Players Philadelphia Flyers Should Target with No. 7 Overall Pick

The Philadelphia Flyers are a franchise at a crossroads, and their first selection at the 2015 NHL draft could reveal the direction the team is heading in.

General manager Ron Hextall relieved Craig Berube of his coaching duties on Friday, and there is no timeline to put a new coach in place. Philadelphia has some skilled players on the roster and should use this opportunity to add some talent to the prospect pool.

The team could go in a number of directions, and here are players who should be considered for the No. 7 overall pick. 

Mikko Rantanen

Age: 18

Position:  Center/ Wing

Team: TPS, Finland

2014-15 Stats: Nine goals | 19 assists | 26 points

The Flyers should target Mikko Rantanen with their first pick in the 2015 NHL draft. He’s a speedy creative offensive forward with good size at 6’4” and 195 pounds who is statistically comparable to Aleksander Barkov Jr. when he entered the draft.

In addition to that, the Flyers have superstar forward Jakub Voracek on the roster, and he’d be a great player for Rantanen to learn from. He may not be ready to make the jump to the NHL immediately, but he should come to North America to start his professional hockey career.

Starting off in the AHL could do wonders for his development, and ending up in the NHL in 2015-16 could be a real possibility because of the Flyers’ need for impact forwards. There’s the chance that Rantanen will get even bigger than he currently is, and he could develop into a real monster if that were to happen.

Mathew Barzal

Age: 18

Position: Center

Team: Seattle Thunderbirds

2014-15 Stats: 12 goals | 45 assists | 57 points

There is no shortage of talented centers in the first round of the 2015 NHL draft, and Mathew Barzal is one pivot who is being overlooked by many. When you see Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, Dylan Strome and Mitch Marner, it is easy to forget a player who missed time earlier this season.

Barzal is a good skater, a great playmaker and an elite passer. He has great vision and knows how to get the puck to where it needs to be.

Take a look at this clip to see the subtlety Barzal used to flip the puck right down the middle:

He will also shoot the puck, but goal scoring isn't a big part of his overall game. He was limited to 44 games in 2014-15, but he made an impact during the time he was healthy this season.

In terms of physique and NHL preparedness, Barzal is 6'0" and 181 pounds. It is fair to say that puts him in the average category for NHL centers, and in Philly he’d be bigger than Claude Giroux (5'11", 172 lbs) but smaller than Sean Couturier (6'3", 197 lbs).

He’d be a solid fit for Philly because he has offensive talent and a solid hockey mind and can play a gritty game if the situation calls for it. You need to have some grit and toughness to be a Flyer, and there’s reason to believe he will end up in orange and black if Hextall wants to go for a pivot with his Round 1 pick.

Ivan Provorov

Age: 18

Position: Defense

Team: Brandon Wheat Kings

2014-15 Stats: 15 goals | 46 assists | 61 points

Drafting defensemen early is sometimes a risky proposition, but Ivan Provorov should be a no-brainer for the Flyers if they want to take a talented defender with their first-round pick.

The Brandon Wheat Kings’ rearguard has average size at 6’0” and 201 pounds, but that plays to his advantage. Provorov is an offensive defender with great poise, and he is known for his puck-distributing skills.

This strength also allows him to catch teams off guard when he decides to wind up on the power play for a slapper. He is an ideal top-four defender with top-pairing potential, and he isn't getting all the accolades he deserves.

Stats via Elite Prospects unless otherwise noted.