The Flyers prospects had a lot to show at Player Development Camp on Tuesday. After the forwards and defensemen were split up on Monday; the two corps intermingled and we got to see some intriguing match ups. A lot the drills were 1 v 1 which showed the strengths and exposed some weakness' of the prospects.
Here is a recap of some of the players performances Tuesday.
Petr Straka, who was the most impressive player I saw on Monday, was showing off his skills again Tuesday morning. Probably the part of this game most on display today was his speed. One drill required the forward to receive a pass from a defenseman, skate around obstacles through the neutral zone, turn around at the far blue line and the go in one on one against the defenseman. Straka was able to use his speed to get the defenseman back on their heels and was usually able to release a shot unincumbered. Straka did fumble the puck a couple times, but was overall strong on the puck. A left handed right wing, Straka has a great ability to cut to the middle from the right wing, something a Jakub Voracek just developed last year. He struggles mightily cutting from the left wing to the center; so I wouldn't count on him pulling the reverse Ovechkin anytime soon.
Nick Cousins probably put on his most impressive performance at a Flyers Prospect camp ever on Tuesday. He was able to show off some of the skills that made him one of the OHL's top players over the past two seasons. A two on one drill allowed him to show off his impressive passing skills. And he was able to show off his hands and was able to create space on multiple one on one drills.
Mark Alt was probably the most impressive defenseman at camp today. Alt's raw skill has been talked about a lot since the Flyers acquired him. Andreas Lilja called him "something special" (which might not sound like a lot, but he has played with some great defensemen in his time and more importantly some defenseman who would go on to become great). What impressed me most about Alt was his positioning. He always always between the shooter and the goalie, preventing the shooter from getting a quality shot. He used his big frame and considerable strengths to drive players outside. He was an all around defensive force. That is all on top of offensive skill. He can make a quick first past and has a very heavy wrist shot, probably the hardest amongst defensemen at camp.
I got a much better look at 2011 First Round pick Scott Laughton on Tuesday. I thought he looked good after seeing him briefly on Monday, but he is apparently at a whole other level. Laughton has showed off some impressive offensive skills. He has very good hands and showed no fear in using those hands against some of the Flyers top defensive prospects. His shot has always been impressive, but he seems to have become more accurate. His tenacity and willingness to initiate contact with defensemen allows him to drive defensemen back or catch them off guard and go right past them. We knew he was a smart player, we knew he was tough, we knew he was strong defensively, but he's become a much better offensive player than when we drafted him last season.
Shayne Gostisbehere was pretty tenacious in his own right. We all think of Gostisbehere as a small, puck moving, point producing forward; which he is. But if you've seen Gostisbehere, either at World Juniors or at Union, you'll know he has a physical side to him. Every time I watched play at Union I saw him step up and blow up a forward from the other team. He is an aggressive player. We didn't see him drop anybody at camp today, but we did see him use his speed to get into players faces and force them outside.
Robert Hagg had a strong Tuesday. His gap control and active stick made him a hard to play against one on one. Most of the time players couldn't even get a shot off. He has an impressive wrist shot but he isn't incredibly accurate. He did struggle in the two on one drills.
One player that I found surprisingly impressive as camp invitee Stephen Harper. Harper was ranked 38th Overall amongst North American skaters half way through the season. Craig Button had him as the 30th ranked prospect overall in October. But Harper struggled throughout the season, fell to be the 128th ranked North American skater by the end of the season, and fell completely off the board on draft day. Today I got my first look at Harper and you could see that first round potential he had at the start of the season. He's fast, aggressive, and has a quick release on his shot. Probably the most impressive part about Harper is how he plays away from the puck. In the two on one drill he would always put himself in the best position. I don't know why he struggled so much this past season. But he has tons of potential. He may be invited to the prospect camp in the fall, but I would love to see them sign him before another team sees his potential and snaps him up.
One of the most interesting drills was a one on one drill that pitted two players against each other for a long period of time (well a long period compared to the usual one on one drills). It was essentially a one on one battle until the forward scores, the defenseman clears the zone, or the goalie covered it. And since players were usually pitted up against the same player again and again we got a consistent look at how guys play. Here are some of the match ups.
STRAKA VS LUUKKO
I praised Luukko yesterday for becoming a strong defensive player. Today he was matched up against one of the best offensive players in camp. He did quite well. He didn't give Straka many open looks, but he also couldn't keep the puck away from Straka for very long. Whenever Luukko was able to knock the puck off Straka's stick Straka would win the race to the puck. That's a big plus for Straka; he wants the puck. The only way somebody would beat him to the puck is if he got lazy and that's not how he plays.
NOEBELS VS ALT
Noebels was able to pull of a couple of nifty moves early; but this was the Mark Alt show. Noebels is big, strong, and offensively gifted. Those three things come together in Noebels better than they do in anybody else in camp. And Mark Alt dominated him. He was physical when he needed to be physical; he was smart when he needed to be smart.
