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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019ve 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.<\/p>\n
But, obviously, we don\u2019t know where the Flyers will pick, or what prospects will even be available. Well, we\u2019ll 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\u2019s 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\u2019s just say they have the 13th overall pick.<\/p>\n
And as for what players could be available, we\u2019ll take from Elite Prospects\u2019 consolidated ranking for this year \u2014 where they take all the trusted sources of rankings and smash them together for an average ranking \u2014 and who could be after that.<\/p>\n
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\u2019t really any prospects that really peak any interest. With that in mind, we have a list.<\/p>\n
Malte Gustafsson, LD<\/p>\n
Malte Gustafsson feels like a very, very good pick for the Flyers and we\u2019re still in February. While some rankings have the Swedish blueliner lower, it feels like they will eventually catch on and we\u2019ll start seeing Gustafsson\u2019s name in the first half of the first round more often than we are right now.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
17-year-old Swedish defender Malte Gustafsson was recently promoted to the SHL, and he’s looking very impressive playing at that level<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
Some clips (#78): pic.twitter.com\/xbwMvP4wh4<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Derek Neumeier (@Derek_N_NHL) January 24, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Gustafsson isn\u2019t 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 \u2014 we just threw a bunch of words at you \u2014 is good sign of him turning out to be a solid contributor in the NHL. Plus, he\u2019s 6-foot-4 and already 201 pounds, and skates like that.<\/p>\n Is he guaranteed to be the Flyers\u2019 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.<\/p>\n Oliver Suvanto, C<\/p>\n 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\u2019t 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 \u2014 having a Jett Luchanko-esque birthday making him one of the youngest players in the class \u2014 it\u2019s pretty impressive.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n 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 \u2014 more than Jack Nesbitt or any of the other similarly profiled draft picks lately. Suvanto would give the Flyers want they want at center.<\/p>\n Ilia Morozov, C<\/p>\n If we\u2019re 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 Ilia 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.<\/p>\n Last year, Morozov laced up for the USHL\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Ilia Morozov. Youngest player in NCAA hockey. Miami 1C. 6\u20193, 205. Played for Noreen in USHL. <\/p>\n 3-3-6 stat line in 2GP vs RPI. Every goal was all world.<\/p>\n Aught to be on every draft board @Buccigross<\/a>, @KevinWeekes<\/a> , @SEllisHockey<\/a>, @emilymkaplan<\/a>. \u2014 Matthew P. Mugno (@mugnoma) October 12, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n He isn\u2019t getting so much rankings love, as he\u2019s No. 24 on the consolidating ranking, but if centers start to really go and the Flyers don\u2019t love a defenseman on the board, we all know that his name would get brought up.<\/p>\n Xavier Villeneuve, LD<\/p>\n 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\u2019t the most Flyers-esque draft pick \u2014 the Laval, Que. native stands at 5-foot-11 and is allegedly just 157 pounds \u2014 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. <\/p>\n He was doing this stuff all the way back last season:<\/p>\n You should get used to hearing the name Xavier Villeneuve (#72) for the #2026NHLDraft<\/a>.<\/p>\n Pucks inside space, tight edgework, drawing and manipulating opponents, activation, contact-absorption, playmaking vision, and absurd dangles. Dare I say\u2026 Hutson-esque.<\/p>\n La rel\u00e8ve. pic.twitter.com\/wXkQ2T3Mjq<\/a><\/p>\n
pic.twitter.com\/9JCwPdrcLU<\/a><\/p>\n