We are less than two weeks away from the NHL Draft. With that in mind, let's take a look at the 2020 draft class. We are five years out, so we should be able to analyze how well this draft class has paid off for the Flyers. Who's been a hit, who's a miss, and who the jury is still out on?
The Flyers only had five draft picks that year. It was the team's fewest draft picks since 2008, the year the team drafted the immortal Luca Sbisa. Of those five, only three have seen NHL action thus far.
Round One: Tyson Foerster
By all measures, Forester has been a hit. He's been the best first-round selection between Ivan Provorov (2015) and Matvei Michkov (2023), with the jury still out on Cam York at this point. Foerster has played in parts of three seasons. In his two full seasons, he has scored 20 and 25 goals, respectively.
Foerster turned 23 this past January. He's got a fairly high ceiling. Because of that, he has been recently awarded a two-year extension. If he keeps playing on this projected path, he'll be a solid Flyer forward for the next few seasons. It's always nice to have your team flush with homegrown stars, and he could be a foundational piece of this franchise as we transition from the 2020s into the 2030s.
Round Two: Emil Andrae
In the second round, the Flyers selected the Swedish defender. So far, Andrae has appeared in 46 games in the NHL; 42 of which came this season. In the last two years, he's bounced back and forth between the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the AHL and the Flyers.
With an injury to Rasmus Ristolainen to start the season, Andrae should have a roster spot locked up with the other spots, presumably, going to Cam York, Travis Sanheim, Jamie Drysdale, and Nick Seeler. Andrae, because of his more consistent play, seems to have an edge over Egor Zamula.
With that said, a big part of where Andrae needs to be appears to be confidence. For the Phantoms, he's scored 48 points over the last two seasons. With the Flyers this year, just seven. Since he isn't very big (5'9", 190 lbs), he's going to have to carve out a niche for himself. If it isn't a big bruiser, he's going to have to start getting more involved on the offense.
So far, Andrae has shown some flashes of solid play. He's young and still developing. He's got some room to grow. However, time is probably running out. This will be a big season for him. If he can't shape up and improve his game, he could be tossed aside next offseason.
Round Four: Zayde Wisdom
Philly's third-round pick that year went to San Jose to acquire Justin Braun. Braun filled in nicely for a few seasons, providing the Flyers with a valuable veteran presence on the blue line. With their fourth-round pick, the team selected winger Zayde Wisdom.
Wisdom has yet to make the NHL and will probably not this year either. However, don't go to sleep on him just yet. The 22-year-old forward has played two seasons with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. This year, he set career highs with 13 goals and 19 assists. His 32 points tied him for fourth on the team behind Olle Lycksell, Jacob Gaucher, and Anthony Richard.
As far as the depth chart goes, there are probably half a dozen forward prospects ahead of him. However, if he has a solid rookie camp this summer and a decent training camp, it is possible he could climb up the charts. It is reasonable to consider that he could be a depth call-up at the end of the season if he has a solid season in the AHL. That all depends on whether the Flyers re-sign him this summer. So keep an eye on him.
Round Five: Elliot Desnoyers
In 2023-24, Desnoyers had a breakout year with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Selected in the fifth round, he turned a lot of heads by scoring 23 goals with 21 assists. His 44 points were third on the Phantoms behind Foerster and Lycksell. It looked as if the Flyers had found a true diamond in the rough. His performance earned him a four-game call-up at the end of the Flyers' season.
In the two years since, he has scored just 11 goals and 30 assists. Has he stagnated, or has it been the team around him? Not sure. With a new coach coming to the Phantoms, we'll see if he can get that spark back. If he can't, he's surely running out of time with this organization.
Round Six: Connor McClennon
McClennon was a sixth-round pick of the Flyers and tore up the WHL. Playing for the Winnipeg Ice, in his last two seasons, he scored 43 and 44 goals, respectively. In those two seasons, he scored more goals than all the other Flyers prospects. So, what happened?
Well, first, there was a glut on the right wing for prospects, which there still is at the NHL level. At the time, the Flyers had Foerster, Wisdom, and Bobby Brink ahead of him. Likewise, they had other players, like Travis Konecny in Philly, who wouldn't give him any room to move up.
The other issue is his size. He's just 5'8" and 170 lbs. The team was concerned about his future progress being marred by his size. It's one thing to be good against junior-level players in the WHL. How will you do against better competition?
So far, the answer to that question is "not well". The Flyers opted not to re-sign him in 2022, making him a free agent. He caught on with the Univ. of Alberta. In two seasons, and just 20 games, he's scored 10 goals with 23 assists. He's also appeared in seven goals with the Chicago Wolves of the AHL and two games with the Norfolk Admirals of the ECHL, notching one assist with the Wolves.
Foerster, so far, has been a hit. Andrae looks as if he can be a solid contributor on the defense. Wisdom may still have a chance to prove himself. Desnoyers is likely running out of time. McClennon is someone else's property. If you count the third-round pick becoming Braun, this has been a decent draft for Philly.
Not every pick is going to be a hit. Sometimes injuries hit, or the team's vision changes. Compared to some other drafts, this is a solid one. Let's hope the 2025 one works out well.