COUSINS VS WILLCOX
Cousins has great hands, decent speed, and good escape ability. Maybe Willcox, who is 6 inches bigger than Cousins, was just too much for Cousins to handle but Willcox handled him pretty much every time they squared off. Willcox has become a strong defensive defenseman. He went from being lanky last camp to beefy at this camp. His combination of physicality and smarts reminds me a lot of Nicklas Grossmann. He may not get to the league as fast (Grossmann was a regular NHLer when he was 22/23) but I think he can be just as effective.
HARPER VS HAGG
This was the best battle between two players in this drill. One time Hagg would dominate and Harper wouldn't be able to get a shot off. Sometimes Harper's aggressiveness would be too much for Hagg to handle. This wasn't a battle between a 2nd round pick and a camp invitee, this was a battle between two very talent players imposing their will on one another. Both were very impressive.
LAUGHTON VS MORIN
It should have been the clash of the titans. Two first round picks going toe to toe. It wasn't. This was Scott Laughton taking Samuel Morin to school. Laughton's speed and escapablity would usually be too much to handle, but Laughton didn't rely on his strengths, he went right for Morin's strengths. He initiated contract, meaning he went right into Morin's strength and in the range of Morin's reach. He went right at what Morin does best and he beat him at it.
Samuel Morin was primed to have a great day in camp. In early drills Morin was playing well. He scored glove side three times (twice going short side on Penn State Goalie Matt Skoff, once going long side on 6th round pick Merrick Madsen). Then things started going down hill. Morin began fumbling the puck and missing guys on passes while still going through offensive drills. But when it turned to defensive drills is when things went bad. On the one on one fast break drill he retreated far too fast allowing most players to get shots of unencumbered. One time Stephen Harper came down the wing, initiated contact, and then blew right by Morin and tucked by the goalie far side. Morin went against Harper again, this time Morin was more aggressive and forced him into the corner. In the two on one drill Morin again retreated to fast allowing the two forwards to pass around him like a pylon. One time through the two on one drill Morin looked dominant, but as he was skating the puck out of the zone he was caught by (guess who) Stephen Harper, who stripped him of the puck. Morin then laid out to block a pass to Harper's partner (Andrew Johnston, I believe) and slid out of the zone allowing the two players to go back and forth a couple times before Morin got back in the zone.
Luckily for Morin, the things he did bad today can be easily fixed. One problem is that Morin might not be fixing those things until he gets to the Phantoms. Morin has had the same coach, Serge Beausoleil, for both his seasons at Rimouski. If Beausoleil hasn't fixed this yet he probably isn't going to while Morin is still in junior. I wish Morin could jump straight to the AHL. He's not ready for the NHL, not by a long shot, but he could learn and grow so much by playing in the AHL. Players like Morin can only learn so much by pushing around 16 year olds and undersized 20 year olds in the QMJHL. He needs to play against men as soon as possible. That's why you see a handful of great defensive defensemen coming out of Europe at a younger age (Grossmann was 22, Ladislav Smid started his first full season at 20) cause they play and practice against men. Unfortunately, because of a transfer agreement, Morin can't go to the AHL until he is 20.
In goalie news Anthony Stolarz was might impressive today. He even showed off a little bit of his prowess playing the puck. Stolarz has easily been the best goalie in camp so far, which is impressive considering Ryan McKay was dominant in the NCAA as a 20 year old freshman. Merrick Madsen had another impressive day; seeing a higher caliber of shots from guys like Laughton, Harper, and Taylor Leier (yesterday he only played against defensemen).
Trial on the Isle tomorrow and the Flyers prospects are back on the ice Thursday.
Here are my thoughts on the Flyers at Prospect Camp from Monday
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Monday, July 8, 2013
Flyers Prospects Development Camp Recap: Monday
Though the Flyers started Player Development Camp Sunday night, I wasn't able to get out to get my first in-person look until Monday morning. There were quite a few players that jumped out at me in that first day.
2011 DRAFT CLASS
Only two players from the 2011 Draft Class were brought into camp this year. Nick Cousins and Marcel Noebels. This is Nick Cousins' third time being at prospect camp. I've seen him at least once every time he's been to camp and I've noticed one thing. Nick Cousins is not a training camp player. In his first camp Cousins was so snake bitten he couldn't have kept control of the puck if his stick was covered in Stickum, at least when I saw him. He went out that next season and finished 8th in the OHL in scoring on a bad team. Last year he wasn't overly impressive and followed that camp up by finishing 4th Overall in OHL scoring (likely would have finished 1st if he wasn't suspended for four games towards the end of the season). Today he wasn't bad but he didn't jump out as much as other players. Some players just don't play well in camp. There is not doubt that Cousins has tons of talent and brings a lot of intangibles (he plays a pesky style similar to Brad Marchand) that simply don't show up in camp.
