VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA - JUNE 22: Chuck Fletcher of the Philadelphia Flyers attends the 2019 NHL Draft at the Rogers Arena on June 22, 2019 in Vancouver, Canada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Photo Credit: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
In the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, the Philadelphia Flyers cashed their first two picks in for two American born players, offensive defenseman Cam York, and the offensively gifted Bobby Brink. See a theme? Chuck Fletcher, in his first draft as General Manager (GM) of the Flyers, loaded up on offensive talent at the top of the draft. Aspects of the Flyers game that plagued the teams success leading up to last year’s draft was their lack of goal scoring and their inefficiency on both special teams units (powerplay and penalty kill). York displayed electrifying puck movement and intriguing hockey IQ with the United States National Development Program team and has shown elite powerplay quarterback skill replacing Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes as Michigan’s go-to puck mover on the top unit. Brink, while not the most prolific skater, never fails to razzle and dazzle the spectators when he possesses the puck, as his creativity and vision are already at a pro level. Both of these players bring their unique talents to a Flyers prospect pool that never seems to get smaller, and that shouldn’t change this year.
With NHL Central Scouting releasing their Mid-Season rankings for upcoming prospects eligible for the 2020 draft, I thought it would be fitting to dish out a few names for us Flyers fans to keep an eye out for in the first round as the draft approaches this coming June. Now obviously, there is still over half the season, and the entire playoffs yet to be played, so the position of the Flyers first round pick is completely unknown and will remain that way until at least after the trade deadline.
Throughout the season, the Flyers have found themselves on both sides of the playoff wall. On December 1st, the Broad Street Bullies sat fifth in the league and third in the division behind the Washington Capitals and New York Islanders. Currently, the Flyers sit at 15th in the NHL at 25-17-6, after going 4-5-1 in their last ten games, and find themselves on the outside looking into the playoffs, tied with, but behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference (Columbus has the edge on ROW). The play of the team recently can be described by one word, streaky. At home this year, the Flyers are 15-4-4, and look comfortable and poised in front of their home fans. Contrarily, on the road, the Flyers are a measly 10-13-2, and have shown struggles in finding consistency in playing on opposing ice. Carter Hart has been other-worldly at times, but also has shown his age and experience against some tough opposition and has now experienced the first real injury of his career. However, it is safe to say the Flyers will not need to target a goalie this year, as our pipeline is filled with up-and-coming netminders who can replace Brian Elliott as a compliment to Hart in the near future. Points from the back end have increased from last year, mostly due to the emergence of workhorse Ivan Provorov, however the Flyers still find themselves in the middle of the pack in the special teams’ department, currently sitting 20st in the league in Power Play percentage (18.9%) and 12th in the league in penalty kill percentage (81.6%).
With the ups and downs of the Flyers recent play, it is almost impossible to predict where the Flyers are going to finish come April. However, this year’s draft board is filled with exciting talent from all over the world, and no matter where they finish in the standings and where their first-round pick will be, the Flyers should have their choice of some thrilling new young pieces to bring into the prospect pool. So, here is a list of six North American and International skaters the Flyers should keep an eye on throughout the last half of the season.
North American Skaters:
- Braden Schneider – Defenseman: Brandon Wheat Kings, WHL
- The only defenseman on my list, Schneider stands at 6’2” and weighs just under 220 pounds. He plays an extremely steady game, as Schneider has donned the “A” on his sweater for the last two years and has proven he can be a solid force on the back end while also pinching in with some intelligent offensive production. If there was one area of the Flyers that could be deemed a weak spot would be the lack of depth at right-handed defenseman, and Schneider just happens to be a righty. He would be an ideal fit on a future pairing with Cam York, as they both provide their own style of play that should complement each other, York being more offensive minded, and Schneider bringing that physical two-way game. The Flyers may not look to go defense, but if Schneider is sitting there when Fletcher is making the pick, he would definitely be intriguing.
- Connor Zary – Center: Kamloops Blazers, WHL
- One of the older players among top draft prospects (born September 25, 2001), Zary’s maturity and poise with the puck is extremely high. He is a talented two-way Center, capable of making a clutch poke check and turning on the jets to create any type of offense. In his past two season with Kamloops, he has racked up 120 points in 100 games, but more impressively has a combined +41 over that time. He could be a future penalty killing center, and also a core piece of this offense.
- Ozzy Wiesblatt – Right Wing: Prince Albert Raiders, WHL
- First off, what a name. Any fanbase would dream of having a player with a name like Ozzy. With experience playing at both center and wing, he provides insane versatility up and down the lineup. The Flyers are notorious for moving forwards to different positions to find what clicks (i.e. Giroux, Raffl, Laughton), and Wiesblatt would be able to thrive in all situations. At 5’10”, 183 lbs. he’s not the biggest force out there, but he plays with a mean edge that would show great in orange and black.
