The New New Unending Flyers thread

[phillychuck]

Buffalo will now jump us in the lottery...

[el-pietro]

Odds are someone does. They have a 19% chance to move up and a 65% chance to move back.
Most likely scenario is they get the 5th pick but worst case scenario they get the 6th pick.

[Docs]

Dropping to sixth is much more manageable than dropping to ninth.

[phillychuck]

Here's a breakdown of the odds:
1st overall: 9.5%
2nd overall: 9.5%
3rd overall: 0.3%
4th overall: 15.4%
5th overall: 44.6%
6th overall: 20.8%

Someone explain to me how they get to #3...

[Docs]

Someone explain to me how they get to #3...

Trade lol, or maybe that is the probability that someone ahead of them forfeits their pick for violating league rules

I have the real answer. Teams can only move up 10 spots, so if the team that wins the first lottery can only move to second (12th ranked team), then first is locked by San Jose, the 12th ranked team locks in the second pick and the second lottery drawing is for the third pick.

[Austinfan]

Flyers end up with:

4, #24, #25, #36, #41, #46, #50, #68

It may be an average draft, but they should still get quite a haul.

They finish the season 9th in xGF%, 8th in HDCF%. They aren't starting from ground zero.

I don't see Briere doing anything drastic, maybe sign a veteran center, though the top three lines finished the season strong, and there are no 1Cs (Marner ain't coming here) available.

I can see him holding pat this summer with only some minor deals, go with pretty much the same team to start the season, then start moving out veterans as young players push for jobs in LHV.

LVH 2025-26:
LW: Barkey (20), Grebenkin (22), Bump (22), Avon (22), Ciernak (21)?
C: Gaucher (25), Rizzo (24), Dorwart (23), Desnoyers (24)
RW: Tuomaala (23), Gendron (22), Wisdom (23), Kaplan (22), Powell (21)?
D: Grans (23), Bonk (20), Samson (22), McDonald (23), Sotheran (20)?, Murchison (23)
G; Bjarnason (20)

[Docs]

The Edmonton and Colorado picks are not locked until they are bounced from the playoffs

[Austinfan]

I doubt either team makes the SC finals. Both have too many flaws.

[zambonir]

Isn't a conference finals appearance enough to make you pick 29 or 30? But neither team will be favored to even win the first round, let alone the second.

[phillychuck]

Isn't a conference finals appearance enough to make you pick 29 or 30?

That is correct.

AF, who are your favorite picks at the #24, #25, #36, #41, #46, #50, and #68 picks and why? Feel free to pick several favorites for each.

[VoteForKalas]

Flyers definitely need a G.

Ersson is is a good #2, but too inconsistent & injury prone to be the main guy.

Neither Fedotov or Kolosov fit the bill. The situation with Hart is unresolved. The trial starts next Tuesday and is slated to take two months. It is also unclear if those players, convicted or not, will be allowed to play in the NHL again or what rights the Flyers may have for Hart's services.

Briere may not be able to land that guy this off-season, but he should be looking and not at vet options like Gibson. Target a young guy in another system that is blocked and go get him.

[LegoDoom]

I'm not AF and haven't watched nearly enough hockey this year (except locally) . I think the current mock on tankathon is decent although I'd probably go with one of Cameron Schmidt/Braeden Cootes/Cole Reschny at #24 and then Ivan Ryabkin at #25. Ryabkin is crazy talented. And I'd definitely take Brzustewicz over Amico in the 2nd. He seems like a solid defensemen with much more offensive upside.

[Austinfan]

I'm not that fanatic. Same reason I stopped getting obsessive over the NFL draft.
The pros have far more information available to them.
Hockey's even tougher, although there are sites, I'm not staying up to watch KHL games!

A few thoughts:

1) having a lot of picks frees Briere to gamble on upside, a few whiffs won't matter if he hits big time

2) Flyers added noted KHL coach as advisor, four-time KHL Coach of the Year Oleg Znarok. This sounds like they're committed to adding more Russian players to keep Michkov company

3) Briere has a vision, he wants balance between small skill and big mobile, both on lines and on D-pairs

4) Briere has no problem with smaller forwards, but he has a "type," based on his own experience - got to be feisty, willing to go to dirty areas and forecheck. See TK, Brink, Pelletier. He does not want "perimeter players" who float.

5) On defense, I think he wants smaller D-men to have speed to drive play and big guys to win board battles on the cycle.

6) They emphasize work ethic, motor, competitive fire and hockey IQ, Cates, Foerster types. They'd like them with talent, but intangibles are tiebreakers.I think reason they fell in love with Jett was he had these qualities with raw talent, they'd rather coach up a player like that than try to light a fire under a highly talented player who glides on his talent. The thing that probably sold them on Michkov was he's not only highly talented, he's very competitive.

[phillychuck]

For the hockey draft I’m just reading tankathon (they have pretty good prospect videos, too). I usually have seen a lot of the football and basketball prospects, a few of the baseball prospects, and nothing of hockey.

[bigegypt0417]

Early prediction for me but the flyers will not draft 7 times in 48 picks...they will use #4 or wherever that ends up and then attempt to trade up or out. This many picks gives you the flexibility to improve your position or gamble on future picks.

[zambonir]

It is also unclear if those players, convicted or not, will be allowed to play in the NHL again or what rights the Flyers may have for Hart's services.

I think the last part is pretty clear. He is a free agent. He wouldn't be had a qualifying offer been made with no contract ever signed, or if a contract had been signed and he remained on unpaid leave.

That seems like a tell to me, personally. The NHL could have suspended these players, and then once they were unsuspended their rights would have still belonged to their teams (if they weren't becoming UFAs). The Flyers would have had the most to gain by that approach. We don't need to get back into the overall topic but I'm not sure everyone realizes just how explosive this story is going be once the trial starts. If nothing else no Canadian team will ever be able to sign one of these guys. And it will be moot if they're convicted.

Anyway, go Stars, go Kings.

[xogfog]

I think it is important that the lottery results with the Flyers have one of the first four picks, the first four players in the draft are the first tier of talent. I hope they can get Misa or, if not, Frondell.

[phillychuck]

Just based on highlights I love Hagen based on his skating. He’s also a playmaker more than a shooter, which would make him a perfect center for Mitchkov.

[zambonir]

10 of 12 people here pick the Avs to win in the first round. If they do that, hopefully they at least lose to the Jets. Our worst-case would be an Avs-Oilers WCF.

NHL execs and coaches pick the playoffs’ 3 monster first-round matchups

[xogfog]

The reason I like Misa or Frondell over Hagen is size, Misa is 6' 1", so is Frondell, Hagen is 5' 10". I think an elite scorer like Misa would benefit Michkov as well. Misa is not just a goal scorer, he's a good playmaker too. Frondell is not as elite a scorer as Misa, but he is a strong 2 way player.