Marcel Noebels is making his first appearance at Flyers prospect camp after getting drafted two years ago. Noebels has always been a strong defensive player and be a great utility player; being able to play Left, Right, and Center. He's developed a bit of a goal scoring touch with the Phantoms and he showed it off a bit in camp. Twice in a drill he was able to cut across the front of the net and back hand the puck above the goalies into the top of the net. It's not an easy shot to make and he made it twice while taking some soft pressure from Flyers coaches.
2012 DRAFT CLASS
Almost every member of the 2012 Draft Class was at prospect camp, the exception being Valeri Vasiliev who is training with his KHL club Spartak in Russia. Some of the 2012ers have made big jumps from last year.
Anthony Stolarz might have made the biggest jump from one year to the next. Stolarz came into last years camp as a big, raw prospect. This year he is much more refined and much stronger positionally. He seems to have a much better idea as how to use his size to his advantage. One of the biggest obstacles in Stolarz development is how well he handles adversity. He was pulled out of both the OHL Championship and Memorial Cup for back up Jake Patterson. Patterson will still be with London next season and Stolarz will like have to fight to get his spot back. But if he continues to develop at the rate he has he will regain his starting spot. Stolarz will be on minor hockey's brightest stages next season as he will like be on the US World Junior Team as well as playing in the Memorial Cup again (London is hosting, so they automatically qualify).
Shayne Gostisbehere has also taken a big step forward. We've been able to follow his development a little closer than most Flyers prospects. Playing with the Gold Medal winning US World Junior team and a strong Union College team he's been on national television quite a few times. Ghost comes in as one of the bigger names in camp and has preformed well in his first day. He stood out offensively amongst his fellow defensemen. His point shot has only gotten stronger and is likely the best in the Flyers organization right now.
Reece Willcox also stood out at me. Willcox was drafted in the fifth round last year and spent this past season at Cornell. Willcox was drafted as a defensive defenseman and he looks to be developing into just that. He looks much beefier than last year, and a lot bigger than the 194lbs he is listed at. There were not many drills that highlighted defensive attributes but when there were Willcox's ability to push other players (all of them big strong defensemen in their own right) was high lighted.
Because of how camp is set up its not easy to get a good look at all players. I barely got a glimpse at other 2012ers Taylor Leier and Fredrik Larsson. I hope to get a better look at them later in the week. I also only got to see Scott Laughton run a few drills. A couple things jumped out at me. First was his fluid skating. His skating never stood out to me before but his crisp, clean, foot movement jumped out at me. Second, he is definitely bigger than he was last year. He is noticeably bigger than he was in January when he spent time with the Flyers. During the Flyers pre-season camp in January Laughton was pushed around, not just by the Flyers big defenseman, but by Ruslan Fedotenko who Laughton was often matched up against. I don't think he will be getting pushed around like that again.
2013 DRAFT CLASS
Every member of the Flyers 2012 draft class was there. I mentioned how I don't think Samuel Morin well develop into a strong NHLer, but I don't think it is fair to judge him at this camp. Most of the drills today were offense oriented. Shooting, passing, skating, things Morin doesn't do well, but also not what he was drafted to do. He did do well in the one more defensive oriented drill where he often squared off against Robert Hagg.
Robert Hagg showed some glimpses of his great offensive potential. It has been said of Hagg that he doesn't do anything bad, but doesn't do any one thing great. That probably kept him out of the first round but will likely keep him in the NHL for many years. He still has time to develop stand out skill, but he may not make many jaws drop in camp.
Merrick Madsen, a goalie who the Flyers took in the 6th Round, really jumped out at me. He already uses his size to his advantage, but he uses it differently then somebody like Stolarz. Stolarz, like a lot of other big goalies, has a taller and tighter stance. He uses his height to intimidate players while relying on his positioning to make saves. Madsen is much different. He has a shorter, wider stance that covers more area side to side. His big 6'4 frame allows him to cover a lot of space and his athletic ability allows him to close up his holes and cover a lot of area. He reminds me a big of Columbus-Era Sergei Bobrovsky; plenty athletic, but using his big frame to take up a lot of space. I've only seen him once, but so far he looks pretty good.
I was especially interested in seeing Terrance Amorosa since, apparently, so few people have seen him (we wasn't even ranked by NHL Central Scouting). He has some very good offensive abilities, but he is not always consistent. One shot may be a rocket, his next may be a flutterer. He seemed to take his misfires hard, looking towards the ceiling when a couple of his shots drifted softly into the goalies logo, so he knows there is still work to be done. But he does have a fair bit of talent and you can see why the team would want to take a flyer on the under scouted player. Hopefully he can develop more an the University of New Hampshire next season.
David Drake reminded me a lot of Samuel Morin (which is great for Drake, but pretty bad for Morin). He doesn't have a strong shot but he can move the puck pretty well. He is really lean but that didn't stop him from pushing around other players that were much heavier than he is. He is headed to the hockey factory known as the University of North Dakota in the fall and I can't wait to see how he develops there.
