The flyers enter the 2026 National Hockey League Draft with the 21st overall pick and a forward board that is still in motion. Daniel Briere and Brent Flahr have not shut the door on moving up or sliding back before Friday night, June 26.
That leaves the Flyers with two paths at Flyers' Draft Headquarters inside the Hard Rock Hotel in Atlantic City. They can make the 21st pick and stay with their usual best-available-player approach, or they can move the selection if the board shifts in their favor.
Maddox Dagenais fits the frame
Maddox Dagenais is one of the forward names in that range. The Quebec Remparts center-wing turned 18 on March 27, then finished the QMJHL season with 30 goals and 62 points in 62 games.
He also posted 1 goal and 1 assist at the 2026 Under-18 World Championships. At 6-foot-4 and 196 pounds, he gives the Flyers the kind of size and scoring production that can draw attention if they stay on the clock.
Jack Hextall adds another option
Jack Hextall gives the Flyers a different forward profile. The Youngstown Phantoms center is 6-foot-1 and 188 pounds, is headed to Michigan State next season, and comes with a 200-foot game and projectability as a top-nine NHL forward.
He is also a distant cousin of Ron Hextall, which adds a local layer to a prospect already being weighed on merit. Rolling Meadows, Illinois, is his hometown, and that combination of skating, responsibility and future college development keeps him in the same conversation as the other mid-first-round forwards.
Flyers keep the board open
The complication is simple: the Flyers say they use a best-available-player draft model with the first pick, but this board is being discussed through a forward lens. That means positional fit can help frame the conversation, yet it does not override the club's usual draft order if a different player grades higher.
For readers tracking the pick, the practical question is whether the Flyers keep the 21st selection or use it as trade capital before the first round begins. If they stay put, the focus turns to which forward sits highest on their board; if they move, the entire range changes with it.
