Flyers have worst farm system in NHL
Daily News Flyers blog
Flyers have worst farm system in NHL
DALLAS -- It’s official.
The Flyers have the worst farm system in the NHL.
Even though the Flyers have had the lowest average first pick in the NHL draft every year since 2007, the Flyers’ farm system still ranks 30th in the NHL in viable prospects, according to The Hockey News’ annual “Future Watch” edition which was released this week.
The Flyers did not place a prospect in THN’s Top 50 list and the organization was given a C-minus grade by a panel of 18 scouts, the lowest grade league-wide.
Sure, it doesn’t help that the Flyers have had just one first round pick since 2008. They have needed to trade them to bring in worthwhile players like Chris Pronger and Kris Versteeg. But when they’ve had one, they’ve been pretty successful.
Every single one of the Flyers’ first round picks since 2000 – Justin Williams (now in LA), Jeff Woywitka (DAL), Joni Pitkanen (CAR), Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, Steve Downie (TB), Claude Giroux, James van Riemsdyk, Luca Sbisa (ANA) – are all playing in the NHL.
The Flyers have very few prospects in Adirondack - which has slowly but surely picked themselves out of last place in the AHL and out of contention for the worst record in franchise history - that project to make the NHL.
And without a first round pick again this year, the Flyers look to continue to bring in low-risk but high-reward players that went undrafted from the NCAA and CHL ranks. One big target on the Flyers’ list is Stephane Da Costa, a Paris, France native that plays at Merrimack College.
Da Costa, who was the NCAA’s Rookie of the Year last year as a freshman (collecting the first national award in school history), has guided the Warriors to the Hockey East semifinals for the first time since 1998. Merrimack takes on the University of New Hampshire tonight (Friday) at Boston’s TD Garden.
(Sidenote: UNH features three Philly natives: goalie Matt DiGirolamo [Ambler, Pa.], defenseman Matt Campanale [Chester Springs, Pa.], forward Greg Manz [West Chester, Pa.] and defenseman Eric Knodel [West Chester, Pa.]. Oh, and by the way, James van Riemsdyk would have been a senior this year.)
The Flyers can officially begin trying to persuade Da Costa to leave Merrimack once his season is over.
(Also a sidenote: which Daily News sports columnist attended Merrimack?)
THIS AND THAT: Here are a few quick stats from Thursday night’s shootout loss in Atlanta:
- The Flyers are now 2-4 in shootouts this season.
- Ville Leino played 20:08, his fourth 20+ minute game of the season.
- Braydon Coburn played 28:35, almost 4 minutes north of his season average. It’s the most he’s played since Apr. 12, 2009 against the Rangers.
- Danny Briere and Claude Giroux extended their point streak to 5 games.
- Briere posted his 4th career 30-goal season.
- The 49 total shots between the two teams tied for the fourth-fewest in a Flyers game and was the fewest since Jan. 22.
- Atlanta had gone to overtime in 15 of their last 36 games.
TIME CHANGE: Perhaps looking to cash in on the Flyers’ short memory against the Rangers after that 7-0 shellacking on national television on March 6, NBC has moved Apr. 3rd’s rematch against New York to 12:30 p.m. as it’s Game of the Week.
The game was originally scheduled for 3 o’clock.
It is one of two dates remaining this season for the Flyers on national TV. Tuesday’s test against Washington will also be televised on Versus.
Maybe NBC is on to something. You remember last time these two teams met in April on a Sunday afternoon, right?
