With the Flyers locked in at No. 12, here are 8 players to know ahead of the 2024 NHL draft

The ping-pong balls have spoken.

Entering the NHL draft lottery, the Flyers were slotted at No. 12. After the lottery, the Flyers remained at No. 12. The Flyers also have a second first-rounder to complete the Claude Giroux trade from the Florida Panthers, who are still competing in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

So who will the Flyers take with the 12th overall pick when the NHL draft gets underway on June 28 at the Sphere in Las Vegas? Time will tell how everything shakes out in front of them, but the Flyers should have some solid options, especially to fill deficiencies at center and defense.

It’ll be the first time the Orange and Black are slotted at No. 12, so there is no track record to work from.

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Now, whether they fill that positional weakness depends on a lot of factors. As assistant general manager Brent Flahr recently told The Inquirer, “This year probably is one of those years where you just make sure you take the best player in every round.”

“Our guys, they’ve been instructed that competitiveness is a key thing,” added Flahr, who has been in charge of the Flyers draft since 2019. “Obviously, hockey sense and skill; we want all those things, but compete is a hard thing to be coached up. It’s one thing John Tortorella always asks, he wants competitive guys, as you know. It’s a hard thing to coach every day, for guys to compete, work hard. It’s something that needs to be kind of ingrained in them. That’s just a must.”

With that, here’s a quick look (in alphabetical order) at prospects who could be available as the Flyers get ready to hit the stage at the Sphere to announce the next star player to don Orange and Black.

A teammate of Flyers prospect Massimo Rizzo at the University of Denver — where the pair recently connected for a national championship — the left-handed defenseman is known for his strong skating and hockey IQ. He had five points (three goals, two assists) and had a plus-minus of plus-11 in seven games as the United States won gold at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship.

Catton not only comes with a high-octane offense — he had 116 points (54 goals, 62 assists) in 68 regular-season games for Spokane of the Western Hockey League — but leadership qualities, too. Last summer, he captained Canada to gold at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, collecting eight goals and 10 points in five games.

Why not add another London Knights player? The defenseman is currently teammates with prospects Denver Barkey and Oliver Bonk, who were each selected in last year’s draft, with Bonk going in the first round. Dickinson finished the regular reason with the fifth-highest total of points (70) and third in power-play goals (11) for the Ontario Hockey League team.

Eiserman is coming off an impressive showing at the U18 World Championships where he potted nine goals for the silver-medal-winning Americans. In the gold-medal game, he set the U.S. National Team Development Program goal record, passing Montreal Canadiens standout Cole Caufield with No. 127.

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Known for his high hockey IQ, the 5-foot-11 center plays a 200-foot game. He just notched seven assists in five games for Finland at the U18 World Championships after collecting 36 points in 51 games for Jukurit in Liiga, Finland’s top league.

He may be the son of Hall of Famer Jarome Iginla, but he is blazing his own trail. The 17-year-old scored 12 points (six goals, six assists) as he helped lead Canada to gold at the U18 World Championships.

A teammate of Catton’s at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, the forward stands tall at 6-4. He missed some time this season with an upper-body injury but still collected 46 points (27 goals, 19 assists) and had a plus-minus of plus-12 in 32 games for Medicine Hat of the WHL.

A defenseman for the Calgary Hitmen — the same spot where Egor Zamula and Travis Sanheim plied their trade — totaled 30 goals and 71 points along with 120 penalty minutes in 66 regular-season games. He is ranked No. 12 by TSN draft guru Bob McKenzie.