Bill Meltzer Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • RSS
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MUSINGS AND QUICK HITS: JUNE 20, 2018
1) The NHL Awards will air live on NBCSN on Wednesday at 8 p.m. EDT. Additionally, for the first time in NHL Awards history, the PHWA will publicly release not just the voting points breakdown for each award in which its members vote, but also how each individual voter cast his or her ballot. I am no longer a PHWA member (my direct working relationship with the Flyers precludes PHWA membership) but I am very much in favor of the increased transparency of the balloting.
2) When the voting points totals are released, I will be especially interested to see exactly how far Claude Giroux fell short of finishing within the top 3 of the Hart Trophy balloting. In my opinion,the Flyers captain had a better, more consistent season from start to finish this year than he did when he was a finalist for the award in 2013-14. Although Sean Couturier is a first-time finalist for the Selke Trophy, I suspect he placed third in the ballot behind Patrice Bergeron and Anze Kopitar. We shall see.
3) I am often asked on social media whom I would realistically like to see the Flyers select in the NHL Draft, assuming the team stands pat with the 14th and 19th picks. I find that question hard to answer.
The truth of the matter is that, every year, there is a group of players for whom I'd have no problem if the Flyers selected. I don't believe in getting too emotionally locked into any one player. I also realize that the scouts who've seen these players over and over throughout the season have a better handle on these kids than I do based on limited viewings and/or third-party following of the pre-Draft horse race throughout the season.
That said, let's discuss this year's pool as relates to the Flyers.
I don't think either Jesperi Kotkaniemi or Barrett Hayton will realistically still be on the board with the 14th pick, so I'm taking those names out of the mix in that spot. If the Flyers were to trade up into the top 5 or 6, I believe that defenseman Noah Dobson would be their top specific candidate and power forward Brady Tkachuk would be a fallback option of interest if they couldn't grab one of the top centers in a center-weak first round. This is strictly speculative on my part, but based on Ron Hextall's stated organizational priorities and player traits he values.
If Joel Farabee makes it the 14th overall spot -- in the mock Draft I did for the Flyers' official site, I had Dallas taking him at 13th -- he might be a player for whom the Flyers make an exception for their general preference for centers over wingers. Farabee brings all the intangibles and two-way traits they value and also has offensive upside. All he lacks is elite caliber speed and, even there, is hardly deficient.
Among the group of forwards of personal interest to me, there's a pretty wide array that I'd have no problem with the Flyers taking either at 14th or 19th. These include the likes of Liam Foudy (arguably the fastest-riser in the second half, and one of the fastest skaters in the Draft), Isac Lundeström (versatile, solid all-around and underrated in his offensive skill), Jonatan Berggren (whom I think will score more in the NHL than many players picked ahead of him), Joe Veleno (a safe pick, although not a "sexy" one) or Martin Kaut (the type of European player whom the Flyers generally like). I'd be OK with the Flyers taking one of the Russian wildcards such as Vitali Kravtsov, the speedy and skilled but somewhat enigmatic Ryan McLeod or speedy and skilled Rasmus Kupari if they believe his hockey sense will catch up with his fast feet.
As for the much-rumored interest in Serron Noel, he would not personally be my choice but it's hard to ignore the rare collection of tools he brings. I'd keep an open mind. He's a bit of a project, but he's also one of the youngest players in the 2018 Draft class. If Noel were to be the Flyers pick at 14 or 19, it would be a swing for the fences.
It is unusual to find players that big who also skate that well. Noel has a really good shot, as his shooting percentage attests, but I just wish he would shoot the puck much more often. He's very strong physically, and figures to get even stronger, but I wish he played less on the perimeter and get himself more to the scoring areas. He's not a 200-foot player at this point but could learn to be over time. Overall, I just feel there's a little too much risk here, but it's also the type of pick that could look brilliant in a few years if he puts it all together with any sort of consistency. At 14th, I think it's a tad too early. At 19th, I'd be more comfortable.
