Philadelphia Flyers: 5 Worst Draft Picks of the Last Decade

The Philadelphia Flyers have made the playoffs just twice since 2016, and their poor drafting has greatly limited their success.

The Philadelphia Flyers have the seventh overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft as well as the 22nd, but if recent history says anything, it’s that the Flyers are not guaranteed to draft an impact player. As the Flyers have fully committed to a rebuild, it is crucial that Daniel Briere and the rest of the Flyers front office get their top draft picks right this year. Briere, a first-time general manager, has wasted no time clearing house in his inaugural offseason. Ivan Provorov was the first man out the door, and embattled veterans Kevin Hayes and Tony DeAngelo don’t seem to be too far behind him. It remains to be seen whether or not some of the others, like Travis Sanheim and Carter Hart, depart the City of Brotherly Love.

As it turns out, Nolan Patrick ended up winning a Stanley Cup before the Philadelphia Flyers did. Patrick was supposed to be an integral part of the Flyers’ rebuild, but chronic migraines and head injuries squashed any hope he might have had of becoming star in the NHL. Drafted second overall by the Flyers in the 2017 NHL Draft, Patrick played in 197 games for the Flyers before heading to the Vegas Golden Knights by way of the Nashville Predators. Patrick had two solid 30-point seasons as a 19 and 20 year old in 2017-18 and 2018-19, but bottomed out to a nine-point 2019-20 season as he battled with his migraine condition and other injuries. Patrick played just 25 games with the Golden Knights in the 2021-22 season, and missed the entirety of the 2022-23 season.

Philadelphia Flyers fans might be familiar with the story that exiled general manager Chuck Fletcher ignored the advice of his scouts and chose Nolan Patrick over Cale Makar. While the decision was fairly reasonable, Patrick’s injury concerns were a major red flag even before his time in the NHL, and was one of the deciding factors in the New Jersey Devils drafting Nico Hischier first overall. Makar, of course, has already won a Stanley Cup, a Norris Trophy, and a Conn Smythe Trophy whilst having more points than games played as a defenseman. Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen and Vancouver Canucks and Montreal Canadiens centers Elias Pettersson and Nick Suzuki have all developed into All-Star caliber NHL players and were drafted after Patrick.

Nolan Patrick might be the biggest ‘what-if’ in all of the recent NHL drafts; the 6’2″ center was a star talent who often showed signs of becoming a great two-way player. Patrick was always a net-positive possession player, had the size and skill to score from anywhere, was a good faceoff taker, and had the hockey IQ to regularly produce takeaways for his team. Patrick is still young, though, and will turn 25 in September. If he gets healthy to the point of being able to return to the ice, it’s unclear whether or not Patrick will get a chance to make an NHL team or not. Patrick’s condition does not appear to have had any updates since it was announced in September that he would miss the season. Patrick is a restricted free agent this summer and is arbitration-eligible, but it’s unclear whether or not the Vegas Golden Knights have plans to bring him back in any capacity. If Patrick wants to resume his playing career, it may have to be on an AHL tryout or overseas.

What was supposed to be a strength for the Philadelphia Flyers became a weakness, and still is to this day. The Flyers drafted Ivan Provorov seventh overall in 2015, and Provorov became the third left-shot Flyers defenseman to be drafted in the first round in as many years, succeeding Sam Morin (2013) and Travis Sanheim (2014). With Morin injured and in juniors, and Sanheim not becoming a regular until 2018, Provorov was forced to be the Flyers’ number one defenseman since his age 20 season in 2016-17. Provorov was excellent in 2017-18, but proceeded to get worse either offensively, defensively, or both in every season thereafter. Provorov always showed signs of becoming a star, but it never happened because he never had the opportunity to develop. The 2022-23 season was proof enough for Daniel Briere that Provorov could not be the number one guy in Philly anymore, and so he was shipped off to the Columbus Blue Jackets to be their number two behind Zach Werenski.

