The Flyers have 10 picks in this years NHL Draft, including two in the first round, No. 7 and No. 29.
Following another frustrating year for the Broadstreet bullies, they need to draft and they need to draft big. So they may not pick up the next Sidney Crosby, but nor do they need too. With a defenseman and a RW being the predicted targets, it’s imperative that young talent is bought into these positions where depth is considerably ageing.
GM Ron Hextall is fully aware of the situation and the frustration from both internal sources and fans alike. This is a city that craves success as much as most of us want to breathe, the GM is looking to rectify that by bringing in the very best player available. In an interview with NHL.Com he was quoted as saying this:
“We’re going to take the best player,” he said. “You start looking at fits and stuff like that, you go by a player that’s a better player. In the end, I don’t believe in that. So we’re going to take the best player.”
The predicted top four prospects for the Flyers are defensemen and there is a big chance that one of the best three skaters in the country listed in NHL Scoutings’ final rankings could well be available.
If the Flyers do go ahead and draft a forward,Kingston Frontenacs could well be an option, as could Lawson Crouse and right wing Mikko Rantanen. All of whom will be profiled in the coming days.
One promising sign Because of the depth in talent, Hextall said it was unlikely that he would trade up for picks,or indeed move down. That means that after the top two players are taken, Hextall firmly believes that his picks are worth holding onto. If the talent pool is this large, then he is right. This year is going to be absolutely critical. H
In addition to acquiring what he hopes to be a top player at No. 7, Hextall said in the interview that due to the depth of this year’s draft, he hopes he can find an important player when the 29th pick arrives. The pick they attained from the Tampa Bay Lightning.
“I believe in five or seven years we’ll look back at this draft and go wow.” ” Truly four out of five are typical drafts, but this is a really, really strong draft. I think there’s going to be a lot of players coming out of this draft, not only from the first and second round, even deeper than that.” Could well be the two quotes to summarise this draft, the question is, are the Flyers looking at a franchise redefining player? And are the two players the team will pick up going to help send them to the Stanley Cup once again?
