Final Flyers Mock Draft: Mocking the Whole First Round

The 2025 NHL Draft is now less than a week away, and the Philadelphia Flyers have the ammo to wheel and deal. Do the Flyers draft for positional need, or do they just take the best player available?

Will they make all seven picks in the top 48, or will Danny Briere make some trades with his draft capital surplus? There are lots of questions that can be asked about this coming draft.

Luckily, Briere and AGM Brent Flahr answered some of these questions during their pre-draft media availability. Using what Flyers management said about the coming draft, alongside mocking 29 other first-round picks, let’s get into the final Philly Hockey Now mock draft before the NHL Draft.

Picks Before the Flyers

No. 1 NYI-Matthew Schaefer
No. 2 SJS-Michael Misa
No. 3 CHI-Anton Frondell
No. 4 UTAH-Brady Martin
No. 5 NASH-Caleb Desnoyers

As usual, picks No. 1 and No. 2 need no justification. Matthew Schaefer will go first, and Michael Misa will go second. However, I am starting to believe Anton Frondell may be more in the No. 2 conversations than we think. That then makes me believe that he will be an easy write-in for the No. 3 pick.

Now, here is where things get a little tricky. I thought about writing in some crazy three-team trade for No. 4. By now, I am sure the trade rumors surrounding the Islanders’ Jean-Gabriel Pageau (and more) and the Bruins’ No. 7 pick. That is rumored to be talked about if James Hganes is still in play at the pick. The Islanders could make that trade, and turn around and use the No. 7 pick and other assets to move to No. 4 and secure their guy, but that feels a little too bold right now. Instead, the Mammoth just goes ahead and takes their guy in Brady Martin.

Nashville is all of a sudden in a terrific spot, and decides to go with arguably the most sure thing in the draft, Caleb Desnoyers. The floor is very high, especially for young, talented two-way guys. If he can continue to develop his skill in the NHL, it will be scary.

That leaves the Flyers with a VERY tough choice. James Hagens or Porter Martone?

Flyers Pick No. 6 Overall- Porter Martone, RW, Brampton (OHL)

Now, don’t get me wrong. The Flyers cannot mess up picking between these two. Either player will be a franchise cornerstone alongside Matvei Michkov for the foreseeable future. However, the Flyers need scoring help desperately, and Martone is a natural-born scorer.

Brent Flahr recently said the No. 6 pick will become the best player available, not necessarily picking for need. In this instance, I would take Martone over Hagens every day.

Size, power, and skill are two things that, when combined, can be extremely dangerous. Martone possesses both. His skating definitely needs some work, but it should not hold a team back from drafting him. At the combine, he mentioned keeping up with the NHL players playing at the men’s worlds, and the lessons he learned from some all-time greats. To me, that experience is a huge advantage when drafting.

Also, to me, his game can easily be translated to left-wing and be used as a one-T master. Or, the Flyers could consider keeping Michkov at LW and keeping Martone at RW. Regardless, when talent like that is available, you make it work.

Following Picks

No. 7 BOS- James Hagens
No. 8 SEA- Jackson Smith
No. 9 BUFF- Radim Mrtka
No. 10 ANA- Jake O’Brien
No. 11 PIT- Victor Eklund
No. 12 NYR- Kashawn Aitcheson

*Trade: PHI Send Pick No. 22, 40, 157 to DET for Pick No. 13*

Flyers Pick No. 13 Overall- Roger McQueen, C, Brandon (WHL)

The Flyers take a swing on the 6’5″ WHL center, Roger McQueen. The way this board falls, I could see the Penguins being the team to take McQueen, but I believe that Eklund being available at their pick changes that.

That said, the Flyers take a risk, shelling out assets to move up and select McQueen. They took a winger earlier in the mock. The Flyers then fill their positional need by getting their center.

McQueen has all of the potential in the world, but his draft stock plummeted due to injury concerns and a lack of games. I would not touch him with the No. 6 pick, but if he falls into this range, it should become an easy choice.

McQueen is a great power-play player; he has a powerful shot, is skilled with his stick, and can score from pretty much anywhere in the offensive zone. He definitely needs more seasoning, like another year in juniors or maybe even NCAA, but the potential is there.

The Flyers use their plethora of second-rounders, as well as one of their two fifth-rounders, in addition to pick No. 22, to jump nine spots to select McQueen. If Briere walks out of the draft with Martone and McQueen, he absolutely wins the draft.

Picks No. 14-30

No. 14 CBJ- Lyden Lakovic
No. 15 VAN- Cameron Reid
No. 16 MTL- Justin Carbonneau
No. 17 MTL- Logan Hensler
No. 18 CGY- Cole Reschny
No. 19 STL- Malcom Spence
No. 20 CBJ- Braeden Cootes
No. 21 OTT- Carter Bear
No. 22 DET- Blake Fiddler
No. 23 NASH- Daniil Prokhorov
No. 24 LAK- Jack Nesbitt
No. 25 CHI- Bill Zonnon
No. 26 NASH- Joshua Ravensbergen
No. 27 WAS- Cullen Potter
No. 28 WPG- Sascha Boumedienne
No. 29 CAR- Milton Gastrin
No. 30 SJS- Jakob Ihs-Wozniak

Flyers Pick No. 31 Overall- Henry Brzustewicz, RHD, London (OHL)

The Flyers definitely need better defensemen in the pipeline, and Henry Brzustewicz would help bolster that group. They may be hesitant to take him because their more immediate need is on the left side, but he is the best overall defenseman at this spot, so they take Brzustewicz.

While he is not a towering defender, Brzustewicz is strong and physical. He does not get knocked off pucks easily and is a solid defender who is great with his stick.

I probably should not forget to mention he plays for London, and the Flyers do love their Knights.

Brzustewicz is a late-first-round player, so it’s not a significant risk. He likely won’t ever be a top-pair guy, but he should be a solid NHL player for a while and has top-four potential. The Flyers round out their draft with two forwards and a defender, a pretty solid haul for Briere and company.

The Final Pick of the First Round Is…..

No. 32 FLA- Ben Kindell

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Final Flyers Mock Draft: Mocking the Whole First Round

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