Hello and welcome to another special edition of the Hockey Writers Ink. In this episode, Steel and I are getting ready for the upcoming NHL Entry Draft with my picks of who the Flyers should select not only in the first round, where some so-called experts’ knowledge stops but through all seven rounds.  That’s right; I said seven because even though Philadelphia does not currently have a second-round pick this year, some insiders have said despite that fact, they were doing their due diligence anyway on projected second-rounders at the combine. Could that be a hint that they may want to move up? Who knows, but just in case management does decide to sneak into the tail end of the second to take a player that they think will not be there come the beginning of the third round, I made a suggestion for them then to. 

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This all, of course, is based off my most recent article, which you can read by clicking the link below. 

I genuinely believe there is a lot of future NHL talent in this year’s draft, even coming from the later rounds. This year like no other, will be interesting because with COVID causing the OHL to shut down last season, there are many more players to be had that didn’t get the chance to prove themselves to the masses in their draft year.

So, without further ado, let’s get this selection process underway. 

Photo Credit: Rena Laverty

Yes, it’s that time again, folks, when the Flyers will let us all down by selecting someone they shouldn’t or draft a player with promise only to ruin them later once they enter into Philadelphia’s less than stellar player development program. But despite all that, I’m here to give you my list of some names who the Flyers’ general manager Chuck Fletcher should be calling in the coming weeks.  

Round: 1

Thanks to a multitude of injuries this year, management’s unwillingness to bring in a new head coach mid-season after firing AV, and certain prospects (Morgan Frost, etc.) not advancing their games this season to any level that would be helpful. Philadelphia finds themselves with a top-five draft pick this year. And with Giroux now gone and past decisions when in a similar position a few years ago not turning out so well (Nolan Patrick), the Flyers have to get this pick right. The fan base needs a new face of the franchise. Someone they can both believe in and whose jersey won’t be found in every Goodwill Store in the tri-state in five years’ time. To prevent that from happening before we can officially get started, we have to go over a few of this year’s top prospects that the Flyers should stay away from, such as damaged goods like right-hand shooting defenseman David Jiricek who has already had to have one major knee surgery in his just 18 years on this earth. Then there’s Finnish-born winger Joakim Kemell who, while offensively gifted, suffered a shoulder injury this season that he was eventually able to return from physically but was never able to produce at the same level upon his return to play. If you want to know more about these cautious tales, you can read this article I wrote back in May on them.  

So, if not those players, who then? Well, either Slovakian-born winger Juraj Slafkovský or defenseman Simon Nemec would be great, but they both will most likely be off the board by the time the Flyers make their selection. Diminutive winger Matthew Savoie would have made a lot of sense before the Flyers decided not to sign his similar stature, high-scoring Winnipeg Ice linemate Connor McClennon who they drafted back in 2020. 

Cutter Gauthier   

That said, my pick for the Flyers 5^th overall selection would be U.S.A.-born product Cutter Gauthier. Standing at 6’3 and weighing in at over 200 pounds, Cutter already has an NHL frame, and he is capable of playing both the wing and the center position, which would help this team out immensely. Starting out this season, Cutter was considered to be but a piece on a very good United States Development Program Team but ended up quickly making a name for himself this season, playing more of the power forward role. Using his size to his advantage, Gauthier out-hustled and out-muscled his way to be one of the team’s best players. To which you should know, he even outscored prized prospect Logan Cooley this year in goals 53 to 40 when you combined both their USHL game schedule and their USDP schedule, which has them playing against some of the NCAA’s best. Currently, the Flyers lack size, grit, and scoring ability, but with just one pick, they could land all of that and so much more by taking Cutter with the 5^th selection. 

(Here’s an article I wrote on him way back in March if you want to learn more about him)

2nd Round Pick

Yes, I know the Flyers don’t currently have a second-round pick, but that hasn’t stopped Chuck and his crew from talking to a number of players at the NHL combine this year who are projected to be drafted in the second round. Everyone, including Chuck, knows that he is on a short leash right now with the team’s recent failures, and has let it be known that he will be doing anything in his power to get this team back to their winning ways next season in order to save his job. And as we all know, when Fletcher has been high on a prospect in the past, he has been known to move up in the draft to get his guy. Perhaps the best example of that is 2020’s Zayde Wisdom which the team moved up to the fourth round that year to be able to select him. Now, do I think the team potentially moving up is wise? Not really, but it would depend on a lot of things; how far are up are we talking? How much will it cost the Flyers to do so? And who exactly is the player the team is trying to move up for? If anyone of the following forwards, Jagger Firkus, Ivan Miroshnichenko, or defenseman Seamus Casey falls to the second round, I would be willing to make a move without hesitation. But I think a more likely move would be if the Flyers believe that a team might take right-hand-shot defenseman Christian Kyrou late in the second round instead letting him fall to them at the beginning of the third. Only then might they be willing to move up a few spots in order to acquire him. 

Christian Kyrou

Brother of St. Louis Blues star Jordan Kyrou, Christian has become one of this draft’s fastest risers thanks to him having a breakout season this year while playing for the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). What blindsided most is that before this season, Christian did not even have a single point in juniors because last season, the OHL was shut down due to COVID, and two years ago, when Kyrou was just 16 years old, he only got to play in a handful of games. So, you can see why at the start of the season, no scout was probably blocking off his schedule to come to see Kyrou play. Christian’s efforts this year quickly changed that, though, resulting in teams scrambling to get their guys up to Lake Erie to see this kid play. Gifted with an NHL-level shot, this offensive defenseman, who stands at roughly 5’11 and 175 pounds, scored 18 goals and 42 assists for 60 points this year in just 68 games played. While Kyrou will most likely need a little more time to refine his game before making the jump to the professional level, he most certainly has all the intangibles to one day be a power-play specialist on the world’s largest stage. 

(Want to view this guy in action? Click the link below to watch a video in the article I wrote on him a few weeks back) 

3^rd Round

If the Flyers do not move up to the 2^nd round to select a player, they want. They should look to draft from a position of familiarity with their 3^rd round selection. Elliot Desnoyers, the Flyers 2020 5^th-round selection, is the prospect that the majority of fans here in Philly are the most excited about. Since Chuck drafted this virtually unknown prospect a few years ago, Desnoyers’ development has grown by leaps and bounds. The reason for that is his chemistry with linemate/right-winger Jordan Dumais, whose totals combined with Desnoyers equated to an unheard-of 197 points this season.   

Jordan Dumais

Who is Jordan Dumais, who may be asking? He is a diminutive player who currently stands at just 5’9 and 165 pounds. But his size while playing in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League this season didn’t seem to be an issue considering Dumais finished the season third in the entire league in points with a total of 109. Breaking that down, Jordan played in 68 games, where he was able to total 39 goals and 70 assists for 109 points. That’s a 1.60 points-per-game average if your keeping track. Hands down, Dumais and Desnoyers, are the best duo Halifax has had since the Mooseheads won the Memorial Cup back in 2013; when newly crowned Stanley Cup Champion Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin (who collectively only scored 180 points during the regular season that year) were patrolling the Scotiabank Centre. And could you imagine if an NHL team ended up with both of them playing on the same line together? If the Flyers were to select Dumais, it would not only give them another offensive talent in their prospect pool but almost certainly ensure that Desnoyers would continue to develop into his untapped potential.  

