Expect Flyers to focus on big forwards in draft
Next month's draft is critical for the offensively challenged Flyers. They are loaded with promising defensive prospects but thin on up-and-coming forwards.
Next month's draft is critical for the offensively challenged Flyers. They are loaded with promising defensive prospects but thin on up-and-coming forwards.
For that reason, they are expected to go heavy on forwards - particularly those with good size - in the first few rounds.
In the last three years, the Flyers have selected a defenseman with their first overall draft pick. Look for that trend to change when they make the 17th or 18th overall selection in the first round on June 24.
The Flyers will pick 18th if Nashville loses its playoff series to San Jose. They will pick 17th if the Predators win the series.
The only time in franchise history the Flyers picked a forward with the 17th overall selection was in 1969, when they chose a wide-eyed kid from the tiny mining town of Flin Flon, Manitoba, a center who became the best player the organization has ever produced, Bobby Clarke.
Clarke, a Hall of Famer and three-time league MVP, was a second-round pick that year.
No one is suggesting that this year's selection is going to turn into the second coming of Clarke, who dropped to the 17th slot only because teams were reluctant to draft a player who was diabetic.
But the Flyers would be more than satisfied if the pick turned out to be someone as good as Zach Parise or Tomas Hertl, two other players chosen with the 17th pick.
As for the 18th pick, Glen Murray, Ken Daneyko, and Petr Sykora were some of the best selections in NHL draft history.
In the last two decades, most players picked at Nos. 17 and 18 have not turned out to be stars. Far from it.
The last time the Flyers had the No. 17 overall selection, they chose defenseman Travis Sanheim in 2014. He is considered one of the organization's premier prospects and probably will play in Lehigh Valley next season.
The only other times the Flyers selected 17th, they picked Kevin McCarthy in 1977 and Mark Suzor in 1976. Both had cups of coffee with the Flyers and were underwhelming defensemen, especially Suzor.
The Flyers have had the 18th pick only once in their history, selecting Bill Clement in the second round in 1970. Clement, now part of the team's broadcasting crew, had a solid 11-year career and was on two Stanley Cup champions with the Flyers.
The Flyers will have 10 picks in the seven-round draft, including five in the first three rounds. Here are some of the forwards who could be available when they make their first-round selection:
Keiffer Bellows, C/LW: 6-foot-1, 194 pounds, from U.S. National development team (USHL).
Skinny: The son of former NHL player Brian Bellows, he is a hard-nosed player and a great stickhandler who had 16 goals in 23 games last season.
Julien Gauthier, RW: 6-4, 224, from Val-d'Or (QMJHL).
Skinny: Combines speed with physicality and scoring (41 goals in 54 games) - and he would be hard to bypass if available.
Max Jones, LW: 6-2, 200, from London (OHL).
Skinny: A big, hard-nosed player with a scoring touch (28 goals, 106 penalty minutes), he was suspended for 12 games for a head shot in the playoffs.
Riley Tufte, LW: 6-5, 210, from Fargo (USHL).
Skinny: Headed to Minnesota Duluth, he skates well and had 10 goals and 14 points in 27 games last season.
Luke Kunin, C/LW: 6-0, 193, from the University of Wisconsin.
Skinny: A feisty player and team leader, he collected 19 goals and 32 points in 34 games last season.
German Rubtsov, C: 6-1, 180, from Russian junior national team.
Skinny: Known for his hard two-way play and his high hockey IQ, he had 12 goals and 26 points in 28 games.
Michael McLeod, C: 6-2, 187, from Mississauga (OHL).
Skinny: He had 21 goals and 61 points in 57 games and his speed would be a welcome addition to the Flyers.
Flyers scouting director Chris Pryor and his staff will also be trying to find a gem in the later rounds. Some names to remember if they are available in the second round: OHL center/right winger Nathan Bastien (6-4, 207); USHL left winger Cameron Morrison (6-2, 203); OHL left winger Tyler Benson (6-0, 201); OHL right winger Taylor Raddysh (6-1, 198); OHL left winger Boris Katchouk (6-1, 180); and OHL left winger Tim Gettinger (6-6, 203).
There can be great value in the second round. For proof, look at Wayne Simmonds, the right winger who led the Flyers with 32 goals this season and is one of the league's elite power forwards. Los Angeles selected him with the last second-round pick (61st overall) in 2007.
That was the year Jamie Benn, who has blossomed into arguably the NHL's best player, slipped to the fifth round (129th overall) before being drafted by Dallas.
In other words, trying to project how an 18-year-old will develop can be a crapshoot as much as a science.
@BroadStBull