Philadelphia Flyers Select Devin Kaplan 69th Overall
By Collin Coyne
With their third round selection in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft the Philadelphia Flyers have gone back to the well of their first round selection, choosing Devin Kaplan from the US National Development Program 69th overall. Kaplan is a big bodied winger out of Bridgewater, NJ who saw time playing a third line role with the Under 18 team this past year.
Set to play for the Boston University Terriers this coming season, the largest story with Kaplan is the fact that he was smothered under the incredible talent the US Development program has been collecting over the past several years. Managing to place ninth in points on a team that produced six first round picks in this draft, including Flyers selection Cutter Gauthier, Kaplan struggled to earn ice time over the heavy hitters.
Kaplan continued his steady play during the Under 18 World Junior Championship, scoring six points in as many games, though only one of those points saw him scoring a goal. But his rather pedestrian scoring totals aren’t what had several sources predicting him to only barely fall out of the second round. The true draw of Kaplan is his size.
Standing at 6’3”, just shy of 200 pounds, Kaplan fits the mold of the big body power forward that Chuck Fletcher loves to draft. Excelling in the transition game and along the boards, Kaplan makes great use of his frame, muscling his opponents off the puck completely while being tough to knock off in his own right.
That size comes in handy in his own end of the ice too, where as a winger he manages a remarkable impact at breaking up opportunities with both his size, willingness to play the body, and a great sense to cycle the puck up ice to get chances for his own team.
Kaplan’s game isn’t perfect, however. Despite a quality shot and a great ability to pick his place and hit it, Kaplan prefers to cycle the puck to his teammates, something that shows in his stat sheet. His skating also could use some work, while he is quick for his size, he lacks the giddyup to really take his offensive skillset to the next level.
With a Flyers prospect pool stocked to the gills with heavy shot two-way wingers, Kaplan is entering a situation where he will certainly be pushed to stand out amongst the likes of Tyson Forester and Zayde Wisdom. And he certainly seems to share a number of similarities with former USNDP teammate, and new NCAA Boston Hockey rival Cutter Gauthier.
Kaplan needs to do a lot to find his place in the NHL but all the tools are there for a quality two-way winger, and only time will tell if he can reach that ceiling.