Flyers AGM Brent Flahr on upcoming draft, prospects: ‘We're going to get a good player'

New York Times

2 days ago

In the final days and weeks leading up to the NHL Draft, set to take place June 27-28, the proverbial grains of salt that need to be taken with every public comment from an NHL team official more resemble boulders.
Still, Philadelphia Flyers assistant general manager Brent Flahr, who oversees the club's scouting staff and draft process, might have offered a hint about how the club will approach having the sixth pick in the first round in a Q&A with The Athletic on Monday afternoon.
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Yes, Flahr acknowledges, the Flyers need more high-end centers in their system. No, that doesn't necessarily mean they will end up taking one with their highest pick.
'We obviously are aware (of the need for more centers in the organization), but there's also a couple other players that it's going to make it hard,' Flahr said. 'There's a couple wingers and even a defenseman that could be in the mix. You've got to be careful not to go by a top-line player, potentially, just for position. That's the challenge we'll face.'
Flahr and the Flyers staff are at the NHL Scouting Combine in Buffalo, N.Y., this week, interviewing prospects and holding staff meetings to formulate their strategy for the end of the month. The club holds a whopping seven picks in the first two rounds, including three first-round selections. It's a vital time for the ongoing rebuild.
Here's our Q&A with Flahr about the approaching draft and the state of the prospects already in the system. The following questions and responses have been lightly edited for clarity.
It's obviously a unique situation having seven picks in the top 50. How did that change the scouting process for you and your staff, if at all?
Well, I wasn't home very much. Usually, when you have one first and one second (-round pick), you have a range of players that you're pretty sure you're going to be looking at when you're picking at a certain range. This year when you have that many, you have to be that much clearer on all that. We strategically spread out (our scouts) and invested a lot and were away from home a lot more than normal.
It's been a good year. We'll figure it out. But it's exciting to have that many picks. Obviously, I've certainly never had close to this many. It just gives you a lot of options whether you're trading up, trading for a player — there's a lot of things that can happen, but it's a lot more fun to have lots of picks than not enough. Hopefully, we don't do this every year, but for this year it gives us some options, for sure.
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How deep is this first round compared to other years?
The first round this year I think is probably comparable to last year in terms of depth, and then I think the second round actually has some depth to it. It's after that where it falls off. We still have some guys who we have targeted for each round. The top end as far as (Connor McDavid types), that's not this year. But we're confident we're going to get a good player at No. 6, and then through the first round there's lots of different types of players.
This draft class seems to have a glut of centers that are projected to go in the top 10. But there's debate whether any of them have true No. 1 NHL center potential. Are there any of those, in your mind?
Potentially, but it's not a given. There's not that many No. 1 centers in the (NHL). There's not 32 of them. People say there are, but there's not. But you can be a good team with some high-quality No. 2 (centers) and depth. I know one thing, you can't win without centers.
You've been with the organization since 2019, before GM Daniel Briere took control two years ago. How has the scouting and draft process changed since then?
Very little. Even when (former GM Chuck Fletcher) was here, Danny was doing some amateur (scouting) with me, so he understood how we do things. I think we had similar philosophies as far as the draft and players to target. But Danny has lots of opinions, he likes to get out and see some players, but at the same time, he understood how our amateur group worked and was comfortable with it when he came on board. As far as the process itself, it's really similar.
Let's talk a bit about the current prospects group. What did you think of how Jett Luchanko and Alex Bump played for the Phantoms after they joined that club late in the season?
It was good. Both are young guys. To get into that environment and playoff-type hockey in the AHL was a great experience for them. I think more importantly, especially for Bump, is that he sees what pro hockey is all about. I think getting that stretch of games to realize what he has to work on, how strong guys are, the pace you have to play at all the time — even he said it, it was an awesome experience for him. And it should make him that much more prepared when he gets with the big boys in camp.