(To get a more in-depth look at Jordan, here is an article that I featured him in back in April)

4^th Round Pick

For my 4^th round selection, I would suggest to the Flyers that they draft not just an amazing talent but also an amazing human being. Way back in January, I wrote an article about some mid-to-late round draft prospects that Philadelphia should keep an eye on, and one of those players, Connor Kurth, was included in that article.   

Connor Kurth 

Kurth is a 5’11, 207-pound 18-year-old forward who just finished playing his second season in the United States Hockey League for the Dubuque Fighting Saints. Where throughout 62 regular-season games played, he scored 35 goals and 46 assists for 81 points. That means he averaged 1.30 points per game while still managing to maintain a +37 average on the season. While Kurth’s best attribute may be his shot, he has been known to break some ankles as well with his innate ability to dangle through the opposition on his way to the net. Above any other player mentioned in this article, I believe that Connor has what it takes to make a name for himself at the professional level. After writing my original article about him, Kurth was courteous enough to agree to join me on my weekly Pod Cast: The Hockey Writers Ink, where we learned more about this young man outside of hockey as well, which was just as impressive as the work he puts in on the ice. Overall, I think if the Flyers are able to select Connor in the fourth round in time, experts will look at it as one of the absolute steals of this draft.  

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(Want to watch me talking to Connor? Just click the link below)

5^th Round

In the later rounds, teams start to take chances, and here is where I think the Flyers should do just that.

Zachary Bookman

Zachary Bookman is a 20-year-old 2022 draft-eligible right-hand-shot defender who stands at 5’10 and 176 pounds. This season this American-born talent played for the Brooks Bandits of the lesser-known Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) that finished with an incredible record of 52-6-1. In which he scored a record-breaking 21 goals and 81 assists for 102 points in just 55 games played. That equates to an unheard-of 1.85 points-per-game for a defenseman. Oh yeah, and that AJHL record he broke for most points scored by a defenseman in a single season used to belong to (former Brooks Bandit) Cale Makar, who previously held the record with a messily 75 points scored. Bookman, who is set to attend and play for Merrick College next year, maybe a bit of a late bloomer, but he is certainly promising. That’s why I think the Flyers would be wise to draft him now in order to get a hold of his rights before his play next season in the NCAA opens a lot of GM’s eyes, and they then would have to fight 31 other teams for a chance at signing him as an undrafted free agent. 

Not convinced about Zach just yet? Here are a few articles I wrote about him earlier this season to give you more insight into this player. 

Round Six 

For the Flyers’ sixth-round pick in this year’s draft, I’m going to suggest another over-ager, this time a player by the name of Stephen Halliday. 

Stephen Halliday

There’s no secret that Philadelphia needs more depth at the center position. Considering their current faceoff men have gained an inept ability to suffer multiple injuries throughout the season. That’s why I think the team should once again go back to the hockey hotbed of Iowa and select Kurth’s friend and fellow Fighting Saint Stephen Halliday. I think drafting this 6’4, 209-pound center here in the later rounds of the draft would be reasonably prudent. After going undrafted last year, this nearly 20-year-old prospect was determined to show all the NHL franchises that passed on him last season that they had indeed made a mistake. So much so that Stephen went out this year and scored 35 goals and 60 assists for 95 points in 62 regular-season games played. What may be more noteworthy, though, is that Halliday did all of this while still managing to maintain a +29 average on the season. I’ve been watching this player for some time now, as evidenced by my article where I featured him in from back in March, but I fear he too is quickly gaining acclaim as the draft looms ever closer. So, I hope that this big, bodied center who is more known for setting teammates up with a beautiful saucer pass than for his quick wrist shot is still on the board when the Flyers go to make their pick in the sixth round.  

Like Kurth, Halliday was also gracious enough to join my partner and me on The Hockey Writers Ink Podcast earlier this season which you can watch below. 

Stephen is set to attend Ohio State University next season, where he will continue to grow his game while playing against some of the best players in the country. 

Round 7

Finally, we made it to the tail end of the draft, and the Flyers have yet to take a prospect that plays the one position that has plagued the city of Philadelphia for so long now. Yes, I’m talking about a goalie. Don’t fear, though; I think I have just the kid to do the trick here. Scanning through stats and watching so many junior hockey games this season, I have concluded that there just aren’t many good goalies coming out this year. Most are lucky if they averaged letting in three goals a game. But while I was sorting through all the rubbish, I found one net-minder that stood out amongst the masses, and his name is Marco Costantini.

Marco Costantini

Marco is a 19-year-old goaltender who stands at 6’1 and 185 pounds who played this season for the Hamilton Bulldogs of the OHL. Thanks to COVID shutting down his league last season, Marco went undrafted last year because he did not get to play in a single game. But what a difference a year makes. This season with the Bulldogs, Costantini played in 45 regular-season games (winning 31 of them), where he was able to sustain a 2.32 goals-against-average along with a .917 save percentage and recorded an impressive six shutouts. Costantini, who plays the butterfly style, led his team this year to win the Ross Robertson Cup (the league’s championship), and last time I checked, he was playing in the Memorial Cup, which is a tournament of champions where all four winners from the top Canadian Junior Leagues come together to see who will reign supreme. Drafting a player of his caliber in net would restock the cupboard, if you will, after the Flyers finally signed prospect Ivan Fedotov to an entry-level deal. 

(Want to see some highlights of this young goalie? Then click on the link of the article I wrote about him not too long ago.)      

While this list I compiled was highly unnerving for me to put together, given just how many of this year’s draftees I do, in fact, like. I believe it to be the best group of prospects to help the Flyers moving forward, and with that being said, if anyone of you happens to have direct access to Chuck Fletcher’s office via your his secretary or perhaps a member of the cleaning service that takes care of his building, etc. feel free to do us all a favor and print this article out and place it upon his desk. Thanks in advance!   

Back in the saddle again, I return from vacation and am ready to go with two new articles to discuss. So, without further ado, let’s get this started by diving into the first one. 

Drafted way back in 2018, center Jay O’Brien still finds himself without a contract offer, despite being one of the best players on an outstanding Boston University team. Having played at or near a points-per-game pace for the past two years, O’Brien has done enough, in my mind, to deserve his chance at proving himself at the professional level. Still, it is becoming abundantly clear that this leftover Hextall draft pick will not be wearing orange and black anytime soon. So, my question then becomes; why don’t you try and get something for him? And that is just what I proposed with two different options.  

Next up for discussion on the show is who might Philadelphia draft to try and replenish their prospect goaltending vacancy that opened up when the Flyers finally decided to sign their massive 6’8 goaltending prospect Ivan Fedotov? As always, I have someone in mind. If you wish to know who it might be, come watch Steel and me as we talk him up. 

Lastly, while I was away, the Flyers finally signed a new head coach, and Steel wishes to get my thoughts on the matter, which I gladly oblige him by offering up my two cents on the subject. 

So, with all that being said, let’s get on with the show already. Click the link provided below and let us know what you think. 

Photo Credit: Hamilton Bulldogs

Philadelphia Flyers management finally did something right this off-season when they signed their 2015 7^th-round pick goaltender Ivan Fedotov. Ivan, who stands at 6’8 and 203 pounds, has been excelling playing in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) in his native Russia for parts of six seasons now. But what may have solidified the Flyers decision to bring him over finally was Fedotov’s fantastic play in this year’s Olympic Games. In six games played for Russia, Ivan averaged a 1.61 goals-against-average (GAA) which he paired with a .943 save percentage (SV%) while achieving a record of 4-2-0, with two of those wins being shutouts. This effort was good enough to see him and the rest of his Russian comrades take home the Silver Medal. But Ivan wasn’t done there. Upon returning to Russia after the Olympic games (with his country nearing a war with Ukraine), Ivan took it upon himself to help his team, the CSKA, raise the Gagarin Cup (the KHL’s league championship) this past season. With all these accolades now behind him, Fedotov now looks destined to take goaltender Martin Jones previous role as Philadelphia’s 1B option sharing a net with Carter Hart this season for the Flyers. 

