The 2021 NHL Draft Lottery took place last night, as 15 teams that did not make the playoffs, plus the expansion franchise Seattle Kraken, found out where they would be picking on July 23-24th during the draft. The Flyers came into the night with a 1.8% chance at winning the #1 overall pick but weren’t lucky enough to crack the top 10. Instead, Philadelphia will pick 13th overall. Let’s take a look at some players Chuck Fletcher & company might have a chance at selecting with the 13th overall pick.

Cole Silllinger, C/LW, Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL) transferred to Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)

One of the most gifted forwards in this class, Cole Sillinger played 31 games in the USHL, putting up 24G-22A for 46 points. A pure sniper, Sillinger possesses one of the best shots in this draft class. There are some worries about his straight line skating ability and defensive awareness, as he gets caught puck watching in his own zone sometimes. As he continues to work to develop those elements of his game, there’s still no denying the kid can flat out shoot the puck.

Take a look at this shot.

Sillinger isn’t the best skater in the world, but it’s not hindering him. His acceleration is decent but I feel he’ll become more explosive with his straight line skating as he grows older and hopefully starts working with a skating coach. The Flyers don’t seem to shy away from players that need work on their skating, I can rattle off a few names right now that I definitely remember having that skating issue be tied to them coming out of the draft.

• Wade Allison
• Oskar Lindblom
• Tyson Foerster
• Bobby Brink
• Isaac Ratcliffe
• Matthew Strome

That being said, Sillinger works well on his edges and is good on the puck for a guy who’s not necessarily big by any means. I’d fully except Cole to head back to the WHL next year (assuming they’ll play a full season), work on his two-way game and skating ability, continue to develop those aspects of his game, while continuing to be the elite sniper he is.

The Flyers would honestly be taking the same risk on Cole as they did with Tyson Foerster last year.

• Both guys have scouts that would argue they’re the best pure shooters of their respective draft classes
• Both guys that had skating concerns going into the draft

You see how that worked out for Foerster. He’s not going to blow you away with his skating like a Matthew Barzal would, but not at ANY TIME this season have I noticed his skating have any hinderance on his game. This is a kid who under “normal” circumstances, wouldn’t of been playing in the AHL with full grown men. Oh, and he finished 4th on the team in points (10G-7A-17P) despite missing the last couple games after suffering a separated collarbone.

All that being said, I would love Cole Sillinger at #13.

Mason McTavish, C, EHC Olten (SL)

The OHL not playing this year has seen a number of their draft eligible players stock drop. Luckily for Mason, he was able to be loaned to the EHC Olten in the Swiss League. In 13 games for EHC Olten, Mason put up 9G-2A-11P before heading to Texas to play for Team Canada at the U18.

McTavish impressed at the U18 tournament, helping his team win Gold while putting up 5G-6A-11P in 7 games. McTavish is a good skater who plays with grit and likes to be in the dirty areas. He finds the soft spot in-front of the net and likes to create havoc. McTavish possesses a very good shot but during his time with EHC, he scored most of his goals by being in the right position for redirects and rebound goals.

Here’s a play during the U18 where he just parks himself in-front of the net and gets a dirty but good one.

Captain McTavish had a 3-point night vs Latvia (2G-1A) and helped Team Canada win the game 4-2, his first of the net was another goal right in the dirty area. Again, he finds the soft spot and uses his hands in around the net to finish.

Not a goal for Mason but this is a really nice set up from him finding Dylan Guenther (also draft eligible this year) for the sweet goal.

I think McTavish goes a little earlier as his stock seems to be rising but he’s going to be a good player for some team.

Kent Johnson, C, Michigan

Now this one might be a little bit of a reach at 13. I don’t think he’s going to fall to #13 but if he’s there, I want him. Former teammate of Cam York, Johnson is a highly-skilled center that plays a smart two-way game and can absolutely blow you away with some of his creativity.

Michigan has been a pretty fun team to watch for a couple years now. The most recent team had stud players like Owen Power (potential #1 pick in 2021 draft, Cam York (PHI), Matty Beniers (potential #1 overall pick in 2021), Johnny Beecher (BOS) & Thomas Bordeleau (SJS). Even with all this star studded talent around him, Kent made sure people knew who he was.

• 9G-18A-27P in 26 games as a Freshman
• Big Ten All-Freshman team
• Finished 2nd on team in scoring as Freshman

I mean, come on.

His ability to create space with the puck is a joy to watch, he has elite hands and possesses high-level hockey IQ. This tweet from @JMallory on twitter pretty much summarizes what Johnson does so well.

• Stick always being used as an safety valve option for defenseman
• Makes defenders miss with puck twice
• Finds a way to get puck deep and behind defense

An extremely gifted offensive player who plays the game the right way in all aspects, I don’t expect Johnson to drop down to #13 but would be running to the podium with the card for Chuck if he was.

I’ll leave you with one more Kent Johnson play.

Notable Mentions

Zachary L’Heureux, C, QMJHL

Teammates with our 135th pick in last years draft, Elliot Desnoyers, Zachary L’Heureux is a player that would fit right in with Philadelphia. L’Heureux stands at 5’11, 196 lbs but you wouldn’t know that by the way he plays the game. He’s plays the game as a power forward that loves to engage in physical play (maybe sometimes a little too much) but possesses soft hands and great scoring ability. Sometimes he gets carried away, as he was suspended four games for an unsportsmanlike conduct by fighting and removing another plays helmet.

