The rationale behind the Philadelphia Flyers selecting Matvei Michkov with Daniel Briére’s first pick as general manager of the Philadelphia Flyers was obvious. The Flyers needed high-end talent, and Michkov was the most skilled player available. There were risks with the choice — rumors of character concerns and defensive woes hummed in the background of Michkov’s aura while his daunting three-year contract in the Kontinental Hockey League and the general status of Russia were at the center of every conversation about him.
Briére and the Flyers received early confirmation that they are on the right path after Michkov dominated his draft-plus-one season and was freed from his KHL contract. The real success or failure of the decision will be based on how Michkov plays for the Flyers. But getting there was no sure thing a year ago.
That could have alleviated a more complacent front office. The Flyers could have played things safe with their first pick of Briére’s second draft, especially with the No. 32 pick this year and two 2025 first-round picks in the team’s possession. But that isn’t the route the Flyers went. In selecting Ontario Hockey League center Jett Luchanko No. 13 overall, the Flyers showed their commitment to two themes of the beginning of the Briére-Keith Jones era: a commitment to high-end offensive attributes and finding creative ways to add future assets to the pipeline.
Flyers Choosing Skill Over Size
For too long, the Flyers were stuck in their old-school ways at the draft. While the Broad Street Bully era deserves to be celebrated, and toughness always matters in hockey, previous regimes took that philosophy too far. Selecting players such as Samuel Morin (No. 11 in 2013), Steve Downie (No. 29 in 2005), and Tyrell Goulbourne (No. 73 in 2013) over more skilled players such as Josh Morrissey (No. 13 in 2013), Paul Stastny (No. 44 in 2005) and Jake Guentzel (No. 77 in 2013) came back to bite them.
Briére said that before the draft, the Flyers were prioritizing centers. So, let’s compare Luchanko with the next center taken, Konsta Helenius. Not only did Helenius go off the board on the next selection (No. 14 to the Buffalo Sabres), but he was also the highest-rated player available, according to ESPN’s Meghan Chayka. If Helenius plays the Flyers’ position of need, why did the Flyers go off the board and pick a different center?
The skillsets of Helenius and Luchanko tell the story. Helenius rates highest in hockey IQ and defensive acumen, with his biggest concern being high-end skill. Luchanko, meanwhile, is a burner. Jett is a very fitting name, considering his excellent skating ability. Luchanko compared his game to Nick Suzuki, a slick playmaking center who was also drafted No. 13 overall in 2017 (the pick the Flyers would’ve had if they didn’t win the draft lottery that year). While Luchanko didn’t light the OHL on fire from a scoring perspective, he plays a solid two-way game while possessing lots of skill. And given he’s one of the younger players in the draft at age 17, he has more room for growth than an older player with a similar profile.
Maybe Helenius becomes a steady second-line center while Luchanko doesn’t develop, and this gamble could blow up Briére’s face. But if you’re going to go down, you should go down your way. Hopefully, the strategy behind the selection will lead to a strong outcome for the Flyers and Luchanko.
Assets, Assets, Assets
Of course, Luchanko was the only player with some high-end skill available. One went off the board at No. 12, where the Flyers were initially supposed to draft when the Minnesota Wild selected defenseman Zeev Buium. A 50-point freshman defenseman for the NCAA champion Denver Pioneers would have fit the elite talent quota to a tee.
However, trading down allowed the Flyers to pick up a third-round pick from Minnesota. That’s not enough to make up for passing on Buium if he was the highest-rated player on Philadelphia’s board. But if they were indifferent between him and Luchanko or favored the center, Briére deserves credit for picking up another dart to throw at the board. PuckPedia’s draft pick value calculator gives the Flyers a slight edge for now, with pick No. 13 and an average third-rounder equaling a value of 30.19, while the 12th pick alone carries a value of 29.98.
If one word defines Briére’s tenure so far, it’s creativity. His handling of the Michkov and Ivan Fedotov situations certainly qualifies as such. He took on the bad contracts of Cal Petersen and Sean Walker to get the Los Angeles Kings to retain some of Ivan Provorov’s salary so he could get the desired return for Provorov from the Columbus Blue Jackets. When Walker exceeded expectations, he ate another problematic deal in Ryan Johansen to pull a first-round pick away from the Colorado Avalanche.
Briére acquired a fifth-round pick in March for retaining part of Noah Hanifin’s cap hit so the Calgary Flames could send him to the Vegas Golden Knights. Now, he picked up a third-rounder in a situation where Briére was ok with trading down. These aren’t home run moves individually, but the more assets you accumulate, the more options you open up. Briére made another move at the end of the first round, too. While trading the 32nd pick to the Edmonton Oilers for a 2025 or 2026 first doesn’t give the Flyers another asset and does delay the selection a year, the Flyers will at least draft higher in whichever draft they use the pick in unless the Oilers win the Stanley Cup.
Oh, and consider this. The last time the Flyers and Wild made a trade that included a third-round pick came 13 years ago Thursday when the Flyers moved the pick in exchange for Darroll Powe. The player selected with that choice? None other than the aforementioned Guentzel, who is now one of the top wingers in the NHL and a consistent thorn in Philadelphia’s side. The Flyers shouldn’t expect that type of player if they cash in on their newly acquired pick. But it’s a reminder that you never know.
Managing Risk
Of course, sometimes, the best trades you make are the ones you don’t. Briére may have learned that lesson the easy way last year when Travis Sanheim bounced back after a trade that would’ve moved Sanheim to the St. Louis Blues didn’t come to pass when the Blues’ Torey Krug refused to waive his no-move clause. Who knows what would’ve happened if the deal had gone through, but at minimum, Sanheim’s value seems higher now than it was a year ago.
Related: Philadelphia Flyers Getting New Shot at Superstar Development with Matvei Michkov
The Flyers limited their ceiling for far too long by failing to bring in impactful young talent. Briére proved again Friday that he isn’t falling into the same traps as others before him. That doesn’t guarantee success—it doesn’t even mean he necessarily made the right move by selecting Luchanko. But their process is improving, and hopefully, that will result in a payoff.
