With the 2009 NHL Entry Draft inching closer the Flyers are already focusing on their offseason plans. Like last season the team isn’t expecting an immediate impact player, but in 2008 they did draft Luca Sbisa who turned into a nice breath of fresh air for the orange and black. As Sbisa looks to the future and possibly a full time role on the blueline for next season Paul Holmgren is without a doubt burrying his staff into a list of prospects that could help the Flyers down the road.
They don’t need anyone who can make waves immediately, but that’s an added bonus. Don’t forget that of the current Flyers roster only Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, Simon Gagne, Claude Giroux, and Luca Sbisa are former Philadelphia 1st round selections. Also among others chosen by the Flyers are James van Riemsdyk, who is currently waiting for a call-up after being selected 2nd overall in 2007, and players that are now with other organizations including Steve Downie, Joni Pitkanen, Jeff Woywitka, and Justin Williams. With the Flyers picking outside the top 15 once again the direction they could go is very much dependent on who is left on the board. So what will the Flyers pick this season?
While the most glaring holes in the Flyers’ NHL roster are defense and goaltending don’t be at all surprised if the Flyers opt to draft a winger in the 1st. Goaltending prospects are incredibly fickle and the trend of goalies falling to later rounds will likely continue. There also hasn’t been much success at the position for the Flyers since Hextall was drafted in the 6th round of the 1982 Entry Draft. Since then 33 goalies have had their name called by a GM representing Philadelphia with mild success so far only with Roman Cechmanek (6th round - 2000), Antero Niittymaki (6th round – 1998), and Brian Boucher (1st round – 1995). The outlook is bleak for the Flyers and goaltending prospects such as busts like Ouellet drafted in the first round of 1999. If the Flyers do go goalie in the first this year it would certainly be a surprise, but there are a few goalies who could become solid between the pipes while wearing the orange and black.
Defense, the other glaring hole, isn’t as big a hole as many would think. With Coburn, Carle, Parent, Marshall, Sbisa, and Bourdon all drafted in 2003 or later and remaining solid the Flyers have plenty of options as far as top four defensemen. Their only true number one defensemen, Kimmo Timonen, is getting older obviously and so it will be up to one of these younger defensemen to eventually become better on the blueline in order to take over the defense. The Flyers are alright with this position prospect wise even though a filler is needed for the short term likely through free-agency or trade. Defense is not where the Flyers will likely be drafting.
I suspect that the Flyers will in fact go offense in the first round in 2009; likely winger. Before everyone starts to panic and question just where I could be pulling this from, I have my reasons. The Flyers have proven successful over the years at drafting offensive talent. Every team has busts, but I’d say Gagne, Williams, Richards, Carter, and Giroux in the last decade make up a pretty solid list. On top of that with Gagne possibly leaving in a couple of seasons, Knuble likely retiring in the near future even if he re-signs, and Lupul a possible cap casualty drafting offense makes sense. Andreas Nodl, James van Riemsdyk, and Patrick Maroon are clearly a solid core of prospects along with players like Kalinski, Powe, Matsumoto, and Kempe, but an infusion of center depth or some wing replacements for current talent would be great.
The team could still go in a number of directions, and with a deep core of talented prospects they are easily able to take the best player available when it’s finally their turn. Recently on HFBoards, a forum for fans to talk about the NHL and prospects, the Flyers fans have come up with a list of intriguing players the Flyers might be looking at. Here is a big thank you to user Billy_Shoe1721 for his effort in making a list.
RW Jordan Caron-6’2″ 202 lbs., Sayabec, QC 11/2/90 L
He is a smart, two-way forward who has played a little bit of center, but mostly RW. He has good size at 6’2″ and has put up impressive stats in the Q with 36G and 31A in 57 games. He has good speed, and is a smart hockey player.LW/RW Ben Hanowski-6’2″ 198 lbs., Little Falls, MN 10/18/90 L
I think this young man’s numbers speak for himself. In 31 games for the Little Falls Flyers HS in Minnesota, he has 73 goals, and 62 assists for 135 points. That’s 4.35 points per game folks. This young man finished with 405 career points in High School in just 117 games. He has good size for a forward at 6’2″ and should put on a little more weight at 198 pounds. This kid can absolutely score and has amazing offensive instincts. I don’t know why he isn’t higher rated, maybe somebody knows something I don’t.LW Chris Kreider*-6’2″ 201 lbs., Boston, MA, 4/30/91 L
Chris is an an extremely fast skater who has a quick release. He has a good wrist and slap shot, which he uses after stealing the puck, using his speed. He is a threat coming down the wing with speed as well as on breakaways, using his speed to pick of passes. He is a good teammate, has good character, and leadership skills. He is still only in 11th grade at Phillips Academy, putting up 33 goals and 23 assists for 56 points in only 26 games. He is going to attend Boston College starting in 2010, so he is at least 3 years away.RW Zach Budish-6’4″ 225 lbs., Edina, MN, 5/9/91 R
