Philadelphia Flyers: 2013 Draft yielded disappointing result
With their first pick in the draft, the Flyers picked Samuel Morin. Standing at 6’6”, Morin was a towering defenseman who wasn’t afraid to use his size to his advantage.
He wasn’t known as an offensive defensemen. He came into the draft posting four goals and 16 points for Rimouski Oceanic of the QMJHL.
He did improve offensively the following two season, posting a combined 63 points. Assisting was a bigger asset for him as he had 20+ points in that category.
Morin debuted with the Phantoms in the 2015-16 season. It was one of two final seasons before injuries would take over his Flyers career. The numbers were decent, four goals and 19 points in his first year. He was tied for second among Phantoms defensemen in points.
Morin made his NHL debut at the end of the 2016-17 season. He played in just one game. He had one more healthy season for the Phantoms, appearing in 74 games. The totals went down slightly, three goals and 16 points.
And then the injuries began to take over. He played just 17 total games the following season, two with the Flyers. While he appeared in the AHL playoffs, that is when his first ACL tear happened. After rehabbing back from that, he tore the same knee once again this past November.
Expectation comes when being picked so high. But it’s now 2020 and Morin has played in nine total NHL games. He has been plagued by injuries lately, but it’s hard to see what the Flyers even have in him.
Morin did sign a three year contract in 2018 and will be here for one more season. That could be his last chance to show the Flyers what he’s got.
The only player on this list to have an active role for the Flyers, Robert Hagg was drafted in the second round. Coming out of Sweden, Hagg was a solid two-way defensemen for MODO of the SHL.
None of his skills truly stood out above the rest. He was solid in a defensive role and had good size and strength. His offensive wasn’t anything to write home about, but he contributed in small ways.
Hagg has impressed internationally for Sweden. He has won a silver medal with the team on three separate occasions. His best international play came for the U18 team during the 2012-13 season. At the WJC-18, Hagg posted four points in five games. He also grabbed six goals and 16 points for Sweden in International Jr play.
Hagg would stay in Sweden until 2014 when he debuted for the Adirondack Phantoms. He spent four years developing in the AHL and getting used to the smaller ice surface.
He became a fixture in the Flyers lineup two seasons ago, playing in all 82 games last year. With the additions on defense this past offseason, Hagg was expected to be the team’s seventh defensemen. Due to injuries, he suited up for 49 games.
To find a role for himself in the NHL, Hagg has to change things about his game. He has become a more serviceable defensemen, more known for his physical play. He was projected to be an all-situations type player, but that wasn’t going to work out for him with the Flyers.
Not much more than a low-pair defensemen, Hagg is a restricted free agent this offseason. It wouldn’t take much to bring him back as he’s held his own enough to not completely flounder on the ice.
Taken in the third round, Tyrell Goulbourne was an interesting pick for the Flyers. He was more known for his fighting than anything else. He’s a physical player who wasn’t highly rated coming in.
In fact, the Flyers drafted him 100 picks before he was expected to go. His numbers did get better the further into his junior career he played. Goulbourne had 14 goals and 27 points for the Kelowna Rockets coming into the draft. So he had shown some kind of offensive ability.
But that was overshadowed by his fighting and overly-physical play. He had 135 penalty minutes that season. His offense did continue to show the following two seasons as he grabbed 17 and 20 goals respectively. All in all, he posted 125 points in 275 WHL games. He also had 461 penalty minutes.
While he cleaned up that play in the AHL, the offense didn’t come with it. Aside from his second season, Goulbourne averaged around 18-19 points with the Phantoms in three separate seasons. He spent time in the ECHL, also grabbing 19 points there.
Goulbourne would spend some time with the Flyers. He appeared in 11 NHL games, not doing much in any of them. He was called up primarily as a spark to the team. But he played about five minutes and game and did nothing with it.
He would later sign with the Vegas Golden Knights, but would play in the AHL with the Chicago Wolves this past season.
It was a questionable pick for the Flyers, one that was likely doomed from the start.
There wasn’t much known about Terrance Amorosa when the team drafted him in the fifth round. In fact, it’s hard to even find a scouting report or much of any information about him. He wasn’t even ranked among the 210 North American skaters.
Coming out of the USHS-Prep League, Amorosa had 12 goals and 26 points in his draft season. He appeared in one season of USHL play with Sioux City. He had two goals and 14 points in 50 games.
Committed to Clarkson University, Amorosa player four seasons in the NCAA. He did improve during his time in collegiate hockey, but not enough to warrant a contract from the Flyers. The team lost his rights during the summer of 2018.
Amorosa was coming off his best season with Clarkson, collecting seven goals and 27 points. He has spent the last two seasons floating around the ECHL. He signed on with the Kansas City Mavericks this past season.
It took until the sixth round for the Flyers to grab their first goaltender of the night. And that was Merrick Madsen. With a natural athletic ability and size, Madsen has becoming an intriguing prospect in the 2013 Draft.
He appeared in the same league as Amorosa, posting average numbers for Proctor Academy. But he did enough to warrant an offer from Harvard to join their collegiate program. He was thought to be going to the USHL for the Des Moines Buccaneers, but that’s never materialized.
Instead, Madsen played one season in the NAHL before heading to Harvard. He became the team’s starter in his second collegiate season and posted impressive numbers.
Madsen helped backstop the team to a championship during his junior season. He was named the tournaments MVP and earned a spot on All-Ivy League First Team.
Depsite his impressive play, he never debuted in the Flyers organization. By the team he was likely ready, the team had other goaltending prospects ahead of him. Instead, the Flyers traded him to the Arizona Coyotes in 2018.
He has split time between the AHL and ECHL the last two seasons. The numbers haven’t been great since beginning his professional career. But still, one has to wonder what would’ve happened if the team held on to him.
Wrapping up the 2013 Draft, the Flyers selected David Drake in the seventh round. Committed to the University of Connecticut, Drake found his style of play with the team during his time in college.
His stats won’t lead you to believe that as he posted 25 points in 124 games. He did develop into a solid two-way defensemen with UConn. His size and athleticism helped him along the way.
The Flyers had a large group of defensemen that played a similar style to Drake, but possessed more offensive upside. Drake was forced to settle on signing with the Phantoms on an AHL contract in 2018. He has only appeared in nine AHL games over parts of three seasons, though. Drake has seen most of his time in the ECHL.
After his original AHL contract, Drake signed an extension to remain on an AHL contract this past season. With not much offensive ability to show for himself, it’s possible Drake finds himself with another organization next season.