The Philadelphia Flyers certainly made some interesting picks in this year’s entry draft, let’s take a look and assess them pick-by-pick.
Drafts are always a mixed bag. The more research that occurs, the more opinions are generated about the draft’s strengths and weaknesses. Worse still, you can start to have favorites. The chances of a team taking a single favorite are slim, let alone the whole favorite lists. Needless I find myself tasting some bitterness when the Flyers don’t do what I want. This draft was no different.
Draft Management Grade: B
Considering where they picked, I think Chuck Fletcher and the boys did well. They sacrificed picks in a deck that was already a little short to get the players where they saw the value. That is what successful teams do. I do think they left a little money on the table with the first round by not trading down. But maybe they wanted to make sure that they got Foerster.
Scouting Grade: C
Unfortunately, I liked the later picks more than the early ones. I am almost exclusively in the “best player available” camp. That is Chuck Fletcher’s view as well (or so he says), and I think players were taken with better players on the board. I think this could be a difference of opinion in what is seen in a single-player, but after two drafts with Fletch, I am thinking it is a difference in philosophy on what makes a good NHL player.