Flyers have the flexibility to move up in NHL Draft

Daniel Briere was always resourceful as an NHL hockey player.
Now, as the team’s current general manager, he gets to show if he can pull some more rabbits out of the proverbial hat, this time with the Flyers’ choices in the NHL Draft.
With the yearly player selection process getting underway Friday night in Los Angeles, Briere – who will be stationed at the team’s remote headquarters in Atlantic City — has plenty to work with, including three first-rounders (Nos. 6, 22 and 31).
The buzz going around is that Briere might try to package a couple of those picks or someone from three more available picks in the second round.
There’s always speculation leading up to the big show. This time the Flyers have enough draft picks to really make something happen.
Back on June 17 at a media availability session, Briere let it be known if the right deal were to present itself, he might go for it.
Some of that might have to with the potential of players slotted in the top five.
Forget projected No. 1 pick Matthew Schaefer. The talented defenseman has impressed scouts far and wide. His skating and hockey IQ are elite. He’s headed to New York after the Islanders won the draft lottery last month.
Since the Flyers are in need of centers, there might be a couple projected players at that position worth moving up to secure.
Start with Michael Mesa and include James Hagans and Anton Frondell on that list.
The Hockey News has Mesa projected at No. 2, Hagans at No. 4 and Frondell at No. 5.
Or the Flyers might just stand pat if they feel that center Caleb Desnoyers (brother of Flyers prospect Elliot Desnoyers), rated No. 6, might be a good fit.
All that said, the Flyers could also move down to secure more picks. They did move down one spot last year and took center Jett Luchanko, who actually started last season playing in four games for the Flyers before he was returned to his junior team.
At the end of the day, it takes two to tango. Asked at the press briefing if he expected to field a lot of calls, Briere shook his head.
“I don’t know,” he said at the June 17 press conference. “I can’t control what the other guys. . .if they like the flock that we have, we have a lot of them.
“It feels like everyone is trying to move up at the moment.”
He’s already made one big trade (acquiring Anaheim’s Trevor Zegras for Ryan Poehling and draft picks) last Monday and there could be others in the works.
It’s a pretty sure thing his phone has been busy the last couple days.
“We said from the beginning we would like to try to move up if it was possible,” Briere said. “But right now there’s just not a lot of options there. We’ll have to be patient. And maybe there’s an opportunity that comes where we can create value going the other way (down) also.”
Assistant general manager Brent Flahr, who oversees the team’s scouting department, also weighed in on the Flyers’ flexibility in terms of either moving up or down on the draft ladder.
“If a player is still available that we have at a higher level, we’ll move up,” he said. “If not, and we think we can get by, we’ll move back a couple spots and get the same caliber of player, we’ll try to do that.
“I think there’s going to be some opportunities for movement. Having more picks is always beneficial. Just gives you freedom to do a lot of different things. A lot more fun being on this side of it at this time of year when you have these picks.”

>Different feel to draft

This is the first time the NHL is going to a “dual” draft. While the national gathering will be based in Los Angeles, the Flyers will have their own remote headquarters at the Hard Rock Hotel in Atlantic City.
Briere said the new arrangement could have both some pros and cons.
“I like personally being on the floor (at the draft’s main headquarters),” he said. “And being able to grab the phone on the (Flyers’) table or walk over (to another team’s table) to get something done, face-to-face. I kind of like that.
“That’s just me. But there’s also the privacy part – having so many picks, just to have the luxury of being by ourselves and not worrying about computers or lists being wide open available to everybody. Because we have so many picks, I think that’s going to be an advantage for us, will make it a little easier.”
That said, it won’t the same as it was last year at The Sphere in Las Vegas. That was an experience for the ages.
“I’m going to miss being on the floor with everybody,” Briere said. “The energy that it creates to having everybody down there.”