Will 6-foot-5 goalie with ‘very good upside to be a No. 1' interest Flyers in draft?

Will 6-foot-5 goalie with ‘very good upside to be a No. 1' interest Flyers in draft? originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The 2025 NHL draft is a huge one for the Flyers’ rebuild.

Not only does Danny Briere have a lot of high-round picks at his disposal, but he also could be creative in how he uses them.

“There are all kinds of possibilities here,” the Flyers’ general manager said in April. “I think it’s really exciting going into it. It’s powerful to have so many picks like that. I think a lot of teams will be wanting to have discussions with us to make some things happen — teams that don’t have picks or teams that want to tweak things.”

So it’s a busy time for the Flyers leading up to the draft, which will be held June 27-28. The first round is Friday at 7 p.m. ET, while Rounds 2-7 are Saturday starting at noon ET.

“There are really good players in this draft,” TSN director of scouting Craig Button said May 27 in a phone interview with NBC Sports Philadelphia. “Maybe people say it’s not a good draft; I’m not buying it. I think this draft has got lots of good players.”

After the Trevor Zegras trade, the Flyers are slotted to make 10 picks, including three first-rounders and three second-rounders. Their first-round selections will come at No. 6 (own pick), No. 22 (Sean Walker trade) and No. 31 (Oilers trade).

Before the draft arrives, we’ve been breaking down first-round targets for the Flyers.

To wrap things up:

Joshua Ravensbergen

Position: Goalie
Height: 6-foot-5
Weight: 191
Catches: Right
Team: Prince George

Scouting report

Arguably the top goalie in the draft, Ravensbergen possesses ideal size and athleticism for the position. He looks very technical in net and seems to read the play well, giving himself a good chance to make saves.

The 18-year-old was tied for third this season among WHL goalies with 51 games played. He was named a finalist for the league’s goaltender of the year award, going 33-13-4 with a 3.00 goals-against average and .901 save percentage.

The season prior, Ravensbergen went 26-4-2 with a 2.46 goals-against average, .907 save percentage and six shutouts. He was even better in the playoffs, finishing 9-2-1 with a 1.98 goals-against average, .931 save percentage and three shutouts.

“Ravensbergen’s certainly a guy that has the upside potential,” Dan Marr, the vice president of NHL Central Scouting, said June 11 in a phone interview with NBC Sports Philadelphia. “I still think he’s finding his way as to what type of goaltender he’s going to be, but he’s someone, when you project, who has got a very good upside to be a No. 1 goalie in the NHL one day.

“But you know, defense is a tough position to master; goaltending can be even more difficult to master. So he’s working on it, he’s in a good situation where he plays most of the games. You want a goalie that plays games.”

Ravensbergen is the top-ranked North American goalie by NHL Central Scouting. He’s the 24th overall player on EliteProspects.com and No. 1 among goaltenders. TSN’s Bob McKenzie has Ravensbergen at 34th overall and also as the draft’s top netminder, while Button has him at No. 29 and as the second-ranked goalie.

“It’s kind of debatable who’s going to be the first goalie off the board because there are a couple of really high-end Russian goaltenders,” Marr, who worked in scouting and player development for over 20 years, said. “Drafting a goalie, it’s what your comfort level is; with the teams, I don’t think a goalie goes high, but a goalie could sneak into the first found. Every team will assess their depth at that position, their needs.”

Joshua Ravensbergen — *(James Doyle/Prince George Cougars)*

Fit with Flyers

Ravensbergen could be a super interesting option for the Flyers if he’s available at No. 31.

The organization knows well that a team can never have enough goaltending depth in its system. The club is still searching for a franchise goalie and it would help to have another candidate in the prospect picture.

The Flyers didn’t take a goalie last summer, but they grabbed two in the first three rounds of the 2023 draft. They selected Carson Bjarnason in the second round and Egor Zavragin in the third. Both had good developmental seasons in 2024-25.

Considering that the Flyers have six picks in the opening two rounds of this draft, it wouldn’t be a bad time for them to snag a goalie again.

More targets

• Hagens is ‘Matt Duchene type of player’ who could be on Flyers’ radar at No. 6

• Flyers would probably love if Barkov-like prospect is available at No. 6

• ‘Fascinating,’ 6-foot-5 center has tons of intrigue for Flyers at No. 6

• Younger brother of Flyers prospect is ‘complete’ center and option at No. 6

• ‘David Krejci-like’ center with plenty of upside would give Flyers good decision

• Could a 6-foot-6, ‘just blossoming’ defenseman be a fit for Flyers at No. 6?

• Will Flyers grab prospect with ‘really, really unique’ combination at No. 6?

• Reschny’s performance vs. 2024 top prospect should have Flyers’ eye in first round

• Flyers could have three shots at ‘dynamic, explosive skater’ on the wing

• Finding another Foerster? Flyers may have one if they draft Bear in first round