European Skaters:
- Rodion Amirov – Left Wing: Salavat Yulaev Ufa, KHL
- A menace with the puck, Amirov has the rare ability to see a play before it happens. Watching his highlights, he always seems to find himself in the right spot, with his head up and stick on the ice ready to bury one. He is regarded as one of the best two-way wingers in the draft, able to help out defensively before picking apart opposing goalies (Just watch his highlight video and find the OT winner, it’s a dazzler). He has been a force in the Russian junior league, and even though he hasn’t sparked too much success in the KHL, he is still worth a first-round pick.
- Noel Gunler – Right Wing: Luleå HF, SHL
- A goal-scoring machine, Gunler possesses pro-level quickness and accuracy in his shot, and his hockey IQ is elite, able to create offense in very limited space. The Flyers are slim at players with shoot first mentality, and Gunler has just that. Adding a scorer like him would definitely increase scoring chances and shot totals on both the powerplay and 5-on-5, while also hopefully increasing scoring as a whole. He scored 27 goals in 31 games in 2018-2019 in the Swedish junior league and is poised to be a lethal scorer one day.
- Kasper Simontaival – Right Wing: Tappara Jr., Jr. A SM-liiga
- The lowest ranked player on the list, NHL Central Scouting ranked Simontaival 36th among European prospects in this upcoming draft. In recent mocks, he is predicted to go anywhere from late first-round to early third-round. If the Flyers finish with a late first-round pick, then getting Kasper would be great value. His offensive game can hardly go unnoticed, as he’s over a point per game in Finland’s Junior A league. He is a legit threat with the puck and would give the Flyers another weapon upfront. Standing at 5’9” and weighing 172 pounds, Kasper’s physical and defensive game needs further development, however his talent offensively will surely make scouts pay attention.
I Hate to say this, but last year’s Flyers draft was a disaster. Both Cam York and Bobby Brink are extremely small players. York I would say, after watching him for four days at last year’s development camp, is tiny, at least for a future as an NHL defenseman. I would say he is $’10” tall without skates on and maybe 155lbs at the most. I’ve watched him this year in a number of televised games that he has played in with his college team, the University of Michigan. Yes, York is a smart player and setup guy. He does have smarts and great passing skills, but to play in the NHL as a defenseman, he will have to grow…. a lot. His playing time at the U-20 World Junior Tournament was a big disappointment also. He only played single shifts on power plays in each game, then sat the bench for the rest of the game as the 7th defenseman. I’m wondering if York looked good last year because he played with Jack Huges. Hughes made everyone around him better, including York. Even Cole Caufield looked mediocre for Team USA without Hughes passing him the puck this year.
I hate to say this, but I don’t think Cam York will ever be able to play in the NHL due to his lack of size.
Then there’s Bobby Brink. He’s REALLY small for a forward. I love his ability to generate energy and he was used in that role on the 4th line for Team USA in the recently completed U-20 World Junior Tournament. He was roughed up along the boards and I just don’t see Brink being able to deal with players 8″-12″ taller than he is, in the NHL either. Brink sort of reminds me of Ken Linseman, but is smaller even than “The Rat” was when he played for the Flyers. Plus LInseman was a great puck handler and created a lot of offense with his skating ability. Brink is pretty much a straight ahead skater, but very good around the offensive net. Out in the open and along the boards, Brink is not able to take on bigger players.
I would say Chuck Fletcher is a poor judge of talent, especially when compared to Ron Hextall, who found four of five good NHL prospects in everyone of his Flyer drafts as GM. You can bet Hextall would never have taken York or Brink. There were some very good players still on the board when the Flyers picked in rounds one and two and Fletcher missed them.
Braden Scheider seems like the best pick in above! But i have scouted players in world juniors, and also right shooting defense-man Kubicek from Czechs team was playing very well. Kubicek who plays his hockey at Seattle, is also great sized defender who played as much on Czechs team as Zamula did with team Russia, and was Czechs number one defense-man, while year younger! And national team coaches tend to know, whom to depend on, so i think this Kubicek can be the steal of the draft! Central scouting have Kubicek at number 106 on their site! So we don”t have to use our first rounder on Kubicek, so Chucky do not sleep on Kubicek! We can scout him at the same time, when we go watch Roddy Ross playing in Seattle! I tend to scout young players to Flyers the team i love!
Excellent review, Josh! Go Flyers!