2019 NHL Draft Preview: Flyers Targets at 11th Overall

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

It is draft day, and for the Flyers, that means they will make another selection in the first round to try to add to their prospect pool.

Friday night marks the first round of the 2019 NHL Draft and the Flyers have the 11th overall pick. For weeks, there has been speculation about which prospects the Flyers may have an interest in, or if they will even keep the pick at all.

With the NHL Draft getting underway in just a few hours, here are five targets for the Flyers at 11th overall.

Peyton Krebs – The Flyers have been linked to Krebs a lot and he’s a prospect that has been listed in mock drafts anywhere between seventh and 14th overall, so there’s a good chance he was going to be on the board anyway when the Flyers picked at 11th overall. Add in that there may be an Achilles injury he is recovering from and that may scare some teams off.

The Flyers have a lot of center prospects taken over the years in various rounds, so it wouldn’t be too much of a risk to take a kid with a high compete level with a lot of talent and potential that may be a bit of a risk and a project. Krebs has a lot of good elements to his game, like his playmaking ability, vision, shot and compete level, but just needs to find his consistency. At 11th overall, he may be worth the risk if he is the best player on the board at that time.

Matthew Boldy – The Flyers have been linked to Boldy in a few mock drafts and it would certainly be a good fit. He’s a winger that has a solid all-around game. He’s a good skater, makes good passes, protects the puck and can put up points.

Boldy is a deceptive player that may be more of a set-up guy than a shooter, but he has both elements to his game and brings a unique combination of size, speed and skill. He has the skill set to become a top-line playmaker if he really puts it all together, but if he turns out to be a projected Top-6 winger at worst, that’s certainly a win for the Flyers should they take him.

Victor Soderstrom – Many of the Flyers defensemen from draft classes past are making the jump to the pros — namely that Shayne Gostisbehere, Ivan Provorov, Travis Sanheim and Phil Myers. That leaves limited defensemen still developing in the prospect pool.

If the Flyers are going to go with a defenseman in the first round, Victor Soderstrom is one of the safer picks you can make and has already played in Sweden’s highest league. To get a player with that experience who is mature, confident and carries himself well and can handle playing against competition much older than he makes him a solid pick.

Cole Caufield – For teams looking for a goal-scorer, Cole Caufield is an attractive pick who could go as high as the Top 5 or still be on the board around the 15th overall pick. If he is somehow still on the board when the Flyers pick at 11th overall, you almost have to take him.

There are holes to his game that he needs to work on to be a more complete player, but you can’t argue with 72 goals in 64 games. He is an elite shooter and could be at the next level too.

Vasili Podkolzin – For several months, it was believed that Vasili Podkolzin was the consensus third-overall pick. Now, that’s not necessarily the case. Podkolzin could still go third or still be on the board outside the Top 10. If he’s still there at 11, he may be hard to pass up.

He has the potential to eventually have the skill level and ability to be right behind the consensus Top 2 in the draft. He’s a tough winger who competes hard, is tenacious on the puck and brings smart two-way ability to the winger position.

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