For the latest updates, follow Frank Seravalli on Twitter: @DNFlyers
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Another reminder of how bad the Versteeg trade was. They needed those picks to add to the bare cupboard in the minors.— P Even- these team is stacked who cares about prospects. Id rather them win the cup then have the best farm system. The Flyers had the best farm system 3 years ago but now they are all in the NHL.— mattparis
- Second to last pic in a a draft with minimal talent is not going to help the farm team. The Versteeg trade was one of Homer's best.— maddog987
- Versteeg will be a good one....I think he just needs a training camp with his team.... it happens you dont shine after a trade...doesnt mean its a bad trade....yet.— Prausch
- Wes till play Carcillo and Shelly and you guys are complaining about Versteeg? He's way above Nodl and he's signed for next year, trade was a good one. Also the reason we dont have any prospects is because all our prospects turn into NHL players. On this team right now from the farm system is Carter, Richards, Giroux, Van Riemsdyk. How many teams can boast developing 4 players like that in about a 5 year span?— PhillySteve5
- The Flyers generally use young talent as trade chips anyway so it doesn't hurt as much right now. Jersey had a horrible minor league system all those years they were winning cups.
As for their horrible record in shoot-outs, the Flyers in general do not have any creative scorers on the team (Briere is kind of one) but rather guys who can finish and put the puck in the net. Shootouts are all about controlling the goalie which they cant do.— rvb2321 - To rvb's point, the shootout is an abomination, the skills involved to be successful are only somewhat related to the skills necessary to win a hockey game. But I guess we're stuck with it.
As for the farm system, I understand that with the Spectrum coming down, they had to move the Phantoms, but Adirondack is so far off the map that it's impossible to keep track of things there. When the team was here, you at least got highlights that filled in the space between Flyers games, and you had some sense of who players were before they were called up. (Doesn't have anything to do with the quality of the team or system, I'm just saying it helped create a stronger link between fans and the whole organ-eye-zation.)
Also, JVR may be developing into an okay player, but every time I see Patrick Kane's winning goal in the Finals last year, I cringe. He shoulda been our reward for that awful last-place season!— wmichael - Agreed about the shootout. It's like deciding a game with a dunk contest or whoever has the better touchdown dance. It's stupid.
- //Another reminder of how bad the Versteeg trade was.///
Versteeg is only 24 and improving. If you were going to pick a player int he late first round and you were sure that he would give you 50-60 points a season, you'd be really happy. That's exactly what the Flyers got with versteeg, without having to wait 3-4 years for him to develop.— General Turgidson 
Comment removed.- Hate to be negative but there is no Cup to be found in those 18+ seasons. — DennyP
- Versteeg is 24 and is already a valuable NHL player who made a big contribution to a Stanley Cup champion. Picked the wrong trade to make the argument against trading picks.— gee1971
- All of the Flyers 1st round picks since 2000 are playing at a high level in the NHL. The picks they traded, for the most part, brought quality players to Philly. The Flyers were in the SC Finals last year and appear destined for the same this year. I'll take that and the other teams can win the "best minor league talent" award every time. Who does have the best minor league talent anyway? Who cares?— topwonk
- You guys are idiots about shootouts....the games used to end in ties giving both teams a point. With the shootout, you get the opportunity, you wouldn't have otherwise, to get the extra point...all without losing the pt for getting to OT. Don't ever compare any part of ghettoball to hockey.— philly thug
- I may be an idiot, but I don't think my point about the skills needed to win a 60-minute hockey game vs. those needed to win a shootout being VERY different is inaccurate. Yes, I am aware that games used to end in ties -- for the entire history of hockey up until a few years ago. Nobody had a problem with it all those years. If the shootout is so great, how about we use it to settle tied playoff games like they do in the Olympics? — wmichael
- I am missing something with Versteeg but I just don't get it. He does nothing more than Nodl and is not as physical. Also, what is the deal with Richards? He makes all that money yet never has an impact on the outcome of the game and is certainly no game changer (just a slogging third line center).— bigtuna
- Versteeg was passed on by chicago...enough said — boulderflyer2
- It is a 100% certainty that they have the worst farm system in the NHL when it comes to developing a first class, game stealing goaltender. Anyone who argues that point really needs to see a psychiatrist. I am Oppressed.— Nuutron
- Who cares about minor league talent when you have the deepest core of forwards and d-men in the league? And a good portion of them are 25 and under....— Phront_Runner
- Comment removed.
