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The Philadelphia Flyers are ensconced now at their NHL Draft headquarters in Atlantic City. They have conducted their final scout meetings and established their internal player rankings for the 2026 Draft class.
As I do every year, I prepared a first-round mock Draft for PhiladelphiaFlyers.com. The Flyers currently hold the 21st overall pick. There is, however, a reasonable chance they move up or down (more likely down) as the weekend rolls along.
The Flyers made a trade on Thursday morning. They send veteran checking forward Garnet Hathaway and the 181st overall selection in this weekend’s Draft (6th round) to the Florida Panthers. Philly received the 136th overall pick (5th round) and a 2027 fourth-round pick).
Woll meets with media
Newly acquired goaltender Joseph Woll and defenseman Simon Benoit conducted Zoom press conferences on Wednesday. The cerebral, articulate Woll was especially impressive in hs first media availability as a Flyer.
Meanwhile, on the most recent edition of Flyers Daily, Jason Myrtetus had an in-depth discussion with In Goal magazine’s Kevin Woodley. They spoke about both Woll and Samuel Ersson.Kevin gave a detailed scouting report assessing Woll’s strengths and weaknesses as an NHL goaltender. Overall, the goalie analyst remains very high on Woll as long as the player stays healthy.
Woodley believes that Woll is particularly well suited to the Flyers’ systems. Rick Tocchet strongly emphasizes the need to allow his goalies to play half the net as much as possible, maximizing predictability of where shots originate.
Team Toyota Spotlight: Simon Benoit
Shortly before Woll spoke with the media, defenseman Benoit had his media availability session. Entering the final season of his current contract ($1.35 million AAV). The player’s main strengths are his combination of size (6-foot-4, 210 pounds), physicality and above-average mobility for a player his size.
Benoit’s main weakness: his puck-handling. He has to play a very simple game in order to be effective. Overall, he’s an upgrade on Impending unrestricted free agent Noah Juulsen. The Flyers have taken a step backward so far in terms of puck movement with the departure of Emil Andrae in the deal for Woll and Benoit. That’s something that has to be addressed.
Presently, Benoit slots in as the Flyers’ No. 6 defenseman on the depth chart. That can change either this off-season or during training camp.
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Flyers 2026 Draft picks by round
Following Thursday’s trade, the Flyers hold the following four selections in the 2026 Draft:
- 1st round: 21st overall
- 2nd round: 53rd overall
- Round 3: None
- Round 4: None
- Round 5: 136th overall
- Round 6: None
- Round 7: 213th overall
Cold War in Philly: Upcoming Showings
Each of the first seven showings of the Cold War in Philly documentary have sold out. Correspondingly, additional showings have been added at different locales.
- June 25th: White Rabbit Theatre (Phoenixville, PA) — Post-screening Q&A moderated by Sam Carchidi with Joe Amodei, Joe and Jimmy Watson. Tickets are $18 or $20. Click here.
- June 26th, 27th, 28th and 29th: The County Theatre (Doylestown, PA), Click here for show times and prices.
- June 26th, 27th, 28th and 29th: Ambler Theatre (Ambler, PA), Click here for show times and prices.
- September 2: Bryn Mawr Film Institute (Bryn Mawr, PA), Click here for tickets.
Collectors Corner: Clarke, Hextall and Vladar
Hall of Fame legend Bob Clarke is doing a private signing event at Carl’s Cards and Collectibles in Havertown, PA. Items for Clarke to sign are due by June 24. Clarke will be in the store that day to sign the items. For more info, click here.
Meanwhile, Flyers Hall of Fame goaltender and former general manager Ron Hextall is doing his own private signing for Carl’s on June 29. For info, click here.
Additionally, current Flyers goaltender Dan Vladar will do an open-to-the-public (tickets requires) in-store signing at Carl’s on Saturday, August 29. Autographs are $49 each. Photo ops are $39 each. Inscriptions are $20 each. For info, click here.
Guffaw Cigars: Hot Stove Drawing Winner
Five-time NHL All-Star and Flyers Hall of Fame inductee Brian Propp introduced his own line of top-quality hand-crafted Dominican cigars . The Guffaw Cigar collection is highly rated for its balanced boldness, sophistication and premium-aged tobacco. Brian himself is a longtime cigar aficionado. He wanted his signature line to reflect the qualities he values in a cigar.
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