Who’ll join the Flyers with the 21st pick? Here are 15 options for Danny Brière and Co. in June’s draft

Compared to his first three drafts at the helm, the 2026 NHL draft will be a different beast for general manager Danny Brière and his staff. Previously, the Flyers were in the lottery, but this year, they’re at No. 21 overall for their first of five picks through the seven rounds.

And it’s a head-scratcher who they’ll select, as a lot can happen through the first 20 selections.

Before the Flyers head north for the scouting combine, which begins Monday in Buffalo, here are 15 players (in alphabetical order) they could take in the first round.

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Bleyl, 18, just put up one of the best rookie seasons by a defenseman in Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League history. The New York State native potted 81 points in 63 regular-season games — breaking a record that stood for 48 years — led the “Q” in assists (68), was named the top defensive rookie, and finished third in playoff scoring (28 points).

Listed at 5-foot-11½, 165 pounds by Central Scouting, Bleyl is all over the map in mock drafts, but is rising. TSN analyst Craig Button recently moved him up to No. 26. “He fits the profile of how you can impact the game from the back end,” Button noted.

Bleyl is a strong skater and a right-shot who came from the same Mid Fairfield program as Trevor Zegras and is headed to a Flyers favorite, Michigan State, in 2027.

There’s a wide range of thoughts on where Cali will land, from the second round to The Athletic having him at No. 25 on May 19. The Ontario native has many elements the Flyers like. The North Bay center played in the Ontario Hockey League, where the Flyers snagged Porter Martone and Jack Nesbitt last year. Brière has selected eight centers in the past three drafts,

At 6-1½, 219 pounds, Cali is committed to Harvard in 2027, where Flyers prospect Heikki Ruohonen currently plays, and won’t turn 18 until September, which makes him one of the youngest prospects in the draft. He’s also a project and the Flyers love to take developmental players.

Another left-shot center, Command, who is 6-1, 183 pounds, had an impressive tilt at the U-18 Men’s World Championships for the gold-medal winning Swedes. The two-way center notched seven points in seven games — the same numbers for another gold medalist, Jett Luchanko, in his draft year — while centering the top line. It came after he finished tied for seventh in points in Sweden’s top junior league, despite being just 17 years old. Command, who turns 18 in mid-June, added 13 points in 14 playoff games for Örebro, and is known for his competitiveness — another element that catches the Flyers’ eyes.

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There’s a lot to like about Cullen, a versatile forward who can play center or wing. He models his game after New Jersey’s Jack Hughes, and will be heading to the University of Minnesota in 2027. Now standing at 6-1, 176 pounds after a six-inch growth spurt the last two years, according to McKeen’s Hockey, Cullen is a good skater and playmaker but faces questions about his compete level.

Cullen, who has a September birthday, started the season as a “C” ranking by Central Scouting, but is now ranked No. 13 among North American skaters. And after being more than a point-per-game player for the United States National Team Development Program, he showed out at U-18s, finishing third in the tourney with nine points in five games. Plus, there’s an interesting Flyers tie-in: his father, Matt, won two of his three Stanley Cups in Pittsburgh, when coach Rick Tocchet was an assistant.

The Flyers like Canadians, with 13 draft picks Brière has had a hand in selecting coming from there. Could they go that way again? The 6-4, 196-pound Dagenais was No. 2 on the Remparts with 62 points (30 goals, 32 assists) in 62 regular-season games and tied for No. 1 in power-play points (25) with Nathan Quinn, the Flyers’ 2025 sixth-rounder.

A high-volume shot-taker, he ranked fourth in the QMJHL (273) and was the league’s Michael-Bossy Trophy winner as the top professional prospect. A left-shot, he can win in the faceoff circle, has a high hockey IQ, and brings physicality, with one scout telling Daily Faceoff after a big-time reverse hit during the U-18 tournament, “It’s kind of his thing. He’s terrifying.”

Slovakia’s captain at U-18s, the 6-3, 194-pound right-shot defenseman had five points in seven games for the silver medalists and was named the tournament’s best defender — and he doesn’t turn 18 until June 7. He’s also a bit of a project, but has already proven he can be a workhorse by averaging more than 20 minutes for Slovakia on the top pair, with ice time on the power play and penalty kill.

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According to Jason Bukala of The Pro Hockey Group, “Goljer’s hockey sense stood out for me. His routes to defend and kill plays defensively, combined with his puck management on the power play, were mostly sound.” He had 11 points in 43 games for his hometown squad in Slovakia’s top league, skating with former Flyers forward Phil Varone.

Yes, this Hextall is related to that Hextall. Jack’s dad, Cory, is the cousin of former Flyers goalie and GM Ron Hextall. But this younger Hextall is a 6-foot, 188-pound right-shot centerman — reminder: Luke Glendening was the only right-handed center this past year — who finished with 58 points in 59 games for the Phantoms (apropos, no?).

