
The Hockey News ranked him as the 69th best prospect in the draft and wrote, "Reliable D-man is a strong kid, particularly in battles. He's coachable and can skate, but he likely tops out as a bottom-pairing blueliner in the NHL."
When asked if he was upset at all that he wasn't drafted in the first round, Hakansson said that it didn't really bother him at all.
"Of course you want to be picked in the first round, but it's the work after that matters the most."
William Håkansson goes 51st overall to the @Canes 🤩 Håkansson was the 58th overall pick on our final 2026 NHL Draft rankings 🔥
Had William Håkansson ranked No. 32, Carolina trades back and gets a solid overall defender. Big, mobile and smart defensively. Not sure there's going to be much production, but he has the athletic profile that gives him a chance to rise up a depth chart.
There’s absolutely no flash to his game. Instead, he uses his big 6-foot-4, 207-pound frame to flatten opponents while being a pain in the rear end defensively. He’s quite mobile for his frame, too.
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The Toronto Maple Leafs have traded defenseman Brandon Carlo to the St. Louis Blues for two third-round picks. Those picks are the 73rd and 76th selections of the 2026 draft.
Carlo, 29, has played in 75 regular-season games for the Maple Leafs across the past two seasons. This past year, the right-handed defenseman featured in 55 appearances, recording seven assists, averaging 19:22 of ice time per game.
In total, Carlo registered 10 assists as a member of the Maple Leafs, with no goals to his name, and a plus-eight rating. In fact, since joining Toronto, he has the second-best plus-minus rating on the team, just behind Chris Tanev's plus-13
The Maple Leafs sent Carlo to the Blues after Toronto acquired him from the Boston Bruins at the 2025 NHL trade deadline.
In that deal with the Bruins, the Leafs gave up center Fraser Minten, a conditional 2026 first-round pick (which will be pushed to either 2027 or 2028 draft) and a fourth-round pick in 2025, which turned out to be Vashek Blanar.
Carlo is in the final year of his six-year contract with an annual salary of $4.1 million. However, he costs $3.485 against St. Louis' salary cap because the Bruins retained 15 percent of the blueliner's salary.
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After trading a trio of draft picks to the Philadelphia Flyers to move up in the first round, the San Jose Sharks will have to wait quite a while to make their first pick on Saturday.
The Sharks' next pick in the 2026 NHL Draft is the 127th overall pick in the fourth round. Historically, there have been some impact players selected with that pick as well.
The most notable player selected with the 127th overall pick was Ryan Callahan, a long-time member, and captain, of the New York Rangers. Callahan played 757 career games in the NHL, scoring 186 goals and 386 points during his career.
Matt Calvert, who spent the majority of his time in the NHL with the Columbus Blue Jackets, also had a very impressive career after being selected 127th overall. In 566 games, he scored 95 goals and 203 points split between Columbus and the Colorado Avalanche.
In terms of active players, Niko Mikkola of the Florida Panthers is another example of what the 127th overall pick could become.
Odds aren't in the Sharks' favor that they'll find an NHL player with the 127th overall pick, but if they do, history shows it'll either be a slightly undersized forward with a high work ethic or a massive defenseman who may just need some time to find his game.
Much of the brother storyline at the 2026 NHL Draft centered on the Ruck twins, both selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in one of the feel-good moments of the weekend. But they were not the only set of brothers headed to the same organization.
On Saturday, the Detroit Red Wings quietly added their own family chapter, using the 47th overall pick to select Victor Plante, the younger brother of Red Wings blue chip prospect Max Plante.
The pick carries a poetic quality as Max Plante was chosen by Detroit in the second round, also 47th overall, in the 2024 NHL Draft. Two years later, the Red Wings went back to that same spot and came away with his younger brother, giving the organization two Plantes in the pipeline and one of the more compelling family storylines in the prospect world.
Victor was one of the top players for the NTDP this past season, recording 21 goals and 27 assists for 48 points in 57 games with the U.S. National U18 Team, while also adding eight goals and ten assists for 18 points in 20 USHL games with the USNTDP Juniors. He is not a flashy player, but brings a high-end motor, strong hockey sense and the versatility to contribute in all situations.
