It has been a highly debated topic since 2022, whether Danny Briere has passed on higher-upside players in the NHL Entry Draft for safer picks, or positions of need. The headliner, of course, is Jett Luchanko instead of Zeev Buium. But there are also debates regarding Oliver Bonk vs. Gabe Perreault, and even the 2025 draft, many fans would’ve taken the undersized center James Hagens over the big, skilled winger Porter Martone. Would Kelly & Bill swap the picks? Find out on THE SHOOTOUT!
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11 Comments
Nope.
Yes I wanted Perrault badly on draft night, however given how many solid right wingers we currently have against the lack of defensive prospects, I am totally ok today with Bonk over Perrault… There is no way Buium is the next Makar and I like what I have seen in Luchanko… Lastly, for those who wanted Hagans, please name me the last pre-season #1st pick who slid that actually deserved to be the first overall pick??? I can't name one and Nolan Patrick & Jahlil Okafer were the most recent ones I recall and look how lucky we were with those picks… Mortone, will be a perennial 40+ goal scorer with passing ability so we lucked out with him the same way we did with Michkov getting a top 3 player that slid to us for whatever reason!!!
Our 3 every day
Hard pass. Thanks anyway.
No thanks. Buium was never going to be the pick due to the fear of a repeat of Quitter due to them having the same representation. I will take our guys.
I'm biased because I really liked Buium and Hagens from watching them at the 2023 and 2024 u18's. Perreault never made sense after they had drafted Michkov. The "we needed a center" logic with Luchanko (and Nesbitt) but not with Hagens puzzles me a bit tho since Hagens clearly has the highest upside of the three. Hagens really didn't stand out this year tho so I can kind of see the argument for taking Martone over him however. I think the three they passed on all have top of lineup upside if they hit (but higher bust potential imo), whereas realistically only Martone does of the three they took. So while Bonk, Luchanko and Martone should be good players they may have left value on the board with those picks. Time will tell.
Already I take 2 players before Gabe Perreault , Calum Ritchie or Quintin Musty
I like our guys. Big reason why? Those 3 are the guys you want when this team isn't still in the gutter, and they're becoming playoff contenders. Everyone likes flash. Jack Hughes would be a great regular season guy, but do you see him out playing the other top centres in the league when it really matters? I don't….I see Hagens as a poor man Hughes. Buium, I don't see as a #1. I think he will be a solid dman, likely more productive than Bonk….but I see Bonk as a guy who is a key piece to winning (kind of like a Forsling in a few ways), vs Buium who may achieve more in terms of points, ect. I also question, why did he drop so much in that draft? Why did every other team, pick another dman a head of him, when he was coined by many of the fans as the top dman in that draft? What made teams pick everyone else from that core dcorp over him?
Its clear the Flyers are drafting a specific breed of player. High compete, high IQ, Kobe like mentality when it comes to being better players, and not just for personal accolades.
Even a player like Nesbitt, the fans see something like, well his production isn't great. But then you hear from guys like Matthew Schaefer, who says Nesbitt is the hardest guy to play against in the draft. There is a reason why guys like Trotts tried to trade up with Pittsburgh to grab him. Jack and Jett are likely, best case 2C's, but having that depth down the middle in the future is incredible. Add in someone like Berglund for the bottom 6, and you have some super hard guys to play against down the road. That doesn't even include anyone else like Vansaghi and co.
Jett gets barely any love, point production used as one of the biggest comparison models I see from people. But no one takes into account he was playing on one of the worst teams in the CHL. Like, he needs to have Bedard numbers all by himself so he isn't seen as Scott Laughton V2. It's silly shit.
My biggest concern is still on the defensive side, but I think this gap might get filled potentially next summer when we have cash.
Drafting 1C's / 1D's is tough, if we have been drafting the insulation and cog players, while knowing in a years time we can then open the wallets to start filling said gaps….then things start making more sense.
Eventually, this team needs to make the signings/trades happen where they get top guys in place. Florida has done this across the board, with Reinhart/Bennett/Forsling. All key pieces to their winning ways.
We started a potential upside move with Zegras, although he wouldn't be in the same category at all as those guys, still, one of those potential grabs from a guy who needed a fresh start that ends up working out for them.
Hopefully Danny can make a few more of those happen over the next few years, and in combination with these workhorses we've been drafting, it should be a great combination.
My issue with the Buium thing is he was the sixth defensemen taken and people were acting like he was a guaranteed 1D.
Jett will take time to hit his ceiling because he's young and needs to build confidence in his offense. But because he's young… we can afford those "mid" seasons. He won't be 25 for 6 more years and won't cost us a lot contract-wise if he's just a bottom 6, 2 way center until ~25. I hope he makes the big club this season and plays bottom 6 and PK. Let him figure out the offense at his own pace instead of hoping it magically pops by playing kids in the OHL.
This will be the question of the next decade. Passing over those 3 players has the potential to set this team back a lot, we’ll see…..
Respect to Bill for keeping it real here