Get this guy in Philadelphia, now.

Not only does L’Heureux bring solid two-way play and intense physical play, he’s an extremely gifted goal scorer with an underrated, deceptive shot. He’s a solid playmaker with the puck on his stick and loves crashing the dirty areas for goals.

Elliot Desnoyers and Zachary L’Heureux finished the 2020-2021 season with the Mooseheads as point leaders.

• Desnoyers: 21G-28A-49P in 37 games
• L’Heureux: 19G-20A-39P in 33 games

Pretty impressive stuff considering this was both guys’ first seasons with Mooseheads after being traded in the offseason from the Moncton Wildcats.

L’Heureux shows off his creativity and soft hands here

Chaz Lucius, C, US-NTDP (USHL)

Lucius missed the first half of the season with a leg injury but still put up 13G-5A-18P in 12 games. A highly skilled player with an exceptional wrist shot, Chad is more of a shoot first player, but has no problem creating for his teammates. Lucius possesses quick hands which allows him to work well in tight spaces and on the cycle. Some scouts have him projected as a winger in the NHL but he can play either position.

Chaz showing off those soft hands

The lethal shot is what really jumps out of me, if he didn’t miss some of the season recovering from a bone lesion in his knee, he would be much higher on scouts lists. Lucius not only jumped back into it USHL after injury, putting up 18 points in 12 games but he went to the U18 with Team USA and scored 12G-7A-20P in 13 games.

Don’t give this time in the slot

It should be a pretty interesting NHL draft. Everyone will talk about how different it will be with some leagues not being able to have a season (OHL), so obviously different scouts on different teams will have different opinions therefore everyones draft board will be different. Wouldn’t be surprised if some players a lot of us have down to go Top 10, don’t and some players who nobody saw going Top 10, do.

Partial Mock Draft?

BUF: Honestly this pick depends on what happens this summer with them. Does Eichel stay? Does he go? If he does get traded I could see them going Matt Beniers and getting another C in there. If Eichel stays, do you go Owen Power and let him and Dahlin be your 1-2 punch for the next decade? Buffalo has options but for the sake of this I’ll say Owen Power, D, Michigan.

SEA: I think Seattle just takes whoever Buffalo doesn’t. If Buffalo goes Beniers, they’ll go Power. If Buffalo goes with Power, I can see Seattle taking Beniers as a centerpiece to build around, so since I went Power to BUF, I’ll say Seattle takes Matthew Beniers, C, Michigan.

ANA: Ducks have Zegras & Drysdale so that’s a pretty good start for a young core. They kind of need everything so I guess this pick will come down to how the Ducks draft board falls. I think they surprise some people here and go with a pure goal scorer to pair with a playmaker like Zegras, they get a good one in Dylan Guenther, LW, WHL

NJ: You knowwwww Jack Hughes is going to be in New Jersey’s ear if his brother Luke is sitting there. Don’t know how much input Jack has in the organizations decisions but they need defense anyway, I have NJ taking Luke Hughes, D, Michigan

CBJ: Seth Jones told Columbus he’s not re-signing so they’re out a defenseman once his contract is up, that’s saying if they don’t trade him this summer (I would). They traded David Savard to Tampa at the trade deadline, I have CBJ taking Simon Edvinsson, D, SHL

DET: Some people were shocked at the Moritz Seider pick last year but Yzerman is currently grinning in his office, Seider is A MONSTER. They nabbed Lucas Raymond last year as well so DET is looking nice for the future with Dylan Larkin leading the charge. I think they go C here and go William Eklund, C, SHL (sounds like a DET player name)

SJS: San Jose is another team that might just go BPA based on their draft board but I think they go defense and the next best available defenseman is Brandt Clarke, D, (Loan HC Nove Zamky)

LAK: Byfield was a great pick. Turcotte is going to be really good. I like Bjornfort and Gabriel Vlardi but I do think they go with Cole Sillinger, C, (Loan to USHL) a pure sniper to pair with Byfield

VAN: Feel like Vancouver always finds the best player available even if it’s not what everyone else thinks (2017 with Pettersson), they have Hughes, Boeser an Horvat along with Pettersson so I have Vancouver taking Kent Johnson, C, Michigan

OTT: Another team that has drafted extremely well over the last couple years. Stutzle, Sanderson, Greig, Tkachuk, Pinto. They have their #1 defenseman in Chabot so I think they look to add some more skill up-front. I have Ottawa taking Chaz Lucius, C, USHL

CHI: Chicago always takes a stud, feel like every time I turn around they pulled another stud players out of nowhere. At least this time I know who they’re taking is a stud, I have Chicago going with Fabian Lysell, RW, SHL

CGY: The Flames should have a pretty interesting summer. Do they look to move Johnny Hockey or Tkachuk? I think they’d be foolish to trade Matthew but if they want to start a rebuild he’s going to get you the most right now. They could use more scoring but I feel like they really need to add a defenseman. I have Calgary going with Corson Ceulemans, D, AJHL

PHI: I have the Flyers adding Mason McTavish, C/LW, (Loan with Swiss league). Mason can play both center and left wing. He brings grit and scouts have raved about his character, he’s a player Philadelphia would quickly fall in love with. Captain of Team Canada for the U18, Mason finished with 5G-6A-11P in 7 games and a Gold medal.

I can get used to this

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Mandatory Credit: Hockey Reference, picture by AKIRA SUWA