OTHER PLAYERS
There were other players who have come to the Flyers in various ways that were very impressive.
Petr Straka was probably the most impressive player I saw. I knew Straka liked to shoot, he lead the QMJHL playoffs in shots and shots per game, and finished in the top 5 in the Q in shots per game. But I didn't know how he could shoot. Wow. This guy's shot is on another level. Very quick and very accurate. I was there at prospect camp to see guys like Brayden Schenn, Sean Couturier, and Matt Read shoot and none of them shot consistently as well as Straka. Every time he got a second to shoot it was off the bottom of the cross bar and into the net. When he missed, which wasn't often, he was missing by inches. He doesn't appear to have excellent hands, but if he gets a second to shoot he's shooting to score. The expectations for Straka, a former 2nd round pick, should be through the roof, but luckily for him he is flying a bit under the radar. He will be a big shot to the team and the league whenever he makes it into the line up.
Matt Konan stood out to me last year in camp. He was shooting better than everybody on the ice with the exception of Scott Laughton and was fighting through bigger players. He was standing out again in the same ways this camp. The Flyers run a drill that requires two players to stand players to stand face to face at about the hash marks in front of the goal. A puck is put behind the player closest to the net and player in front of him has to fight through him and get a shot off. Konan dominated in this drill last year and was back to dominating the drill this year. Now he is a force on both the offensive and defensive sides of the drill.
Kyle Flannigan looked good, but since his real talent is in playmaking I don't know if we will get a firm grasp of his abilities at camp. Nick Luukko, son of Comcast President and COO Peter Luukko, plays a lot like Reece Willcox. Big, strong, and defensively sound. Luukko played in all situations with Vermont last season. He may be slow developing, but he may be developing into a solid NHLer.
Fun time at Flyers Player Development Camp today, I can't wait to head back tomorrow!
2011 DRAFT CLASS
Only two players from the 2011 Draft Class were brought into camp this year. Nick Cousins and Marcel Noebels. This is Nick Cousins' third time being at prospect camp. I've seen him at least once every time he's been to camp and I've noticed one thing. Nick Cousins is not a training camp player. In his first camp Cousins was so snake bitten he couldn't have kept control of the puck if his stick was covered in Stickum, at least when I saw him. He went out that next season and finished 8th in the OHL in scoring on a bad team. Last year he wasn't overly impressive and followed that camp up by finishing 4th Overall in OHL scoring (likely would have finished 1st if he wasn't suspended for four games towards the end of the season). Today he wasn't bad but he didn't jump out as much as other players. Some players just don't play well in camp. There is not doubt that Cousins has tons of talent and brings a lot of intangibles (he plays a pesky style similar to Brad Marchand) that simply don't show up in camp.
Marcel Noebels is making his first appearance at Flyers prospect camp after getting drafted two years ago. Noebels has always been a strong defensive player and be a great utility player; being able to play Left, Right, and Center. He's developed a bit of a goal scoring touch with the Phantoms and he showed it off a bit in camp. Twice in a drill he was able to cut across the front of the net and back hand the puck above the goalies into the top of the net. It's not an easy shot to make and he made it twice while taking some soft pressure from Flyers coaches.
2012 DRAFT CLASS
Almost every member of the 2012 Draft Class was at prospect camp, the exception being Valeri Vasiliev who is training with his KHL club Spartak in Russia. Some of the 2012ers have made big jumps from last year.
Anthony Stolarz might have made the biggest jump from one year to the next. Stolarz came into last years camp as a big, raw prospect. This year he is much more refined and much stronger positionally. He seems to have a much better idea as how to use his size to his advantage. One of the biggest obstacles in Stolarz development is how well he handles adversity. He was pulled out of both the OHL Championship and Memorial Cup for back up Jake Patterson. Patterson will still be with London next season and Stolarz will like have to fight to get his spot back. But if he continues to develop at the rate he has he will regain his starting spot. Stolarz will be on minor hockey's brightest stages next season as he will like be on the US World Junior Team as well as playing in the Memorial Cup again (London is hosting, so they automatically qualify).
Shayne Gostisbehere has also taken a big step forward. We've been able to follow his development a little closer than most Flyers prospects. Playing with the Gold Medal winning US World Junior team and a strong Union College team he's been on national television quite a few times. Ghost comes in as one of the bigger names in camp and has preformed well in his first day. He stood out offensively amongst his fellow defensemen. His point shot has only gotten stronger and is likely the best in the Flyers organization right now.
Reece Willcox also stood out at me. Willcox was drafted in the fifth round last year and spent this past season at Cornell. Willcox was drafted as a defensive defenseman and he looks to be developing into just that. He looks much beefier than last year, and a lot bigger than the 194lbs he is listed at. There were not many drills that highlighted defensive attributes but when there were Willcox's ability to push other players (all of them big strong defensemen in their own right) was high lighted.
