Prospects we like that are still available for the Flyers

The first night of the 2023 NHL Draft saw fireworks for the Philadelphia Flyers. They were the ones that almost skipped their way to the stage to select the Russian phenom Matvei Michkov with the seventh-overall selection and they wrapped it up by picking defenseman Oliver Bonk at No. 22.

An almost historic day for this organization has spread into Thursday as rounds two through seven are about to start and with eight more selections to be made, Philadelphia will have an incredibly busy day combing through some names.

With that in mind, as some draft nerds, we’ve picked a few of our favorites heading into Draft Day 2 that could be available, if the Flyers want them.

C Oscar Fisker Mølgaard

Fisker Mølgaard just feels like a Flyers pick and he should be available in the second round. The 6-foot center is one of the few prospects not taken in the first round that had almost a full season of playing in the top men’s division of professional hockey.

That experience can be crucial in a player’s draft year and Fisker Mølgaard was a good enough junior player to earn a total of 41 games for the SHL’s HV71, where he scored four goals and seven points. That total was good enough for second behind Leo Carlsson for points from a first-time draft-eligible skater in that league.

The production doesn’t necessarily matter because he was a pure depth player, but Fisker Mølgaard is known for his skating above all else. He is as smooth as anyone taken beyond the first round. He is a toolsy player, being hyper aware of his surroundings and someone that could be a key contributor in all three zones at the top level.

D Beau Akey

A defenseman! If the Flyers want to diversify their 2023 draft profile and use one of their third-round picks, then I think Beau Akey from the OHL’s Barrie Colts is a justifiable candidate.

Akey is one of the best skating defensemen in his draft class. Maybe not to the same level of a Dmitri Simashev or Tom Wallinder, but they were drafted in the top half of the first round for a reason. The 6-foot blueliner from Waterloo, Ont. is precise with his strides, explosive with others, and his mobility suits his game so well.

With other fleet-footed defensemen, it’s expected that they use it for offense. Despite scoring 47 points in 66 games this year, Akey isn’t all about the production. He uses his agility and ability to get around the ice at a rapid pace to have top-tier defensive coverage and can use his solid stick work to knock the puck off even the quickest of forwards.

He has the brain to do all of this and anticipate plays in his own end that some scouts are confident that his production will eventually explode if just given the chance to spend more of that brain power on the other end of the ice.

C Luca Pinelli

Pinelli is an interesting case. The Flyers might not like the 5-foot-9 center from the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s as an option in the third round, but if he drops, he might end up being swiped up.

With no pick in the second round, the Flyers have a large gap and might have to pick up any prospects that are falling. Because of his size, Pinelli might be one of them but he has been projected as high as the 37th best prospect in his class.

There is a fast pace to Pinelli’s game and he is often able to catch defenders much larger than him by surprise with some quick reactions and always thinking a step or two ahead of the play. He isn’t afraid to attack any player that are on their heels and get along the boards to get the cycle going for his team. He might be a player that has just excelled at the junior level because of things he can do in non-professional hockey, but he’s worth a late-rounder if he’s there.

LW/RW Alex Čiernik

Alex Čiernik might not be available as a late-round steal, but in this scenario, we would just simply love it if the Flyers took a chance on this interesting forward. A 5-foot-10 winger that played the majority of his draft year in the Allsvenskan (the men’s second division in Sweden) against players older than him, the Slovakian is known for his skating — that’s a theme, here — that is necessary at the top professional level with the slightly smaller frame that he has.

He has not developed a very physical game yet, because he is used to just being able to use that skating effectively to dodge everyone, but that could be expected as he grows older.

Drafting Čiernik would be banking on his development as he is either staying over in European hockey for his entire career, or can make it out as a nice middle-six winger that plays in all three zones. A boom or bust.

D Rodwin Dionicio

Drafting overage players might be the new draft strategy for some teams looking to take advantage of others looking at the year a player was born and tossing them aside with the preference for more upside. Defenseman Rodwin Dionicio was already passed by all 32 teams seven times last year, but the 6-foot-2 defenseman that was born in New Jersey and played his minor hockey in Switzerland should get selected this time around.

He’s currently playing for the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires and working his magic for them. He isn’t the best skater — despite having an obvious preference, that can be worked on — but his offensive awareness and ability to manipulate puck coverage to work for his team is excellent. That is what earned him 43 points in 33 games as soon as he made the move to Windsor mid-season last year.

Dionicio doesn’t get around the ice easily but is deceptive with his puck handling and ability to pass the puck that sometimes it isn’t an obvious hinderance.

For the Flyers, they have opted to take more safe defensemen in the past, with their top recent selections, but Dionicio can be a cool project for the development staff and he deserves a shot. If he ends up falling to the fourth or fifth round, it’s a no-brainer.

RW Kasper Halttunen

Kasper Halttunen is a favorite because he is physical while being good at hockey. He might end up getting selected before the Wild even have a chance in the second round because of it, but the Finnish player that spent 27 games playing in the top-division Liiga this past year is an interesting player.

He’s physically great but his shot might even be better. There is a reason why for the Under-20 junior team this year — before his call-up to the top division — he scored 18 goals in 18 games.

Haltunnen is a physically mature player, standing at 6-foot-3, but can combine that with some very good offensive tools to be a potentially solid contributor in the NHL. The knock on him is that sometimes he can become tunnel-visioned with scoring goals and when it doesn’t come easy, he just keeps on rifling the puck and handing over possession. He’s not someone with a whole lot of underlying interest and the tools to make it as a professional even if the production isn’t there. He can score goals and be a presence on the ice, or is sometimes a negative player out there.

If everything comes together there is a great middle-six winger ripe for the taking that has an NHL body, but it might not be worth the risk for some in the second round. He does feel like someone not willing to drop so if the Flyers take a “safe” pick with their first third-rounder, Halttunen isn’t a bad option with their second.

C/LW Zeb Forsfjäll

Forsfjäll isn’t just a name but he is someone that has a game beyond his years. It is not very often that you have a player that appeared in 17 games in the SHL projected to go in the mid-to-late rounds of the NHL Draft.

The 5-foot-9 forward isn’t someone that would shoot the lights out at any professional level or could be the go-to offensive creator, but just someone that every single team needs – a forward that can play in the middle-six and kill penalties while chipping in some production.

It isn’t the flashiest of picks but he should be available when the Flyers make one of their selections in the fourth round (or so).