Eiserman, ‘the best scorer in this draft’, an option for the Flyers? originally appeared in NBC Sports Philadelphia
Despite making it through most of the 2023-24 season, the Flyers still have a rebuilding mentality. The club’s decision-makers know there is a need for more talent and that the early draft remains the best way to acquire it.
“The majority of it still needs to be done through our young guys, especially through the draft,” general manager Danny Briere said in April.
The Flyers will have a good opportunity to boost their future when the 2024 NHL Draft arrives June 28-29 at the Sphere in Las Vegas. The first round is Friday at 7pm ET, while rounds 2 through 7 take place on Saturday starting at 11:30am ET.
Like last summer, the Flyers have 10 picks, including two first-round picks. Barring a negotiation, they will make their best overall selection at 12th position. Briere believes the Flyers “can get a very talented player” at that position.
In the first round of the 2023 draft, the Flyers attacked Matvei Michkov in the 7th position It is grabbed Oliver Bonk in 22nd place. They should also have two 2025 first-round picks.
Ahead of the 2024 draft, we’re breaking down the targets for the Flyers at No. 12.
Next:
Cole Eiserman
Position: Extreme
Height: 6 feet
Weight: 197
Photos: Left
Team: USNTDP
Scouting Report
A bona fide sniper, Eiserman has scored 58 goals in 57 games this season for the U.S. under-18 team. He finished with 89 points and a plus-23 rating, while 25 of his goals came on the power play.
The 17-year-old set a U.S. national team development program record with 127 career goals, more than the likes of Auston Matthews, Patrick Kane, Phil Kessel and Cole Caufield. And he won’t turn 18 until the end of August.
Eiserman’s shot is considered unparalleled in the draft. With a shot in the NHL, he puts the puck where he wants and at high speed.
“I think he’s the best scorer in this draft class, period,” Dan Marr, vice president of NHL Central Scouting, said two and a half weeks ago in a phone interview with NBC Sports Philadelphia. “Scoring goals is a prize at the NHL level, he went through the year and finished with 58 goals.
There is reasonable concern about why Eiserman’s stock fell in scouting services throughout the season. He has work to do on his overall game and will need to prove that he is not just a one-trick pony who can impact a team in multiple ways.
He went from middle 8th among North American skaters to 12th among North American skaters. Final NHL Central Scouting Rankings. TSN Craig Button considers him the ninth best player in the draft, while EliteProspects. with It is TSN’s Bob McKenzie both place him in 13th place.
“It fell outside the top 10, but it’s in that range,” Marr said. “At the U18 World Cup, he showed what he can bring to the table. I think sometimes the expectation is that you want all these players to be able to do everything well, everything great. excellent active and so he is a goalscorer. He can finish, he knows how to open up, he has several shots and can bury them. That’s a really high commodity.”
At the 2024 IIHF U18 World Junior Championship a month and a half ago, Eiserman finished tied for second in the tournament with nine goals in seven games on a U.S. team that took home silver medals.
“I think he probably advanced [every team’s] list after the U18s,” said Marr. “He performed very strongly there.”
Adjustment with leaflets
If you have the opportunity to take the top scorer in a draft at 12th overall, there will probably be some interest. The Flyers needed more pure scorers and shooters. It’s a big reason why they drafted Tyson Foerster 23rd overall in 2020, despite the winger being somewhat injured in other areas of his game.
The Flyers have had the worst power play in the NHL in each of the last three seasons. Eiserman could potentially give them a big answer in the future.
But given the Flyers’ first-round position, it’s fair to wonder if they’ll view the other players as better, more multifaceted options, especially if they like a center or defenseman who’s still available.
More targets
• Flyers should like Helenius, ‘one of the draft’s biggest talents’
• Flyer draft target Catton has ‘ingredients’ to be top-tier center
• Flyers could have shot Yakemchuk, a defender with ‘rare combination’
• Flyers draft target Iginla has impressive NHL pedigree and ‘very high ceiling’
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