With the Philadelphia Flyers really stinking it up as of late, a whole lot of our attention has turned to the 2026 NHL Draft, unfortunately. No longer dreaming of breaking the playoff drought with a fun bunch of underdog players and then throwing Porter Martone in the mix to potentially cause some havoc in the postseason, making us even more excited for training camp in September.

No, they suck and are losing games so now we still have to wring our hands together thinking if they have enough talent to potentially compete with other teams in the Eastern Conference. So, in comes Watching Teenagers Play Hockey.

There are people who love to follow the draft no matter how bad your favorite team is doing, like the writer of this article, but now that the Flyers are potentially sinking further down the league standings and are in line to get a better draft pick position in the first round than we would’ve imagined a couple months ago, the importance of the pick raises by a thousand. So, as someone who has been keeping track of these players and been checking out as many games as possible early on in the season and as their draft year ramps up, there are some interesting names for the Flyers.

But, obviously, we don’t know where the Flyers will pick, or what prospects will even be available. Well, we’ll do some hypothesizing. The Flyers have the 10th-worst points percentage in the league, which obviously gives them the 10th overall pick as the most likely outcome. But, let’s say in this world that they come back from the Olympic break refreshed and we see a bump up in play, but not enough to get into the playoffs. For this exercise, let’s just say they have the 13th overall pick.

And as for what players could be available, we’ll take from Elite Prospects’ consolidated ranking for this year — where they take all the trusted sources of rankings and smash them together for an average ranking — and who could be after that.

One last thing though before we dive into some names briefly, we have to consider what the Flyers actually want in their system. They are clearly looking for centers (and unfortunately there is a limited crop in the first round this year) and could be looking to bolster up their blue line since outside of Oliver Bonk, there isn’t really any prospects that really peak any interest. With that in mind, we have a list.

Malte Gustafsson, LD

Malte Gustafsson feels like a very, very good pick for the Flyers and we’re still in February. While some rankings have the Swedish blueliner lower, it feels like they will eventually catch on and we’ll start seeing Gustafsson’s name in the first half of the first round more often than we are right now.

He has taken the leap from the U20 Nationell junior league, where he scored three goals and 10 points in 15 games, up to the SHL for HV71 and while he has produced just three assists, he is looking extremely comfortable at just 17 years old playing against players potentially double his age.

17-year-old Swedish defender Malte Gustafsson was recently promoted to the SHL, and he’s looking very impressive playing at that level

He’s one of the best skaters in the 2026 draft, he’s a highly effective 1-on-1 defender, and he even has some offensive pop

Some clips (#78): pic.twitter.com/xbwMvP4wh4

— Derek Neumeier (@Derek_N_NHL) January 24, 2026

Gustafsson isn’t going to explode offensively or provide some insane highlights, but his quickness in play and ability to treat oncoming attackers well, while also focusing a whole lot on puck transition — we just threw a bunch of words at you — is good sign of him turning out to be a solid contributor in the NHL. Plus, he’s 6-foot-4 and already 201 pounds, and skates like that.

Is he guaranteed to be the Flyers’ No. 1 defenseman for the next decade? No, but there is a very solid bet that he is the best defenseman prospect they have had since the days of Ivan Provorov and Travis Sanheim.

Oliver Suvanto, C

You might recognize Oliver Suvanto from being the other Finnish center at the World Juniors. As Flyers prospect Heikki Ruohonen upped his stock at the mid-season tournament, the 17-year-old Suvanto was in charge of the other top forward line. He didn’t shine at the World Juniors, scoring just two goals in seven games, but considering that he is just a couple weeks away from being a 2027 Draft-eligible skater — having a Jett Luchanko-esque birthday making him one of the youngest players in the class — it’s pretty impressive.

Some rankings have Suvanto in the top 10 and it is perfectly understandable for just how much maturity he has at such a young age. Just like Gustafsson, he’s jumped a level up to Liiga, to face the top domestic competition and in 37 games for Tappara, has scored two goals and seven points.

The 6-foot-3 center would be someone that the Flyers could target fairly easily considering his ability to provide some size down the middle without losing a scoring touch — more than Jack Nesbitt or any of the other similarly profiled draft picks lately. Suvanto would give the Flyers want they want at center.