With that being said, this now leaves a big hole in-between the pipes within the Flyers’ prospect pool. Sure, the team has gone out the past couple of drafts and utilized some pretty high draft picks on some goaltenders, but to date, the majority has not quite lived up to expectations. Alexei Kolosov was the latest the team selected back in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft when they took him with their 3^rd round pick. But this now 20-year-old let up an average of four goals a game in the KHL playoffs this season. Samuel Ersson, the Flyers’ 2018 5^th-round selection, played in just five AHL games this year for the Phantoms, where he gave up nearly three goals a game, finishing with a record of zero wins and three losses. Then there’s 2017’s 3^rd round pick Kirill Ustimenko who, since making a name for himself back in the 2019-20 season with the Flyers ECHL affiliate, the Reading Royals, he has not been able to advance his game due to injuries. Perhaps the only other goaltender in the team’s system to make any noise was their 2015 3^rd-round pick, Felix Sandström. But is recording a record of 16-18-6 this year for the Phantoms really anything to write home about? I mean, the Flyers did give him a chance to start with the big club this year, where in five games played with the orange and black, Sandström averaged a 3.23 GAA and recorded a record of 0-4-1. 

So, in this old goaltender’s mind, Philadelphia should show one or two of these previously mentioned failed prospects the door this off-season, seeing that they are impending restricted free agents. To make room for the team to be able to try and restock the cupboard by selecting yet another one again this summer. Only this time, I don’t think the team should utilize such a high draft pick to try and do so. Many Mock Drafts have several goalies this year going as early as the second or third round, but I think this is more out of team’s necessity than the prospects’ skill. There’s not one goalie in this year’s Draft whose play is anywhere close to last year’s Sebastian Cossa, who Detroit selected with the 15^th overall pick. Sadly, most of this year’s crop is like the top-ranked goaltender Tyler Brennan who played for the Prince George Cougars of the WHL this year. They do one or two things well, but they are lacking overall. For example, this year, in 39 regular-season games played, Brennan, averaged an embarrassing 3.58 GAA and a .899 SV%. Where with those stats, he finished the year with a dismal 11-25-2 record. Now, I don’t care how bad your team is; if you’re the top-rated goalie coming out of this Draft, there’s no way you should be posting these types of numbers. If you can’t carry your team in Juniors, how will you ever carry a struggling NHL franchise that selects you? 

This is where a little film watching comes in handy. While other teams are left searching through the sieves that call themselves goalies coming out for the first time this year. The Flyers should be looking to select one of last year’s leftover models. That player being 19-year-old goaltender Marco Costantini who played for the Ontario Hockey League’s Hamilton Bulldogs this year. Marco is a 6’1 185-pound butterfly goaltender who covers the bottom of the net insanely well. He has surpassed most in his class by developing a near-effortless movement across the goal mouth which helps him to always be square to the shooter. When he goes down, he remains tall in the net with good posture and high hands, enabling him to give nothing for opposition to shoot at.   

Costantini played in 45 regular season games this season, where he posted a 2.32 goals-against-average and a .917 save percentage. His play helped the Bulldogs achieve a record of 31 wins, nine losses, and four overtime losses while he was in net this season, with 6 of those wins coming by way of a shutout. But Marco’s play somehow only seemed to get better come playoff time, where he was able to help his team become the league’s Champions hoisting the Ross Robertson Cup by posting an incredible 0.842 win percentage while averaging only a 2.29 GAA and a .913 SV% through 19 games played. 

By now, you may be wondering how a netminder that has been honored with countless OHL Save of the Night, Goaltender of the Week/Goaltender of the Month nominations went undrafted last July, so I’m here to tell you. Last year when Costantini was due to be drafted, the Ontario Hockey League did not play a single game seeing that they chose to shut down due to COVID. Therefore, Marco did not get the chance like other players to go somewhere else and play for the season; he merely was left to hone his craft on his own and come back this season with something to prove and prove something he did. But sadly, even with Marco dominating the competition this year, he is still being overlooked by most scouts simply because of his age. Now, would I go as far as saying Costantini is a perfect goaltender? NO, I would not. I think that he still needs to work on not giving up so many rebounds so that in the future, he may not need to make so many unbelievable stops on second or third chances as he did this year. With that being said, I think Marco is still one of the most complete goaltenders available in this year’s Draft. That’s why Costantini will prove to be a steal if the Flyers choose to draft him in the 6^th or 7^th round in the coming weeks. The only question is will Philly follow the masses and choose to blindly look over such a talented young netminder because he is a year older than the others in this year’s Draft? Or will they take off the blinders and see the true talent that is hiding in plain sight? We will just have to wait and find out.      

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Photo Credit: Patrick Donnelly

At the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, the Flyers took a chance on a kid from Hingham, Massachusetts, with their second 1^st round selection that year (the first being Joel Farabee). That player’s name, whom most have forgotten about (including Chuck Fletcher), is center Jay O’Brien, who was selected from the deep-rooted Thayer Academy of the United States High School Preparatory League. Why would Philadelphia draft someone from that league, you might be asking? Well, I have an idea. His stats through just 30 games played that season for the Tigers were 43 goals and 37 assists for 80 points. That equates to him scoring at a rate of 2.6 points per game. Not bad, right? 

But, if you’re like me and wondering why a player with that kind of talent hasn’t been signed to an NHL contract yet, you should look deeper into Jay’s career after he left Thayer Academy. Only then does it become more apparent why this 2018 draftee is one of just three players from that year’s first-round not currently signed to a professional contract. Being from Mass., it would make sense that upon graduating High School, O’Brien would want to attend one of the many outstanding schools in and around his home state. That is why he decided on Providence College, seeing that they offered him a full-ride scholarship at a very early age. But shortly after that, Jay found himself riddled with injuries while suiting up for the Friars and thus seemed out of place. So, looking for a change of luck, Jay decided to transfer to another school, but the only problem with that was that he was then made to sit out an entire season due to the NCAA’s transfer protocol and would need to find a place to play for that season. Enter the Penticton Vees of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). While playing for the Vees during the 2019-2020 season, Jay posted 25 goals and 41 assists for 66 points in 46 games. If you do some easy math, that means he scored a pace of 1.43 points per game that year. 

After that revitalizing season with the Vees, and O’Brien now more confident in his abilities than ever before, he now had his mind set on redemption. Determined to redeem himself while playing for his new team, the Boston University Terriers, in 2020-2021, O’Brien once again faced hindrances along the way. Although, this time, it was COVID and not injuries. With COVID running rampant throughout not only the locker rooms but also the campus, BU halted the Terriers’ season for some time. It was a shame because Jay led the team with eight goals and eight assists for 16 points in just 16 games played during the games they were allowed to play. Now, you would think with Jay scoring at a point-per-game pace in that season that this former 1^st round pick would have been signed to a contract by the Flyers, but he was not. Instead, this now 22-year-old was forced to go back to BU, where this past season, while playing in just 24 games due to some nagging injury issues, he still managed to post ten goals and 12 assists for 22 points. For an average of 0.91 points per game. 