The 18-year-old from Illinois is known for his big motor, high hockey IQ, and being relentless. Skating for USA hockey at the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, he had seven points for the winning squad, and is heading to Michigan State in the fall.

A native of Texas, the 18-year-old Hurlbert has a consolidated ranking of 20 by Elite Prospects, right in the Flyers’ wheelhouse. In his first and only year in the Western Hockey League — he’s off to the University of Michigan with Jack Nesbitt in the fall — he snagged the rookie of the year award after posting 97 points (42 goals, 55 assists) in 68 regular-season games. The rookie, who wore an “A” for the Blazers, is known for his quick shot but can play wing or center, another eye-opener for the Flyers.

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When The Athletic put out its latest mock draft from a GM’s viewpoint, this is who the Flyers selected. Klepov, the eighth-best skater in North America, per Central Scouting, is listed at 6-foot, 180 pounds, and brings a high level of skill. The OHL’s rookie of the year, Klepov, who turns 18 the same day as the first round of the draft, was the first newbie to lead the OHL in scoring since future Hall of Famer Patrick Kane, posting 97 points in 67 games, with 38 points on the power play and three short-handed goals. And he’ll be a Spartan come September.

Lin shouldn’t be there when it’s time for Brière to make the pick — no one was expecting Matvei Michkov to fall to the Flyers either — but if he is, this is a guy they should take. Yes, he’s just 5-11 and 178 pounds, but Lin is the creative, puck-moving, two-way right-shot defenseman the Flyers desperately need. He led Vancouver in points (57), assists (43), and power-play assists (21) despite missing time with a wrist injury and added another six points in five games at U18s.

According to The Athletic, Lin considers Flyers assistant coach Jaroslav “Yogi” Svejkovský one of his biggest influences. The two have worked together since Lin, who will play at Denver in the fall, was in learn-to-skate.

Two spots below Klepov on Central Scouting’s list is Morozov. A 6-3, 200-pound center, the Russian just wrapped up his freshman year at Miami (Ohio) — and he doesn’t even turn 18 until August. The youngest player in college hockey for most of the year, the two-way center played in the top-six, got time on special teams (three power-play goals and one short-handed goal), and finished with 20 points in 36 games.

Corey Pronman, one of The Athletic’s draft analysts, had the Flyers taking the Massachusetts native on May 11, calling the winger, “a very natural fit for their organizational identity.” USA Hockey’s captain at U-18’s, the 6-3, 200-pounder had five points in five games and is heading to Boston College in September. The son of former BC and Patriots quarterback Scott Mutryn, and the brother of San Jose Sharks prospect Teddy Mutryn, Casey would be a stretch here but has a high compete and is an NHL-ready forward who pays attention to the details.

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Pronman teamed up with Scott Wheeler, another draft analyst at The Athletic, for a mock draft on May 19, and Wheeler selected Novotny at 21 for the Flyers, saying the Czech winger has “NHL strength, speed, and work ethic to go with an NHL shot.” A smidge over 6-1 and 205 pounds, the winger, who played the entire season in Peterborough, led his team in points (65) and finished second and tied for fourth in the OHL with 278 shots on goal and eight game-winners, respectively.

A standout at World Juniors, the power forward, who has speed and a strong work ethic, had three assists and a tournament-high 34 shots on goal in seven games for the silver-medal winning Czechia.

Aside from being a possibility for the Flyers, Shilov is someone the Philly area should keep on their radar, as he is heading to Penn State in 2027. A little over 6-feet and 177 pounds, after a season in the United States Hockey League, the Russian spent the past year playing in the QMJHL for Victoriaville, where he centered the top line.

A left-handed center, he won 54.8% of his faceoffs and put up 82 points in 63 games — 31 on the power play — on the way to being named the league’s offensive rookie of the year despite not turning 18 until the end of April.

Another smaller defenseman and another September birthday, Villeneuve stands at 5-11 and weighs just 162 pounds, but brings a hefty comparable: Lane Hutson. Villeneuve has a good stick, can skate, dropped 38 points in an injury-plagued season — he had 14 points in 17 playoff games — and has a combined 143 points in 152 regular-season games across three seasons in the QMJHL.

You have to think the Flyers have been keeping tabs on the Laval, Quebec, native — he was teammates with Spencer Gill for the Armada and, when he dropped eight points in seven games at last year’s U-18’s for the gold-medal winning Canadians, with Nesbitt and 2025 pick Matthew Gard. Villeneuve will be heading to Hutson’s alma mater, Boston University, where he’ll play with Jack Murtagh, who was a second-round pick for the Flyers last June.