ATLANTIC CITY — Noel Cronon and Sarah Colon, both native Philadelphians and devoted Flyers fans, had never met in person before the Flyers Draft Party in Atlantic City on Friday night.
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The two first connected through Flyers Nation, a Facebook group with more than 67,000 members where fans discuss the team and post updates. Cronon saw Colon in the group, and reached out and asked if she wanted to go to the draft party together.
“There aren’t a lot of female Flyers fans, so it’s nice that we found each other,” Cronon said. “There are a lot of women here tonight though, which is good to see.”
Several hundred Flyers fans came together as a fan base at the Sound Waves Theatre at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City to celebrate the 2026 NHL draft. Orange balloons, streamers and Flyers memorabilia decorated the venue while fans came decked out in their best Flyers merchandise.
To kick off the night, broadcasters Jim Jackson, Tim Saunders and Steve Coates took the stage to share their thoughts on what general manager Danny Brière might do with the team’s first-round pick and energize the crowd.
“We are back,” Coates said when he addressed the crowd. “Remember, this is a team that is going places.”
The Austin City Nights band started the party, while the beginning of the draft played from monitors above the stage. Forward Porter Martone joined the band onstage and Gritty, the beloved Flyers mascot, posed for selfies and photos while Jackson went around the audience speaking with fans and taking photos.
Father and son Grant and Trent Kitchenman have been season ticket holders since 1992, and said that they never miss events like this.
“It’s really cool that they allow fans in on the draft night experience,” Grant said. “It makes it more personable and you get to see some of the players which is cool.”
Garett Babik couldn’t have imagined watching the draft anywhere else.
His dad took him to a playoff game against the Boston Bruins in 2010, and he’s been hooked ever since. During this year’s playoff run, Babik attended games dressed as Darth Vader to show his support for goalie Dan Vladař.
“I’ve been a fan my entire life,” Babik said. “This is my life. I love this team from the bottom of my heart, and I can’t express that enough.”
When it came time for the Flyers to make their first-round selection, the band stopped playing and the theatre became quiet. Fans turned their attention to the monitors, and anxiously waited for the announcement.
When the trade alert came up on the screen and the NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced the trade, the crowd booed.
Babik was not thrilled with the move either, he said.
“I’m going to be totally blunt. I didn’t like it,” he said. “[Dallas Stars winger] Jason Robertson has been on the market, and I was hoping they would’ve got him. Don’t get me wrong, I understand we only have four picks in this draft, and they wanted to get more.”
After they traded the 21st pick to the San Jose Sharks, moving down to the 27th pick, some fans immediately left, leaving the true diehards to wait until their pick.
Among them were Eddie Bertino and Scott Parker, childhood friends from South Jersey who grew up playing hockey together and played in under-30 and under-40 leagues.
Bertino started playing hockey when he was five years old, with Parker’s dad as his coach. Both became lifelong Flyers fans thanks to their fathers, who had season tickets and attended the Flyers’ Stanley Cup victory in 1975.
When Bertino secured the tickets for the draft party, he knew Parker was the right person to accompany him.
“He is one of my few diehard Flyers fan friends,” Bertino said. “ I didn’t want to be here with some poseur, I wanted to be here with another diehard.”
By 10:20 p.m., with the Flyers still waiting to pick and it being a Friday night in Atlantic City, Bertino was surprised so many fans decided to leave, but he wasn’t surprised with Brière’s trade.
“The past two years he’s made some sort of trade, it’s kind of his thing,” Bertino said.
Many fans didn’t stay around long enough to see the Flyers pick 6-foot-7 defenseman Maksim Sokolovskii with the 27th overall pick.
However, a similar sentiment was shared with fans throughout the night — the future of Flyers hockey is bright and they are proud to be a part of the fan base.