Let the rebuild begin!
New Philadelphia Flyers general manager Daniel Briere and President of Hockey Operations Keith Jones were busy Wednesday on the first night of the 2023 NHL Draft.
After jettisoning a number of veterans to clear salary for a long-overdue rebuild, the new Flyers front office got started by making two selections that the team hopes can revitalize the slumping franchise that has missed the playoffs four of the last five seasons.
Here’s who the Flyers selected in the first round on Wednesday night:
Matvei Michkov
The Flyers took a big swing with the No. 7 overall pick by selecting the Russian right winger, who has been playing with Sochi and is under contract with St. Petersburg of the KHL through the 2025-26 season.
So the team will have to be patient. When Michkov does arrive in Philly, he’ll bring plenty of talent.
The 5-foot-10, 172-pound forward is so elusive Arizona general manager Bill Armstrong called him a “ghost” on Tuesday.
“We hope that this turns out to be a home run. Time will tell,” Briere said Wednesday. “It’s a little early. But we feel when he’s ready to come, he could really be a difference-maker. And that’s the risk that we were willing to take it to wait a little bit, to hopefully have a difference-maker on our hands.”
Michkov brings speed and the kind of playmaking ability that could make him a superstar in the NHL. He persuaded the Flyers to be patient when they met with him a couple of times.
The Russian also made it clear he loves the Flyers.
“He wanted to be part of the Flyers,” Briere said. “We saw it on stage. His reaction was amazing. He convinced us basically in the meeting he wanted to be there and he wanted to be a Flyer. Our staff felt really good about selecting him.”
Oliver Bonk
With pick no. 22, the Flyers took the two-way defenseman from the Ontario Hockey League.
Bonk excels in the transition game — separates opponents from the puck and quickly turns the play up ice. He’s known as a sharp puck mover who gets outlets to the right spots and makes crisp breakouts.
He also has a big shot that he keeps low and on the net.
His father, Radek, was a first-round pick by the Ottawa Senators at No. 3 overall in 1994. They became the seventh father-and-son duo each selected in the first round of a draft over the last five years.
USA Today reporter Kyle Woodlief and The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Flyers draft picks: Philly takes Russian Matvei Michkov, Oliver Bonk