The brothers were already set to share the ice next season before Saturday's pick made things even more interesting. Max Plante is coming off one of the best individual seasons in college hockey, winning the Hobey Baker Award as the top player in the NCAA, and will be returning to the University of Minnesota Duluth next season.
Victor is committed to UMD as an incoming freshman, and there is a possibility that oldest brother Zam, who was also at UMD with Max this past season, could be on the roster as well. If that comes together, all three brothers could skate together in Duluth, which would be a first.
The Plante family connection to UMD is deep and genuine as their father Derek spent four seasons with the Bulldogs and captained the team in his final year before embarking on a professional career that saw him record 248 points in 450 NHL games as a forward with the Buffalo Sabres, Dallas Stars, Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers. He was selected by Buffalo in the eighth round of the 1989 NHL Draft and went on to far exceed expectations at the pro level.
Zam was taken in the fifth round by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2022 NHL Draft, and now with Max and Victor both in Detroit's system, the Red Wings have quietly cornered the market on one of hockey's most accomplished families. Whether both brothers can develop into NHL contributors remains to be seen, but the foundation they are building together at every level gives Detroit every reason to be optimistic.
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While they may not have made the big move just yet, the Philadelphia Flyers are reportedly considering attempting to pull off one of the biggest trades of them all.
On Friday night, The Athletic NHL insider Pierre LeBrun reported that "at least a dozen teams" will ask the Columbus Blue Jackets about superstar defenseman Zach Werenski as a potential trade looms.
The Flyers are one of those teams, apparently, with momentum only building.
On Saturday morning, Sportsnet NHL insider Elliotte Friedman added on the 2026 NHL Draft broadcast that the Flyers, alongside the Dallas Stars, are one of the most active teams in Werenski trade talks.
Werenski, 28, won the Norris Trophy this season as the NHL's best defenseman, firing off 22 goals, 59 assists, and 81 points in 75 games, following up on a 2024-25 season that saw him post 23 goals, 59 assists, and 82 points in 81 games.
The 2015 No. 8 overall pick is clearly in his prime and just reached new heights in his NHL career to date, which makes him the perfect addition to a Flyers team in desperate need of offensive juice from their defense corps.
It goes almost without saying that any kind of Werenski trade will heavily depend on the price, which could prove prohibitive for the opportunistic Flyers front office.
The Blue Jackets are, of course, in the same division as the Flyers, and they aren't very far off from making the playoffs.
That may not remain the case if and when Werenski leaves, on top of reports star winger Kirill Marchenko wants to leave Columbus, too.
With aspirations of getting younger and remaining competitive, the Blue Jackets won't sell off their two best players for anything less than an overpay, and that will test how far the Flyers are willing to go to acquire a superstar player on the NHL trade block.
Alberts Smits was a little stressed waiting to be picked in Friday’s NHL Draft -- as expected.
The 18-year-old defenseman didn’t have to sit around too long, though, as the Rangers made him the highest selected Latvian in NHL history when they took him with the fifth overall pick.
“I was stressed and excited at the same time,” Smits admitted. “Once my name got called, I was feeling happy and relief -- I’m glad that it turned out this way.”
Smits is a towering, physical blueliner who brings a heavy two-way game.
While he may not possess the upside and potential of some of his fellow draft prospects, he has been widely considered one of the most polished and NHL-ready players in the entire class.
The youngster showcased that as he spent most of last season competing against men in Finland’s top pro league, and some of the world's top talent at both World Juniors and the Olympics.
"It certainly was a factor," Director of Amateur Scouting John Lilley said. "His body of work this year at every level -- handling himself as well as he did and thriving in hostile environments certainly helped his cause."
While neither side is looking to rush things, Smits could find himself joining the Blueshirts before long.
New York is expected to finalize his entry-level contract in the near future, and he could be out on the ice with his new teammates when they kick off training camp later this summer.
“I’m just living in this moment right now,” Smits emphasized. “I’m happy that I ended up being taken by such a good organization, so we’ll see how things are going to turn out.”
When the Senators traded Brady Tkachuk to Florida last Sunday, they acquired a pile of draft capital.
The deal left them flush with picks in round one of the 2026 NHL Draft, but earlier this week, they almost immediately traded the most valuable pick, the 9th overall selection, to San Jose. They picked up winger William Eklund, who can the club help right away.
