Flyers mock draft 2.0: Alexander Command will surely garner attention in the first round

Now that the scouting combine has come and gone, it’s a perfect time to take another swing at mocking who the Flyers could take in the first two rounds of the NHL draft on June 26 and 27. Plus, we’re adding Round 3 this time.

Of course, everything depends on how the teams in front of the Flyers draft, with the Orange and Black selecting deep in the pecking order.

There is a possibility they try to move up, which general manager Danny Brière has tried to do in previous years. The Flyers could also move down a spot to gain more picks, like Brière did when drafting Jett Luchanko in 2024.

With everything we heard in Western New York, comes changes to The Inquirer’s second mock draft.

» READ MORE: Which prospects have met with the Flyers, the latest on free agency rumblings, and other notes from the NHL scouting combine

In the first mock draft, defenseman Tommy Bleyl, who called his meeting with the Flyers in Buffalo “excellent,” was in this spot. The future Michigan State Spartan — he is returning to Moncton of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League for one more season — is still an option if the Flyers opt for a defenseman, which assistant general manager Brent Flahr hinted as a position they need more depth in.

Maksim Sokolovskii, a 6-foot-7¼, 240-pound blueliner who plays for London of the Ontario Hockey League — the same team Denver Barkey and Oliver Bonk won a Memorial Cup with last year — was also someone the Flyers showed interest in at the combine in Buffalo.

But the Flyers love drafting centers. Eight of the nine players Flahr drafted during Brière’s tenure played down the middle. As the GM told The Inquirer, “You can never have enough centers.” So, if Alexander Command is available, it wouldn’t be surprising that they take him with their pick.

“He’s a natural center, he’s strong over pucks, he’s competitive, he’s got good contact skills, he can make a play. He’s well-rounded,” The Athletic’s draft analyst Scott Wheeler told The Inquirer.

“He just looks like he’s going to be a middle-six center in the league, and middle-six centers are extremely valuable, and almost never linger on draft day. He’s a player that virtually everybody likes, too.”

That’s the crux: Will he be there at No. 21 overall?

But Command, like Shane Vansaghi, who was taken in the second round last year, oozes that Flyers mentality of highly competitive and hard-working. When asked what he knew about Philly, he told The Inquirer: “They do right by themselves, take no [stuff], kind of like me.”

His game is also reminiscent of Scott Laughton’s intensity and relentlessness on the ice, with Command calling himself a “glue guy” — much like how the former alternate captain was described.

“Yeah, in practice, I mean, he can get angry, we can get angry at each other. I kind of like that, you push each other, and battle 100% every time,” teammate and fellow draft prospect Niklas Aaram-Olsen said when asked about Command’s intensity.

» READ MORE: How top NHL draft prospects fared at the final day of the NHL combine

A left-shot pivot, Command turns 18 on June 16 and measured in at just under 6-1 and 187 pounds at the combine. He can win faceoffs and has a swagger to him, and he helped Sweden win gold at the Under-18 Men’s World Championship by notching seven points in seven games — the same numbers for another gold medalist, Luchanko, in his draft year — while centering the top line.

That came after he put up 44 points and 61 penalty minutes in 30 regular-season games and another 13 points in 14 playoff games for Örebro’s top junior team. He also earned a six-game promotion to the SHL squad in Sweden’s top league.

If the Flyers snag a center in the first round, it could mean they look to the back end in Round 2 because, as mentioned above, they need depth on defense. But at No. 53, who will be there?

A few names pop — with that uncertainty. Juho Piiparinen, who revealed he grew up a Flyers fan in Finland, is probably going in the first round, as is the rising Sokolovskii. Overage prospect Timmy Runtso would be an interesting pick, as he brings some offensive punch and attention to detail the Flyers like, and so would Vladimír Dravecký, an under-6-foot all-around defenseman.

It’s always a crapshoot here, but let’s go with Ben Macbeath, a 6-2¼, 196-pound defenseman who plays for Calgary of the Western Hockey League. Sound familiar? That’s the same team Travis Sanheim was drafted from in 2017 by the Flyers.

Macbeath met with 28 teams, including the Flyers, in Buffalo, and it’s fair to note that the scouting staff does like WHL players. The Flyers have drafted four since Flahr took over for the 2019 draft, including Luke Vlooswyk and Matthew Gard out of Red Deer last season.

» READ MORE: Flyers Q&A: Danny Brière on the NHL draft and the progression of Jett Luchanko

This past season, Macbeath notched 51 points (seven goals, 44 assists) in 67 regular-season games and added another two assists in seven playoff games. The WHL rookie killed penalties and got power-play time, but only had one power-play goal. He said at the combine his shot from the point, “needs work.” He failed to mention he had 23 power-play assists.

According to Elite Prospects, he also needs to work on his reads and killing plays quicker; however, the hope is he can build his aggressiveness and urgency when he heads to the University of Denver in the fall.

“I’d say I’m a two-way defenseman. I think I got good feet, which allow me to impact both sides of the game. I think I can be that fourth wave in the rush,” said Macbeath, a Devon Toews comparable who played for Canada at U-18s, at the NHL scouting combine.

“I can also create shooting lanes with my feet at the blue line, and I can also use it on the defensive side to close gaps and be hard on guys. So, I think that’s probably my biggest strength, for sure.”

Flahr acknowledged to The Inquirer that they’ll probably end up selecting a goalie in this year’s draft since the team has not done so in the past two years.

Several good netminders could be available, but since it’s the third round, you never know. For this one, let’s go with Filip Růžička, a 6-8 behemoth in net who spent this season playing for WHL’s Brandon — the same team the Flyers snagged Carson Bjarnason from in 2023.

“Obviously he’s massive, and takes up a lot of net,” Wheat Kings coach and former Flyer Marty Murray said in a text with The Inquirer.

“He made tremendous strides throughout the season. I think he was really raw when he arrived, and worked hard on his game with our goalie coach, Tyler Plante. I think there is still room to grow, but I believe his ceiling is very high.

“He had an outstanding season for us, and was exceptional in the playoffs.”

» READ MORE: Flyers announce development, rookie and training camp dates; will face future Rangers in sixth annual September series in Allentown

A native of Třinec, Czechia, which sits on the border with Poland, Růžička went 26-14-1 across 42 games in the regular season. He posted a 3.19 goals-against average and tied for the seventh-best save percentage in the WHL (.906).

In the playoffs, he started all four games, upping his save percentage to .936 while dropping his GAA to 2.47. The Wheat Kings were swept by Calgary in four games, with Růžička losing twice in overtime. In the series lid-lifter, he allowed the only goal in the game in triple overtime, stopping 64 of 65 shots; his opponent, Eric Tu, stopped all 49 shots he saw.

The goalie was not at the scouting combine and, according to Elite Prospects, may be heading back to Mountfield HK in his native Czechia next season.