June 25, 2025
Brian Bradshaw Sevald/Imagn Images
Michigan's William Horcoff could be a late first-rounder in the NHL Draft this week.
The Flyers are going to be busy all first round Friday night in the NHL Draft, which will keep fans on alert, too.
They have the No. 6 overall pick, where the likelihood is that they'll walk away from it with a high-end forward prospect. Then they'll have No. 22, courtesy of Colorado, where there should be more offensive (along with defensive) talent to stock up on.
Near the end of the first is pick No. 31 from Edmonton, where the skill and potential get a bit more muddled, but still carry promise as the draft pushes into the second round and the Flyers' next several picks thereafter.
"There's a lot of different types of players that our guys think will be real good players down the road," assistant general manager Brent Flahr told the local media during a pre-draft press conference in Voorhees last week. "Are they gonna play next year? Realistically, no. But they're gonna be valuable assets to an organization."
Here's a quick rundown to try and gauge who that could be for the Flyers with the 31st overall pick, or even not that long after with either of the 36th, 40th, or 48th overall selections lined up for the next day...
• C William Horcoff, Michigan (NCAA): A tall centerman at 6'4" who has a knack for finding the open ice and looks in front of the net, the 18-year-old produced four goals and 10 points through his first 18 collegiate games as a freshman with a lot of room to grow. He is also the son of former Edmonton Oiler Shawn Horcoff.
• C Jack Nesbitt, Windsor (OHL): A 25-goal scorer this past junior season, the 18-year-old Nesbitt is another 6'4" center who digs after and protects the puck, earning his keep in the corners and in front of the net.
• LW Jack Murtagh, USNDP: Still only 17, Murtagh's skating gets him down the ice quickly and to the offensive danger zones, which helped see him to a 22-goal season for the U.S. National Development Program. He's committed to playing college hockey at Boston University this coming season.
• C Eric Nilson, Djurgårdens IF (SWE): An 18-year-old with a developing two-way game, Nilson produced 38 points through 37 games in Swedish juniors, got a four-game look in Sweden's second-tier pro league, and is headed for North America this coming season to play in college at Michigan State.
• G Joshua Ravensbergen, Prince George (WHL): Flahr hinted last week that there's a goalie in the draft class with a potential first-round grade, and looking across various mock drafts and prospects rankings, Ravensbergen is the common name to consistently pop up first (and he's the top-ranked North American goalie by NHL Central Scouting ahead of Friday night).
Ravensbergen posted a .901 save percentage this past junior season with a 33-13-4 record in goal.
Goalies are often a tough sell for many teams to take in the first round of the draft – usually the door opens for them in the second – but there are exceptions every now and then.
A bit more on Flahr's view of the prospective goalie class as the Flyers progress later into the draft: "But there are a number of goalies even as the draft goes along that our guys are high on and think there's a lot of potential there. Maybe you just use that pick for a positional player rather than a goaltender in that spot, just with what we have, but we'll manage that as the draft goes on."
• C Cole McKinney, USNDP: A high-pressure and quick-thinking center, the 18-year-old McKinney caught a lot of opposing skaters on their heels this past season, converting on 27 goals and 34 assists through 60 games for the U.S. National Development Program. He'll be headed to Michigan for the start of this coming collegiate season.
• LW Bill Zonnon, Rouyn-Noranda (QMJHL): A two-way forward with a fierce motor who doesn't shy away from the dirty areas, the 18-year-old Zonnon posted 28 goals and 83 points in 64 junior games this season, bringing a level of compete and determination that would be right at home with nearly any NHL club.
• C Milton Gästrin, MoDo (SWE): A well-rounded center out of Sweden, Gästrin racked up 18 goals and 42 points through 40 games in the country's under-20 league, and at 18 is expected to jump this coming season to Sweden's second-tier of pro hockey in HockeyAllsvenskan.
• RW Ryker Lee, Madison (USHL): The 18-year-old Lee tore up the American junior USHL with 31 goals and 68 points this past season, and will try to transfer that into a tougher and faster collegiate game this year at Michigan State in the NCAA.
• D Haoxi "Simon" Wang, Oshawa (OHL): A Chinese-born defensive prospect who is listed at a massive 6'6" and 222 pounds, Wang brings a lot of raw tools that are going to take considerable time to develop, but if brought along properly as he heads to Boston University and then through whatever NHL organization he lands with, there were will eventually be a very fierce, physically imposing defenseman waiting in the wings that sure would look good in orange and black.
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