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2023 Draft Lottery: Flyers Retain 7th Pick |
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The 2023 NHL Draft lottery had a neutral effect on the Philadelphia Flyers' selection spot in the first round of the 2023 Entry Draft. The Flyers moved neither up nor down from their default seventh overall spot.
As a result, the Flyers will not get either Connor Bedard or Adam Fantilli in the 2023 Entry Draft. It's also quite unlikely that either Leo Carlsson or Will Smith will still be on the board when the Flyers' pick comes up at No. 7.
From there, things get muddy. Based on offensive ceiling and pure skill, Matvei Michkov would be a slam-dunk top five, quite possibly top three pick if he hailed from any country other than Russia. The reality, however, is that the team that drafts Michkov is taking a leap of faith that he'll be available to come to the NHL come 2026-27. That's not a certainty, given the political climate and the case-by-case current nature of trying to bring players over from the KHL to the NHL.
There's at least a small chance that Michkov could be on the board when the Flyers' turn comes up. However -- and this is strictly my own speculation -- I cannot foresee the Flyers using the first pick of the Danny Briere era on Michkov; not in a deeper-than-average Draft where Philly will not have their second pick until the third round comes around.
Dalibor Dvorsky's phenomenal performance at the recent 2023 Under-18 World Championships may have pushed him into the top five or six selections in this year's Draft, especially if Michkov falls a bit because of the questions about his availability timetable.
From a Flyers standpoint, it will interesting to see where they go. Craig Button's mock Draft had the Flyers taking USNTDP forward Ryan Leonard at seventh overall. This seems to be a very plausible scenario for a variety of reasons:
* The Flyers tend to draft heavily from the USNTDP. In the last five Draft years, the Flyers have selected seven players with USNTDP ties, including 2022 first-round pick Cutter Gauthier (5th overall), 2019 first-round pick Cam York (14th overall), 2018 first-round pick Joel Farabee (14th overall), 2019 second-round pick Bobby Brink (34th overall, partial season with USNTDP), and 2022 third-round pick Devin Kaplan.
*Leonard is a "Torts player" right out of central casting: Plays a 200-foot game, high-energy and high-compete player, relishes puck battles as much if not even more than the offensive side of the game, keeps himself in excellent physical condition, is an above-average skater and has a strong possibility of being pro-ready as soon as 2024-25.
* Leonard is comfortable playing any forward position. Versatility sells.
* At minimum, Leonard has shown as one-third of the Under-18 National Team's top line (along with Will Smith and Gabriel Perrault) that he can produce offensively when teamed up with the right linemates. Leonard racked up seven goals and 17 points in eight games for the U18 Worlds gold medalists. There are some who believe he's more of a solid supporting cast offensive talent and not a lead dog offensively, but he's started to make more believers in his upside of being an upper-lineup prospect in his own right.
If both Dvorsky and Leonard are off the board when the Flyers pick, perhaps they go in the direction of taking the first defenseman off the board (David Reinbacher or Axel Sandin Pellika being the likeliest candidates based on publicly available rankings). Another possibility would be someone such as standout WHL forward Zach Benson; an undersized player but one with very high-end skill and mobility upside.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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