June 16, 2026
Junfu Han/USA TODAY NETWORK
NHL Draft prospect Brooks Rogowski, pictured playing high school hockey for Detroit Catholic Central in 2024, is a raw but high upside center in the 2026 class who moved up to the Oshawa Generals in the OHL.
The NHL Draft is drawing closer, talks and rumblings are picking up, and it's getting to the point where every last bit of scouting and analysis is being exhausted on the incoming wave of prospects.
The Flyers, with general manager Danny Brière at the helm for his fourth draft, should be staying busy, even though they're in the back half of the first round with the 21st overall pick, thanks to this past season's playoff breakout – which, of course, they wouldn't change a thing about.
Yet still, their emphasis is on the future, so they need to find a worthwhile prospect at No. 21 to keep the development pipeline moving.
And that far back, there's a lot of ways the board can play out, and a lot of options that could end up available.
Here's a rundown of another five names that the Flyers might consider calling when they're on the clock next Friday...
If he's still there and the Flyers want to take a bet on high-end skating and playmaking, Xavier Villeneuve is their guy.
A left-shot defenseman in the Q, Villeneuve can fly up and down the ice with the puck, skating with the ability to make the quick and fluid moves to open up space, while having the awareness and creativity to dish crisp passes to his teammates or to just take it in himself to shoot.
Villeneuve produced 38 points (six goals and 32 assists) through 37 games for the Armada this past season, then went on to score six goals and 14 points through 17 games in the playoffs.
The 18-year-old from Laval will move the puck effortlessly and bring a team a ton of offense, in a way that compares to the Montreal Canadiens' Lane Hutson, but his knock right now is that he's undersized at a listed 5'11" and 163 pounds, and is lacking in the physicality expected of his position because of it – also a lot like Hutson.
Villeneuve is committed to playing college hockey for Boston University next season, though, which will afford him a great opportunity to get stronger.
Then, in one more point to the Hutson parallels, if you can pair him with the right partner, whatever defensive inefficiencies he ends up carrying can be just as easily balanced out.
A breakdown of Villeneuve's game, and what brings out those Hutson comparisons, via NHL Draft Pros:
Ryan Lin is another undersized defenseman in the draft class who should be worth a look at No. 21.
His overall game is a bit more measured as a two-way defenseman, but he's a smart one who can handle the puck well and has a good read for deciding when it's his time to jump in on a rush or to crash in down low.
The 18-year-old put up 14 goals and 57 points through 53 games for the Vancouver Giants in his draft year, and as expected of another 5'11" defenseman (at 176 pounds), his strength is his detractor.
However, Lin is also college hockey-bound, being set to play for the University of Denver next season, which again, is a chance to have a major year in the gym as well as on the ice.
The other thing about Lin: his skating, awareness, and general positioning when the puck isn't his are components that can work together to make him effective in the NHL, and can compensate for any drawbacks in size.
As head coach Rick Tocchet has talked about throughout this past season when it comes to current Flyers defensemen Cam York, Jamie Drysdale, and Emil Andrae, none of which are above 6'0", they have to win defensive battles with their skating and positioning, because pure size and power won't consistently be an option for any of them.
The same goes for Lin – even Villeneuve above, too.
A look into Lin's tape, again via NHL Draft Pros:
Nikita Klepov is always hustling after the puck, unafraid to crash in on the net, while having a solid awareness for slipping into the open ice when his team is cycling the puck.
His 6'0" and 181-pound frame allows him to play physical, and to get some solid power behind a shot when he winds up and drops to a knee on the follow through.
Still 17 years old (he'll turn 18 on Day 2 of the draft June 27), Klepov turned in a 37-goal, 97-point season for Saginaw in juniors, and is set to play in the NCAA next season with Michigan State.
College, again, should strengthen Klepov's game, and if available, would offer the Flyers another barreling presence down the wall coming out of East Lansing.
Klepov's highlights from this past year, via HSD Prospects:
FLYERS DRAFT SCOUTING
PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3
Maksim Sokolovskii would be a big play on upside for the blue line, because the 17-year-old is approaching the draft as a 6'8", 238-pound skater who can move.
A Kazakhstan native who made the jump to North America two years ago, Sokolovskii scored 34 goals and 84 points in 16-under triple-A, then moved up to London in the OHL this past season.
Sokolovskii only produced two goals and eight points for the Knights through 44 games, but skated with a plus-10 rating, using his size as a clear advantage to shield the puck and win battles after it, while catching opponents off guard with his nimble skating and eye for sneaking a shot through traffic.
A left-shot defenseman and one of the greener prospects in the draft class, there's a good chance that the Flyers will be on the clock at No. 21 with more well-rounded and right-shot defensive prospects available to take – like Adam Goljer, Tommy Bleyl, or Juho Piiparinen – but Sokolovskii could be a very worthwhile gamble if the Flyers have the patience and trust in both his trajectory and their own development staff to bring him along.
A big second season in London after his name gets called at the draft would be an immediate sign, too, that he's on his way.
A quick look at Sokolovskii's tape, via HSD Prospects:
Rogowski's 6'7" frame allows him to handle the puck out of reach of defenders, and at a billed 236 pounds, he can outmuscle them in the corners, too.
There's no missing No. 10 on Oshawa when Rogowski hops over the boards. He often uses his size advantage to easily shift his body between the puck and an oncoming checker, which gives him the space to look up and put a pass or a shot where he needs.
He also skates with a solid read of the ice and sense of anticipation, scanning the play well before he recovers the puck to identify the teammate it's going to, or the shooting lane he's putting it through.
Rogowski scored 15 goals and 42 points through 46 games this past season, but was a rough minus-24 for a Generals team that finished at the bottom of the OHL's Eastern Conference standings.
The 17-year-old (who will turn 18 ahead of the draft next week) is another raw prospect with high upside because of his unique size and budding skill at the center position.
He's a pick for the very long term, but with the Flyers still having a priority at center, yet maybe with the patience to fully wait and see on him since the current picture and future outlook for them down the middle isn't anywhere near as bad as it was just a couple of years ago.
Rogowski will need to round out his game and his skating, though, as he proceeds, because that automatic advantage he gets with size and strength down in juniors is fleeting.
He's expected to play next season in juniors, but then go to Michigan State in the NCAA the following year, and the better the competition gets, the less he'll be able to just push everyone around.
As a center, he will have to be more.
Rogoswki's 2025-26 highlights, via Prospect Shifts:
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