He is my favorite prospect this draft. He is a very big kid at 6’4″ 225, and works very well down low. He uses his size very well, but at the same time has good hands and playmaking ability. He plays well in both ends, and does not have a flaw in his game. He is a smart player who you can trust in all scenarios. You may be wondering why he isn’t higher rated, it’s because he tore his ACL playing football in October.RW Carter Ashton-6’3″ 205 lbs., Winnipeg, MB, 4/1/91 L
He is a prototypical power forward. He is gritty, strong on the puck, physical, and has good size. He’s a lot like Scott Hartnell, but doesn’t take as many penalties. He’s one of those guys that you win with.LW Erik Haula-5’11″ 170 lbs., Pori, FIN, 3/23/91 L
Erik is a bit undersized, but is a Finnish player that has some incredible vision and passing abilities. With Shattuck St. Mary’s he put up 22 goals and 49 assists in 49 games. He is fluent in English, Finnish, and Swedish, and has some very good speed. He has committed to the University of Minnesota for next year.RW Zack Kassian*-6’3″ 210 lbs., Windsor, ON, 1/24/91 R
Zack is a tough, hard noses right wing. He’s an extremely tough, hard working player who reminds me a lot of Milan Lucic. He even likens his play to that of Lucic and Bertuzzi. He is tough to knock off the puck, and loves to work down low. He is more than willing to fight, but hasn’t this season because nobody will challenge him. He has a heavy, powerful shot and has a real scoring touch, with 24G 39A for 63 points in 61 games.D David Runblad-6’2″ 189 lbs., Lycksele, SWE, 10/8/90 R
After an impressive WJC, Runblad has been moving up in the rankings. He is a smooth skater with very good offensive potential. He has played well in the SEL, and is a solid defenseman, one of many from Sweden this year.D Taylor Doherty-6’8″ 218 lbs., Cambridge, ON., 3/2/91 R
You look at him and you can’t help but think of Zdeno Chara. He stands at a towering 6’8″, but is only 218 pounds. As you can expect, he is a very physical defensive defenseman, who has 140 penalty minutes this season. I haven’t heard how his skating is, but he is worth a shot considering what could be.
D Eric Gelinas-6’4″ 185 lbs., Vanier, ON, 5/8/91 L
Eric is a big, strong physical, defenseman from the Q. He is 6’4″ already at only 17, and has the ability to put up some points as well. He’s the kind of defenseman that our organizatinon lacks. He is rail thin at only 185 pounds for a guy that is 6’4″, but he will fill out with time.D Calvin De Haan-6’0″ 170 lbs., Ottawa, ON, 5/9/91, L
Calvin has put up some very impressive point totals in his first year in the OHL. He has good instincts and is a good decision maker. He has a lot of patience with the puck, and is very good at leading the rush. He is average sized and needs to fill out his frame. His 63 points in 68 games in the OHL for a terrible Oshawa team cannot be ignored. He isn’t overly physical, but can get the job done.D Charles-Oliver Roussel-6’1″ 200 lbs., St. Eustache, QC, 9/13/91 R
He has a very good combination of size and speed. He is willing to use his body when necessary and makes good defensive decisions. He is a smooth skater that has shown he is capable of putting up some good point totals. He had 11 goals and 33 assists in 65 games in the regular season, and has 4 goals and 10 assists in 14 playoff games. He loves to shoot the puck and play offense.D Stefan Elliott-6’1″ 180 lbs., Vancouver, BC, 1/30/91 R
Stefan is a smooth skating, puck moving defenseman capable of putting up some impressive point totals. He had 16 goals and 39 assists for 55 points in 71 games for Saskatoon in the WHL. He is a good skater who is good at breaking the puck out, making a good first pass and working the point on the PP. As with almost all these prospects, he still needs to put on more weight before he is ready for the NHL. He likes to have the puck on his stick, and is confident with the puck.G Mike Lee-6’1″ 185 lbs., Roseau, MD, 10/5/90, L
After he put up some stellar numbers for Roseau HS in Minnesota last year, he has followed up with some very impressive numbers for the Fargo Force this year. His GAA was a minuscule 1.10 for Roseau last year, and has put up some very impressive stats in the USHL this year, 26-15, 2.40 GAA, .918 SV%.G Matthew Hackett-6’2″ 170 lbs., London, ON, 3/7/90, L
He is the nephew of Jeff Hackett. He didn’t start well early in the year, but shot up from 8th to 1st among NA goalies from the Mid-Term to the Final Ranking by CSS. His numbers don’t look great with a 3.04 GAA and .913 SV%, but late in the season and into the playoffs, he has been improving every game. He has good size at 6’2″ but needs to put on more weight.G Olivier Roy-6’0″ 165 lbs., Amqui, QC, 7/12/91, L
Olivier came into the year projecting as a top 15 pick. He did not have a great year this year, putting up a 2.80 GAA and .906 SV% for Cape Breton in the Q. He has a great athletic ability, and lightning quick reflexes. He is another goalie from the Quebec Goaltending Factory who has a lot of potential. He is a smart goalie with good positioning.G Mikko Koskinen-6’7″ 187 lbs., Vantaa, FIN, 7/18/88, L
Like Taylor Doherty, Koskinen is a monster. He stands at 6’7″ who is an overager that was passed over in previous drafts. In SM Liiga, he put up a 1.91 GAA, and a .931 SV% who uses his size to his advantage, covering a large part of the net. Coming into this year, very few people had ever heard of him or believed that he would be drafted. He came out of nowhere, gaining a stranglehold on the starting spot for the Espoo Blues. He didn’t look back, putting up some great numbers. He needs to work on his lateral movement and overall quickness considering how big he is, but with this raw talent, he could be a good one.*-May or may not be available at our pick, conflicting rankings between CSS and ISS.
There will be more coming on the Flyers’ 2009 offseason and draft coming so stay tuned.