https://twitter.com/2Murphy8/status/1242485481692168193?s=20

Speaking of Zach Werenski, the former University of Michigan blueliner was taken directly after Provorov and developed into one of the best two-way defenseman in the NHL, having been named an All-Star in 2018 and 2022. If the Flyers were hellbent on adding yet another defenseman, Werenski was certainly the better choice. If they went in a different direction, Timo Meier and Mikko Rantanen are two world class forwards that were taken after Werenski. For more context, consider that Provorov is one of three players taken in the top-10 of the 2015 NHL Draft that have not been an NHL All-Star yet. The other two are Dylan Strome and Pavel Zacha.

Ivan Provorov can still return to form and become a useful NHLer again; he’s still young at 26, and will be 27 after the new year. He’s got a lot of mileage on his legs already, but a change of scenery with a more talented Blue Jackets team and a reduced role could help Provorov get back to doing what he does best. In Philly, his distractions combined with declining play made him an obvious choice for Daniel Briere to cut bait.

Chosen in the back end of the first round of the 2016 NHL Draft, only some of the most dedicated Philadelphia Flyers fans have heard of or remember German Rubtsov. Rubtsov left the Flyers organization having only played four games, and did not score or assist in those four games. Rubtsov also wasn’t much better in the AHL, scoring just 30 points in 98 games with Lehigh Valley and the Charlotte Checkers. Rubtsov ended up in Charlotte by way of the Flyers trading for Owen Tippett; he was packaged with Claude Giroux and Connor Bunnaman to the Florida Panthers. A few months later, Rubtsov was not tendered a qualifying offer by the Panthers and subsequently returned home to Russia, where he is currently playing in their second division.

https://twitter.com/spittinchiclets/status/1636899304454381568?s=20

Only one player chosen in the first round of the 2016 NHL Draft has appeared in fewer games than German Rubtsov: Lucas Johansen of the Washington Capitals. Johansen is the younger brother of newly-minted Colorado Avalanche Ryan Johansen. Lucas was drafted with pick 28, and had an assist in his NHL debut that came in 2021-22. Johansen played in two games for the Capitals this season, and recently won the Calder Cup with the Hershey Bears. At the very least, he is still contributing to the organization that drafted him in some capacity.

In drafting German Rubtsov, the Philadelphia Flyers passed on other centers, such as Tage Thompson, Trent Frederic, and Sam Steel. Thompson is obviously the big fish, but Frederic and Steel have become everyday NHLers too. Frederic in particular could develop into a great role player for a team that needs it. Rubtsov on the other hand is on his last legs in professional hockey.

The old Philadelphia Flyers seemed to have had a habit of hyperfixating on positions, and only drafting that position. Just a handful of picks after drafting center German Rubtsov, the Flyers drafted center Pascal Laberge. During his time in Philadelphia, Laberge achieved something truly impressive – he appeared in zero NHL games. Laberge scored 20 points in 55 games before having to ply his trade in the ECHL, North America’s third division of hockey. For the 2023-24 season, Laberge has a contract with Fehérvár AV19, a Hungarian outfit in the Champions Hockey League.

Pascal Laberge was drafted with the 36th pick in the second round of the 2016 NHL Draft – one spot after speed demon Jordan Kyrou, and two spots before sniper Alex DeBrincat. Middle and later rounds of professional sports drafts generally tend to be a crapshoot, but most good teams find a way to draft useful players. The Flyers would end up missing out on Sam Girard, Ryan Lindgren, DeBrincat, Dillon Dube, and Filip Hronek, who are all very good players. At least Philadelphia ended up with Carter Hart and Wade Allison later in the round, although it remains to be seen whether or not Hart remains with the Flyers beyond this week.

Whatever the Flyers do on Wednesday, they cannot afford to draft another Ivan Provorov or another German Rubtsov. They currently do not have a second round pick, so the seventh and 22nd picks will be absolutely vital to the success of their rebuild, starting this season.