A new hotbed for talented young hockey players is, of all places, Germany. With players like Leon Draisaitl to Moritz Seider (A defenseman who was drafted #6 overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2019 draft), the Germans have shown that they can indeed develop NHL-level talent. Draisaitl, from the Edmonton Oilers, is quickly becoming one of the biggest Stars in the entire NHL- posting 50 goals last season and 110 Points in just 71 games played this season. Even with players like this being produced, for whatever reason the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) (Germany’s top professional hockey league) has not been a place Flyers scouts have attended very frequently in their 53 years of existence, and they have only drafted three players ever of German descent: One being Marcel Noebels in 2011, Dennis Seidenberg back in 2001, and before that Willie Huber in 1980 (who never ended up playing a game for the Flyers). As a result, management just doesn’t seem very confident in their abilities.
There seems to be no time like the present for the Flyers scouts to start to race up and down the Autobahn with the objective of finding that next great German superstar. With names like the phenomenal Tim Stutzle (played with Alder Mannheim in the DEL this past season) is a clear top 3 overall pick in this year’s draft, to John-Jason Peterka (played for the DEL’s EHC Red Bull München) who excels when the spotlights are shining the brightest. Peterka may get selected in the first round of this year’s entry draft, as well. Last, but certainly not least, is winger Lukas Reichel of the DEL’s Eisbaren Berlin- a name that is quickly moving up draft boards after an impressive 1st season in the DEL, and a good showing at the World Junior Championships. Realistically he could get selected in the first or second round.
Out of those names, Reichel is the one who the Flyers should be keeping an eye on the most. He has been vastly overshadowed by Stutzle and Peterka most of his career, but may not be for much longer! What stands out the most about this 6’0″ 172-pound winger is that he will be one of the youngest players involved in this draft. Many critics thought that Reichel would have started the season in the DEL, later having to be relegated to the DEL 2 or DEL 3 (Germany’s minor leagues) because of his play and inexperience. Lukas proved this season that he was not going to have any parts of a demotion: Not only did this 17-YEAR-OLD (Reichel) manage to remain up with Berlin (in Germany’s top professional league) the whole season he nearly doubled the amount of goals that “The Great” Tim Stutzle or John-Jason Peterka put up, totaling 12 goals to Stutzle’s and Peterka’s 7 each.
Lukas put up the points he did by utilizing his superb skating ability, and by applying his impressive first three steps to accelerate to speeds that allowed him to seemingly blow by the competition like they were standing still. Reichel also uses his continuous work ethic to battle along the boards and in the dirty areas to regain control of the puck while on a forecheck. Applying all these traits allowed him throughout this year to get in position to take a shot from his preferred location (in tight to the net). However, what Reichel should rely on more is his extremely underrated wrist shot. It is underrated mostly because Lukas does not use it often. Reichel’s incessant efforts while training have paid off. His release is effortless- with the puck coming off the stick like a bullet leaving a gun, causing fans having to watch the replay in slow motion just to see when it left his stick and hit the back of the net.
Reichel and his fellow German players really put themselves on the map this year at the World Junior Championships, with Lukas managing to put up the same point totals as the Superstar prospect Stutzle (With both netting five points). The only difference is that Reichel netted three goals in that five points to Stutzle’s zero. Lukas did all of this while playing on Deutschland’s second line where he had to create plays for himself while being forced to play with line mates that weren’t equipped with the same skill sets as he. While Tim Stutzle and John-Jason Peterka had the luxury of playing on the same line.
Although, Reichel has shown that he has a scorer’s touch, and could one day perform on a top 6 role in the NHL, he must put in the time in order to improve upon his defensive skill set. One way he could do that is to build strength by adding some much-needed weight via muscle. Because everyone knows that the guys that are lucky enough to play in the NHL are usually the biggest, fastest, and most physical that the world has to offer.
If Lukas Reichel happens to fall to the second round (As he might with such an offensively-stacked draft class as this one is) the Flyers and General Manager Chuck Fletcher would be wise to try and move up a couple of spots to acquire this swift-footed German winger with a knack for putting the puck in the net. Lukas has only just begun to show what kind of player he could become when a team decides to bring him stateside. Time will tell just what his potential ceiling may be, but one thing is for certain: it will be exciting to watch him develop.
Stützle played 5 games and Reichel 7 on the World Juniors and NO, Reichel played most of the games WITH Stützle and Peterka.