Flyers draft: Could playmaker Gabe Perreault be the perfect complement to Cutter Gauthier?

For the last two seasons, the Flyers have been starved for scoring, finishing 31st in goals in 2021-22 (2.56 per game) and 29th in 2022-23 (2.68 per game).

Help is on the way in the form of shoot-first prospects Tyson Foerster and Cutter Gauthier, plus the Flyers will look for continued contributions from their leading goal scorer Travis Konecny (31 goals this season) and breakout performer Owen Tippett (27 goals, second on the team). But could the Flyers benefit down the line from adding a complementary playmaker with the No. 7 pick in the draft?

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Gabe Perreault, a winger with the U.S. National Team Development Program, could fit the bill and is projected to come off the board sometime in the first round. Perreault, who is NHL Central Scouting’s 10th-ranked North American skater, smashed Auston Matthews’ NTDP single-season scoring record with 132 points this season (53 goals, 79 assists in 63 games).

The Inquirer discussed Perreault and his potential fit for the Flyers with Chris Peters, an NHL draft and prospects analyst with FloHockey, in the fourth installment of a six-part series examining the prospects the team may consider targeting in the first round on June 28.

This season, Perreault played on the left wing of the NTDP’s vaunted top line alongside draft-eligible prospects Will Smith at center and Ryan Leonard on the right wing. While Peters acknowledged that Smith, Central Scouting’s third-ranked North American skater, didn’t necessarily need Perreault to make him a better player, Perreault did so anyway with his playmaking ability.

Peters labeled Perreault as “one of the smartest and most creative players in the draft” thanks to his ability to read opposing defenses at a high level. He uses his intelligence to compensate for his average size (5-foot-11, 165 pounds), skating ability, and athleticism.

“The game looks easy from upstairs, and there are things that he does that you don’t see even from upstairs and he makes the play,” Peters said.

Peters would not call Perreault a “dynamic talent” in terms of puck skills or a knack for making highlight-reel plays. However, he noted that Perreault is effective with every touch, knowing precisely what to do with the puck in any situation. In addition to being a talented distributor, Perreault is a gifted goal scorer in his own right, racking up two more than each of his linemates did this season (51 goals apiece).

Like most 18-year-old, draft-eligible prospects, Perreault will need to continue to get stronger, especially in his lower body. Increased strength can lead to improved skating ability as it relates to his burst.

But Peters reiterated that Perreault’s intelligence has compensated at the junior level for his physical limitations, which is why he has ascended throughout the season into the top-10 conversation.

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“I think that for any guy, you say, OK, what are the things that can be improved?” Peters said. “It is harder to become a better skater. But if you improve other elements of your game, like your physical strength, your ability to battle, all those different things, he’ll win more battles and he’ll be able to hang in there more with those players, and then he’s able to maximize the things that he does do well.”

With top prospects Foerster and Gauthier both hanging their hats on shooting the puck and scoring goals, a young playmaker to set them up such as Perreault would be a welcome addition to the roster. Additionally, Perreault will be Gauthier’s teammate at Boston College next season.

While Perreault could stick together with his NTDP linemates Smith and Leonard, who are also headed to Boston College, he should get the chance to build some chemistry alongside Gauthier, at the very least on the power play.

“[Perreault’s] vision and his hockey sense are at such a high level that you will always get a good pass,” Peters said. “You will always get a chance to be a threat. You just have to be ready, because he’s probably going to make a play that not even you can anticipate because he’s that unique of a thinker in terms of how he does things. So I would say anybody that’s a shooter, you just put your stick where it needs to be, and he’ll get it there.”

Although the left-shot Perreault is listed as a right winger, the fact that he has experience playing on the left wing could be beneficial to the Flyers, who have better organizational depth down the right side (Konecny, Tippett, Foerster, Bobby Brink, Wade Allison).

Peters called Perreault a “diet” version of Tampa Bay Lightning star Nikita Kucherov. He pointed out similarities in their size (Kucherov was 5-10 and 163 pounds in his 2011 draft year), their skating, and certain elements of their respective games.

“I think his skill and just his playmaking ability, the confidence, and everything else that he has with the puck as well,” Peters said. “That’s kind of reminiscent to me there. But still got a lot to go before you can compare him to a Hart Trophy winner.”