Because of how camp is set up its not easy to get a good look at all players. I barely got a glimpse at other 2012ers Taylor Leier and Fredrik Larsson. I hope to get a better look at them later in the week. I also only got to see Scott Laughton run a few drills. A couple things jumped out at me. First was his fluid skating. His skating never stood out to me before but his crisp, clean, foot movement jumped out at me. Second, he is definitely bigger than he was last year. He is noticeably bigger than he was in January when he spent time with the Flyers. During the Flyers pre-season camp in January Laughton was pushed around, not just by the Flyers big defenseman, but by Ruslan Fedotenko who Laughton was often matched up against. I don't think he will be getting pushed around like that again.
2013 DRAFT CLASS
Every member of the Flyers 2012 draft class was there. I mentioned how I don't think Samuel Morin well develop into a strong NHLer, but I don't think it is fair to judge him at this camp. Most of the drills today were offense oriented. Shooting, passing, skating, things Morin doesn't do well, but also not what he was drafted to do. He did do well in the one more defensive oriented drill where he often squared off against Robert Hagg.
Robert Hagg showed some glimpses of his great offensive potential. It has been said of Hagg that he doesn't do anything bad, but doesn't do any one thing great. That probably kept him out of the first round but will likely keep him in the NHL for many years. He still has time to develop stand out skill, but he may not make many jaws drop in camp.
Merrick Madsen, a goalie who the Flyers took in the 6th Round, really jumped out at me. He already uses his size to his advantage, but he uses it differently then somebody like Stolarz. Stolarz, like a lot of other big goalies, has a taller and tighter stance. He uses his height to intimidate players while relying on his positioning to make saves. Madsen is much different. He has a shorter, wider stance that covers more area side to side. His big 6'4 frame allows him to cover a lot of space and his athletic ability allows him to close up his holes and cover a lot of area. He reminds me a big of Columbus-Era Sergei Bobrovsky; plenty athletic, but using his big frame to take up a lot of space. I've only seen him once, but so far he looks pretty good.
I was especially interested in seeing Terrance Amorosa since, apparently, so few people have seen him (we wasn't even ranked by NHL Central Scouting). He has some very good offensive abilities, but he is not always consistent. One shot may be a rocket, his next may be a flutterer. He seemed to take his misfires hard, looking towards the ceiling when a couple of his shots drifted softly into the goalies logo, so he knows there is still work to be done. But he does have a fair bit of talent and you can see why the team would want to take a flyer on the under scouted player. Hopefully he can develop more an the University of New Hampshire next season.
David Drake reminded me a lot of Samuel Morin (which is great for Drake, but pretty bad for Morin). He doesn't have a strong shot but he can move the puck pretty well. He is really lean but that didn't stop him from pushing around other players that were much heavier than he is. He is headed to the hockey factory known as the University of North Dakota in the fall and I can't wait to see how he develops there.
OTHER PLAYERS
There were other players who have come to the Flyers in various ways that were very impressive.
Petr Straka was probably the most impressive player I saw. I knew Straka liked to shoot, he lead the QMJHL playoffs in shots and shots per game, and finished in the top 5 in the Q in shots per game. But I didn't know how he could shoot. Wow. This guy's shot is on another level. Very quick and very accurate. I was there at prospect camp to see guys like Brayden Schenn, Sean Couturier, and Matt Read shoot and none of them shot consistently as well as Straka. Every time he got a second to shoot it was off the bottom of the cross bar and into the net. When he missed, which wasn't often, he was missing by inches. He doesn't appear to have excellent hands, but if he gets a second to shoot he's shooting to score. The expectations for Straka, a former 2nd round pick, should be through the roof, but luckily for him he is flying a bit under the radar. He will be a big shot to the team and the league whenever he makes it into the line up.
Matt Konan stood out to me last year in camp. He was shooting better than everybody on the ice with the exception of Scott Laughton and was fighting through bigger players. He was standing out again in the same ways this camp. The Flyers run a drill that requires two players to stand players to stand face to face at about the hash marks in front of the goal. A puck is put behind the player closest to the net and player in front of him has to fight through him and get a shot off. Konan dominated in this drill last year and was back to dominating the drill this year. Now he is a force on both the offensive and defensive sides of the drill.
Kyle Flannigan looked good, but since his real talent is in playmaking I don't know if we will get a firm grasp of his abilities at camp. Nick Luukko, son of Comcast President and COO Peter Luukko, plays a lot like Reece Willcox. Big, strong, and defensively sound. Luukko played in all situations with Vermont last season. He may be slow developing, but he may be developing into a solid NHLer.
Fun time at Flyers Player Development Camp today, I can't wait to head back tomorrow!
Monday, July 1, 2013
Flyers 2013 Draft Re-Cap
A day later and the dust is finally settling from the draft. There was a lot of talk about how they Flyers could move up but it turned out it wasn't to be. At the end of the day they had drafted four defensemen, one winger, and one goalie. Let's take a quick look at who they drafted.
