Should a 6-foot-7 center have the Flyers’ attention in first round of draft?

Should a 6-foot-7 center have the Flyers’ attention in first round of draft? originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

For the first time in a while, the Flyers are coming off a playoff run.

That, of course, makes life a little different for the club’s amateur scouting staff leading up to the 2026 NHL draft. Barring a trade, the Flyers will pick at 21st overall. It’s their lowest first-round spot since 2020.

But that was when the Flyers drafted a foundation piece, grabbing Tyson Foerster at 23rd overall.

So the Flyers know the draft is still critical to what they want to do, even when they’re lower in the order.

“We’ve said it for a long time, we wanted to build a team that was going to be here for a long time; not just to go for it for a year or two,” general manager Danny Briere said last month. “That’s still the same approach on my end.”

After the recent trade with the Maple Leafs, the Flyers have only four picks in this draft, which will be held June 26-27. The first round is Friday at 7 p.m. ET, while Rounds 2-7 are Saturday starting at 11 a.m. ET.

“I’ll tell you how I feel about drafts and I’ll be totally blunt with you,” TSN director of scouting Craig Button said June 2 in a phone interview with NBC Sports Philadelphia. “I think it’s f—ing bulls–t when I hear about, ‘Oh, this draft isn’t as good.’ Here are the numbers. Approximately 45 players from any draft will play 350 games or more in the NHL. It might be 47 one year, 42 another year. That’s the number — you get 45 players that’ll play 350 games or more with varying degrees of success.

“And I know this about the draft. The teams that get good players from the draft say it was a good draft. The teams that don’t get good players from the draft say it wasn’t a good draft. So when people start telling me about a draft ahead of time, I call bulls–t.”

Last summer, the Flyers made nine selections, with six coming over the first two rounds. Porter Martone was their headliner at sixth overall. Now the Flyers will try to hit on a pick in the 20s.

“What you’re trying to do is find a player that you feel has the potential to be an NHL player,” Button said. “That might be a third-line center, that might be a second-line scoring winger. Hey, listen, maybe you get David Pastrnak, who’s a superstar (drafted 25th overall in 2014).

“But the focus has to be on, ‘OK, what type of player do we like, what type of player do we think the guy can be?’ And then get after it and understand what the development path is, and then try to help that player be the best he can be. Put a stake in the ground and celebrate who you’re drafting.”

Before the draft arrives, we’re breaking down first-round targets for the Flyers.

Next up:

Brooks Rogowski

Position: Center
Height: 6-foot-7
Weight: 235
Shoots: Right
Team: Oshawa

Scouting report

The massive pivot uses his frame and length to be a disruptive role player. He’ll make life difficult on the opponent by setting up in front of the net and being opportunistic offensively. He also moves well for his size.

Rogowski was limited to 46 games this season because of some injuries, but he put up 42 points (15 goals, 27 assists) in 46 games for Oshawa. He had nine multi-point games. His minus-24 rating came on a Generals team that finished last in the OHL and owned a minus-96 goal differential.

The 17-year-old opened some eyes with his effectiveness on Team USA at the 2026 IIHF U-18 World Junior Championship, a tournament that ended last month. Rogowski had three assists and a plus-4 rating in four games.

“The thing with him was I actually liked him the best at the U-18s,” Daily Faceoff associate editor and prospect analyst Steven Ellis said last Tuesday in a phone interview with NBC Sports Philadelphia. “He was a fourth-line center at that tournament. I think that was where he really started to show that when he’s in a fourth-line role, he can overwhelm guys, he can go out there and take space away, push guys around. He has got the big frame obviously — 6-foot-7 and, like, 2-bazillion pounds. He’s a heavy dude.”

Rogowski, who turns 18 next week, probably has a ceiling of a third-line center in the NHL. He’s not expected to be a scorer at the next level, so his upside is not as high. But his sheer size and mobility could give him a real solid career.

He’s the 31st-ranked player on Ellis’ final top-120 draft board. His recent performance at the U-18s should help his stock.

“He really showed he can be a prototypical fourth-line center who can actually move pretty well, he can bully guys,” Ellis said. “He’s not necessarily a mean player, but he can be if he needs to and he has got a long reach.

“It seems like a fourth-line center is kind of where he is and that’s partly why I don’t really have him highly rated. I think he’s going to play a lot of games in the NHL, which is why he’s at least a second-round pick. But I don’t think he’s a first-round talent, that’s my concern.”

Rogowski is No. 29 on EliteProspects.com, but he’s down at No. 61 on Button’s June 17 list. He’s No. 21 among North American skaters on NHL Central Scouting.

(Natalie Shaver/OHL Images)

Fit with Flyers

The Flyers traded up in the first round last summer to draft a big center in Jack Nesbitt. They also took Matthew Gard, another tall and rangy center, in the second round.

Those selections may make Rogowski a little less appealing to the Flyers.

But if the Flyers wanted to continue with an imposing look down the middle, Rogowski would bolster that theme. The Flyers would have a ton of size with Rogowski, Nesbitt, Gard and Jack Berglund, a 2024 second-rounder.

However, Rogowski might project as a fourth-liner in the NHL. It’s possible the Flyers would like more potential at No. 21. If anything, perhaps they could aim for him by trading up in the second round. And that’s if Rogowski falls into the Day 2 action.

More targets

• Could Lawrence’s early jump to college have him fall to Flyers in draft?

• Will Flyers eye 6-foot-4 forward with ‘goal-scoring hands’ at No. 21?

• Palmieri ‘type of player’ may be available for Flyers at No. 21 in draft

• Russian center with pro build has interesting case for Flyers at No. 21

• Lin has ‘Brandon Montour profile,’ but will he be there for Flyers at No. 21?

• D-man with ‘unbelievable maturity to his game’ could be option for Flyers at No. 21

• ‘Second-line center all day long’ should intrigue Flyers in draft

• ‘This kid is a hell of a player’ — Flyers could draft 45-goal, 104-point winger

• Is Novotny, a winger that’s ‘so dangerous around the net,’ a fit for Flyers?

• A Drysdale type of defenseman for the Flyers at No. 21 in the draft?

• Another OHL first-rounder for Flyers? Klepov, with 97 points, has tons of appeal