The Philadelphia Flyers aren’t far off from being a playoff team. Jakub Voracek is coming off a career high 81 points, and captain Claude Giroux, though he didn’t have a bad season, is looking to bounce back to be that 80+ point player we know he is. Aside from Giroux and Voracek, the Flyers look at Sean Couturier, Brayden Schenn, and Wayne Simmonds for scoring. They have some good pieces, but still need to add a few players to the fold if they’re going to be competitive. On the back end, the Flyers are deep in terms of prospects as well as left handed defencemen like Mark Streit, Andrew Macdonald, and Nicklas Grossman. There will be trades made as Hextall and Co. are up against the cap quite closely, meaning prospects like Sam Morin and Shayne Gostisbehere may see their day in the NHL sooner than later. Defence isn’t a weakness for the Flyers, but they due lack that true top pairing potential defenceman. With Sanheim, and the aforementioned Morin and Ghost, already in the system, the Flyers do have the ability to go with a forward this year. There will be a few options available at 7 including the likes of Pavel Zacha, Mathew Barzal, and Mikko Rantanen. Scouts seem to have differing views on Pavel Zacha, the argument being that he’s far too inconsistent to be a top 10 player. Mikko Rantanen, on the other hand, has only trended up. Rantanen’s 6’4 frame, along with his history of playing against men in Liiga, it wouldn’t be outlandish to suggest he may be able to crack a roster spot as early as next year. It’ll be a crazy day for the Flyers, especially if they decide to make some deals on the 26th.
Draft Day Gameplan
– Shed cap. Grossman, L. Schenn, Macdonald, Streit, and now Medvedev are eating up a lot of salary on the back end.
– Don’t take a gamble at 7. If a guy like Provorov or Hanifin have slipped, grab the BPA.
– Through rounds 2-7 go after forwards. The depth chart on the back end is loaded,
– Consider Samsonov at 29. Behind Mason, there’s no real A grade prospect.
Flyers Big Board (Without McEichel)
1. Mitchell Marner
2. Noah Hanifin
3. Dylan Strome
4. Ivan Provorov
5. Mikko Rantanen
6. Pavel Zacha
7. Mathew Barzal
8. Zach Werenski
9. Lawson Crouse
10. Denis Guryanov
Who do they take?
Could go any way for the Flyers. In my opinion it’ll be BPA, so in the range would be Provorov, Rantanen, Barzal, or Zacha. If it were me making the pick, and Provorov/Hanifin were gone, I’d take Mikko Rantanen, but Barzal would be heavily considered.
Darkhorse?
At 7 there’s too many sure fire prospects to be able to list a dark horse here, but if I were considering anyone outside the top 10 at this point then Timo Meier and Denis Guryanov would be at the top of the list.
