Sure, Philadelphia will be able to acquire a fairly good player at thirteen, but what happens if guys they should be targeting (like the Barrie Colts’ right-hand-shot defenseman Brandt Clarke, the Peterborough Petes’ sniper Mason McTavish, or Sioux Falls sparkplug Cole Sillinger) are all off the board by the time the Flyers’ general manager Chuck Fletcher heads to the stage to make his 1st selection?
Well, one option could be 18-year-old Matthew Coronato who played in the United States Hockey League (USHL) this season for the Chicago Steel. Matt is a 5’10 183-pound versatile forward who has proven he can excel at any of the forward positions. Whether he is slotted in at right wing, center, or left wing- it seemingly doesn’t matter; Coronato manages to produce in bunches. In fact, Matt (who is better known in Chicago by his nickname “the Bison”) scored an amazing 48 goals (G) and 37 assists (A), for a total of 85 points (P) in just 51 games played (GP) this year. If you do the math that’s an astounding 1.66 point-per-game pace on the season. Not only has Coronato amassed the most goals in all the USHL this year, he also managed to be the league’s leader in plus/minus as well with an impressive +37 average on the season.
Coronato’s talents didn’t subside once he got to the playoffs either: Matt’s relentless drive saw him score 9 G and 4 A, for 13 P in just 8 GP on his way to helping his team hoist the USHL’s Clark Cup Championship this year. Nonetheless, fans and GM’s alike should not consider Matt to be some sort of one trick pony. Adding to his massive scoring arsenal of shots, he also appears to never come off the ice- seeing that Coronato excels while out on the power play as well as the penalty kill. These are traits that have this player- who is now the all-time leader in goals for the Steel- drawing comparisons (from some experts) to his idol- the great Brayden Point of the Tampa Bay Lightning (whom he models his game after).
The Flyers could no doubt use Matt’s scoring touch and intense work ethic in and around their locker room sooner rather than later and getting to add a finisher like Coronato would be quite the catch if the Flyers were to miss out on the top players, they have on their draft boards this year.
A second option who the Flyers could target if the guy they wanted has already been selected is Canadian-born right-hand-shot defenseman Corson Ceulemans who played for the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s (AJHL) Brooks Bandits for the past 3 seasons. His play this year was quite hard to judge seeing he played in just 8 games for the Bandits (thanks to COVID and the WJC) but he still scored 4 goals and 7 assists (for 11 points) during that time. Still, while some may have doubted his talents (given his choice to play in a league that is thought to be far more inferior to others throughout Canada) Ceulemans managed to prove his doubters wrong this season when he made team Canada’s U-18 roster where he managed to help them win gold by totaling 8 points in just 6 games played. To add to those stats during the tournament he also averaged a remarkable +11 during that time.
With that knowledge, this 6’2 201-pound defenseman will be ready next season when he suits up for the University of Wisconsin where he is already committed to playing. Once settled down in Madison, he is sure to further progress his game under the great tutelage of head coach Tony Granato the next few seasons and should be ready to turn pro before you know it.
We all know that the Flyers could use some help on defense and Ceulemans might just be the guy to be able to do so. While it is true Philadelphia already has a wealth of blue liners in their system, very few possess a right-hand shot.
The last (and probably most controversial) pick the Flyers could make if a player of his caliber is still on the board is Sebastian Cossa, the 6’6 212-pound goaltender from the Western Hockey League’s (WHL) Edmonton Oil Kings. Yes, I know what you’re thinking “the Flyers already have Carter Hart,” but rarely does a goaltender of Sebastian’s talents ever come along. Cossa posted an unheard of 1.57 goals against average (GAA) this season that he paired with a .941 save percentage (SV%), which allowed him to achieve a record of 17-1-1 in which time he also managed to earn a total of 4 shutouts.
I know there has been a lot of goalies drafted in the 1st round in the past that have turned out to be bust, but there have also been quite a few, like three-time Stanley Cup winner Martin Brodeur who was drafted in the 1st round of the 1990 draft; 1997’s 1st rd. pick the highly decorated Roberto Luongo; 2003 1st round pick Marc-Andre Fleury- who has also won three cups and has made fifteen straight playoff appearances; 2005 1st round pick’s Carey Price; cup winner Tuukka Rask; and 2012’s 1st round pick Andre Vasilevskiy- who has won lord Stanley’s Cup as well.
Besides, while not solely his fault, Philadelphia’s Carter Hart (who was the Flyers’ 2016 2nd round pick) didn’t manage to help the team much when they finished 30th in the league in goals against and 31st (dead last) in save percentage this past season.
In fact, Chuck Fletcher’s comments from the team’s end-of-year press conference (provided below) might lead one to believe a move like drafting Cossa might at least be in the back of his mind.
“I think we have a few priorities…Looking outside the organization certainly, we could upgrade everywhere, up front, defense. Certainly, we’re going to have to take a look at our situation in goal, which has kind of been a consistent struggle here for years. We have different areas we have to look at.” -Chuck Fletcher
Or how about this statement made by Chuck at the same press conference.
“It’s clear that when you give up the number of chances and the number of goals we did this year, you’re going to have a tough time winning games…We need to improve our ability to keep the puck out of the net and everything that goes with that is what we will look to do this off season.” – Chuck Fletcher
Chuck has to at least have an elite goaltender like Cossa labeled as a potential possibility in this year’s draft regardless of if they already have Hart. Just look at most of the teams that were (or still are) playing in the playoffs right now; Most have two #1 guys on their roster so if one goalie doesn’t have it that night the other can step in and carry the team. Besides, it might be time for a bit of redemption of sorts: To date, Chuck has only drafted one goalie since taking on the job as Philadelphia’s general manager and that was Roddy Ross who he selected in 2019 in the 6th round, and Fletcher just let him walk without a contract recently because his stats made him a failed experiment- to say the least. So, while I do think that Hart will surely rebound and learn from this past season, all I’ll say is: Don’t be surprised if this move does indeed come into fruition.
Any of these players would be a great option if the team’s target player happens to be already taken by the time they go to make the 13th selection. But none of these players should be considered a mere consolation prize! All of them have a good chance at one day being contributing players on their respected NHL franchises and, who knows, with enough hard work they could turn into future NHL stars. With that being said, with the way the Flyers played last season, they are in no position to be picky! Philadelphia needs help in any and all positions and should take the best player available when it is their turn to make their selection.
I love carter hart but couldn’t agree more that you need two these days.