Thanks to COVID, precisely when this announcement will be made by the Flyers’ general manager Chuck Fletcher is still up in the air. Currently, the NHL is looking into all avenues to explore for the next draft. Options on the table are varying and include to just have it on time (that would leave teams uncertain of whom to take in the later rounds due to lack of available film on those players since most leagues around the world have either chosen to not play at all or have started their seasons and have since seen them come to a halt (due to COVID), and range all the way to not holding one this year at all and just doing back-to-back drafts the season after.
With this ambiguity of still what decision is to come though, Fletcher and his staff must remain at the ready to make their selection. So, without further ado here is my incredibly early prediction of whom the Flyers should take with their 1st round pick.
That player should be none other than Zachary L’Heureux of the Halifax Mooseheads that play in the Québec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). Zach, who is still just 17-years-old (but will be eligible for the next draft), stands at a solid 5’11 and 196 pounds. He is that quintessential power forward that the Flyers currently lack on their roster. One that pairs pure power, strength, and grit with a unique offensive skill set.
L’Heureux started his junior career after being selected 3rd overall in the 2019 QMJHL draft. Being taken by the Moncton Wildcats, Zachary would quickly prove that they made the right choice. In his first season with the Wildcats, he was able to go on a 11-game point streak totaling 15 points during that time. This run would help propel himself to finish tied for 1st in the league in points by a rookie. That season he totaled 20 goals and 33 assists, for 53 points in 55 games played. L’Heureux accomplished all this while still averaging a defensively responsible plus 34 on the season.
You would think that the Wildcats would be happy to have a guy like L’Heureux back next season, but Moncton choose to trade him (and another player whose name you might be familiar with- Elliot Desnoyers (the Flyers 5th round selection in last year’s draft)) at the season’s end to the Halifax Mooseheads, in exchange for some more seasoned players to help the Wildcats make a push for a championship.
Here is where it gets interesting though: Desnoyers and L’Heureux (who are becoming best friends) are now line mates as well in Halifax. These two have not only been able to develop a psychic ability to know where each other are at all times while on the ice, but they complement each other’s games as well.
While Desnoyers’s game is more about skill and speed, L’Heureux’s game is more about strength and toughness. Zachary’s strength is best put on display when he shows off his physical side of the game, like when he lays massive open-ice hits that completely take his opponent off their skates. It also is made evident when he finds himself in the dirty areas where he uses his strength to win puck battles on a nightly basis, fighting tooth and nail along the offensive boards to try to get the puck back for his team while on the forecheck. His toughness is often on display when he stands in front of the opposition’s net and shows that he is willing to take the abuse that comes with holding down that real estate. He does this so that he can screen the goalie, be in place for a redirection, or be in position for a nice rebound. But his toughness is probably best brought to the light when he shows off his willingness to come to a teammate’s aid and drop his gloves. This is definitely something the Flyers have seemed to lack since management pushed out Wayne Simmonds possibly a few years to early.
Since being in Halifax, L’Heureux’s work ethic has allotted him the privilege of playing on the top line for the Mooseheads, and what a fine 1st line indeed Zachary gets to play with: Desnoyers, another potential future 1st round pick in Robert Orr, and Colorado Avalanche’s 2020 1st round pick defenseman Justin Barron. To date, L’Heureux has shown he can more than keep up with the likes of his new line mates by operating at a near point-per-game pace this season with 9 goals and 7 assists to his credit, for 16 points in 17 games played. In fact, the Mooseheads like him so much that they seem to never really let him leave the ice; exploiting his abilities to not only protect the puck but fire it as well. The team has him quarterbacking the power play at times from the point and makes good use of his blistering wrist shot. In a man-down situation Zach can be found on the ice as well, given the need for his relentless drive to regain the puck and his increasingly rare ability to use his body as a human catapult- hurtling himself at anyone with the opposite team’s jersey on as soon as they touch the puck.
But perhaps this is where Halifax is beginning to do him (and others) a bit of a disservice. One of the big knocks on L’Heureux right now is that he sometimes does not skate out the plays later in the shifts. Now we all know that the Flyers’ head coach Alain Vigneault would not stand for this, but this may not be Zachary’s fault: The Mooseheads have shown that on more than one occasion they rely too heavily on their 1st line players; playing Zach and others in any and all facets of the game, sometimes even keeping them out on the ice during a power play for 1:20-1:30 shifts (when an average shift should be no more than 30 seconds). No wonder L’Heureux is not hustling at the end of his shift. They are entirely too long; he and others are completely gassed out there! Zach showed more hustle last year with the Wildcats getting back to make a play in his defensive zone; he also showed more explosiveness in the offensive end, making for an easier time to get around the opposition while holding the puck during an offensive zone rush. Moncton’s extreme depth last season also allowed for L’Heureux to play on the second line where this year’s Halifax offense widely relies on the output of their 1st line players.
So, with all this being said, there’s no doubt that the Flyers could use a future perennial power forward (that has drawn such comparisons to NHL’er Max Domi) like Zachary L’Heureux in their lineup in the coming years. His impressive power and strength will only increase, as will his height- given that he is still just 17 years old. His ability to contribute on both the PP and PK could certainly be put to good use here in Philadelphia as well. But most of all his willingness to stand up for not only himself after a dirty play but teammates such as his best friend (Flyers’ star prospect Elliot Desnoyers) is invigorating! That is why the Flyers should fight to bring this Bully to Broad Street with their 1st round selection in the next NHL Entry Draft.
