After taking three goaltenders the previous year, the Flyers would end up drafting their franchise goaltender during the second round in 2016.
Ron Hextall would continue his solid work of hoarding draft picks, giving the Flyers a whopping 10 selections during the 2016 NHL Draft. It was only the second time they would select that many players in the last ten years.
A few previous trades gave them the opportunity to select those players. The team would end up trading their original first and third-round selections to the Winnipeg Jets. They would end up with the Jets’ first and second-round picks. The first-round pick from the Jets came via the Chicago Blackhawks.
One of their second-round picks came directly from the Blackhawks. That was from the Kimmo Timonen trade a season ago. The pick was conditional at the time and was converted when the Hawks made the Stanley Cup Final that season.
Their only third round-selection came from a trade in January that had sent Vincent Lecavalier and Luke Schenn to the Los Angeles Kings. Lastly, the team received another pick from the Kings, this time a sixth-rounder. It was acquired from a trade during the 2015 Draft.
Like most drafts, a few picks haven’t worked out for the team. And some are still waiting to be seen. The biggest thing to come from this draft, though, was the Flyers drafting their eventual franchise goaltender.