While O’Brien has shown time and time again that he does indeed have the offensive skill to play at the next level, his inability to play an entire season without injury is concerning. With that being said, I would still question this organization’s thought process concerning him; with both the Flyers and Phantoms struggling to score this past season, why on earth would the team decide not to sign either O’Brien or their top scoring prospect Connor McClennon. He had a total of 51 goals this year (between the regular and post-season) for the Winnipeg Ice of the Western Hockey League (WHL). Instead, they signed 2021 draft pick right-hand-shot defenseman Ethan Samson who was -23 on the season for the Prince George Cougars of the WHL, and 2018 left-hand shot defender Adam Ginning who scored just 5 points in 51 games played in the SHL this season. Not to mention the recent re-signing of the underperforming Linus Sandin, who, upon his arrival, was propagated to fans as being some substantial offensive threat who had a chance to make an impact on the Flyers immediately after being signed two seasons ago. 

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So, my question then becomes, if the Flyers have no intentions of signing Jay, then why not try and package him in a deal? O’Brien is a 22-year-old leftover, aging prospect from the Hextall era, which, while productive, is currently being passed over in terms of receiving a professional deal. This coming in leu of most of Fletchers’ forward selections like Foerster, Tuomaala, Desnoyers, Wisdom, and McLaughlin, who have all been inked to entry-level contracts already despite not one of them being able to make it to the ranks of the NHL as of yet. 

    In my mind, the Flyers desperately need to add an NHL center to their roster next season. Sean Couturier has only played in 74 combined games over the last two seasons (this year, only playing in 29), and Kevin Hayes, who has missed a significant amount of time during the previous two seasons, only managed to play in 48 games this year. 23-year-old Morgan Frost, who the team for some reason treats like he is to be the next face of the franchise, has scored only seven career goals in the NHL over the course of three seasons. Not to mention the fact that this season the Flyers felt the need to place a waiver wire claim on center Patrick Brown from Vegas because their 37-year-old center Nate Thompson could only find it in himself to play in 33 games this year. Therefore, if O’Brien, a former 1^st-round pick, is not viewed as a viable option in this team’s future, then it may be time to trade his rights. Let’s face it, given the Flyers horrid play over the last two years, lack of cap space available to spend this off-season. The fact that they had to settle for new head coach John Tortorella after their preferred option Barry Trotz supposedly turned down a deal from the Flyers (that would have made him the highest-paid coach in the NHL), they WON’T be prime candidates to land any big names in free agency this summer. Therefore, packaging O’Brien’s rights up along with some other semi-enticing pieces (draft picks, current roster players, etc.) of Chuck’s choice may be the team’s best option to bring some reassurance in the face-off dot.  

There are a lot of teams around the league wanting to either kick start a rebuild or having to make some moves in order to sign key free agents this off-season, which leaves those teams with no other option than to trade away certain players who in a perfect world they would like to keep but just can’t. Now, I’ve seen the Alex DeBrincat from the Blackhawks rumors, but this will neither help Philadelphia down the middle nor will it probably come to fruition, seeing that the Flyers were already reluctant to sign their own high-scoring 5’8 winger prospect (Connor McClennon) just to trade for an even smaller player that stands at 5’7. Besides, why would Chicago want to give up a 24-year-old who scored 41 goals last year? If Chicago truly wishes to rebuild they will probably be more inclined to try and trade veterans like 33-year-old Patrick Kane or 34-year-old Jonathan Toews who make a lot more money and are at the end of their careers. Besides, to get DeBrincat, the Flyers would most certainly have part with their fifth overall pick in this year’s draft; and for a bottom-dwelling team in the middle of a rebuild, one player is not going to change anything even if he does score 40 goals a year. Just ask the Blackhawks, who went out and got 3-time Stanley Cup-winning goalie Marc-Andre Fleury thinking he would be the difference-maker. They ended up trading him at the deadline this year and finishing seventh in the Central Division. So, in no way do I think the Flyers should trade their second 1^st round pick in two years’ time for a player already in the NHL. That is something that cup contenders like Pittsburgh did years ago to win multiple cups, or Tampa Bay does now to try and build upon their dynasty; it is not what a team that is just trying to be relevant again should do. 

So, let’s look at other options, shall we? 

Short-Term Option: Mark Scheifele 

With the Winnipeg Jets finishing sixth in the Central this year, they will also need a new head coach and thus must look to make some major changes to player personnel if they ever wish to truly compete against powerhouse division rivals the Colorado Avalanche ever again. Ergo, the reason why their 6’3 207-pound 29-year-old center Mark Scheifele’s name has been brought up in trade rumors as of late. Mark is currently under contract for two more years, costing the Jets $6.125 million a season. I personally believe Mark has been one of the most underrated centers in the game today for some time now. This past season Scheifele scored 29 goals and 41 assists for 70 points. Previous to this year, he has scored over 20 goals in each of the last seven seasons. Five of which he totaled over 25 goals, and in two of those five years, he scored over 30. Scheifele has career highs of 38 goals and 84 points which he set back in 2019, would be a solid option to solidify the center position for a team (like the Flyers) who have so many uncertainties in that position moving forward. 

Regarding what it would take to acquire him, I don’t think Scheifele would cost the Flyers their fifth overall pick. And given his well-known frustrations up in Manitoba, Mark would probably be more than willing to list just about any team in his modified no-trade clause to make his departure from the great white north a reality. This is where Jay O’Brien would come in. Pairing him and possibly another prospect with a current NHLL roster player in a trade for Scheifele would most likely get the job done. Mark would then be able to assist the current roster and whoever the Flyers select at number five this summer for the next couple of years, giving the Flyers’ other prospects more time to develop. 

Long Term Option: Pavel Zacha

If Scheifele proves to cost too much to obtain or his cap hit seems too unyielding for the Flyers liking, then they may want to look to New Jersey, where the Devils have been rumored to be listening to trade offers for their Czech born 2015 sixth overall pick Pavel Zacha for some time now. Standing at 6’3 and 210 pounds, this 25-year-old center seems to skate like his blades are on fire, shoot like the puck is being shot out of a cannon, and dangles like he is the former Devils Czech born-Flyers killer himself, Patrik Elias. 

Since New Jersey won their last Cup in 2003, the Devils have been in a perpetual rebuild mode year in and year out, seeing that they have not yet found a decent replacement in net since the great Martin Brodeur vacated the blue paint. This past year was no different, seeing that the Devils finished with just two more points than the Flyers. But given the fact that the Devils now have Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, and Dawson Mercer down the middle, it has made Zacha expendable. With New Jersey previously imposing on Pavel over the years to learn to play wing, Zacha just might be the dual-threat the Flyers need. Being a top-six player, Zacha could play wing on the rare occasion when everyone is healthy, then slide on over to center when one of the inevitable Couturier, Hayes, etc., gets hurt. 

What the Flyers should be willing to give up for this now restricted free agent who made just $2.25 million last year depends on a lot of things. If it were up to this writer, he would try to go big or go home. The Devils currently hold the rights to the second overall selection in this upcoming draft and have let it be well known that they would be so inclined to trade this pick if they received a significant return. By potentially proposing to swap their fifth overall pick for the Devils’ second overall as part of the trade, the Flyers could assure themselves that they would get an NHL-ready prospect who could play as early as next year. That player being 6’4 218, pound Slovakian-born winger Juraj Slafkovsky who not only dominated at the recent Olympic Games by scoring seven goals in seven games but who also led his countrymen, scoring 1.13 points-per-game for Slovakia in this year’s World Cup of Hockey as well.     

