Photo Credit: Eliteprospects.com
The Flyers have been one of the worst teams in the league this year, so much so that most fans have already chalked this season up as a loss and are now looking forward to seeing who the team’s general manager Chuck Fletcher gets rid of at the trade deadline, and which top draft-prospect the team will end up with come July. But let’s be honest: Philadelphia is just now starting to get healthy. In true Flyers fashion they are bound to screw up the above-mentioned draft as well: They’ll win just enough games to get them out of contention for receiving one of the top players in this draft class, but not enough games to make the playoffs. With that being said, the Flyers’ scouts should begin to look at a couple of back up options just in case they don’t end up drafting where they originally thought they would, or if their choice is already taken.
Cutter Gauthier
One player who might be still available in that previously-mentioned mid first-round range- but whose talents are a little underrated- is the 18-year-old American-born center/wing Cutter Gauthier. Cutter, who stands at 6’3 and 194 pounds, is currently a member of the United States National Team Development Program where his impressive size and strength have helped him to become one of the elite power forwards of this draft class- something that the Flyers haven’t really had on their roster since Wayne Simmonds and/or Scott Hartnell. One reason why Gauthier may still be underrated is the fact that he is not a flashy goal-scorer like some of his current teammates. Which is fine, but out of the eight USNTDP Team members who are expected to be drafted in just the first round alone this year (Logan Cooley, Frank Nazar, Rutger McGroarty, Isaac Howard, Jimmy Snuggerard, Cutter Gauthier, Seamus Casey, and Ryan Chesley), most would be surprised to find out that Cutter is in fact the one leading the team in goals this year. In 16 games played (GP) against United States Hockey League’s (USHL) opponents, Gauthier has (a team-leading) 15 goals, 2 assists and 17 points while averaging a +9 average. When team USA takes on collegiate teams this season, Cutter has tallied a team-leading 26 goals and 14 assists- for 40 points in 38 games played- and has managed to maintain a +24 average. Gauthier is just the type of hard working, gritty style of player the Flyers have both built- and won- championships with in the past. The only difference is, along with his rugged build and physical play, he can also skate and score with the best of them.
Jagger Firkus
Next up on this list is a guy who is likely to go in the second round. Before you say it in the comments, I know the Flyers don’t currently have a second-round pick this year. But my thought process is “at least not yet!” Management has already said that they will be sellers at the trade deadline and, with the Flyers possibly trading away Giroux, Ristolainen, Brassard, Braun, Jones etc., they just might have a second-round pick by the time June comes around. With that being said, one player the Flyers should keep an eye on is Jagger Firkus of the Western Hockey League’s (WHL) Moose Jaw Warriors. Firkus is just 17 years old and is already simply dominating the competition. Through 55 GP this year, Jagger already has 30 goals and 39 assists for 69 points. That’s good enough for a 1.25 point-per-game average (P.P.G.), not to mention the fact that he’s maintaining a +14 average. To put this into perspective, those numbers are good enough to see Firkus ranked 8th overall in points and 11th overall in goals. That “11th in goals” may not sound overly impressive, but some players who are currently ranked higher than him are the highly-anticipated 2023 first overall draft selection Connor Bedard, 2021’s ninth overall draft selection Dylan Guenther, and Flyers’ prospect Connor McClennon. Moreover, Firkus’ 30 goals rank him 1st in the league this year for any WHL 2022 draft-eligible player. Since joining the Warriors last season, Firkus’ confidence has grown exponentially to the point now where he is able to make scoring goals seem effortless. Whether it’s sniping one past a netminder on the short side before they can even react or using his dangling skills to deke a goalie right out of his pads, Jagger seems to do either with ease. Why would the Flyers benefit from drafting a guy like this? Well, that’s an easy one: The Flyers have lacked a sniper for some time now. Most teams have a guy that every time he steps on the ice for his shift is a threat to score a goal. Last season the Flyers’ goal leader was Joel Farabee who finished the year with 20 goals for the 2020-2021 shortened season. Not too bad, right? I would beg to differ. That total ranked him 38th in the league, with the league-leader Austin Matthews finishing with more than double Farabee’s totals, netting 41 on the season. Last season wasn’t an anomaly though: The last time the Flyers had a 40 goal scorer was thirteen years ago when Jeff Carter scored an incredible 46 goals in the 2008-2009 season. Moreover, the last time they had a 50 goal scorer was when John LeClair tallied 51 in the 1997-1998 season which was some 24 seasons ago now.
