On Tuesday night, the NHL hosted the Draft Lottery to finalize the first 16 picks in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, which will take place on June 28th and 29th from the Sphere in Las Vegas.
For the first time since 2010, no teams advanced their pre-lottery positions. The Flyers remained in the 12th spot, while the San Jose Sharks will pick first.
It is expected that the Sharks will select Macklin Celebrini with the 1st overall pick.
The 17-year-old Canadian forward is the top prospect of the draft, as he has spent one year with Boston University, recording 64 points in 38 games.
It is unclear who the Flyers will pick since they are farther back in the draft order.
As there are several different sources with varying prospect rankings.
One thing that is known is that the Flyers will have a lot of leverage in the subsequent two drafts. As in both the 2024 and 2025 draft the Flyers currently have ten picks in each. This includes two first-round picks in next month’s draft. These are the previously mentioned 12th overall pick and the Florida Panthers’ first-round pick acquired from the Giroux-Tippett trade. As of right now, the earliest that pick could be is 24th if the Panthers were to be the first team eliminated in the second round. The latest would be the 32nd and final pick of the round if the Panthers were to win the Stanley Cup this year.
With twenty picks in the next two years, the Flyers have the leverage to trade these picks for current players. It has been reported that the Flyers are interested in signing a top-line defenseman, as well as the possibility of a top-line center. It has also been rumored that Russian prospect Matvei Michkov could be coming to North America sooner than expected. Michkov is signed to a KHL contract with SKA St. Petersburg until the end of the 2025-26 season.
This past season, Michkov was benched by SKA and loaned to Sochi, where he played 47 games, scoring 41 points. It was rumored that SKA and the Flyers were in talks about Michkov’s future, and a decision could be made by the end of June.
Lehigh Valley Phantoms in 2nd Round of AHL Calder Cup Playoffs
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms are facing elimination in the second round of the AHL Calder Cup Playoffs as they are down 2-0 to the Hershey Bears. The Bears won the first two games of the five-game series 2-1 and 5-1 in Hershey. Now, the Phantoms need to win the next three to knock off the defending champions to move onto the Atlantic Division Final.
Game three is Wednesday night in Allentown, starting at 7 pm. A potential game four would be Saturday night at home, with game five Sunday night in Hershey.
PHOTO: —
Nathan Harding
Source link