11th Overall - Samuel Morin - Rimouski Oceanic (QMJHL) - Defense - 6'6, 203 lbs
41st Overall - Robert Hagg - MODO (Sweden) - Defense - 6'2 203 lbs
72st Overall - Tyrell Goulbourne - Regina Pats (WHL) - Left Wing - 5'10, 190 lbs
132nd Overall - Terrance Amorosa - Holderness School (High School - New Hampshire) - Defense - 6'2, 190 lbs
162nd Overall - Merrick Madsen - Proctor Academy (High School - New Hampshire) - Goalie - 6'4, 176 lbs
192nd Overall - David Drake - De Moines Buckaneers (USHL) - Defense - 6'4, 170 lbs
So let's start breaking these guys down.
Morin is a big, physical defenseman. I think a lot of people look at that and see the next great shut down defenseman. I think some foolish people look at him and see the next Chris Pronger. Drafting defenseman is always risky since great play in juniors doesn't translate to great play in the pros as easily for defenseman as it does for forwards. But the Morin pick is especially concerning. Here is an article (keep in the blogspot family, yo!) that shows that defenseman who don't score .4 points per game very rarely make it into the NHL. Morin, with 16 points in 46 games, averaged around .348 points per game. "But Morin is a defensive defenseman, he shouldn't be judged by his offensive production". I've heard this argument a number of times since we've drafted Morin less than 24 hours ago. What the article is saying is that if a player lacks the skill to put up points against the lesser quality of competition in junior he doesn't have the skill to make it to the NHL. .4 points per game isn't a really high amount. Michal Rozsival and Carl Gunnarsson averaged more than that this past NHL season. Luke Schenn averaged more than .4 PPG in his draft eligible year and he has always be considered a shut down defenseman. Per Hockey's Future, Morin has a great first pass out of the zone, a booming slap shot, and a powerful stride. If he has all those assets where are the points? Rimouski was a good team; they finished 4th in the league and 7th in the league in goals for. Morin got a lot of minutes all season. Where are his points? I'm not saying he should be a point per game player but shouldn't he be scoring at the same clip that Luke Schenn did? Especialy considering that Schenn was playing on a much weaker offensive team.
I like to keep this blog positive. But I fear the Flyers have drafted a dud. With other strong prospects like Ryan Pulock, Alex Wennberg, and Joshua Morrissey also available I think the Flyers will be kicking themselves on this one.
As much as I dislike the Flyers first pick I absolutely love their second pick. Robert Hagg has been on the Flyers radar since the World Juniors. He played most of the season in the top league in Sweden as a teenager. He's a tremendous two way defenseman who has good speed and can be quite a physical player. He was supposed to go in the mid to late first round but fell all the way to the 41st pick overall. He is a great two way defenseman with out any deficiencies. He reminds me of a bigger more physical version of Jonas Brodin, who was taken 11th overall by the Wild in 2011 and finished 4th in Calder voting this past season. He will most likely play in Sweden next season but could be ready to make the jump to the NHL as early as 2014-15.
Now we get to the Flyers most confusing pick from this years draft: Tyrell Goulbourne. Goulbourne is an undersized fighter. Think Zac Rinaldo. The thing is, Goulbourne wasn't picked in the late rounds where Zac Rinaldo and other fighters are drafted. No, he was taken in the 3rd round with the 71st Overall pick. He wasn't ranked in the top 150 prospects on any lists, a ranking consistent with his fighter status. Why did the Flyers take him so high up? Well, without a pick in the fourth round maybe they were afraid Goulbourne wouldn't make it to the fifth round for some reason. It's more than the fact they took a fighter so high, its the amount of talent they left on the board. This third round is as strong as the second round in the last few drafts. Guys like Mattias Janmark Nylen, Anton Slepyshev, Taylor Cammarata, Peter Cehlarik, Jimmy Lodge, John Hayden, Pavel Buchnevich, Anthony Duclair, Keaton Thompson, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Bogdan Yakimov, and even Sven Andrighetto. There is star quality there. All of those guys have a good chance at becoming serviceable NHLers. And they passed on them for a fighter that could be there in the later rounds. It's especially infuriating when you think that in the last two seasons the Flyers have had the steal of the 3rd round. Nick Cousins in 2011 and Shayne Gostisbehere in 2012. Just think if they got somebody like Peter Cehlarik, who averaged more points per game in the top Swedish league this season than Matt Duchene (who played there during the Lockout). Insane.
Without a pick in the 4th round the Flyers were left with 3 picks in the later rounds. The Flyers in recent years have used a lot of their late round picks on players who were bound for the NCAA. This is a smart strategy. The later rounds are gambles and if you can get more time to try and figure out if a player will turn into an NHL play all the better. Players going to the NCAA don't have to be signed for three years after they are drafted, a year more than players coming out of the CHL or most countries in Europe. A player going to a good school has a greater chance to develop because they will be thrown into a much more difficult environment. They will be exposed to better coaches, better training, better competition, and better players to play with while similar CHL players will continue at a level they are already at and playing against lesser and lesser competition as the better players age out or move on to the NHL.
