The Philadelphia Flyers are enjoying their recent success, as they are firmly in control of their playoff destiny. If the team keeps it up, the Flyers will make it back to the playoffs for the first time since the Covid bubble. It goes to show just how the Flyers went in the wrong direction in the years prior.
Speaking of the wrong direction, fans will often look back at previous drafts and ask themselves, "what if we drafted another player in the first round." Look no further than ESPN's recent article, with Rachel Kryshak and Greg Wyshynski participating in a redraft of the 2016 class. There were plenty of different selections going on in the first round of this redraft, such as the Winnipeg Jets drafting either Matthew Tkachuk or Adam Fox with the second-overall pick or the Vancouver Canucks drafting Tage Thompson with the fifth overall pick.
When it comes to the Flyers, General Manager Ron Hextall used the No. 22 overall pick on Russian center German Rubtsov. In the redraft, Wyshynski had them using the selection on future Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Joseph Woll, who was drafted in the third round that year.
"A good pick for the Flyers at this spot, even if it's a bad spot for Woll considering how the Flyers have developed goalies for, oh, the past 20 years," writes Wyshynski.
ESPN's Greg Wyshynski has Flyers selecting Joseph Woll in 2016 redraft
It's well known that the Flyers swung and missed on the Rubtsov selection. Rubtsov never made an impact on the NHL level, playing just four games, all of which took place in the 2019-20 season, where he was held point-less. In three seasons with the AHL, Rubtsov recorded 10 goals and 19 assists in 93 games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. In hindsight, it was a bad selection by the Flyers, considering the talent left on the board.
While Woll is not the biggest name in terms of goaltending, he could have been a steady option for the Flyers. Let's not forget the constant struggles they have finding a solid starting goaltender in, well, most of their history. This also would have ensured the Flyers had not used a second-round pick on Carter Hart, who never panned out for the Flyers and had serious off-ice concerns to say the least.
Woll received his first opportunity with the Maple Leafs in the 2021-22 season, where he posted a .911 save percentage, a 2.75 goals allowed average, a 3-1-0 record, and one shutout in four games. He would eventually become one of the Leafs' significant options in net, with him splitting time with Ilya Samsonov and Martin Jones in the 2023-24 season, and with former Flyer Anthony Stolarz these past two seasons.
For Flyers fans wondering, Woll did play well when the games mattered the most: the playoffs. In the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Woll was virtually unstoppable, recording an absurd .964 save percentage and a 0.86 goals allowed average in three first-round appearances against the Boston Bruins. Those statistics arrived in Games 4-6. Unfortunately for the Leafs, Woll was out for Game 7 due to an injury, and were subsequently eliminated by the Bruins.
In his career, Woll has a .907 save percentage, a 2.93 goals allowed average, and a 63-42-9 record to his credit in 116 games (112 starts).
There were plenty of options for the Flyers to go in that probably would have panned out more than Rubtsov. While Wyshynski does bring up the team's lackluster goalie development being a concern, Woll probably could have panned out for Philadelphia, and maybe helped them make the playoffs instead of enduring a five-season playoff drought.