I know one focus of Luchanko is his shot/finish. He didn't have any goals after joining the Phantoms in 16 games, but he did make some plays (posting nine assists). Did he meaningfully improve the scoring aspect of his game enough this season?
I think he's probably unselfish to a fault at times. A shooting mentality is something that I think he's going to have to add. The pro game you only have so many chances to score, and he's just got to pick it up. But he's working on his shot, and he'll figure that out.
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I know your 2024 second-round picks, Jack Berglund and Spencer Gill, ran into injury issues this season. Are they OK now, and how would you assess their seasons?
Gill had (ankle) surgery and they were hoping to rehab him back in time for the Memorial Cup. He started skating, but unfortunately, he's still a week or two away. It's unfortunate for him, but he had a good first half, played a ton of minutes, and he was a big part of that team (Rimouski Oceanic) before getting injured. But he'll be healthy hopefully for development camp (in July), and certainly for next year. Gill's really worked hard conditioning-wise. I think we drafted him 185 (pounds), I think he's over 215 now. He's come a long way in one year. He's going to be a big kid.
Berglund broke his hand right before the World Juniors and had a couple other injuries. Overall, my viewings of him over there were very good. He's on a good program there in Färjestad (Swedish League), where they stress strength and conditioning. So he's in good hands, and we'll see him over the summer for the World Junior camp in Minneapolis. When we drafted him we knew he was going to take some time, but he's performed well.
Denver Barkey and Oliver Bonk won a Memorial Cup with London over the weekend. What did you think of their performances?
Both guys played a lot of games, they've won a lot of games. I think anytime you get a chance to win, it's awesome and it's a very good learning tool. Both guys were big parts of it. Barkey has been fighting an injury with his ankle and he fought through it, which is courageous. You only get so many chances to win at any level, so proud of those guys, and they both performed real well.
Congratulations to Flyers prospects Denver Barkey and Oliver Bonk on their Memorial Cup title with the @LondonKnights!#MemorialCup | #LetsGoFlyers https://t.co/e7YgF2iLXw pic.twitter.com/raX13DtZxx
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) June 2, 2025
Barkey is such an intriguing guy to me because he obviously has a ton of skill and talent, but he's just so small (5 feet 9, 154 pounds). What gives you hope he can take the next step at the pro level?
He's really self-aware, which is good. The things that give him a chance at his size is his brain and skill level and competitiveness. He's really smart on both sides of the puck. You look at how much they use him on the penalty kill and obviously power play. But he's so competitive and he's on every puck. Very coachable guy.
He's going to need time to fill in his body and get stronger and adjust to the pace, just the same as he did when he came into junior as a small player. Realistically it's going to take some time, but he can play with good players, and my guess is he'll show well for himself in camp, and hopefully, he can get there one day.
You'll have goalie Carson Bjarnason this season, and I know Egor Zavragin also has potential. How comfortable are you right now with the state of the goaltenders in the system, and is the expectation that Zavragin will play out the final two years of his KHL contract in Russia?
Yeah, realistically he'll play over there. One thing is the KHL, as you've seen with guys in our league right now, is goalies develop well there. He's in a good situation. He's playing a lot as a young player, which is half the battle.
Bjarnason is another guy we'll have our hands on (with the Phantoms). Technically it works out good because both guys will have a chance to play a lot, and hopefully, when Zavragin gets over here, he'll be matured and that much closer to NHL-ready.
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Which players on the Phantoms best put themselves in position to really challenge for a roster spot in September?
Well, Samu (Tuomaala) started off hot. He fell off in the second half and had an injury, so was out. On the back end, Hunter McDonald had a real strong second half for his role. Helge Grans was really solid, and when he played (six games with the Flyers in November), I thought he performed well. Obviously (Emil) Andrae, when he was down, was solid.
Up front, (Nikita) Grebenkin was really good from the time we had him. Showed well for himself both skill, compete and size. We've got some players to work with, some young guys turning pro this year. It should be a good mix.
(Top photo of Jett Luchanko: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)