Slafkovsky is just the kind of dynamic physical power forward that the Flyers lack currently on their roster. To add to that, the Flyers should ask for Zacha as well. One thing that Philadelphia has lacked over their franchise’s history is European talent. If you think back to the last great European players to wear the Orange and Black, it would be Kimmo Timonen on defense and either Mikael Renberg or Pelle Eklund on offense (seeing that Peter Forsberg was well into his thirties and dealing with hampering injuries by the point he re-joined the team that originally drafted him back in 1991). 

Now what would be going back to New Jersey in this trade along with the fifth-overall pick would be what’s interesting. If it were me, I would offer up the fifth overall pick, then give the Devils a choice of either Ivan Provorov, Travis Konecny, or James van Riemsdyk. Next, to sweeten the deal offer them either Oskar Lindblom or Morgan Frost, and then include both prospects Jay O’Brien and Samu Tuomaala. 

While this may seem like a lot to give up, it would change the outlook of both teams. The Flyers would be receiving a potential new face of the franchise in Juraj Slafkovsky, as well as another former top ten draft pick in Pavel Zacha, that can play multiple positions and would offer the Flyers another scoring threat. This trade would give the Devils a proven NHL player of their choice; if selected, Provy would give them an anchor on defense, allowing the Flyers to provide adequate ice time to their up-and-coming defenseman Cameron York. If the Devils selected Travis Konecny, they would be getting one of the league’s biggest pests which has achieved three years of 24 goals in his career. If the Devils chose James van Riemsdyk most would be surprised, but he is a former 36-goal scorer who inconsequentially led all Flyers in goals this year with 24. Adding any one of three to their roster would give New Jersey some much needed veteran leadership to their already youthful and talented roster filled to the brim with loads of top-end draft talent. The Devils would then still have a top-five pick from the Flyers, as well as possibly a third-line player in Lindblom or Frost and two highly touted drafted prospects in O’Brien and Tuomaala. 

Remember, Chuck Fletcher has declared time and time again that he views this offseason not as a rebuild but as a retool, and he is determined to right his previous wrongs and make this team a contender once more. Whether any of us actually believe that could be a real possibility is neither here nor there. But if Chuck could pull off either of these proposed trades, it would not only make the team better immediately but would help the team moving forward as well. Above all, it would allow a deserving prospect (O’Brien) to get a fresh start with a new organization and the Flyers a way to rid themselves of a player they clearly no longer view as a priority. And that, my friends, would be a win-win for everyone involved.    

Steel and I are back once again to bring your weekly Flyers Fix served just how you like it straight up. If you are returning viewers, you will know what we mean, but if you are new to our show, be ready for the cold hard truth. 

In this week’s show, we will discuss two of my latest articles, the first being.

For this particular segment, we discuss a group of young players that are eligible for this year’s draft with some surnames that may sound familiar. Above any other of the major professional sports leagues, the NHL has been known to be quite the family tradition of sorts. Many father-son or sets of brothers have been able to impact this league, and this year is no different. So, as I pointed out in my article this past week, we will examine a list of these players and give our opinions on which, if any, the Flyers should trust the genetics. 

Our second segment of the show, we look at a particular type of player that has been able to have a lot of success here in Philly over the last few decades but is currently not found on the Flyers roster. I provide a lengthy list of players and stats to back this assumption up and give a few options the team could sign that could be the missing link for the Flyers. 

    With so much to talk about, let’s get right down to it, shall we? 

Photo Credit: Len Redkoles/Getty Images

A Power Forward in hockey is perhaps described best by Wikipedia as, “A forward who is physically large, with the toughness to dig the puck out of the corners, possesses offensive instincts, has mobility, puck-handling skills, may be difficult to knock off the puck or to push away from the front of the goal and is willingly engage in fights when he feels it is required. Possessing both physical size and offensive ability, power forwards are also often referred to as the ‘complete’ hockey player,” in saying that, this type of player used to be the key to the Flyers success for years when they were considered perennial playoff contenders. Sadly though, over the last couple of seasons, Philadelphia has gotten away from employing these types of players. In exchange for the more trendy/flashy diminutive style forwards who, while skilled, lack the size and toughness to truly excel in the merciless Eastern Conference without the kind protection usually provided by a stereotypical power forward.   

To prove how vital this type of player was to the team’s success over the years, let’s look at some of the best to have ever done it for the orange and black. 

Tim Kerr   

A 6’3 230-pound force to be reckoned with who played 11 seasons for the Flyers over the course of his career, which spanned from the time of the early 80’s to the early 90’s, was perhaps the Flyers earliest example of this type of player. He was a robust and gritty player who, at the same time, could score just as easily as he could beat you up. In 601 games played (GP) for the Flyers, Tim scored an impressive 363 goals (G) and 287 assists (A) for 650 points (P). While at the same time managing to total up 577 minutes of solitude in the sin bin for his troubles. Over his time in Philly, Kerr would prove to be one of the Flyers’ most consistent players, seeing that he was Philadelphia’s top goal scorer for five of those seasons primarily because he was able to reach the 50-goal plateau four consecutive years in a row! All these numbers over Tim’s eleven years spent with the Flyers average out to him, scoring 33 goals per year, 1.08 points per game (PPG), and 59 points per season. This came along with him setting career highs of 58 goals (a feat he reached twice) and 98 points scored in a single season. Kerr’s offensive abilities were so great that one of his stats has managed to stand the test of time. That being the NHL record he set back in the 1985-1986 season of power-play goals scored in a single season, where Tim was able to tally 34 lamp lighters while on the man advantage. It was an achievement that greats like Mario Lemieux, Brett Hull, and Mike Bossy were able to come close to in their time but did not ever reach.

Rick Tocchet  

Another former Flyer that played the game the right way (and learned how to do so under the tutelage of Tim Kerr) was Rick Tocchet. Drafted by the Flyers back in 1983 in the sixth round, Tocchet, who was only six foot tall, grew to be one of the most feared men in the NHL fairly quickly. This is because Tocchet was willing to drop the gloves at any moment, and the fact that he was immediately a threat to score upon leaving the penalty box. Over his combined 11-year career with the Flyers, which spanned over two terms with the team, Tocchet played in 621 games, where he scored 232 goals and 276 assists for 508 points, which should be considered impressive, seeing that he spent 1,815 of those minutes played for Philadelphia next to Lou Nolan (the Flyers public address announcer) in the penalty box. Yes, Rick may have averaged 2.92 penalty minutes a night, but he did so because he was playing Flyers hockey which used to mean you stand up for your teammates. As previously mentioned, Rick was a dual threat, where he was such a proficient scorer during his time on South Broad Street that he was able to achieve at least 30 goals four times during his time here, two of those seasons saw him reach the 40-goal mark. 