- Good thing there are no shootouts in the playoffs.— ej610
- Bigtuna, did you even watch the montreal series last year?!? wait till the playoffs you clowns, before you start ripping richards like that. he's the only guy on his line making plays, they just go unnoticed because he has no help. also being able to split richards and carter up last year was key.
- I am fine with the Flyers "win now" mentality.........we just need to WIN NOW!!— Tar Heel 1
- jvr stinks.— kdub13
- The Futures Hockey site is a little skewed. It does not take into account all of the young stars that the Flyers have playing in the NHL. When you look at JVR, Giroux, and Sbisa in Anaheim, you will see that their drafting has been very good. These players could still be helping the farm system, but they are already helping NHL teams. I think that in professional sports, it is crucial to make huge judgements about a player based on 15 games. Versteeg does suck. He came to a team that was sucking, and he, and the team, continued to suck. Therefore the trade was bad. A 24 year old 20 goal scorer in the NHL, who has a Stanley Cup, well that means nothing. We have seen him play 15 games.— Hexy4GM
- shootouts are a wonderful minor league toy.— thelupe24
- Don't go by what Hockey News says.... they also said that we would win a series of cups by getting Eric Lindros....They are way over rated and very opinionated— fbpdplt
- Predictions are what they are...predictions,Athlon Sports
who label themselve"America's Premiere Sports Publisher"
had the Ravens over the Vikings for the Super Bowl in
Texas this year...hum Some of the best hockey writers,write
for the Hockey News,this year cup favorite,Vancouver.
Predictions are what they are...predictions dont sweat it.— mean mean pride,mean mean pride. - The Flyers are like the Eagles. Always good enough to finish second or third.— FlAJOE
- The Flyers are like the Eagles. Always good enough to finish second or third.— FlAJOE
- Wait a minute. Last in prospects? According to some of you there's this goalie named Leighton in the minors just waiting for his chance to lead the Flyers to the cup. Doesn't that count for anything?— SFPhillyphan
- Comment removed.
- @SFPhillyphan- do you know what a prospect is? The judgement is not just a grading based on the AHL Phantoms. The english language is pretty useful, you should try learning it.— Hexy4GM
- Shocking! The one man Leighton fan club that is Hexy has taken the bate. Too easy.— SFPhillyphan
- Sorry "bait". I guess you got me there Hexy. Learings my English that is. — SFPhillyphan
- The most common misconception on this board is that I am a Leighton fan. If you go back to the things I said in the offseason, and during this season, you will see that I just believe him to be the best option for this team to win...of the options available. I am simply someone that didn't fall for the fact that Bobrovsky was winning at the start of the season. I pointed out that he was letting in a lot of weak goals, and that he was the benefactor of an incredible offence. The season has proven me to be correct. I just want to see this team win another Stanley Cup before I die. Good to see that you are "learings" your english, SFphillyphan!— Hexy4GM
- We all know the goalie position in Philly has been overlooked for decades. Perhaps issues in the playoffs at that position will change things. We'll see. Go Flyers. I'd like to go to a Flyers game with you someday Hexy. — SFPhillyphan
- Comment removed.
- That stat is misleading. The Flyers have had several young prospects bypass the farm system like Richards, Carter, Bobrovsky, Giroux, and even some young players Sbisa who were traded for guys like Pronger. We have arguably some of the best young talent in the league which is why are farm system is down.— blackknight
- why the lovefest for versteeg? he has been brutal since coming over. i think hes just turned the puck over and we are still 4.5 hours to game time. maybe he will be better next year, but we didnt gethimfor next year— southernmost flyers fan
- Given the choice, would you rather have the best farm system or the best record in the Eastern Conference? It's an easy choice, and only those wanting to make a mountain out of molehill would chose the former.— IdahoMoose
