2022-23 Flyers: How about just less suck?

[awaz]

One player that comes to mind the most in the 2023 draft when thinking about Kotkaniemi and Hayton is Dalibor Dvorsky. He’s a center with average skating, is very skilled and has had very good stretches, both at the club and international level, but his production in Allsvenskan this season wasn’t amazing. Dvorsky could become an excellent NHL player, but the risk profiles in a top-10 pick look quite similar to me.

Pronman: What we can learn for the 2023 NHL Draft from the 2018 NHL Draft

How the 2018 draft played out can provide a blueprint for teams in this upcoming draft in many different ways.

theathletic.com

Still the same guy, Pronman. But that's the concern I have with a Dvorsky pick. The Flyers really have no use for another middle of the lineup guy. I'd rather take a 5% chance on a guy become a star and 95% chance he flames out, than to take a guy with a 90% chance to be a good depth guy, 10% chance he flames out.

IMO, take the guy with the highest end something. Someone like Benson with super high end skill. Or Moore with super high end skating. At least there's something to build on with those guys and they could 'pop' in the NHL. Maybe Leonard has high enough end 'compete' to be a Tkachuk like guy.

 

[lasgop8]

One player that comes to mind the most in the 2023 draft when thinking about Kotkaniemi and Hayton is Dalibor Dvorsky. He’s a center with average skating, is very skilled and has had very good stretches, both at the club and international level, but his production in Allsvenskan this season wasn’t amazing. Dvorsky could become an excellent NHL player, but the risk profiles in a top-10 pick look quite similar to me.

Pronman: What we can learn for the 2023 NHL Draft from the 2018 NHL Draft

How the 2018 draft played out can provide a blueprint for teams in this upcoming draft in many different ways.

theathletic.com

Still the same guy, Pronman. But that's the concern I have with a Dvorsky pick. The Flyers really have no use for another middle of the lineup guy. I'd rather take a 5% chance on a guy become a star and 95% chance he flames out, than to take a guy with a 90% chance to be a good depth guy, 10% chance he flames out.

IMO, take the guy with the highest end something. Someone like Benson with super high end skill. Or Moore with super high end skating. At least there's something to build on with those guys and they could 'pop' in the NHL. Maybe Leonard has high enough end 'compete' to be a Tkachuk like guy.

If we are going to draft these guys on "maybes" then instead of taking the 5th or 6th forward off the board another option would be to look into drafting the top defenseman off the board and hope he turns into a top pair guy by the time we have a shot for the playoffs in a few years.

 

[lasgop8]

Couldn't they realistically buy any of those guys out? Except for Coots that's a lot of nothing for a lot of money.

This has been our MO for about a decade and a half. A lot of money for nothing should be the Flyers credo.

 

[lasgop8]

Ryan Leonard Frequently Linked To Flyers In Mock Drafts

We took a spin through a bunch of mock drafts last night and saw a variety of players predicted for the Flyers with the No. 7 pick. One player often linked to the Flyers was forward Ryan Leonard, of the USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program. Leonard is 6-foot, 190 pounds, a right-handed...

phillyhockeynow.com

 

[purdue81]

Vegas is the northern most team left in the playoffs.

 

[lasgop8]

Vegas is the northern most team left in the playoffs.

I played 4 teams at 14-1 to win the cup and they are my last shot to win some cash so lets go Vegas!!

 

[purdue81]

I played 4 teams at 14-1 to win the cup and they are my last shot to win some cash so lets go Vegas!!

Good luck. I Would have to root for Canes in the finals. Proximity considered.

 

[awaz]

Ryan Leonard Frequently Linked To Flyers In Mock Drafts

We took a spin through a bunch of mock drafts last night and saw a variety of players predicted for the Flyers with the No. 7 pick. One player often linked to the Flyers was forward Ryan Leonard, of the USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program. Leonard is 6-foot, 190 pounds, a right-handed...

phillyhockeynow.com

I like the sounds of Leonard. I don't know that he's got the 'super star' level to him, but maybe that isn't available to the Flyers at 7. Only issue I have with him is if there was a position/role that the Flyers were in decent shape on, it'd be good energy, scoring winger. TK, Tippet, Farabee (assuming he bounces back a bit from a tough recovery year), Allison, Atkinson. All kind of that type of player. But, best player available is the name of the game.

I could definitely see the Flyers really going after guys like Leonard though. All heart/energy throughout the lineup. Willingness to bang. I'm OK with that plan as long as they can skate. Going to need to find some playmaking somewhere, but it'd certainly be an entertaining brand.

 

[awaz]

While he may not be the sexiest pick on draft day, Leonard is the kind of player that every team wants on their roster. With his two-way play, I could see him slotting into a team’s third line after developing at Boston College for a few seasons. He has top-six potential that could be reached if everything goes well in his development, but I wouldn’t expect him to be a first-line forward given where his toolkit is at right now.

Ryan Leonard – 2023 NHL Draft Prospect Profile - The Hockey Writers Latest News, Analysis & More

With the deep 2023 NHL Entry Draft to look towards, prospect Ryan Leonard could be a first round selection with his strong two-way play.

thehockeywriters.com

This is from March, so a couple months outdated. But the last line there is what gives me pause.

 

[lasgop8]

I like the sounds of Leonard. I don't know that he's got the 'super star' level to him, but maybe that isn't available to the Flyers at 7. Only issue I have with him is if there was a position/role that the Flyers were in decent shape on, it'd be good energy, scoring winger. TK, Tippet, Farabee (assuming he bounces back a bit from a tough recovery year), Allison, Atkinson. All kind of that type of player. But, best player available is the name of the game.