Ilia Morozov, C

If we’re really thinking the Flyers want more center help and will, once again, take someone that plays that position with their first pick, they could slightly reach on Ilya Morozov. The Russian monster truck on skates standing at 6-foot and 205 pounds has steadily made his way up the rankings and it certainly helps that he is playing his hockey stateside.

Last year, Morozov laced up for the USHL’s Tri-City Storm and scored 11 goals and 22 points in 59 games. He quickly moved on to go play for Miami University in Ohio and has now scored seven goals and 14 points in 26 games. For context, Morozov turned 17 years old just before school started and is the youngest player in the entire NCAA.

Ilia Morozov. Youngest player in NCAA hockey. Miami 1C. 6’3, 205. Played for Noreen in USHL.

3-3-6 stat line in 2GP vs RPI. Every goal was all world.

Aught to be on every draft board @Buccigross, @KevinWeekes , @SEllisHockey, @emilymkaplan.
pic.twitter.com/9JCwPdrcLU

— Matthew P. Mugno (@mugnoma) October 12, 2025

He isn’t getting so much rankings love, as he’s No. 24 on the consolidating ranking, but if centers start to really go and the Flyers don’t love a defenseman on the board, we all know that his name would get brought up.

Xavier Villeneuve, LD

It is going to take a bold team to take Xavier Villeneuve in the top 10, so there is a real world where he slips. And while he isn’t the most Flyers-esque draft pick — the Laval, Que. native stands at 5-foot-11 and is allegedly just 157 pounds — Villeneuve is a talent that you run up to the podium for. He skates like the best offensive defensemen in the NHL with advanced edges and agility, but also has innate offensive awareness.

He was doing this stuff all the way back last season:

You should get used to hearing the name Xavier Villeneuve (#72) for the #2026NHLDraft.

Pucks inside space, tight edgework, drawing and manipulating opponents, activation, contact-absorption, playmaking vision, and absurd dangles. Dare I say… Hutson-esque.

La relève. pic.twitter.com/wXkQ2T3Mjq

— Hadi Kalakeche (@HadiK_Scouting) November 4, 2024

That’s someone who, if they hit, would be one of the best offensive talents in the NHL and just like Elite Prospects’ Hadi Kalakeche said in his tweet, you just see Lane Hutson in his game; and that’s someone who all teams regret passing on.

It’s a risk and a swing, but when you’re picking in the middle of the first round, that’s what teams should be looking for. There are a whole lot of questions if Villeneuve can do the same thing at the next level, since his production in the QMJHL has stagnated, but it’s someone to get excited about.

Albert Smits, LD

Considering that Albert Smits got the spotlight for Latvia at the World Juniors and is going to be playing in the Olympics later this month, he might no longer be available if the Flyers are picking anywhere from 10th-13th overall. It honestly would not be too surprising if he’s one of the first defensemen taken — maybe even the second one after Keaton Verhoeff.

But, regardless, in the consolidating ranking that we’re currently using he’s at No. 16 and we would be overjoyed if Smits was the Flyers’ first pick in several months. The 6-foot-3 defenseman has, like others, been given the opportunity to jump up to the top domestic level, and with Jukurit in Liiga, has scored six goals and 13 points. For reference, Miro Heiskanen scored a lower points per game in his draft year — if we want to make those comparisons.

For Smits, it’s just an all-around approach to the game that makes him an attractive prospect. He skates well, can shoot the puck, has the size to handle himself and will engage physically, and has excellent vision and playmaking. He is able to find lanes and maneuver through them well and find paths to creating scoring chances really well.

We really doubt that, unless the Flyers sink further and pick in the top 10, that Smits would be available, but we can dream with the resources we have.

Carson Carels, LD

Carson Carels has been all over on rankings so far this season. Sometimes as high as a top-five pick but also potentially down in the later first round from those more online-oriented scouts. So, he could end up being taken way before the Flyers get a chance to, or teams could end up preferring other defenseman to the 6-foot-2 Canadian and he slips — we’ve seen it happen before.

Regardless of any potential outcome, Carels is an extremely explosive skater and has a knack for being more on the offensive side of the puck. There is still some work to be done on defense, as sometimes he gets beaten 1-on-1 and isn’t too engaged to win possession back at times, but the toolset is there for him to make it, if he develops more of an all-around game.

Carels is on the younger side with a June birthday, so we can give him some grace there. For the big draft heads, our impression is that he’s a more mobile Carter Yakemchuk, with just as booming of a shot from the point and focus on the offensive zone