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The NHL Draft is set to begin on Thursday, July 7 in Montreal. The Flyers hold the fifth overall pick after dropping one spot in the draft lottery. At five, they can go a number of different routes. They could add to their current forward group with Joakim Kemell, Matthew Savoie, Cutter Gauthier, or one of the top centers if any of them slip. They could help strengthen their blue line for 2023-2024 if they take one of the top defensemen in the class with the likes of Simon Nemec or David JiĹ™ĂÄŤek. Both of the top defensemen are right-handed and that is a need within the organization. They could also look to trade down a few spots if they felt that the player they want could be available later in the first round. It happened in 2019 when they traded back and still got Cam York. In that trade, they also were able to gain another pick and take Bobby Brink, a skilled playmaking forward who received a taste of NHL action in the final stretch of the season.
No matter what the Flyers decide to do, their current prospect pool most likely won’t change until after the draft. Recently, the team decided to not sign Connor McClennon to an ELC (Entry-Level-Contract). It was an interesting decision since he led all the Flyers’ prospects in goals and was linemates with one of the top players in this year’s draft class in Matthew Savoie. Current prospects, like Tyson Foerster, Bobby Brink, Noah Cates, and Wade Allison will have their eyes on cracking the opening night roster. Others, like Jay O’Brien, Samu Tuomaala, and Elliott Desnoyers, will be fighting to prove they are still future NHL’ers.
Every prospect has a different route to the NHL. Some, like Kevin Hayes, never sign with their draft team and are highly coveted as UFA’s. Some, like Joel Farabee, need a year or two in college to add some strength and find ways to develop their skills before playing a few games in the AHL and hitting their stride in the NHL before long. A player like Tyson Foerster or Wade Allison, having dealt with injuries during their pro careers may need more time to prove their bodies can hold up physically. Both of those players should be Flyers for a long time, but until then, they have to prove they can stay on the ice.
In hopes of simplifying which Flyers’ prospects can make the team out of camp, I am separating the prospects into tiers of how likely or unlikely they are. The first tier will be the ones with the best shot to make it and the lowest tier will be made up of longshots, at least for the time being.
Tier 1: Locks
Cam York- Make no mistake, York will be on the team and unless he struggles mightily, should be up the whole year. It’s time to consider York a full-time NHL’er.
Morgan Frost– Frost hasn’t done much in the NHL, but what else is there to prove for him in the AHL? Sure, having him gain confidence helps, but sending him back and forth every week does nothing to help him. He’s 23 now and was taken in the same draft as Nolan Patrick. He has had some good moments in the NHL, he’s had injuries that cost him development time, and he’s essentially out of chances. The hiring of John Tortorella will either accelerate his development and really help him establish himself in the NHL, or it will spell the end for him in a Flyers uniform. No in-between.
Tier 2: Near-Locks
Owen Tippett- Tippett could be the only piece the Flyers retain from the Claude Giroux trade. There have been ideas about moving the 2024 1st-rounder from Florida in exchange for a piece to help them get back to contending. Tippett is in tier two because I don’t know how he will adjust to Tortorella’s scheme and philosophy. He could never find his niche under Joel Quenneville in Florida and he currently is an RFA. He, like Frost, should be on a one-year, prove that you can play in the NHL, deal from the club. He’s played 115 games in the league over parts of three seasons. He’s also 23 and now is the time for him to figure it out. Considering the entire organization wants to try and contend this season, there is a possibility he could be moved.
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Ivan Fedotov- Fedotov, the 6’8” Russian goalie prospect was signed to his one-year ELC after the Flyers’ season ended. If the Flyers don’t sign a goalie in free agency, Fedotov will be the backup. It may not be the worst idea to have Felix Sandström backup Carter Hart for a few weeks or a month just to get Fedotov acclimated to North American hockey, then bring him up. Going from living in Russia to living in one of the most insane sports towns (in a good way) on the planet will be at least a small culture shock. Either way, he will be in the NHL for most of, if not all year.
Tier 3: AHL To Start
Bobby Brink- Had a brief stint in the NHL at the end of last season and looked good. Brink led all players in scoring in the NCAA last year and immediately made the jump to the NHL following Denver’s Championship run during the NCAA Tournament. He was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award, annually given to the best player in college hockey. He was given ten games with the Flyers and notched four assists without registering a goal. Brink could be on a similar path as Farabee as he may only need to play a few games in the AHL before cracking the lineup on a consistent basis for the Flyers.
Noah Cates- It was interesting how Chuck Fletcher did not make much of an effort to talk about Noah Cates during the Flyers’ exit interviews. This could be something to keep in mind as Cates is a Ron Hextall draft pick. On the ice, he had a pretty good stint with the Flyers in his 16 games with five goals and four assists. Cates also took initiative in media sessions talking about how the Flyers were missing “swagger” and the expectation of winning in their locker room following a loss to the Sabres in April. Cates is as close to NHL-ready as it gets, there just might not be a spot for him to start the season.
Wade Allison- Similar to Foerster in the fact that he hasn’t been able to stay healthy and similar to Cates in the fact that there isn’t much room for him right now. Allison was expected to be called up by the Flyers during their end-of-season call-ups but never was. The truth is, he was never healthy. Allison was injured during the rookie game in September, took a while to come back just to be healthy enough to play, then dealt with nagging issues the rest of the year. It was smart of the Flyers to not bring him up considering his health and his record of being an injury-prone player. The ability is there, there are no questions about that. He played in 14 games with the Flyers in 2021 and had seven points while moving up and down the lineup. If there is a trade, Allison could start in the NHL, but considering the philosophy within the organization of winning now, it’s more likely he would be in the trade than benefit from it playing-time-wise.
Tier 4: AHL
Ronnie Attard- Attard, the final of the college rookie trio, played 15 games in the NHL. Attard was given #47 and at times looked like a former Flyers’ defenseman who also wore #47. Having Keith Yandle and Nick Seeler as primary partners definitely did not help Attard grow, but he still has work to do to stick in the NHL. The Flyers definitely have something with him as a big, two-way defender who can skate well. Attard definitely has some skill as well, notably his big shot from the point. The biggest knock on Attard’s game at the moment is consistency. There were games last year when he looked extremely good in the first or second period and then looked like an AHL’er in the third. Attard definitely has a future in the NHL, likely as a second or third pair defenseman, but has to string together weeks if not months of consistent hockey.
Tyson Foerster- Foerster, the Flyers’ 1st-round pick in 2020, is still only 20-years-old and won’t be 21 until midway through the 2022-2023 season. He has played well in his limited time with the Phantoms, posting 12 goals and eight assists in 33 games. He began his career in Lehigh Valley but suffered a leg injury causing him to miss all but 24 games. He returned the next season to only play nine games due to a shoulder injury. Following his shoulder injury, he returned to the OHL where he was near a point per game production-wise. Foerster will start this year in the AHL where he can hopefully stay healthy for the entire year. If he does that, he could earn a call-up to the show before the end of the season.
Yeah, fhead fletch would rather sign another Nate Thompson than give Cates a shot.