With Chuck Fletcher taking over as the Flyers General Manger (GM) you would have thought that he might stay away from defenseman in his first draft, beings that former GM Ron Hextall had left him with an abundance of excellent defensive prospects. Nevertheless, Chuck drafted under the old principle of you can never have too many defensemen, selecting Cam York in the first round at number 14 overall, then taking defenseman Ronald Attard in the 3rd with the 72nd overall selection. In addition, Fletcher’s 4th round pick was defenseman Mason Millman at 103rd overall. All of which seem to be solid picks to this point, and further adding to the stockpile of quality defenseman in the Flyers system. With that being said, let’s look at some of the top defenseman in this year’s draft class, because, you can bet the Flyers are.
Jamie Drysdale from the Erie Otters in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) looks to be the clear favorite to be the first defenseman taken in this summer’s draft. Drysdale has GM’s drooling right now over his skating ability. Jamie is hands down the best skating defenseman in this year’s draft! He will most certainly be selected very early, potentially within the top 5 picks overall. Drysdale is 5’11″ and 170 pounds he totaled 9 goals (G) 38 assist (A) for 47 points (P) while averaging a plus 9 on the year. Jamie will develop into a 25 minute a night defenseman in the NHL very soon. His talents will see him taken long before the Flyers 1st selection.
The second defenseman that should be taken off the list at this year’s draft is Jake Sanderson. This 17-year-old who is 6’1″ and weighs in at 185 pounds is the prize of the United States Developmental Program, (a program that was picked clean at last year’s draft but has restocked nicely). Sanderson is an old school defenseman who loves to finish off his checks. He is well schooled in the art of the poke check and erases opponents off the puck and into the boards. Sanderson saw great competition this year lining up across 21-year-old men on a nightly basis playing against some of the NCAA’s best teams and holding his own while doing so. Jake should develop into a top line pairing defenseman who will be a force on the penalty killing unit. He is the best defensive defenseman in this upcoming draft. He too will most likely be off the board by the time the Flyers make their selection.
Kaiden Guhle from the Prince Albert Raiders of the Western Hockey League (WHL) in my mind should be the 3rd defenseman taken in this year’s draft. Standing at 6’3″ and 187 pounds Guhle has NHL size already. Kaiden is a long-range sniper equipped with the best shot from distance coming out this year. Guhle’s point shot is one that should have most NHL defenseman jealous. Not only being deadly accurate, but it comes at opposing goalies hard and fast! Also, in Guhle’s bag of tricks is a fantastic one timer that will be making it onto NHL high light reels on a regular basis for some time to come. Doing all this while totaling an impressive 11G, 29A for 40P, while maintaining a plus 23 average on the year is notable. Kaiden is not as well-known as other top defensive prospects in this year’s draft though. In many NHL Mock Drafts they still have him available when the Flyers should be making their pick. If history repeats itself in Philly, you just may hear Kaiden Guhle’s name being announced when Chuck goes to announce his decision.
Next up, but no less talented is Braden Schneider of the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL. Schneider is 18-years-old and stands at 6’2″ 209 pounds. Braden is probably the most well-rounded defenseman in this upcoming draft. He does everything well and makes few mistakes. His numbers this year were as follows, In 60 games played this season he has amassed 7 goals 35 assists totaling 42 points on the season. Schneider should unquestionably be gone as well by the time the Flyers are drafting.
Justin Barron is my next man up if you will. If not for his battle with blood clots this season limiting his amount of games played Justin might have just been one of the top defensemen taken overall. For this reason, he will slide in the draft. Whoever selects him will be taking a high risk but most certainly have the possibility of a high reward if he is able to remain healthy. Barron is an ever-coveted right hand shot defenseman. Who currently plays for the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) where in just 34 GP he totaled 4G 15A for 19P. With not much in the way of help on defense though he was minus 19 on the season, something most NHL GM’s don’t like to see from someone their going to be selecting in the 1st round. Be that as it may this 6’2″ 187-pound defenseman has a lot of upside.
One defenseman that will no doubt go much higher than I have him positioned is Jeremie Poirier the 6’0″ 192 pounder of the Saint John’s Sea Dogs of the QMJHL. Poirier is one of the youngest players in this draft but has the best hands of anyone forward or defenseman alike. Poirier is the kind of guy that should hold clinics on stick handling, and puck control. Poirier’s overwhelming cockiness though often gets him into trouble. Jeremie frequently is found holding onto the puck a little too long creating many turnovers which lead to repeated breakaways (a goalie’s nightmare). Some teams are bound to think they will be able to fix Poirier and select him (thankfully) long before the Flyers are sent to the podium to make their selection.
Possibly the most underrated defenseman in this year’s draft is Alex Cotton from the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the WHL. This 6’2″ 183 pound 18-year-old had some season, stockpiling up the points with 20 goals, 47 assists for a total of 67 points, while managing to keep a plus 15 average for the season. Projected as a mid to late second rounder, Cotton offers the most bang for your buck. Playing a hard nose (GRITTY) style of game that sees him getting into his fair share of fights as he has shown he can be a complete defenseman. One, the Flyers might be willing to take a shot at in the second round.
Time will only tell just where the Flyers Management thinks the team will need help at the most. If is in fact defense these are some impressive prospects to choose from. Each one possessing their own particular set of skills that are widely different from one another but at the same time undoubtedly effective in their own way.
How about Helge Grans?