The Philadelphia Flyers are confirmed to hold the No. 6 overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft following Monday's draft lottery results. In other words, this was the worst-case scenario for the Flyers.
Before the draft lottery, Philadelphia had a 9.5% chance of picking either first or second, but those picks now belong to the New York Islanders and San Jose Sharks, respectively.
The Isles moved up nine spots to win the lottery, and to make matters worse, the Utah Hockey Club jumped the Flyers, moving up 10 spots to receive the No. 4 overall pick.
So, by the end of it all, the Flyers ended up with the sixth pick, despite having the highest odds for the fifth pick and finishing with the fourth-worst record in the NHL.
While this outcome is invariably going to sting in the moment for Flyers fans, there are still plenty of prospects worth discussing. The following mock draft is my gut feeling for the top-six teams at the moment, followed by my reasoning for the Flyers' draft selection post-draft lottery.
Flyers Mock Draft 2.0
1. New York Islanders: James Hagens, C, Boston College
2. San Jose Sharks: Matthew Schaefer, D, Erie Otters
3. Chicago Blackhawks: Michael Misa, F, Saginaw Spirit
4. Utah Hockey Club: Porter Martone, W, Brampton Steelheads
5. Nashville Predators: Caleb Desnoyers, C, Moncton Wildcats
With the sixth overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, the Philadelphia Flyers select...
Jake O'Brien, C, Brantford Bulldogs
I think most Flyers fans would like to see with the Orange and Black go with Anton Frondell here, but I'm not nearly as high on Frondell as some are.
In my mock draft 1.0, I selected Frondell, who has an elite shot and can be a bully along the walls, at pick five, but there's a growing concern about his true position at the next level. Plus, he's not great in transition, and the Flyers desperately need strong puck transporters.
Are the Flyers the team that can unlock Frondell's potential and find his best position? Given their recent draft and development history, I wouldn't bet on that.
Someone I would bet on, though, is Brantford's Jake O'Brien.
Not to conjure up some old memories, but O'Brien is far better than former draft bust Jay O'Brien was. Not to worry, friends.
O'Brien, 17, has the build of a prototypical center at 6-foot-2, 170 pounds. Like most young athletes his age, he'll need time to physically mature and fill out his frame.
The Toronto, Ontario, native is a playmaker in the purest sense, finishing second (66) to only Michael Misa (72) in assists amongst OHL draft-eligible skaters this season.
Additionally, O'Brien, with his 98 points, was a distant second to Misa (134) in overall scoring, but he was notably level with Porter Martone, albeit while appearing in nine more games.
The drop off between a Martone and an O'Brien might feel or seem significant based on the differing media coverage between the two, and while Martone is certainly the better prospect, O'Brien absolutely deserves his flowers, too.
In this scenario, Caleb Desnoyers goes earlier than anticipated with Nashville opting to draft for need, which leaves the Flyers with question marks at the center position in Frondell and Roger McQueen.
I like O'Brien better than all three of them, plus he's ranked seventh on Bob McKenzie's latest rankings, which are largely based on industry consensus.
While McKenzie's scouts around the NHL like Frondell and Desnoyers a bit more than O'Brien, the latter is more the Flyers' speed.
O'Brien is an expert manipulator when he's on the puck, and he's sneaky-good defensively, too. A responsible player all around who can be a handful to contain when paired with equally opportunistic players, like a Matvei Michkov or an Alex Bump.
He's a pass-first player, so he'll have to develop his shot and mentality as he goes along. When O'Brien adds some mass and if he adds an extra gear of speed to his game, he could really become a menace.
St. Louis Blues star Robert Thomas was the 20th pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, and while it took him some time to hit his stride, he would be the No. 1 center on a number of aspiring contenders.
Thomas, 25, is a little shorter and bulkier than O'Brien at 6-foot, 190 pounds, but they play a very similar game. Both centers are smart, instinctive, creative, responsible, and not afraid to engage physically when necessary.
And, Thomas, of course, now has back-to-back 80-point seasons under his belt, on top of his 77-point 2021-22 season.
Not every good center in the NHL was a No. 1 pick. Whether it's O'Brien or another player they draft, the onus is on the Flyers to develop the kid they draft into his best self.
O'Brien, with his size and skillset, could very well be the talisman they crave if all goes according to plan.
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