Philadelphia Flyers Draft Elliot Desnoyers With 135th Pick

Another trade saw the Flyers jump back up into the fifth round to take left-winger Elliot Desnoyers.

The Flyers once again saw someone on the board that they just had to have. They packaged the 202nd and 209th picks with the Nashville Predators for the 135th pick. And with the selection, they drafted left-winger Elliot Desnoyers of the Halifax Mooseheads.

At this point in the draft, you won’t typically find the offensively gifted players that are around in the earlier rounds. However, Desnoyers did put up 11 goals and 35 assists for the Moncton Wildcats a season ago. He is more known for his defensive game than he is on the offensive end, though.

He is the type of player that will do whatever it takes to help his teammates out. His offensive creativity isn’t quite where it needs to be after being taken 18th overall in the QMJHL. His point total only increased by four points from his rookie season to this past year. He was playing down in the lineup with the Wildcats, especially with the team acquiring big names mid-way through the season. So with an offseason move, he could get a much bigger opportunity with Halifax.

Desnoyers was a part of a trade back in early June that sent him and teammate Zachary L’Heureux to Halifax in exchange for five draft picks. He already has two points in two games for the Mooseheads this season. So the Flyers could be banking on a breakout season for the 18-year-old forward.

He can put a lot of power behind his shots, but it’s his accuracy that will need to be worked on. But he has one important thing going for him and that is that he will compete no matter where he is on the ice. There isn’t much more out there on Desnoyers as he was a bit of a surprise bit in the fifth-round. Future Considerations had him at 177th while the NHL’s Central Scouting had him as the 175th ranked North American Skater. Elite Prospects did have him as high as 94th in their rankings.

If he can get the offensive side of his game to match up, he has a chance to be a solid depth player if he makes it to the NHL level. But it is a little interesting that Chuck Fletcher felt the need to jump up and give away two draft picks. The Flyers saw something in his game to suggest he could become a useful asset at some point.