Philadelphia Flyers’ general manager Daniel Brière and members of the organization’s brass were very active in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. This past weekend, the Flyers selected two centers before turning to a blueliner in the second round. Philadelphia’s first-round pick was used on Jett Luchanko, 13th overall, with the 51st pick in the second round being used on Jack Berglund.
Related: Flyers’ Briére Sticks to Bold Nature with Jett Luchanko Pick
Philadelphia used their third pick to select defenseman Spencer Gill, 59th overall. The blueliner, who will turn 18 years old on Aug. 17, is a towering figure on the ice, standing at 6-foot-4, 185 pounds. Leading up to this year’s draft, he was number 29 on NHL Central Scouting’s ranking of North American skaters. Spencer comes from a hockey family. He is one of three hockey-playing brothers which includes older brother Dyllan, a Tampa Bay Lightning prospect. A fellow defenseman, Dyllan served as the captain of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League’s (QMJHL) Rouyn-Noranda Huskies last season.
The New Brunswick native was targeted by members of the Flyers on draft night because he is a two-way defenseman, who is well-known in the QMJHL for his toughness and physical play. Gill caught the eye of professional scouts over the 2023-24 campaign because of continuous and significant improvement in his overall play in the league.
Rimouski Océanic
Gill has played in two seasons in the QMJHL as a member of the Rimouski Océanic. He had a relatively slow adjustment to the league during the 2022-23 campaign, recording four assists and 16 penalty minutes in 41 games. Despite these unimpressive numbers during the regular season, he stacked on an additional four points (one goal and three assists) in nine postseason games.
Gill’s performance this season was far better, and undoubtedly earned him his selection in the draft. In 65 games with the Océanic, the imposing blueliner had 46 points (12 goals and 34 assists). He had nine multi-point games, including three-point efforts on March 3 and March 23. The right-shot defenseman’s quality time spent on the ice was especially evident in his plus-8 rating during the regular season. He also stepped up his physical level of play in the QMJHL during the 2023-24 campaign, racking up 62 penalty minutes. Gill’s outstanding performance last season was rewarded with a selection to the Canadian Hockey League’s (CHL) Top Prospects Game in February. He was also tied for seventh overall in the goals-by-defensemen category across the QMJHL.
In the postseason, the Océanic squared off against the Cape Breton Eagles in the first round of the QMJHL Playoffs. In a hard-fought series, Cape Breton defeated the Océanic in five games. Gill’s impressive playmaking skills and passing abilities were on full display in this series, as he recorded five assists in the matchup. He was teammates with three other NHL prospects last season: the Anaheim Ducks’ Alexandre Blais, the Florida Panthers’ Luke Coughlin, and the Montreal Canadiens’ Quentin Miller.
Team Canada
In addition to playing in two seasons of QMJHL hockey, Gill has also appeared in international competition with Team Canada. In the 2024 IIHF World Under-18 Championship in Finland, he was a member of the Canadian team that captured a gold medal. He recorded two assists in the tournament, the first against Kazakhstan on April 30 and a second against Sweden on May 4. In seven appearances, Gill had four penalty minutes and a minus-1 rating.
Road to the NHL
Gill is likely a few years out from the NHL. The blueliner is set to rejoin the Océanic for his third season in the QMJHL this fall. As one of the younger players available in the draft, he still has much room to develop before turning professional. His recent statistics in the juniors show that Gill certainly has the necessary tools and potential to develop into one of the Flyers’ future stars on defense. However, to become an NHL-caliber blueliner he must continue to work on bulking up to support a successful transition of his preferred physical style of play from the juniors to the professional level. A significant aspect of his selection by the Flyers is that it shows the organization has a clear vision to add sizable, tough, and physical defensemen to the big league roster in the coming seasons. If developed properly, two-way defensemen like Gill can become potent weapons in the arsenal of a franchise that seeks more consistency in its postseason berths.
