Draft presents plenty of talent to choose from for Flyers

The Flyers made some social media news on the eve of the NHL Draft by getting chatty with a couple of the top forward prospects late in the interview process.

OK, maybe it’s not so much newsworthy as encouraging to Flyers fans who know youthful skill that may soon project to the NHL ranks is something this organization still desperately needs.

Boston College’s James Hagens and forward Porter Martone from Brampton of the OHL are two teens who have had meetings with Flyers officials shortly before the bulk of top prospects landed in Los Angeles ahead of Friday night’s first round of the draft.

Of course, other teams have had late prospect chats, too. It just seems a touch more important for a Flyers team trying to build from the center position on out.

“It’s pretty well talked about early in the draft in the top 10, there are a number of centerman, which isn’t always the case,” Flyers assistant general manager Brent Flahr said recently. “There are a few defensemen, a couple high-end wingers. There’s obviously a lot of different options there. We are well aware of our own needs, but at the same time, there’s some players, especially at number six, where we’re going to go with the best player on our board.”

For luck’s sake, then, focus on Martone, 18, who clocks in nicely at 6-foot-3, 207 pounds. He represents something in the Flyers’ latest iteration of a rebuild that’s somewhat rare – a guy with skill and size.

Budding star Matvei Michkov? Last year’s top pick Jett Luchanko? New acquisition Trevor Zegras? All central standouts on the cusp; exciting and capable players developing their games. And all need to be standing in skates to get past the six-foot mark.

Hagens is thought to have the potential to become a very effective scoring center. He had 11 goals and averaged a point per game in 37 games for the Eagles last season in the stingy ranks of Hockey East. But at an alleged 5-11, he’s another guy that trends smaller in stature.

“It’s something to consider,” Flyers GM Danny Briere said of the perceived need for size in his current central ranks. “Just like the skating, the hockey sense, (and) competitive edge, it’s part of it. It probably doesn’t play into it as much as how competitive (a prospect) is and the hockey sense. I think those things are probably more important.”

As for Martone, he’s big and competitive, but he doesn’t project to the middle. Rather, he’s a power forward. That would be fine, as the Flyers need as many of them in the feeder system as they can get, too.

Despite his age, Martone has been listed as a prospect who could be NHL ready in a short time. That makes him an attractive get to teams in need of offensive help. But the problem for the Flyers might be one of place … as in, they dropped two spots in the NHL draft lottery and are choosing sixth.

The draft’s top two prospects, defenseman Matthew Shaefer and forward Michael Misa, likely will follow form and go to either the No. 1 New York Islanders or second-selector San Jose. Beyond those two, the Flyers stand to wait for No. 3 Chicago, No. 4 Utah and No. 5 Nashville before getting a shot. So don’t be surprised if Briere makes a real effort to trade up for one of those aforementioned top talents, or even hold his spot and fish for other intriguing prospects.

Believed by many to be ranked just behind that top four are Swedish center Anton Frondell, a solidly built six-foot center who has the flexibility to score off the wing, Roger McQueen, a 6-5 center from Brandon of the WHL, center prospect Jake O’Brien of Brantford and Caleb Desnoyers, a center prospect who happens to be the brother of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms’ Elliott Desnoyers.

No matter what happens, the Flyers stand to get a very good offensive prospect by picking from that group. And if it requires a packaging of another pick or two for Briere to move up, so be it … beyond that sixth overall selection, the Flyers have two more first-round picks, three in the second round and more to burn.

“Traditionally, if you just have one pick in the second round, you’re getting really focused in on just a small group of players that you think are going to be there,” Flahr said. “This year for our group, because of what we have, we’ve spent a lot of time on a lot of different ranges. … We will gauge it, and if there’s players still available that we have in a higher layer, we’ll move up. If not, and we think we can get value and move back a couple of spots and still get the same caliber player, we’ll try to do that.”