Eric Lindros

When you think of who else over the years for the Flyers may have fit this mold, no one better may come to mind than the great #88 himself, Eric Lindros. Towering over the competition, standing 6’4 and 240 pounds, Eric’s size allowed him to accomplish whatever he set out to do on the ice on a nightly basis, which is why despite having concussion issues throughout his career Lindros was able to achieve so much in such a short amount of time. In the eight seasons spent here in Philly, Eric played in 486 games, where he scored 290 goals and 369 assists for 659 points. Despite Eric not getting into as many fights as say Kerr or Tocchet did in their time (probably because players feared getting pummeled by him), Lindros still managed to achieve 946 penalty minutes during his time in the orange and black. To put into perspective just how dominant Lindros was during his eight years in Philadelphia, not one season did Eric score less than 25 goals. In fact, in six of the eight, Lindros scored 30 or more goals, four out of the eight he scored over 40, and one of those times he managed to score 45 on the season. When you do the math, it equates to him totaling 1.35 points per game, scoring an average of 36.25 goals per year and approximately 82.3 points per season throughout his time in Philadelphia. When you see all this laid out it becomes quite clear why Eric won the honor of being inducted into the NHL Hall of Fame along with being named one of the 100 greatest players of all time.   

John LeClair

But, as good as Lindros was, it would take one player to join him on his line to push the Flyers into title contention. That player was non-other than John LeClair, who came over from Montreal in a big trade back in 1995. Upon his arrival, this 6’3 233-pound left winger was able to spark instant chemistry with Lindros. Where over time, we all know Swedish right winger Mikael Renberg joined the two, and they then became known as The Legion of Doom line. But where Lindros got a large part of the acclaim, LeClair, who spent most of the ten seasons he was in Philly, posted up in front of the opposition’s net, found himself often times being the finisher. Throughout his 649 games placed for the Flyers, John scored 333 goals and 310 assists for a total of 643 points. With LeClair having achieved eight years of 20-plus goals (three consecutive of those years being over 50), it should come as no surprise that he averaged a remarkable 33.3 goals a season during his time in Philadelphia.   

Mike Knuble 

After moving on from Leclair at the end of the 2003-2004 season, the Flyers set out to find another net-front presence. Enter in 33-year-old unrestricted free agent power forward Mike Knuble, who the team signed to a 3-year deal after he had multiple successful seasons playing up in Boston. Knuble, who stood at 6’3 and 229 pounds, played for the Flyers for parts of five seasons, where upon his arrival, he showed that he could immediately be counted on to fill that giant hole in the lineup that Leclair left behind. While not the most nimble of players, Knuble knew his job, and he did it well. Parking himself in front of the opposition’s net, Knuble would at times seem like an unmovable force, and while his goals were never pretty, they were plentiful. Never scoring under 20 goals in the four full seasons he was with the Flyers, Knuble finished his first stint with Philadelphia twice being the team’s top goal scorer. And with averages of 28.5 goals a year and 55.25 points per season for the Flyers, the team sure owed a lot of their success to number 22. 

Scott Hartnell    

What do you do when you find success with something? You try an obtain more of it, and that’s just what the Flyers GM (Paul Holmgren) did when he went out and acquired Scott Hartnell from the Nashville Predators back in 2007. Coming to the team at just 25 years of age, this 6’2 215-pound former 1^st round pick became an instant fan favorite here in the City of Brotherly Love. Whether he was involved in puck battles along the boards, laying a big check on the opposition, standing up for his teammates in a scrum, making fun of Penguins fans, or knocking home a rebound in front of the net for a goal, Scott could do no wrong for this team for many years, and his point production showed it. Playing for seven seasons, or more precisely 517 games in the orange and black, Hartnell managed to score 157 goals and 169 assists for 326 points. Where over the course of those seven years spent playing for the Flyers faithful, Hartnell managed to average 22.4 goals a season. Pretty effective, right? 

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Wayne Simmonds

Perhaps the last great power forward that fans had the luxury to watch suit up for this team was Wayne Simmonds. Acquired via a trade with the Los Angeles Kings, Simmonds came to the Flyers at only 23-years-old having only three seasons previously under his belt. While he showed in LA that he had some talent, I don’t think even the Flyers could have imagined what kind of return on investment he would grow to be for them. Simmonds, who stands at 6’3 and 185 pounds, spent eight years playing here in Philadelphia. During that time, he was able to net 203 goals and 175 assists for 378 points in 584 games played. As his stats show, he, like the rest of these players listed above, found great success once dawning the Flyers jersey. So much so that he was able to at least reach 20 goals scored in a season seven out of the eight years he played for the Flyers. Furthermore, Simmonds’ consistent hardnose style of play allowed him to average 27.3 goals per season with the Flyers and saw him be named the team’s top goal scorer four times during his tenure with the team. Respected for the way he played the game, Simmonds might be the only player in the NHL today who, when his name is announced in the starting lineup for the opposing team within the Wells Fargo Center, it is met with a tremendous ovation and not the typical “SUCKS.” 

James van Riemsdyk 

Giving credit where credit is due when the Flyers decided it was time to move on from Simmonds (who had become riddled down with injuries from his years of ignoring previous ones), General Manager Ron Hextall was wise to try to replace him with the signing of another power forward. Unfortunately, Hextall decided to bring back the Flyers’ 2007 1^st round pick James van Riemsdyk on a five-year 35 million dollar contract. At the time, it may have seemed like a good idea; I mean, this 6’3, 208, pound left winger had just finished a season with the Toronto Maple Leafs, where he scored a career-high 36 goals. But let’s not forget that we sent him packing in the first place because he skated around like he had cement blocks on his feet, and that has certainly not changed. Neither has the fact that van Riemsdyk is one of the most streaky goal scorers in the NHL today. James can go for weeks without you even noticing he is on the ice only to score four points in a game where the Flyers end up getting blown out by five. Now, the team finds themselves cap-strapped because they are stuck paying this underachieving player his allocated seven million dollars again next season. 

Solutions:

Valeri Nichushkin   

What can the Flyers do to right this situation? Well, if the Flyers can somehow find a way to move salary in a trade, they could try and sign Colorado’s 6’4 210 pound impending free-agent power forward Valeri Nichushkin, who had 25 goals, and 27 assists for 52 points this season. But seeing that he has now helped the Avalanche reach the Stanley Cup Finals, he will most likely be in line for quite the raise over the $2.5 million he made this season. 

Evander Kane   

Like him or not, 6’2 210-pound 30-year-old impending unrestricted free agent Evander Kane would be another viable option for the Flyers to try and fill the void that Simmonds departure made in the Flyers lineup. Listen, I get it; league officials can’t stand his off-ice antics; he is hated by most players and fans across the entire NHL for his dirty play and is booed every time he steps on the ice during an away game, but can’t the same be said for Washington’s Tom Wilson (minus the off-ice stuff)? I bet you wouldn’t hate it if the Flyers somehow acquired him, would you? Despite Kane constantly jeopardizing his career in the off-seasons, when he is on the ice, he is effective. To prove this in just 43 regular-season games played for Edmonton this year, Evander managed to score 22 goals and 17 assists for 39 points, and in the playoffs this year, Kane managed to step it up in a big way scoring 13 goals and four assists for 17 points in just 15 games played. But this season is no fluke; to date, Kane now has eight seasons to his credit in which he has scored 20 or more goals. To go along with his scoring ability, the other impressive thing about Kane’s game is how physical he can be. Not only will he hit anything that moves if you piss him off, but he (like Simmonds) also isn’t afraid to drop gloves with anyone. 

So, to get a player like Kane, who revitalized his career with the Oilers this year, it too would take a lot more than the $1.375 million Edmonton signed him to this season. 

