They won't select until the third round, a pick acquired from Pittsburgh last year for the rights to Dan Hamhuis.
Experts say this is a good, but not great, draft.
"It's deep, but the top end isn't real high," Chris Pryor, the team's director of hockey operations, said. "I don't know if I'd call it star-studded."
Pryor is the Flyers' always-on-the-go draft expert. He spends more than half the year traveling around Europe and North America, trying to uncover a hidden gem.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, an 18-year-old center, is expected to be the No. 1 overall selection, but "the No. 2 pick could be any of four or five guys," Pryor said.
Unless they make a deal to move up, the Flyers won't pick until the No. 84 selection. They have two fourth-round picks (Nos. 116 and 118), the latter acquired in last year's Simon Gagne trade with Tampa Bay; a sixth-rounder (No. 176); and a seventh-rounder (No. 206).
Their fifth-round pick was sent to Detroit in the Ville Leino trade.
The Flyers will not concentrate on any particular position, said Pryor, who spent parts of six seasons playing for the Minnesota North Stars and New York Islanders.
"Your strength today can be your weakness tomorrow," he said, "so you draft the best player available."
Added general manager Paul Holmgren: "I think if you look at our team right now, we are very strong down the middle, and I think [on] our NHL team we have a couple older guys on the back end, Kimmo [Timonen] and Chris [Pronger]. But we do have some good guys that are fairly young - Braydon [Coburn], Matt Carle, and [Andrej] Meszaros are still all still fairly young if you consider their age. . . . Obviously, we are going to try to draft the best player available regardless of the position."
But Pryor did concede that if the players on the board are equal, the Flyers would "lean toward defensemen" because those players are more difficult to find. Especially righthanded shooters.
Left winger Adam Reid, a 6-foot-4, 205-pounder, and defensemen Jonathan Racine (6-1, 182), Sam Grist (6-4, 200), and Troy Vance (6-6, 203) are among the players who could be available when the Flyers draft. All are on the club's radar.
Despite not having a pick until No. 84, Pryor and his staff are preparing as if they have an early selection - just in case a deal is made. The Flyers and Columbus have been talking, and the Blue Jackets have been dangling their first pick, No. 8 overall.
"It's a fairly good draft; there are some good top-end guys," Holmgren said. "From 17 down, you might get the same player. They are all good prospects, so it's a considerable draft."
Contact staff writer Sam Carchidi at scarchidi@phillynews.com or @BroadStBull on Twitter.
Inquirer staff writer Tim Rohan contributed to this article.
