A young man by the name of Elliot “The Destroyer” Desnoyers hails from St-Hyacinthe, QC, CAN, which is located outside of Montreal. Flyers’ General Manager Chuck Fletcher traded picks 202 and 209 to the Nashville Predators to move up to select a sharpshooter in Desnoyers with the 135th pick of the 2020 NHL Draft. Desnoyers is a Left Winger, but he’s a versatile player as he can also play Center. Flyers fans may not have known much about him but he’s starting to turn some heads for the Halifax Mooseheads.
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Once seen as a project pick for the Flyers after being traded from the Moncton Wildcats. Desnoyers brings a combination of high-end skating and hockey sense that makes him a dangerous player without the puck. He plays a good two-way game, and is rarely out of position. Desnoyers blocks shots, gets into the passing lanes, provides high energy, and simply plays the game the right way.
Desnoyers provided a leadership role with a rebuilding Halifax Mooseheads club, and he increased his production while playing with a potential first round pick in Zachary L’Heureux. Both L’Heureux and Desnoyers were utilized in every situation to include the top Power Play Unit.
“I think the next step is the AHL. I think it’s normal due to the levels of the game. One more year of Junior, then I continue to train very hard and hopefully make it.”– Elliot Desnoyers said to Jamey Baskow a few months ago
The young 19-year-old in Desnoyers had the potential for big point totals this year. As a fifth-round pick, Desnoyers is keeping his game simple, and this approach has lead to a breakout season with 21 goals and 28 assists in 37 games played. He’s playmaker with a high-end shot. Flyers’ Assistant General Manager Brent Flahr is high on the young man:
“Elliot Desnoyers had a productive year in Halifax and played a strong, two-way game with lots of passion. As he matures physically and gets stronger, his game should continue to grow.”– Brent Flahr said yesterday via the Flyers press release
Desnoyers is a talented, skilled forward that has great vision of the ice, and can skate with the best of them. He has a lethal wrist shot, great acceleration, and is a determined young man. Could Desnoyers be flushing out some other prospects in the Flyers system? Maybe so. Look at the Forward RFA list for the Flyers below for this offseason:
Carsen Twarynski
Nolan Patrick
Connor Bunnaman
German Rubtsov
Linus Sandin
Pascal Laberge
David Kaše
The Flyers currently sit at 49 total contracts. The Desnoyers signing might be a signal that Flyers’ General Manager Chuck Fletcher is looking to flush out some prospects that deserve new scenery, or a chance at making the NHL on a full-time basis like Laberge, Kaše, Twarynski, Bunnaman, and Rubtsov. Rubtsov may wind up staying overseas, to which the Flyers would qualify him like they did with Mikhail Vorobyev this past offseason. Maybe I’m overthinking a bit here, but maybe I’m not. In reality if the Flyers do not have a plan for these young prospects in the future with the big club, than it’s best to part ways with them, thus signing AHL players to an AHL contract, as opposed to an NHL contract to drive down the number of total contracts the organization is faced with.
Moreover, I also believe the NHL will reach an agreement with the CHL this Summer to lower the age requirement of 19-years-old to play in the AHL, as opposed to 20-years-old. Whatever the case maybe, the sky is the limit for Desnoyers as he hopefully embarks a new journey in his hockey career.
Don’t you have someone proofread your articles?
I edit the articles. I edited the last paragraph and some other contexts. I need to do a better job. Thanks for the read.