There’s no denying that the Flyers have had great success throughout their history when employing and correctly utilizing these above-mentioned power forwards, but let’s be honest here, they have struggled to score since trading away their last key to success, Wayne Simmonds, to the Nashville Predators back in 2019. The team tried to replace him with James van Riemsdyk who was afforded the opportunity to come back and try to make good on the Flyers choice in drafting him all those years ago, but to date: his lack of skating ability and or physicality has left James to fail in comparison to some of Philadelphia’s best from over the past 40 years. Therefore, to get this team back on track, I believe that Chuck Fletcher will need to be aggressive this off-season because, as they say, drastic times call for drastic measures. Finding a way to bring in a true power forward like Nichushkin or Kane next season would provide the kickstart the Flyers need to get back to their winning ways. This would also allow, their newest crop of gritty young prospects such as 2020 first-round pick 6’2 194-pound Tyson Foerster to not be rushed and continue his development. But even then, the Flyers shouldn’t stop there. They need to continue to try and find this now missing link by potentially drafting a player in the coming weeks like the United States National Development Programs 6’2 190 pound winger Cutter Gauthier as well. The Flyers have tried to build with the NHL’s trend of talented diminutive forwards in mind, but it has not worked to this point. If Philadelphia wants to get back to being legitimate playoff contenders year in and year out, then all they have to take a look at is the remaining playoff teams who dominated the regular season as well and get back to what this team was built on; physicality and hard work!      

Photo Credit: ottershockey.com

Throughout the course of the NHL, there certainly have been some great NHL players who have produced some very talented sons that were able to build upon their family’s lineage in this great sport. Some of the best that come to mind are Bobby, and Brett Hull, who are now in the Hall of Fame, having each scored over 600 goals, with Bobby totaling 610 and his son Brett being ranked 5^th all-time with a total of 741. To Gordie and Mark Howe, who are also both in the Hall of Fame, with Gordie scoring over 800 goals and Mark being arguably the Flyers all-time best defenseman in franchise history, finishing his career with a +400 average. But this tradition still holds true today with the Tkachuk Trio. Father Keith Tkachuk played for a number of teams over the years where this gritty forward was able to put up over 500 goals and 1,000 points during his career. Now his sons Matthew and Brady are both currently staples on their respected teams where using their size gifted to them by their dad, Matthew was able to score 42 goals and 104 points for the Flames, and Brady was able to post 30 goals and 67 points for the Sens this season. This list could go on, but I think you get the point. Kids born into NHL families are raised as rink rats; they are surrounded by some of the best coaches and players in the world and grow up seeing their fathers idolized by tens of thousands of fans a night. So, it’s pretty easy to see why one of these players’ sons would want to follow in his father’s footsteps rather than a son of a sanitation worker who would want to follow his. Although the latter has proved to be an essential part of society (and when working for the right company can be very profitable), it is a considerably less enticing option come career day at school.

With that being said, despite these young prospects’ impressive pedigrees, not all become instant prodigies. For instance, both Chris and Ryan Bourque haven’t even come close to living up to their father Ray’s NHL legacy. Neither has Ryan MacInnis, the son of former St. Louis Blues legendary blue liner Al MacInnis. Who, you may remember from him winning so many of the All-Star games hardest shot competitions back in the day. Nevertheless, it may be a risk Philadelphia should be willing to take if the opportunity presents itself in this upcoming draft. Seeing that the Flyers are now being compared to the likes of the MLB’s Pittsburgh Pirates in terms of the last time, each franchise won their sports respected championship trophy (Flyers 47 years, the Pirates 42 years).

Sami Kapanen

So, without further ado, let’s look at this year’s crop of young players with some last names you may know. The first comes from a now-retired player that you Flyers fans will remember very well. Sami Kapanen. Sami was a diminutive winger with great speed who was able to post over 20 goals in a season five times during his career. Coming to the Flyers in 2002, Kapanen was already 29 years of age and was forced to play a much smaller role than he was used to playing in Carolina earlier on in his career. But this didn’t mean that he was any less noticeable. Sami quickly became a fan favorite during his five seasons playing in Philadelphia because he never took a shift off, which was why four out of the five seasons Kapanen suited up for the orange and black, they were able to make it to the playoffs. After retiring from hockey, Sami has managed to stay around the rink by becoming the majority owner of the KalPa Kuopio in his native Finland, which he still holds rights to, along with the minority owner, fellow ex-Flyer Kimmo Timonen. Along with being the owner, Kapanen has also formerly held the role of player, assistant coach, head coach, and general manager of his team at different points over the last few years. He has recently taken on a new role though, serving as the Flyers’ new European player development coach. 

Konsta Kapanen   

With this new job, Sami may be able to sway Chuck Fletcher (the Flyers’ general manager) to select his son Konsta in this year’s draft. Unlike his older brother Kasperi who is 6’1 and 194 pounds and currently playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Konsta is built more like his father. A chip off the old block, if you will. A much smaller, sleeker model that currently stands at just 5’8 and 152 pounds, but don’t let his size deceive you. Konsta is a playmaker with sniping capabilities. He possesses a hard and powerfully accurate shot; Konsta also has a high hockey IQ and never takes a shift off like his father. With that being said, Konsta was effective playing for his dad’s team at the U20 SM-sarja level this year, where he scored 17 goals and 23 assists for 40 points in just 39 games played. Konsta also played six games in Finland’s top professional league, the Liiga, where his inherited speed helped him score one goal and one assist for two points. Let’s face it, Konsta will not be a 1^st round selection like his older brother was back in 2014. But he could be a 4^th round pick like his father Sami was back in 1995. Despite his size, Konsta is a tremendous young talent whose family bloodlines span well beyond just his dad and his older brother. His cousin Oliver was drafted by the Montreal Canadians last year in the second round, and his uncle, great uncle, and grandfather all played this great sport at a high level in Finland. So, if Konsta continues to eat his chicken and drink his milk, maybe, just maybe, he could grow a couple of inches and one day find himself playing stateside for one of his father’s old teams.

Mike Knuble

Another retired NHL player who has a son eligible to be drafted in this year’s draft is former Flyer Mike Knuble. Mike was a big body winger who got his mail forwarded to him right in front of the opposition’s net and had perhaps some of his best years statically while playing for Philadelphia. Where over the course of four seasons, he was able to post an awe-inspiring 114 goals despite him being already well into his thirties upon joining the orange and black. For those “who don’t math well,” that’s an average of 28.5 goals a year. 

Cole Knuble

Mike’s son, Cole, a 5’10 174 pound right-winger like his dad, is now 17-years-old and played this past season for the Fargo Force of the United States Hockey League (USHL). This season, Cole (who likes to take up real estate in front of his opponent’s net like his old man) scored 20 goals and 29 assists for 49 points. Cole makes strong outlet passes and is dominant in close, but like his father, he is not the most agile or nimble of players. However, he makes up for it with his offensive instincts and high hockey IQ. Again, Cole is still one of the younger players available in this year’s draft. Because of that, he will likely play for the Force again next season before heading to the University of Notre Dame, where he is committed to playing for the 23-24 season. He is a project prospect with a couple of years of work still to be done before ever reaching the ranks of the NHL. Therefore, it wouldn’t surprise me if Cole is taken as late as the 6^th round. If this holds true with his instincts and great overall work ethic, I believe Cole to be of good value for a team that late in the draft. 

