Photo Credit: Dennis Pajot/Getty Images
A team cannot be made up of solely 1st round draft picks, though other writers focus their efforts there and address a Mock Draft for just the 1st round. We here at Flyers Nitty Gritty like to think that our readers are much more knowledgeable then just the average fan and know that the NHL Draft has six other rounds after the 1st is completed. For example, if you look at the Flyers roster you will find players like Robert Hagg and Tyler Pitlick who were both selected in the 2nd round. Oskar Lindblom was selected in the 5th round, and Brian Elliott was taken by the Ottawa Senators back in 2003 in the 9th round (when the NHL still allowed this many rounds). Even better- Philippe Myers was signed as an undrafted free agent. These examples are evidence that because a player wasn’t drafted in the 1st round doesn’t mean they will not ever make an NHL roster one day. In this salary-cap era, finding later round talent is a must!
A player like Jaromir Pytlik from the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) just may be one of these type players. Most “draft experts” have Pytlik being selected somewhere in the 2nd or 3rd round. Why, I don’t know? Because this 6’3″ 201-pound forward’s game is quite impressive. Since bringing his talents to North America from his native Czech Republic, Jaromir’s skill set has only improved.
We were recently lucky enough here at Flyers Nitty Gritty to catch up with this young and talented draft prospect. When asked what he is doing with his time off from hockey due to this pandemic, Pytlik informed us that he is spending his time putting in intense workouts on and off the ice every day. When asked what he would want Philadelphia fans to know about him, he stated, “A guy who is hard working, makes good decisions, and has a [sic] good skills. I’m a humble guy who really loves hockey.” When questioned what he thinks are his best characteristics of his game, Jaromir stated, “I think that I have really good skills, shot, skating, and puck handling. Any coach can trust me when he puts me on ice that I will do my best every time.”
If you were lucky enough to catch a game of the Soo Greyhounds over the previous two seasons you couldn’t have missed Pytlik’s hulking presence, seeing that he plays a 200 ft game. This well-rounded player not only skates well, picking up speed as he crosses out of his own defensive zone, but he also shows that he is extremely strong on the puck- much like one of his boyhood idols Jaromir Jagr (which he revealed to us here at Flyers Nitty Gritty in our interview with him). Pytlik weaves right through multiple opposing teams defenders with ease; managing to use his size and strength to keep the puck out of their reach at all times. Once Pytlik has sliced through the opposition’s attack he uses his remarkable hockey IQ to determine the best course of action: whether it be to fire the puck on net himself or set up a teammate for a goal (something he did quite frequently last season for Flyers Star Prospect Morgan Frost when the two were teammates for the Soo).
Pytlik was out to prove that he in fact did not need the likes of Frost to create offensive chances for him. With Frost moving on to bigger and better things, Jaromir used the extra ice time this year to more than double his point totals from the previous season, accruing 22 goals, 28 assists for 50 points on this shortened OHL season. These numbers did not go unnoticed by league executives and coaches. Pytlik (like Frost the previous year) obtained the right to play in the Canadian Hockey Leagues Top Prospect game; A game in which Jaromir held his own against the best the league had to offer.
The young prospect in Pytlik improved tremendously this season after further evaluating Pytlik’s game: When not creating plays himself Jaromir becomes a magician out on the ice, somehow managing to disappear in plain sight and thus is left wide open for a rebound behind defenders’ backs. He then reemerges at the site of a nice juicy rebound just in time to blow it by the other teams netminder.
For these reasons, when the time comes for the Flyers to make their selection in the 2nd round and this towering finisher is still on the board, they would be wise to call his name. Should the Flyers select Pytlik- who is very versatile and can play all three offensive positions- they should look to mold him to meet their needs, seeing that they have depth in nearly every position but wing. If they do so, maybe one day soon Pytlik could rejoin his fellow Greyhound teammate Frost and rekindle their chemistry.