But they also accepted that it was time to start restocking their prospect shelves.
So in the Eklund deal, they also secured two prospects they liked: former London Knights star forward Kasper Haltunnen and the rights to forward Brandon Svoboda, who just finished his second season at Boston U.
Then on Friday night at the draft, while many expected they might deal away the 25th pick for more immediate help, they kept their eye on the future again, drafting Swedish right winger Jonas Lagerberg Hoen from Leksands IF Jr.
Finally, due to an NHL ruling in the Dadonov case, they had no choice but to make their pick at 32. With that, they selected London Knights forward Jaxon Cover, the player I liked most at that draft position (even a blind squirrel finds the odd acorn).
Lagerberg Hoen is something of a wild card to say the least. Two seasons ago, he had elite Cy Young-like numbers with 27 goals and 3 assists in 38 games in junior. Back with the same club this past season for his NHL draft year, he was expected to completely light it up. In the first 9 games, he did. He had 9 goals and 7 assists before suffering a knee injury.
So the viewings of LH have been limited and that surely affected his draft rankings. Some had him listed as low as the 70s and 80s. On the other hand, before anyone panics, he was ranked 19th by NHL Central Scouting among all draft-eligible European skaters.
The pick does conjure up memories and comparisons to Tyler Boucher. Five years ago at the weird 2021 NHL Draft, the Senators had the tenth overall pick and were smitten with Tyler Boucher, a good skating physical forward who had also run into injury trouble in his draft year. The Sens felt the injury issues affected his draft stock, and were also concerned that if they waited until their next pick, another team would have taken him.
The Sens reached for Boucher, well ahead of where he was ranked by most scouts and analysts and unfortunately, Boucher has never been healthy enough for long enough to prove the Sens right or wrong.
The good news is that Lagerberg Hoen, at 6-foot-3, 185 pounds, is fully healthy again and ready to play a full season in Sweden next year in the second-tier Allsvenskan.
Frankly, it's hard to believe he was able to put together such an impressive highlight reel in just nine junior games.
Sens head amateur scout Don Boyd seemed thrilled to have selected him where they did.
“We really liked him," Boyd said. "He’s a goal-scorer. He can really skate, he can score from everywhere, and he’s a competitive guy. We had great interviews with him; he was great in the gym, and he checks all the boxes.”
There were only six picks before the Sens would choose again, but Boyd felt like there were a couple of NHL teams who might have jumped on Lagerberg Hoen if they had waited until their next pick at 32.
And that brings us to Cover whose backstory might be the best of the entire first round class. If his name didn't rhyme with clover, I might have billed it as our Cover Story. As much as referring to our national sport as ice hockey makes Canadians cringe, I'm afraid we have to for this story.
The six-foot-2, 183-pound winger only began playing organized ice hockey five years ago after first excelling in roller hockey in the Cayman Islands.
“It’s a great story, but we drafted him because we believe he's got ability, we believe he's got skill, we believe he's going to have a chance to be an offensive guy,” Boyd said.
Scouts rave about his athleticism, creativity, and like Lagerberg Hoen, his snap shot is off the charts. Because he is still relatively new to ice hockey, his ceiling on his potential for improvement might be better than almost anyone in the draft. And he's already pretty good.
Wearing Sidney Crosby's number 87, Cover's puck skill, fierce snap shot, and fearlessness at the net are impressive, especially for a young man with only five years of organized hockey. He posted 20 goals and 52 points in 67 games for the Knights in 2025-26. And there's been ho shortage of NHL stars to come out of OHL London.
The NHL did a great feature on Cover here.
So on day one of the NHL Draft, the Sens beefed up on future skill.
The NHL Draft continues on Saturday. The Senators don't have a second round selection but they have three in the third, then one pick in the fourth, fifth, and sixth rounds.
BUFFALO, NEW YORK - JUNE 26: NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman looks on as Liam Ruck of Canada is drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins with the twenty-second overall pick during day one of the 2026 NHL Draft on June 26, 2026 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Talk about the ongoing draft event here!
When: 11:00am eastern What: Rounds 2-7 to complete the draft happen today How to watch: NHL Network, streaming on ESPN+ Penguin picks: Two in the second round (39, 54), a third round (86), a sixth round (170)
It’s a great day to make some more dreams come true.