Reese Laubach
Moving on now to the later round in this draft (possibly 5th)- a place where teams are more inclined to take a chance on a player who doesn’t traditionally come from the prototypical hockey sweat shops such as the CHL and others. Case in point: the 6’0 161-pound forward Reese Laubach who plays in the North American Prospects Hockey League (NAPHL) for the Northstar Christian Academy Knights of Minnesota. Laubach, a player who is scheduled to join the Minnesota State University Mankato-Mavericks for the 2023-2024 season, has been having a phenomenal year so far scoring 19 goals and 26 assists for 45 points in just 26 games played. That’s a 1.73 point-per-game (P.P.G.) average when facing other NAPHL teams. Even better is when you combine those totals with what he has been able to put up when the Knights go up against other non-NAPHL U18 teams: Reese has been able to net a combined 49 goals and 49 assists for 98 points in 55 games thus far! A 1.78 P.P.G. average. His heavily-laden stat sheets have managed to help lead his team to an incredible record of 50-5-2 to date. While Reese’s season is not over quite yet, he will most likely play in the United States Hockey League (USHL) for the Youngstown Phantoms (who drafted him in the third round this past May) next season while he awaits his chance to join the Mankato in 2023 where he should not disappoint. Laubach has both the shot and the hockey sense to find the best spot on the ice to await a pass to score a goal, like he did in this video from a game back in February.
Playing in the USHL for a year before attending college will also give him a break from having to do schoolwork. This should allow him some extra time in the gym so that he can put on some much-needed muscle before having to suit up against the best the NCAA has to offer.
Zachary Bookman
Last but not least is an overage player named Zachary Bookman, who will most likely go in the later part of the draft in the (6th or 7th round). That doesn’t mean his worth is any less than the previously mentioned players, though: Bookman is just a bit of a late bloomer. Zachary, who is a native of Syracuse, NY, is a 19-year-old right-hand-shot puck-moving defenseman who has been able to put up some pretty eye-opening stats this season to say the least. In 55 games played this year for the Brooks Bandits of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL), Bookman has been able to score an unheard-of 21 goals and 81 assists for 102 points! I’ll save you the trouble of having to math right now, that’s a 1.85 point-per-game average. To put into perspective how good of a season Bookman is currently having, not only has he already shattered his team’s record for points by a defenseman (which was previously held by none-other than the Colorado Avalanche’s current star defender Cale Makar who was able to post a 75-point campaign while playing for the Brooks Bandits back in the 2016-2017 season) but he has managed to break the AJHL record for points by a defenseman as well. Zach, who stands at just 5’10 and 176 pounds, managed to accomplish all this, not by using brute force, but by pure talent. Bookman is one of the purest skating defensemen available in this year’s draft class, which allows him to not only dance along the blueline but cycle the puck like a 10-year NHL veteran. Zach has shown the wherewithal to make strong and accurate outlet passes, he is known to jump the opposition’s play to create a turnover, and he’s aware of when to make a move in the offensive zone to suddenly be at the goal mouth to put back a juicy rebound. Due to attend Merrimack College next season, Bookman would be an absolute steal for the Flyers if they were able to acquire him late in the draft. They currently lack depth on the right side and he could one day possibly replace the kind of offensive production the team lost on the back end when they traded away Shayne Gostisbehere.
These are but a few of the hidden gems at whom the Flyers should start to take a closer look for the upcoming draft. With this team now on the mend, and players starting to return to the lineup, Philadelphia will most likely start to win a few games like they did recently against the Blackhawks therefore causing them to slip out of the draft lottery and thus pick later in the following rounds as well. Potentially, this would leave scouts having to scramble to assess a whole new group of potential draft prospects. With Giroux possibly playing some of his last games in a Flyers uniform in the coming weeks, management simply can’t miss on any of their draft selections this year in order to try and find his replacement.
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