Best Fit for Philadelphia Flyers in the 2015 NHL Draft

The Philadelphia Flyers have five picks in the first three rounds of the NHL draft, and general manager Ron Hextall has an opportunity to stock the prospect pantry.

There is also the chance that the team will trade some of these picks for some players who can help the squad going forward, but in either scenario, the Flyers will be better in 2015-16 than they were in 2014-15.

The Flyers' first pick is No. 7 overall, and they are poised to end up with an amazing prospect who could step in and help the team very soon. With that in mind, here is an overview of some of the best fits for the Flyers in the upcoming draft.

Players Signed for Upcoming Season, via General Fanager

Forwards

• Centers: Claude Giroux, R.J. Umberger, Vincent Lecavalier, Brayden Schenn, Sean Couturier and Zac Rinaldo
• Left Wingers: Michael Raffl and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare
• Right Wingers: Jakub Voracek, Wayne Simmonds and Matt Read

Defense

• Mark Streit, Andrew MacDonald, Luke Schenn, Nicklas Grossmann, Yevgeny Medvedev, Nick Schultz, Radko Gudas, Brandon Manning and Shayne Gostisbehere

Goaltending

• Steve Mason

Biggest Needs to Address in Draft

1) Scoring forwards: The Flyers are in a true cap hell, and they could have a problem trying to re-sign Jakub Voracek next summer. Grabbing a top-flight forward prospect with the No. 7 pick could help the Flyers get some cap relief, as it would allow them to move someone off the current roster. There's a chance R.J. Umberger or Vincent Lecavalier could be moved this summer, partially because of the salary and lack of talent.

2) Defenseman: The Flyers have more defenders than Taylor Swift has exes, so you might be surprised to see defense as a need to address via the draft. While the Flyers do have quantity on defense, they lack quality. There is a strong argument to be made for taking Ivan Provorov with the No. 7 pick, because he is someone with two-way skill and potential.

The Flyers may be in a tough spot by the time No. 7 is on the clock, and they may make their pick based on who is still available. In the past, quality players have slid down the chart, so it will be interesting to see what happens in a few weeks.

Mikko Rantanen

The Flyers should target Mikko Rantanen with their first pick in the 2015 NHL draft. He’s a speedy and creative offensive forward with good size at 6’4” and 195 pounds, and he is statistically comparable to Aleksander Barkov when he entered the draft.

In addition to that, the Flyers have superstar forward Jakub Voracek on the roster, and he’d be a great player for Rantanen to learn from. He may not be ready to make the jump to the NHL immediately, but he should come to North America to start his professional hockey career.

Jacob Larsson

The Flyers should use the No. 30 pick on a talented defender from Sweden. Jacob Larsson is a 6'2", 190-pound rearguard who spent the 2014-15 season with a number of teams in Frolunda.

He spent the majority of his time with the Frolunda J20 team in the SuperElit league, and he tallied 19 points in 30 games. He is a quality skater with significant upside, and he'd be a nice addition to the Philadelphia system.

The Flyers would be wise to take a goaltender with their second-round pick, because the franchise will need a goaltender in the coming years. Callum Booth is a 6'3" netminder with some promise, and he is very athletic for a larger goalie.

He spent the season with the Quebec Remparts and posted a record of 23-12-2 with a .900 save percentage. Booth is a butterfly goalie who moves well laterally, and he is adept at sealing off the bottom of the net. His weakness is high shots, but that can be fixed by adjusting his positioning and coming out and squaring up with shooters from the top of the crease.

Booth's season was limited after the Remparts traded for experienced netminder Zach Fucale, but he should be the top man in Quebec next season.

Nicolas Roy

The Flyers have a number of centers on their roster, but some of them may be traded in the next few seasons because of an impending salary-cap crunch.

With that in mind, taking a center in the third round makes sense. Nicolas Roy spent the season with the Chicoutimi Sagueneens, and he previously skated for the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. He's a prospect who has been on the radar of many scouts, but he fell to No. 45 overall in his final ranking after sitting at No. 25 at the midpoint.

Roy stands 6'4" and weights 195 pounds, and he admires Ottawa Senator pivot Mika Zibanejad. He may have only tallied 50 points in 68 games this past season, but there's room for him to improve going forward.

Andrew Nielsen

With the final pick of Round 3, the Flyers should go after a defender from the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Andrew Nielsen is a 6'3", 207-pound defender from Red Deer, Alberta, who grew up watching Dion Phaneuf.

He's a physical defender and a hard worker, and he told Kelly Friesen of Buzzing The Net that he tries to model his game after Jay Bouwmeester. Niesen finished his season with 24 points and 101 penalty minutes in 59 games.

Rasmus Andersson

The 6'4", 212-pound defender from Malmo, Sweden, was ranked No. 93 overall among North American skaters. He is a talented offensive defender who played for the Barrie Colts of the OHL, and he tallied 12 goals and 64 points in 67 games.

Andrew Mangiapane

The Flyers could also target another talented player from the Barrie Colts, and he's a forward whose favorite player is Martin St. Louis.

The 5'10", 170-pound winger went from No. 147 to No. 85 overall in the NHL's North American skater rankings, and that is because he had an amazing season. Mangiapane finished with 43 goals and 104 points in 68 games, and he could be a nice pickup in the later rounds of the draft.

List of draft picks via DraftSite.com, and stats via NHL.com and Elite Prospects unless otherwise noted.