With their fifth round selection in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, the Philadelphia Flyers have selected Ty Murchison, the American defenseman from the US National Team at 158th overall.
Murchison has spent the past few years in the US Hockey Development Program, though the numbers he has put up there have not exactly leapt off the page. Playing for the U18 team, Murchison put up only 15 points in 48 games. When tapped to play in the World Junior Championships for the USA’s U18 team, he netted a single assist in his five games, as the US team was bounced in the quarter finals.
While being described as a two-way defender, his successes come more in the defensive zone than the offensive one. His good vision helps him at reading the passing lanes and making sure to push shooters to the outside preventing good shots from going on net. He also does a good job at retrieving the puck and moving it up ice to get his team going offensively.
His ability to read passing lanes helps him in the offensive zone as well, able to quarterback on offense and get the puck to the people he needs to, though he needs to work on improving his shot, as defenses have learned to close passing lanes due to its mediocre velocity and his hesitancy to shoot.
While he is in need of a fair more amount seasoning, he has been projected as a potential bottom four defensemen, who can run a powerplay unit, though he has been given little opportunity to do so with the US development team. At 6’2” he has the frame to be a defenseman at the NHL level, though he likely needs to put on some more weight, as he will need to add some physicality to continue to shut down forwards at higher levels of play.
In the coming years, Murchison has committed to Arizona State University, an up and coming hockey program in the NCAA, where he will look to develop these talents as a Sun Devil. He enters into a good program that hopefully can put him in the best position to one day join the Flyers.