The Colorado Avalanche may have completed the bulk of their offseason work, but Joe Sakic made it clear Friday that the front office is still looking to add before training camp.
Speaking ahead of the opening round of the NHL Draft, Sakic said Colorado hopes to bolster its forward depth while potentially adding another defenseman, although the team's salary cap situation will ultimately determine what is possible.
"We'd still like to sign one or two forwards and a (defenseman)," Sakic said.
After creating cap flexibility through multiple trades over the past two weeks, the Avalanche used some of that space to sign veteran defensemen Brent Burns and Brett Kulak. Even so, Colorado has less than $6 million in cap space, making value signings the most realistic option once free agency opens.
Sakic acknowledged that several difficult roster decisions were made with the salary cap—not performance—in mind.
"Those decisions for us really were cap decisions, free up some space. We couldn't have brought everybody back," Sakic said.
With much of the roster now appearing set, attention now shifts to the two young forwards Colorado acquired from the Nashville Predators. Both Fedor Svechkov and Zachary L'Heureux are expected to compete for full-time NHL roles next season.
Svechkov, the former first-round pick, drew praise from Sakic for the way he impacts the game beyond the scoresheet.
"Svechkov, he's like a (Chris) Drury," Sakic said. "He's not quite at Drury's level yet, but we think he can get there, and he's only 23."
L'Heureux brings a completely different element. The hard-nosed winger has built a reputation as an agitator who thrives on playing with an edge—something Colorado felt it lacked during its sweep at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Final.
"He's going to be exciting for us," Sakic said. "He's type of player that we were looking for. He'd be great for us, we probably wish we had that player in the playoffs."
The challenge for L'Heureux will be channeling that physical style without crossing the line.
The Hockey News previously reported that one of the Avalanche's biggest shortcomings against Vegas was its inability to match the Golden Knights' physicality. L'Heureux undoubtedly addresses that need, but he also arrives with an extensive disciplinary history.
During three seasons with the Halifax Mooseheads in the QMJHL, L'Heureux was suspended nine times, including a 10-game suspension after spearing fans following a game. In 2020 alone, he served four separate suspensions. Overall, he has been suspended 12 times throughout his junior and professional career, costing him 39 games.
His NHL résumé has been much cleaner, although he was suspended three games last season for slew-footing Minnesota Wild captain Jared Spurgeon. If L'Heureux can maintain his trademark physicality while staying out of the penalty box and avoiding supplemental discipline, he could become exactly the type of player Colorado believes it was missing in the postseason.
The NHL Draft began Friday and concludes Saturday. The Avalanche hold 10 selections across Rounds 2 through 7 as they look to replenish a prospect pool that has been depleted by years of aggressive, win-now moves.
The Vancouver Canucks doubled up on OHL prospects to start the 2026 NHL Entry Draft. Vancouver first drafted center Caleb Malhotra third overall before selecting winger Adam Novotný 24th. Malhotra played last season with the Brantford Bulldogs, while Novotný spent his first OHL campaign with the Peterborough Petes.
Leading up to the draft, many experts predicted that Malhotra would be selected third overall by the Canucks. Listed at 6'2", 185 lbs, the 18-year-old dominated the OHL this year with 84 points in 67 games before producing 26 points in 15 playoff games. Described as a two-way center, Malhotra was clearly excited to be joining the organization.
"I had no clue or no hands from anybody, so I was just as blind as everybody else was," said Malhotra after being drafted. "So just to hear my name get called at all, and then especially to this organization, it's got a personal connection and big emotional meaning for me. I'm just so grateful, and I guess this could not have been more perfect for me."
Drafting Malhotra is going to come with an interesting challenge, as his dad, Manny, was recently named Vancouver's head coach. While it may take a few years for the two to unite at the NHL level, there will be questions, especially early on, about how this relationship will work. After the pick was made, Manny Malhotra spoke to the media and detailed his plan to ensure there are no issues moving forward.
"Obviously, see the aesthetics at times are not ideal," said Malhotra. "What this comes down to, ultimately, is player and coach. You know, I say it, and I know people will kind of roll their eyes and say, you can't say it, and we'll be that way, but when we get to the arena, he knows he's treated as I would any other player. And that dynamic has worked for us. When we leave the arena, and there's a very clear line that we're not talking shops. I'm not coaching you anymore. It's just the dad conversations that take place. So we understand the dynamic of it and perhaps the aesthetics, how people will perceive the situation. But when it comes to the hockey, it's all about getting better."