The first NCAA bound player the Flyers drafted was Terrance Amorosa who was under the radar to say the least. He wasn't even ranked by NHL central scouting (who list 245 North American skaters alone) and until he was drafted he didn't have an Elite Prospects or Hockey DB profile. He put up pretty good numbers playing in high school and will be heading to the University of New Hampshire in the fall. There he will have to battle for minutes against some pretty tough competition, including JVR's brother Trevor (or TVR) who finished 2nd in scoring amongst all NCAA defensemen last year, 6'6 senior Eric Knodel, and 3rd round draft pick Brett Pesce.
After Amorosa the Flyers went for goaltender Merrick Madsen. Madsen has good size and is moving into one of the best conferences in college hockey, the ECAC. Already home to Flyers prospects Shayne Gostisbehere (Union), Reece Wilcox (Cornell), and Petr Placek who will be Madsen's teammate at Harvard. The league is also home to Quinnipiac and Yale who met in the NCAA final last season. Two of the best NCAA goalies in the past two seasons have come out of the ECAC, Troy Grosenick (Union) and Eric Hartzell (Quinnipiac). It will be interesting to see how he develops. It is not uncommon for goalies, even star goalies, to emerge from the late rounds of the draft.
(A quick aside, I don't know who the Flyers scout covering high school hockey in New Hampshire is, but look for him to move up in the organization in the near future. He clearly has Holmgren's ear considering they took two pretty off the board picks from the same area.)
The Flyers last pick in the draft is David Drake. The tall lanky defenseman will be headed to the University of North Dakota in the fall. UND is already home to Flyers pick Michael Parks who ended his 2011-12 freshman season with a promising 18 points in his final 22 games but spent this season marred by injury. North Dakota is a professional hockey factory, turning out great players at the same pace as schools like Boston College. Drake will need to put on weight but if he can turn into something in at UND he could be a real steal.
The big issue I had with this draft was there insistence on drafting the "best Flyer available" and not the "best player available". They consistently passed over skilled players to take tough, gritty, physical players who will at best be depth forwards in the NHL. This outdated idea of who the Flyers are/were has left the Flyers walking away from the best draft in a decade with one great prospect, a bust in the making, an undersized goon, and a handful of gambles.
11th Overall - Samuel Morin - Rimouski Oceanic (QMJHL) - Defense - 6'6, 203 lbs
41st Overall - Robert Hagg - MODO (Sweden) - Defense - 6'2 203 lbs
72st Overall - Tyrell Goulbourne - Regina Pats (WHL) - Left Wing - 5'10, 190 lbs
132nd Overall - Terrance Amorosa - Holderness School (High School - New Hampshire) - Defense - 6'2, 190 lbs
162nd Overall - Merrick Madsen - Proctor Academy (High School - New Hampshire) - Goalie - 6'4, 176 lbs
192nd Overall - David Drake - De Moines Buckaneers (USHL) - Defense - 6'4, 170 lbs
So let's start breaking these guys down.
Morin is a big, physical defenseman. I think a lot of people look at that and see the next great shut down defenseman. I think some foolish people look at him and see the next Chris Pronger. Drafting defenseman is always risky since great play in juniors doesn't translate to great play in the pros as easily for defenseman as it does for forwards. But the Morin pick is especially concerning. Here is an article (keep in the blogspot family, yo!) that shows that defenseman who don't score .4 points per game very rarely make it into the NHL. Morin, with 16 points in 46 games, averaged around .348 points per game. "But Morin is a defensive defenseman, he shouldn't be judged by his offensive production". I've heard this argument a number of times since we've drafted Morin less than 24 hours ago. What the article is saying is that if a player lacks the skill to put up points against the lesser quality of competition in junior he doesn't have the skill to make it to the NHL. .4 points per game isn't a really high amount. Michal Rozsival and Carl Gunnarsson averaged more than that this past NHL season. Luke Schenn averaged more than .4 PPG in his draft eligible year and he has always be considered a shut down defenseman. Per Hockey's Future, Morin has a great first pass out of the zone, a booming slap shot, and a powerful stride. If he has all those assets where are the points? Rimouski was a good team; they finished 4th in the league and 7th in the league in goals for. Morin got a lot of minutes all season. Where are his points? I'm not saying he should be a point per game player but shouldn't he be scoring at the same clip that Luke Schenn did? Especialy considering that Schenn was playing on a much weaker offensive team.
I like to keep this blog positive. But I fear the Flyers have drafted a dud. With other strong prospects like Ryan Pulock, Alex Wennberg, and Joshua Morrissey also available I think the Flyers will be kicking themselves on this one.
