Flyers gear up for tonight's NHL draft

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - If the Flyers decide to draft a forward with the seventh overall pick tonight, they'll probably consider Mitch Marner. He's an excellent playmaker, a good skater and totally fearless.

No, really. The guy is fearless. Borderline nuts, even.

As part of promoting this weekend's draft, many of the top prospects made appearances around South Florida. Yesterday, they took a trip to the Everglades, a place inhabited by creatures that most of these kids have never seen in person.

"The girl who worked there said that we could hold a snake," said Marner, who had 126 points in 63 games for London, of the Ontario Hockey League, this past season. "I said I might as well try it, and I put it around my shoulders. I never got that close to a snake before."

The fun of this past week for these talented youngsters belies the seriousness of what will happen tonight, especially for the Flyers, who hold two first-round picks. Marner should go anywhere from fourth overall to eighth. The Flyers' first pick is No. 7. They also have No. 29.

Four of the top prospects already in the Flyers' farm system are defensemen - Travis Sanheim, Shayne Gostisbehere, Sam Morin and Robert Hagg. Scott Laughton is the top forward.

The Flyers have 10 overall picks, including five in the first three rounds. They don't necessarily have to target a forward at No. 7, but there are plenty of decent options if they do.

"This process is fun for us, but it's got to be fun for them as well," Marner said. "They get to pick a guy who in a few years can be a franchise player for them."

From Marner's lips to Mr. Snider's ears.

Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said last week that the top of this year's draft class is so deep that he would not pay a high price to trade up. He probably wouldn't trade down, either.

"I guess if someone threw something really stupid at [us]," were Hextall's exact words, "but I don't anticipate moving down."

The first two picks almost surely will be Connor McDavid by Edmonton and Jack Eichel to Buffalo. After that, who knows? Let the stupidity reign.

"I honestly don't know what to expect," said Dylan Strome, whose brother Ryan plays for the New York Islanders. "Sometimes, you meet with teams that are totally out of your range, but they want to get better and they may try to make trades to get higher picks. I'm just going in with an open mind."

Or, in Marner's case, a clear head.

"The snake wasn't too big, maybe two, three feet," said Marner, who is just 5-11 and about 160 pounds, so the snake was half as big as he is. "It was kind of a weird feeling to have it around my neck. I have no idea what kind of snake it was. I just got told it wouldn't bite me, so I put it on . . . My mom saw it and said, 'What are you doing?' "

If the Flyers stay at No. 7, it will be their second-highest selection since Chris Pryor became the team's scouting director. Philadelphia lost the lottery in 2007, Pryor's first draft, and selected James van Riemsdyk with the No. 2 pick. Patrick Kane (grrrr) went first to Chicago . . . The three times the Flyers have had No. 7, they selected Bill Barber (1972), Ken Linseman (1978) and Ryan Sittler (1992).

Forward Mikko Rantanen, 18, has played the last two season in Finland's top pro league. He would be a candidate to play in the AHL, but seemed a little cool to the idea. "If the NHL is not now, I just have to think what is best for me" Rantanen said. "Is it Finland or the AHL? I just have to think about that" . . . Next year's draft is in Buffalo.