As for Novotný, it was a little surprising that he was available at 24th overall. Listed at 6'1", 205 lbs, the winger from Czechia was projected by most experts to go before 20th overall. Novotný dropping based on projected draft position is the Canucks, as he is one of the most intriguing prospects in this draft.
"I don't know how to describe this, said Novotný after being selected. "Such a great feeling, and such a great organization. Just so happy that I got drafted by the Vancouver Canucks. This feeling is just unbelievable. To share this with my family, so it just feels great."
Novotný has developed into a dynamic, two-way forward. He recorded 65 points in 58 games while also winning a Silver Medal with Czechia at the 2026 World Juniors. A combination of size, skill and grit, Novotný showed this year that he is a pain to play against.
Vancouver enters day two of the 2026 NHL Entry Draft with eight remaining picks. Ryan Johnson and his team will be on the board first in the second round as the Canucks hold the 33rd overall pick. Once the draft is complete, the newly-drafted prospects will head to Vancouver for development camp.
Jun 26, 2026; Buffalo, New York, USA; Adam Novotny reacts beside NHL commissioner Gary Bettman after being selected with the twenty fourth pick in the first round of the 2026 NHL Draft by the Vancouver Canucks at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images
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The Philadelphia Flyers had a literal strong start to the 2026 NHL Draft, selecting a hulking defenseman in Maksim Sokolovskii with their first pick.
That said, there is still plenty of work to do with the thinning prospect pipeline.
One move that will help the Flyers greatly was trading down in Round 1, pivoting off the 21st pick, moving back six spots to 27, and picking up the 62nd and 120th overall picks in a trade with the San Jose Sharks.
Now, the Flyers will have the 53rd and 62nd picks in Round 2, which will allow them to either trade up for a prospect they really want, or simply stay put and also draft two prospects they really want.
Plus, Flyers GM Danny Briere implied that the team could double-dip on defense and still draft one of the top remaining puck-moving defenders in the class, like Xavier Villeneuve, who could go early in Round 2.
"There's more out there. It doesn't mean that we're done, that we're not going to draft a puck-moving defenseman. Let's see what tomorrow brings. Hopefully, we can bring you a smaller puck-moving defenseman after losing Emil [Andrae]," Briere said.
Villeneuve is, for me, the best remaining player when accounting for the Flyers' needs.
The Flyers met with him once already, and he is unquestionably the only defenseman remaining who screams "future power play quarterback."
He has to get there at an NHL level, of course, but that is what you're drafting Villeneuve for, unlike Sokolovskii, for example.
I also like William Hakansson and Ben MacBeath at the left defense spot, but it feels like the Flyers are only going to jump back in at defense if they see the Villeneuve-type upside offensively.
At center, and forward in general, the Flyers have a glut of players to consider in the same kind of tier.
Slovak Tomas Chrenko stood out during international competitions this season, and Russians Yegor Shilov and Lavr Gashilov have more legitimate offensive upside if things break their way in development.
Or, if the Flyers want to take a page out of the Stanley Cup-winning Carolina Hurricanes' playbook, they could go with University of Michigan ace Adam Valentini, a pacey and relentless forechecker who can do a bit of scoring.
The Hurricanes proved that a balanced lineup stocked with versatile players can get the job done, and Valentini fits that mold.
In order, my favorite remaining players:
Xavier Villeneuve, LHD Adam Valentini, C Ben MacBeath, LHD William Hakansson, LHD Brooks Rogowski, C Ryan Roobroeck, C Yegor Shilov, C Lavr Gashilov, C Markus Ruck, C Pierce Mbuyi, W Mathis Preston, W Tomas Galvas, LHD Tomas Chrenko, C Alessando Di Iorio, C Beckham Edwards, C
Additionally, I wouldn't discount the possibility of the Flyers drafting a goalie at some point, though a second-round pick on one might be a bit rich.
Regardless, Tobias Trejbal is one to watch as a big right-handed Czech, as is Michal Orsulak. These are two goalies I could see the Flyers taking early or late, respectively, to add more depth at the position.
