Flyers draft pick options, potential trades, and more highlights from our NHL draft AMA

The 2023 NHL draft in Nashville is just over a week away and the Flyers hold an interesting position both in terms of draft picks and as a potential trade partner.

The Flyers are scheduled to pick at No. 7 and again at No. 22 (via the Ivan Provorov trade) and have several different directions they could go when it comes to both of those picks. They also have several players of value they could elect to move to compile assets for the future.

» READ MORE: NHL draft: Meet five players the Flyers could take at No. 5

Ahead of Wednesday’s first round, Inquirer beat reporters Giana Han and Olivia Reiner took to Reddit, where they invited users on the r/Flyers subreddit to ask them anything about the Flyers and the draft. Below are some of the highlights of the question and answer session (this has been edited for length). You can read the full thread here.

Giana Han: One of my favorites was about game day coffee orders. It was light and fun, but it also unlocked some of the personality in the locker room for me (like all the guys making fun of JVR for drinking mushroom coffee and then Scott Laughton going ‘What brand do you drink? I drink this one.’)

On a more serious note, I really enjoyed going out to Minnesota last summer and doing the video story with Olivia on Noah and Jackson Cates and their journey to the Flyers organization.

Olivia Reiner: I agree with Giana that one of my favorite stories was the one we did on Noah and Jackson Cates. Giana wrote the story and shot photos while I shot and edited the video, and we were both pleased with how the entire package came together. I also wrote a story last year on Colin Felix, who signed with the Phantoms and is the son of late Phantoms trainer Chris Felix. Colin had such a special relationship with his dad and I am incredibly appreciative that he and his mother, Kim, were willing to share their memories of him with me.

» READ MORE: Cates brothers’ unbreakable bond has carried them from their Minnesota basement to the Flyers

GH: Everything hinges on whether someone takes [Matvei] Michkov early. If he goes, then I think the Flyers have a chance at Ryan Leonard and take him. He’s got skill as well as a big body. They’re looking for “strength, speed, and strategy” to enter their “new era of orange.”

If Michkov isn’t taken, then the Flyers have a real dilemma on their hands. It’s hard to see how the Flyers could pass up on a talent second only to [Connor] Bedard. But they’ve got such a bad track record with developing Russian players.

Personally, I like Leonard. After the combine, I actually like all four possible prospects we talked to one-on-one (Leonard, Gabe Perreault, Zach Benson, and Oliver Moore), and I think all would help the team. But I think Leonard best fits what the Flyers are doing, and he’d get the benefit of playing with Cutter Gauthier next year at Boston College and establishing some chemistry.

» READ MORE: Ryan Leonard’s competitiveness comes from his family. Could it make him a draft fit for the Flyers?

OR: Where Matvei Michkov is going to go is the big question at the top of everyone’s minds heading into the draft. And I’m not so sure it’s a long shot that he’ll be available to the Flyers at No. 7 (this is all my opinion, to be clear).

In a vacuum, the Flyers should take Michkov if he’s there. He’s talented enough to be in the conversation for second overall and he has the potential to be the star that the Flyers currently lack. But the draft doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Michkov is signed in the KHL through the 2026 season (although he’s expressed that it’s his dream to play in the NHL one day) and Russia’s war in Ukraine is ongoing, casting some uncertainty surrounding his future NHL availability.

When I spoke to assistant general manager Brent Flahr last month, I asked him about how the Ivan Fedotov situation may give him and the team pause when it comes to drafting Michkov (or any other Russian prospect this year). This was his direct quote: “The Fedotov situation is a little different than the Michkov [situation]. But at the same time, there are some things you can’t control, which you’ve got to weigh out your comfort level with going into it. But the same time, we’ll have all of our background intact, and if we’re comfortable, then we’ll certainly consider it. You’ve got to weigh the talent level as well.”

Flahr also told me at the time that the Flyers planned to meet with Michkov in person at the draft, which indicates that they’re planning to do their due diligence on him. I think they should take him if he’s there, but it’s easy for me to say without my job security involved. I understand why the Flyers may be averse to taking him, but especially now that they have No. 22 as well, they should be looking to take the big swing in the first round this year.

» READ MORE: Russian prospect Matvei Michkov presents a dilemma for every team — but even more so for the Flyers

GH: Based on conversations at the combine, I like center Brayden Yager. He carries himself well, and he’s competed at a high level in the WHL against the likes of Connor Bedard. While the Flyers have built some depth at center with Noah Cates’ position change and Cutter Gauthier’s explosive college season, they need to continue building depth there. He would infuse skill and speed, which the Flyers need. Some other names who could fit in at 22 are forwards Otto Stenberg and David Edstrom.

OR: Recent history indicates that the Flyers will stay at No. 7. In the past 10 years, NHL teams have traded a top-10 pick without any conditions only four times — OTT 2022 No. 7 to CHI for Alex DeBrincat, VAN 2021 No. 9 to ARI for Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Conor Garland, ARI 2017 No. 7 to NYR for Derek Stepan and Antti Raanta, and NJD 2013 No. 9 to VAN for Cory Schneider. The Flyers are not in any position to be doing that right now in this stage of their rebuild.

But the conversations around No. 22 could be more fluid. The Flyers don’t have a second-round pick in this year’s draft (Rasmus Ristolainen trade), so after No. 22, they don’t pick again until No. 87 in the third round. Depending on how they rate the prospects on their draft board, it may make sense for the Flyers to trade back into later rounds.

The Flyers also may make trades at the draft that have nothing to do with their first-round picks. If the Ivan Provorov trade is any indication, we know that general manager Danny Brière is going to be aggressive in rebuilding the Flyers. Giana wrote a story last week about some of those potential trade candidates.