As much as I dislike the Flyers first pick I absolutely love their second pick. Robert Hagg has been on the Flyers radar since the World Juniors. He played most of the season in the top league in Sweden as a teenager. He's a tremendous two way defenseman who has good speed and can be quite a physical player. He was supposed to go in the mid to late first round but fell all the way to the 41st pick overall. He is a great two way defenseman with out any deficiencies. He reminds me of a bigger more physical version of Jonas Brodin, who was taken 11th overall by the Wild in 2011 and finished 4th in Calder voting this past season. He will most likely play in Sweden next season but could be ready to make the jump to the NHL as early as 2014-15.
Now we get to the Flyers most confusing pick from this years draft: Tyrell Goulbourne. Goulbourne is an undersized fighter. Think Zac Rinaldo. The thing is, Goulbourne wasn't picked in the late rounds where Zac Rinaldo and other fighters are drafted. No, he was taken in the 3rd round with the 71st Overall pick. He wasn't ranked in the top 150 prospects on any lists, a ranking consistent with his fighter status. Why did the Flyers take him so high up? Well, without a pick in the fourth round maybe they were afraid Goulbourne wouldn't make it to the fifth round for some reason. It's more than the fact they took a fighter so high, its the amount of talent they left on the board. This third round is as strong as the second round in the last few drafts. Guys like Mattias Janmark Nylen, Anton Slepyshev, Taylor Cammarata, Peter Cehlarik, Jimmy Lodge, John Hayden, Pavel Buchnevich, Anthony Duclair, Keaton Thompson, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Bogdan Yakimov, and even Sven Andrighetto. There is star quality there. All of those guys have a good chance at becoming serviceable NHLers. And they passed on them for a fighter that could be there in the later rounds. It's especially infuriating when you think that in the last two seasons the Flyers have had the steal of the 3rd round. Nick Cousins in 2011 and Shayne Gostisbehere in 2012. Just think if they got somebody like Peter Cehlarik, who averaged more points per game in the top Swedish league this season than Matt Duchene (who played there during the Lockout). Insane.
Without a pick in the 4th round the Flyers were left with 3 picks in the later rounds. The Flyers in recent years have used a lot of their late round picks on players who were bound for the NCAA. This is a smart strategy. The later rounds are gambles and if you can get more time to try and figure out if a player will turn into an NHL play all the better. Players going to the NCAA don't have to be signed for three years after they are drafted, a year more than players coming out of the CHL or most countries in Europe. A player going to a good school has a greater chance to develop because they will be thrown into a much more difficult environment. They will be exposed to better coaches, better training, better competition, and better players to play with while similar CHL players will continue at a level they are already at and playing against lesser and lesser competition as the better players age out or move on to the NHL.
The first NCAA bound player the Flyers drafted was Terrance Amorosa who was under the radar to say the least. He wasn't even ranked by NHL central scouting (who list 245 North American skaters alone) and until he was drafted he didn't have an Elite Prospects or Hockey DB profile. He put up pretty good numbers playing in high school and will be heading to the University of New Hampshire in the fall. There he will have to battle for minutes against some pretty tough competition, including JVR's brother Trevor (or TVR) who finished 2nd in scoring amongst all NCAA defensemen last year, 6'6 senior Eric Knodel, and 3rd round draft pick Brett Pesce.
After Amorosa the Flyers went for goaltender Merrick Madsen. Madsen has good size and is moving into one of the best conferences in college hockey, the ECAC. Already home to Flyers prospects Shayne Gostisbehere (Union), Reece Wilcox (Cornell), and Petr Placek who will be Madsen's teammate at Harvard. The league is also home to Quinnipiac and Yale who met in the NCAA final last season. Two of the best NCAA goalies in the past two seasons have come out of the ECAC, Troy Grosenick (Union) and Eric Hartzell (Quinnipiac). It will be interesting to see how he develops. It is not uncommon for goalies, even star goalies, to emerge from the late rounds of the draft.
(A quick aside, I don't know who the Flyers scout covering high school hockey in New Hampshire is, but look for him to move up in the organization in the near future. He clearly has Holmgren's ear considering they took two pretty off the board picks from the same area.)
The Flyers last pick in the draft is David Drake. The tall lanky defenseman will be headed to the University of North Dakota in the fall. UND is already home to Flyers pick Michael Parks who ended his 2011-12 freshman season with a promising 18 points in his final 22 games but spent this season marred by injury. North Dakota is a professional hockey factory, turning out great players at the same pace as schools like Boston College. Drake will need to put on weight but if he can turn into something in at UND he could be a real steal.
The big issue I had with this draft was there insistence on drafting the "best Flyer available" and not the "best player available". They consistently passed over skilled players to take tough, gritty, physical players who will at best be depth forwards in the NHL. This outdated idea of who the Flyers are/were has left the Flyers walking away from the best draft in a decade with one great prospect, a bust in the making, an undersized goon, and a handful of gambles.
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