In his pre-draft press conference on Thursday, Philadelphia Flyers GM Danny Briere gave some insight not only into what the Flyers are planning to do in terms of moving up or down in the draft order, but also what the organization is seeking out in their prospects.
While the upcoming 2024 NHL Draft will only be Briere's second as general manager of the Flyers, he's already proven that he's not afraid to take risks when it comes to drafting players, and that willingness to take a chance on a player other teams might not jump on is a big part of the front office's identity when it comes to evaluating prospects.
"You're evaluating all kinds of things when it comes to that," he said. "When you take a swing on a guy that has a really high ceiling, you counter that with how much risk you're leaving out there. Obviously, we're all for it and we showed that last year with Matvei [Michkov], that we're willing to go there. And, if there's something that makes sense again, we will."
He's also acutely aware of where in the roster the Flyers have less depth, which factors into the decision-making as well.
"The talent level is an important one, [and] I don't want to go—because it's never going to be about the position—but obviously a center has, in general, more value," Briere admitted. "Teams want centers. They're a lot tougher to find. So, you've got to respect that as well when you're making your pick, and you're evaluating the players.
"If we have a hard time deciding between two players and one's a wing, one's a center, we might lean into a center, because let's face it, we're lacking centers coming up throughout the organization...But we're also not going to reach out if there's someone that makes too much sense, even if it's a winger...We still want to swing hard if the chance is there."
The key part of Briere's approach to drafting, however, comes in the fact that he doesn't have one type of player that he gravitates toward—"diversity" was the word he used to describe what he looks for in prospects.
"You can't have all the same. That's my belief," he said. "There's teams that have certain tendencies. I hope that we can diversify and bring all kinds of players—smaller, bigger, faster, more hockey sense. Those are probably some of the things we look at. The hockey sense is an important one. The speed in today's game is an important one. Position, you also try to diversify as much as possible."
He also believes that "early in the draft, you try not to have the position dictate too much on the player. You want to take the best players available. But as you get deeper into the draft, you try to fill the needs that you might have for the organization a little bit more."
Although he only has one draft under his belt so far, it's clear that Briere has his philosophy cemented when it comes to choosing young players to don the Flyers jersey, making this year's draft all the more anticipated.
