By now, it's no secret that the Philadelphia Flyers are going to try to make some serious noise at the 2025 NHL Draft. Armed with seven picks in the first 48 selections—including two first-rounders and a wealth of second-round options—the Flyers are one of the most closely watched teams heading into a week that could help define their rebuild for years to come.
For Flyers GM Danny Brière and assistant GM Brent Flahr? They're ready for the chaos. Or, at least, he's bracing for it.
“It’s a lot more fun being on this side of it at this time of year,” Flahr said.
Brière, entering his third full draft at the helm, isn’t just sitting on his draft capital like it’s Monopoly money—though he admits it gives him leverage.
He, and the rest of the front office, knows the team is at a critical juncture, and these picks can help shape not just the roster, but the organization’s identity moving forward: “There’s definitely a lot [of freedom]; it’s a lot of ammo to try to do different things and not necessarily move up or down, but it could be acquiring for the future. There’s just a lot of possibilities.”
A Changing Draft Landscape
This year’s Combine, held in Buffalo, marked a new era in league draft logistics—the first since the NHL voted to try out a decentralized approach to the actual draft event. But despite the structural shift, Brière said the trade chatter felt familiar.
“What I remember from the last couple of years, it really starts to pick up the week of the draft,” he explained. “So I expect Monday and Tuesday to start kicking into high gear as far as the trade swaps for the draft.”
And with the Flyers holding seven selections in the first 48 picks, Brière knows his phone could be buzzing a lot more than usual.
“I would expect so, but I don’t know. I can’t control what the other guys do, or if they like the slots we have—we have a lot of them,” he said. “I’m also going to make a lot of calls to try to gauge interest. But so far, it’s been quiet on that front.”
There’s one thing the Flyers would love to do: move up. But Brière notes that they’re not alone in that desire.
“Teams are all looking to move up, so we’ll have to be patient,” he said.
Best Player Available—or Big Swing?
In 2023, Brière and his staff shocked the draft world by selecting Matvei Michkov at No. 7 overall, a bold swing on a player many teams were too risk-averse to take. They arguably followed that same pattern last year, when they traded down to take Jett Luchanko when so-called "safer picks" were still on the board.
It begged the question: Would the Flyers be willing to take another home run cut this year?
“We’ve shown that we’re not afraid to do that,” Brière said. “But we’re gonna do what we feel is the best player. It doesn’t mean we’re just gonna swing for the fun of it and keep you guys on your toes.”
That emphasis—on trusting the process and the deep work done by their scouting team—is a key theme in how Brière evaluates this year’s class.
“Our [scouts] have done a lot of work,” he said. “I rely on our guys to go out in the field and have done hundreds of reports and seen those guys a hundred times live… I’d rather trust those guys that I know and that put in the work.”
Views from the 6
With the sixth overall pick in their pocket, the Flyers are in a prime spot to land an impact player. This year’s draft class is loaded with centers—a position the Flyers could use reinforcements at—but Brière emphasized that they won’t be locked in on a single archetype.
“There’s a number of centers, which isn’t always the case,” he said. “There’s a few defensemen, wingers, different options there. We’re obviously well aware of our own needs. There’s some players, especially at number six, we’re going to move for the best [player] available.”
That “best player available” mantra isn’t lip service—it’s a guiding principle for Brière and his team, even if it doesn’t always align with public consensus.
The Breadth of Possibility
As the Flyers work their way through their pile of second-round picks, Brière is excited by the variety in play.
“There’s a number of different types of players,” he said. “Whether it’s smaller skill, there’s still some guys on the board that may be middle-of-the-lineup type of guys that are still valuable players. There’s some big defensemen that are gonna need maybe a little time.”
And while most of the players they draft won’t be NHL-ready out of the gate, Brière’s focus is clearly on long-term value.
“Are they going to play next year? Realistically, no,” he admitted. “But they’re going to be valuable assets to an organization.”
Could the Flyers use all seven of those top-50 picks?
“Absolutely,” Brière said. “Especially this year, there’s a lot of players in that window, so there’s actually a really good chance that we keep the picks and we really build around those guys.”
Trusting the Process
At its core, Brière’s outlook is measured. He’s not promising fireworks or headline-stealing moves just for the sake of them. He’s betting on a well-prepared staff, an open mind, and a war chest of draft capital to give the Flyers every chance to build something lasting.
The moment may be quiet now. But the Flyers are armed, alert, and ready.
And when the draft floor gets noisy, don’t be surprised if it’s Brière making some of the loudest moves of all.