The 2019 NHL Draft is now a thing of the past. However, there are now some new faces within Philadelphia’s farm system. In this edition of “Flyers Prospects Mailbag,” we discuss where some of these new prospects fit into the rankings. Additionally, we touch on one of the more intriguing new names in the prospect pipeline.
Thank you for the question, Phil. I believe that this topic warrants an article of its own at some point, which I intend to do. That will go into a lot more detail as to why I ranked particular prospects where I did. Still, I’ll give you a bit of a watered-down version here.
To me, the top-three prospects in the Flyers farm system have not changed. I know people will disagree with me but Morgan Frost sits at the top of my list. His accomplishments in the OHL are just too impressive to have him any lower at this point. Joel Farabee is my second-ranked prospect for now. This could change once hockey begins being played again next season. Both Farabee and Frost could possibly be on the same Phantoms team next season which will make it easier to compare. At number three, I have Isaac Ratcliffe. It might take him a little bit longer than Frost and Farabee but I’m expecting big things from him in the future.
After those three, I think you have to slot Cam York in at number four. Yes, he hasn’t played a game as a member of the Flyers system; however, he is already the best blueline prospect. After that, I honestly believe you could generate five different versions of prospects five through 10 and it would be hard to argue with you.
Of the recently drafted players, Bobby Brink is the only one that slots into the top ten for me right now. I absolutely love this kid and think that he could be looked at as Chuck Fletcher’s greatest draft pick down the line. As for the other players drafted this past weekend, they most likely fall into the 15-20 range for now. We just need to see more of them before they can climb up the rankings.
To piggyback a bit off the answer above, I believe Cam York slots right in to the fourth-best prospect in the farm system. After Frost, Farabee, and Ratcliffe, there is just nobody that stands out as having more obvious upside down the road.
Bobby Brink isn’t in my top-five yet. I have to sit down and do a little more work and comparisons before I give an exact number right now. However, he’s definitely in the top ten for me. More specifically, in that seven and ten range.
With the Flyers selecting Ronnie Attard in the third-round, he automatically becomes one of the more intriguing prospects in the pool. Before last season, his play with the Tri-City Storm was mediocre at-best. Then, last season, he completely blew up with 30 goals and 34 assists in 48 games. In addition, he was crowned USHL Player of the Year, USHL Defenseman of the Year, and USA Junior Hockey Player of the Year.
Attard is know for being very aggressive in the offensive end. He soaks up a lot of minutes and is known for skating all over the ice. He very rarely backs off and is always looking to make an impact play. On offense, this translates into point production. On defense, it looks more like consistently trying to deliver hits and make steals.
Though Attard’s aggressive style of play led to success last season, there are some concerns that it won’t translate well to higher levels of play. He’s not very technically-sound and his tendency to follow the puck around the ice will be more challenging to do against stronger competition. At this point, Attard should be viewed as a project. He’s got some great qualities but needs to fine-tune and work on a lot of his game. With the right coaching, this is more than possible.
Thank you so much to all of the people who provided questions for Flyers Prospects Mailbag! If you missed out this week, keep an eye on Twitter for my next request for your prospect questions.
Mandatory Credit: Derrik Bobb
