The 2025 NHL draft is a huge one for the Flyers’ rebuild.
Not only does Danny Briere have a lot of high-round picks at his disposal, but he also could be creative in how he uses them.
“There are all kinds of possibilities here,” the Flyers’ general manager said in April. “I think it’s really exciting going into it. It’s powerful to have so many picks like that. I think a lot of teams will be wanting to have discussions with us to make some things happen — teams that don’t have picks or teams that want to tweak things.”
So it’s a busy time for the Flyers leading up to the draft, which will be held June 27-28. The first round is Friday at 7 p.m. ET, while Rounds 2-7 are Saturday starting at noon ET.
“There are really good players in this draft,” TSN director of scouting Craig Button said May 27 in a phone interview with NBC Sports Philadelphia. “Maybe people say it’s not a good draft; I’m not buying it. I think this draft has got lots of good players.”
The Flyers are slotted to make 11 picks, including three first-rounders and four second-rounders. Their first-round selections will come at No. 6 (own pick), No. 22 (Sean Walker trade) and either No. 31 or 32 (Oilers trade).
Before the draft arrives, we’re breaking down first-round targets for the Flyers.
Next up:
Cameron Schmidt
Position: Winger
Height: 5-foot-8
Weight: 160
Shoots: Right
Team: Vancouver
Scouting report
The moment his legs start to churn, Schmidt becomes a blur. He’s lightning fast and can flat-out finish, putting up 40 goals and 78 points in 61 regular-season games for the 2024-25 Giants.
Schmidt had 10 multi-goal games and 32 of his points came on the power play (14 goals, 18 assists). He added four goals and five assists in five playoff games.
“I think he’s a dynamo,” Button, a former NHL GM and scout, said. “He’s a great athlete, great skater, he has got a wicked good shot and he can score. I really believe that Cameron, if he wanted to this year, could have scored 55 goals. Cameron was focused in on really developing his game in other areas, being a player that was not just a goal scorer and not just an offensive player. I really admire him for doing that at this young of an age.”
At the 2025 IIHF U-18 World Junior Championship that ended last month, Schmidt had a solid performance with four points (two goals, two assists) in seven games for gold-winning Team Canada. He’s the 17th-ranked player in the draft on Button’s list.
“He’s a dynamic, dynamic,…