I could definitely see the Flyers really going after guys like Leonard though. All heart/energy throughout the lineup. Willingness to bang. I'm OK with that plan as long as they can skate. Going to need to find some playmaking somewhere, but it'd certainly be an entertaining brand.

i agree 100% with this.

 

[lasgop8]

While he may not be the sexiest pick on draft day, Leonard is the kind of player that every team wants on their roster. With his two-way play, I could see him slotting into a team’s third line after developing at Boston College for a few seasons. He has top-six potential that could be reached if everything goes well in his development, but I wouldn’t expect him to be a first-line forward given where his toolkit is at right now.

Ryan Leonard – 2023 NHL Draft Prospect Profile - The Hockey Writers Latest News, Analysis & More

With the deep 2023 NHL Entry Draft to look towards, prospect Ryan Leonard could be a first round selection with his strong two-way play.

thehockeywriters.com

This is from March, so a couple months outdated. But the last line there is what gives me pause.

2025 NHL Mock Draft with Lottery Simulator | Tankathon

2025 NHL Mock Draft with lottery simulator to see where the top NHL prospects could be drafted. Order updated after every game. Some team needs are factored into each draft simulation result

www.tankathon.com

This is from 10 days ago.

 

[lasgop8]

2025 NHL Mock Draft | 2025 NHL Draft | NHL Draft

2025 NHL Mock Draft and NHL Draft History. 2025 NHL Draft prospect videos, stats, and written profiles updated throughout the year.

www.mynhldraft.com

This is from 3 days ago it has us taking Dvorsky

 

[Maverick426h]

While he may not be the sexiest pick on draft day, Leonard is the kind of player that every team wants on their roster. With his two-way play, I could see him slotting into a team’s third line after developing at Boston College for a few seasons. He has top-six potential that could be reached if everything goes well in his development, but I wouldn’t expect him to be a first-line forward given where his toolkit is at right now.

Ryan Leonard – 2023 NHL Draft Prospect Profile - The Hockey Writers Latest News, Analysis & More

With the deep 2023 NHL Entry Draft to look towards, prospect Ryan Leonard could be a first round selection with his strong two-way play.

thehockeywriters.com

This is from March, so a couple months outdated. But the last line there is what gives me pause.

Idk, we can't get a top line player at #7 overall!?

 

[lasgop8]

Holy cow 4 OTs !Playoff hockey is wild id love to join that party again.

 

[Chris p Bacon]

So I've read two articles as of late, and both have me pretty intrigued. Both revolve around the Coyotes. The first one was an article about sending Ellis and his contract to the yotes to reach the salary cap ceiling. I am on board with this 1000%.

The Time is NOW to Move Ryan Ellis' Awful Contract

YES...

www.flyersinsider.com

The second article was about Clayton Keller and his desire to be moved from said franchise. Would love to see Jonesy work some magic and make both a reality.

Rumor: Clayton Keller’s father tweets out that his son will leave Arizona!

And he claims other players will leave too!

www.hockeyfeed.com

 

[Chris p Bacon]

Holy cow 4 OTs !Playoff hockey is wild id love to join that party again.

Yep, seems like a long time ago.

 

[Chris p Bacon]

2025 NHL Mock Draft | 2025 NHL Draft | NHL Draft

2025 NHL Mock Draft and NHL Draft History. 2025 NHL Draft prospect videos, stats, and written profiles updated throughout the year.

www.mynhldraft.com

This is from 3 days ago it has us taking Dvorsky

2025 NHL Mock Draft with Lottery Simulator | Tankathon

2025 NHL Mock Draft with lottery simulator to see where the top NHL prospects could be drafted. Order updated after every game. Some team needs are factored into each draft simulation result

www.tankathon.com

This is from 10 days ago.

Well ones a midget(we have too many small guys), and the other one is blah. I'm with you, I'd rather take the highest D man and roll the dice.

 

[awaz]

Idk, we can't get a top line player at #7 overall!?

Just have to take a bigger risk I think. A guy like Benson seems to have all the skill/smarts/drive to be a high end point producer on a top line. But he's also 5'9 and not a dynamic skater. So he's almost a top line guy in the NHL, or he's an AHL-er.

I'm on board with a home-run swing.

 

[awaz]

Well ones a midget(we have too many small guys), and the other one is blah. I'm with you, I'd rather take the highest D man and roll the dice.

The Flyers aren't that small. Deangelo, Frost, TK, and York are the only guys under 6 foot and TK is the shortest at 5'10. And TK and Deangelo are willing to bang bodies despite the size. They're not an overly physical team, but there aren't many teams in the NHL these days that would qualify as a physical team compared to 10 years ago.

They also have 6'5 Hayes who doesn't hit. 6-3 JvR who doesn't hit. 6-3 Sanheim who doesn't hit. Which probably exaggerates the lack of physicality.

 

[Chris p Bacon]

The Flyers aren't that small. Deangelo, Frost, TK, and York are the only guys under 6 foot and TK is the shortest at 5'10. And TK and Deangelo are willing to bang bodies despite the size. They're not an overly physical team, but there aren't many teams in the NHL these days that would qualify as a physical team compared to 10 years ago.

They also have 6'5 Hayes who doesn't hit. 6-3 JvR who doesn't hit. 6-3 Sanheim who doesn't hit. Which probably exaggerates the lack of physicality.

Your right, it's the lack of physicality that definitely exaggerates it. Good news is we don't have JVR anymore, hoping we can lose Hayes(in a good way), hope Allison can fill a void left by JVR.