Scott Niedermayer   

The last former NHL player that we will talk about in this article that has a son who might hear his name called come June is defenseman Scott Niedermayer. This 18-year NHL veteran who excelled at both ends of the ice solidified his place not only in the Hockey Hall of Fame but as being named one of the 100 greatest players of all time by winning four Stanley Cups, a James Norris Memorial Trophy (given to the league’s best defenseman that year) and a Conn Smythe Trophy (for being named the playoff MVP). He achieved all this by using his innate ability to remain calm in pressure situations and his near-effortless skating ability.  

Joshua Niedermayer

Growing up, Joshua (Scott’s son) has had to deal with the pressures of living up to his dad being an NHL legend, and to say that he has some big skates to fill would be a serious understatement. Still, Josh seemed to come to terms with that and settle down and play his game over the past three seasons for the British Columbia Hockey League’s (BCHL’s) Penticton Vees. This season, while playing what else defense, Niedermayer totaled four goals and 14 assists for 18 points in 43 games played during the regular season. To which he was able to score one goal and five assists for six points in 17 playoff games on the Vees road to winning their 13^th league championship this year. Now, while he may not have quite the offensive prowess that his dad did back in the day when he was playing, Josh still proved to come up big for the Vees this year by providing top-line shutdown defense. Where this young blueliner will end up being drafted depends on how much a team may put into the Niedermayer name and pedigree. While Josh did excel this season, he did not play in one of Canada’s top leagues, and that could create some uncertainty about his possible ceiling and thus affect what round he will be selected in. Some so-called draft experts have him being taken as early as the third, while others have him falling to 7^th, so we will just have to see. 

Jordan Kyrou 

The last NHL family bloodline we will talk about is not a father-son duo like the others but a pair of brothers. Throughout the NHL’s history, these kinds of sibling pairings, sometimes trios, have had impressive careers. From Jim and Joe Watson, who helped the Flyers win multiple cups. To other pairings like Derian and Kevin Hatcher, Henrik and Daniel Sedin. Then some families had multiple kids playing in the league, like the Sutters, who had six brothers in the league. The Staal family, who had three brothers that made the league, and the most recent NHL family act to hit the ice were the Hughes, who have three siblings as well. But come June, there is about to be one more family surname that will be added to that list: Kyrou. Older brother Jordan who was drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the second round of the 2016 draft, had quite the breakout year this season. He scored 27 goals in 82 games, was named to his first NHL All-Star Game, and scored seven goals and nine points in 12 games this postseason before being knocked out of the playoffs by the Avalanche. 

Christian Kyrou

Now, his younger brother Christian who is eighteen, is set to embark on his own journey to the NHL, thanks to him having quite the breakout season of his own playing for the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) this year. Standing at 5’11 and 183 pounds, this right-hand-shot defenseman just might be the one player that the Flyers might want to trust the genetics on seeing that he scored 18 goals and 42 assists for 60 points in 68 games played this season. This year, his production not only surprised most people up in Erie but also the entire hockey community because, before this season, Christian didn’t even have a single point in the two previous seasons on the roster for the Otters. In his first season in the OHL as a 16-year-old, he only played in 21 games, and last year the OHL was closed down due to COVID. So, to say this year, Christian opened up some eyes would be an understatement, and when you pair his play with his brother’s recent success this year, you can see why Christian’s name continues to move up many expert’s mock draft boards. Don’t believe me? Just look at his shot in the video provided, and you will know just how good this kid could be one day. 

So many players with familiar family names will be available for teams to select in the coming draft. Some of them may go on to build upon their family’s lineage in the NHL, and some may fail to reach the pinnacle and bring shame to the family name. But nobody ever said drafting prospects with NHL bloodlines didn’t come without risk. When it comes right down to it, general managers must treat these players as if they are any other prospect. Just because these kids were probably afforded the best coaches, played on the best teams, and had all the best equipment growing up doesn’t always equate to them living up to their father or brothers’ success. In the same token, though, sometimes it’s just in their blood, and their future success is but a forgone conclusion.  

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On this week’s show, Steel and I talk about how the Flyers are more than just a few players away from actually contending and, therefore, should start to look outside the norm to find those diamond in the rough type players that could help this franchise turn things around sooner rather than later. 

Earlier this week, I wrote about three teammates who play in a league that is often overlooked. They are all over-agers who produce at a very high level and are set to play for some of the top NCAA Division-one schools next season, where they will then indeed be found and respected by the masses. To make sure the Flyers get these young players who have chemistry playing together, they should take a chance and offer them an entry-level contract now to beat the rush before the end of next season.  

In the second segment of the show, we discuss some of the most recent head-scratching moves from Flyers management and how they will impact their future. This week for some reason, management decided not to sign their best goal-scoring prospect, who had 43 lamp lighters on the year, to instead re-sign a guy like Linus Sandin, who only scored eight goals this year for the Phantoms. That makes sense, right? SMH 

Lastly, we touch on how these moves, or lack thereof have the Flyers destined to remain in underachieving mediocrity. When you pair that with the organization’s lack of direction, given their drawn-out search for a new coach that should have been taken care of back in December, things don’t look promising with the draft and free agency right around the corner. 

Photo Credit: Christopher Mast/Getty Images

The Western Hockey League’s (WHL’s) heavily favored Winnipeg Ice were recently knocked out of the playoffs four games to one by 2021 1^st round draft selection/star goaltending prospect Sebastian Cossa and the rest of the Edmonton Oil Kings. This allows the Flyers’ 2020 6^th round selection, Forward Connor McClennon, to now be able to sign his first NHL level contract with the Flyers.  

Why should this be viewed as such a pressing manner, you might be asking? Well, the answer is that this 19-year-old 5’8 161-pound right-winger from Wainwright, Alberta, Canada, is just what the Flyers need in their system right now. He is a sharpshooter, and come June 25^th, he will turn 20 years of age and thus be eligible to play in Lehigh Valley for the Phantoms next season.  

This year the Ice finished the regular season with an incredible record of 53 wins, ten losses, and three OTL for a total of 111 points, primarily due to the play of the Flyers diminutive prospect Connor McClennon. In 62 games played, McClennon had 43 goals and 38 assists for 81 points. That means Connor averaged 1.30 points per game (P.P.G.) while maintaining a +42 plus/minus rating. Where come the playoffs his play only got better, playing in 15 games before being eliminated; McClennon scored eight goals and 13 assists for 21 points for an average of 1.40 P.P.G. To put into better perspective just how much offensive prowess McClennon was able to offer his team this year here’s a fun fact for you. Connor was able to outscore teammate and potential 2022 top-five pick Matthew Savoie by eight goals this season, with him finishing with the 43 goals mentioned above and Savoie only totaling 35 on the year. 

Now, Connor may be small, but he makes up for it with his strong skating ability and deadly accurate shot. He has been busy proving his doubters wrong his whole life and has survived playing three years in juniors thus far. While the NHL still has some monsters patrolling the blueline, size is not as much of an issue in today’s kinder, gentler NHL than it was in the past. Today’s pros are more about speed and skill and therefore are often elusive enough to avoid the league’s behemoths. Connor is no different, and if the Flyers are even thinking about drafting his fellow Winnipeg Ice linemate Matthew Savoie with the 5^th overall selection in this year’s upcoming draft, wouldn’t you want McClennon to be already signed? Doing so would mean come rookie camp that, they could continue to build upon the chemistry they already have that saw them score a combined 171 points this season. Call me crazy, but if I were Chuck Fletcher (the Flyers’ General Manager), the minute McClennon and the Ice were eliminated from the playoffs, I would have already had a first-class plane ticket to Philadelphia in Connor’s inbox before he even got done shaking the other team’s hands.   

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