Among defensemen likely to be on the board in the 14th to 19th range, K'Andre Miller has some similarities to Noel in terms of being a selection candidate based primarily on physical tools but I think the converted forward is actually a fairly safe pick even at his floor. If Farabee isn't there at 14th, I'd personally prefer Miller being the Philly pick there over Noel or Veleno. The Flyers' decision-makers may see it differently, of course.
Having seen 50+ Soo Greyhounds games this season via OHL Live streams, I'd be quite comfortable with Rasmus Sandin at 19th. Jared McIsaac has some critics who say he tops out as an NHL 4th D (I think it's way too early to pigeonhole that ceiling) but has decent size, well above-average mobility and two-way upside as a player who fits into today's game in the NHL. If the Flyers are not concerned by Nils Lundqvist's lack of size, I think there is a rock-solid, heady future NHL defenseman to be had albeit not a big point-getter. I'd also be quite comfortable with the selection of Mattias Samuelsson, and not just because he's Kjell's son. Mattias is big, mobile, a good passer and pretty physical by today's standards.
With Bode Wilde, I am concerned over both the hockey sense and character question marks that seemed to circle around him all year. The fact that he was not invited to the upcoming WJC Summer Showcase whereas teammates Miller and Samuelsson were says something about how USA Hockey views the reliability of these respective players. In terms of tools, though, Wilde is an apt name. He is a wildcard because he's righthanded, shows flashes of skill and has a good physical frame. If a team believes that he just needs to mature a bit emotionally, perhaps he can work through a tendency for wide swings of inconsistency in his play.
When all is said and done, though, as long as there is a well-defined line of reasoning behind a certain pick -- whether or not it is in line with the outside consensus or my own preferences -- I don't have any issues with it. Once a pick is made, I also believe in wiping the slate clean and then tracking the development path that follows. The NHL Entry Draft is just that: a starting point, not a destination.
4) Chris Therien and I have started a new podcast series called "The Real Deal with Bundy and Bill". This podcast will be a little more personal story and opinion-oriented than the news and analysis FlyerBuzz podcasts I do with Brian Smith and the Broadcasters' Roundtables in conjunction with Tim Saunders, Jim Jackson and Steve Coates on Flyers Radio 24/7.
In the first installment of the podcast with Chris, we look back at Chris' own experiences with the NHL Draft in 1990, and then move on to briefly talk about the Flyers offseason and over-arching objectives in this year's Draft. We'll go more depth about free agency and trades in the instead installment.
"The Real Deal" podcast is at least temporarily is being housed on the Flyers Alumni channel on Talkshoe until we decide on a permanent home for it. You can listen to the first episode below (if clickable on your browser) or link to it here.
5) Today in Flyers History: On June 20, 1992, one of the most franchise-shaping and certainly the most historically debated trades in NHL history took shape at the NHL Draft. The Flyers and Quebec Nordiques struck a handshake agreement on a trade that sent the rights to Eric Lindros to Philadelphia. The Nordiques then turned around and traded Lindros for a second time; this time to the New York Rangers for what they believed was an even better deal.
With the trade in heated dispute, the Flyers ended up making the 7th overall pick of the 1992 Draft. The pick was originally part of the Lindros trade. Philadelphia selected Ryan Sittler, the son of Hall of Fame center (and former Flyer) Darryl Sittler.
The disputed trade went to arbitration, where arbitrator Larry Bertuzzi ultimately ruled the Flyers trade was enforceable. The reason: upon making the handshake agreement, the Nordiques provided to Philadelphia the personal contact information for the Lindros family; something they had steadfastly refused to do for any team until there was a finalized trade in place. Thus, although the paperwork for the trade with Philadelphia had not yet been put through NHL Central Registry, the NHL accepted the handshake deal as enforceable. The final compensation was adjusted slightly as Quebec said it would not have taken Sittler with the seventh pick.
Either which way, the Nordiques were going to make out like bandits from the sheer volume of NHL roster players, top-notch prospects, first-round picks and cash coming their way. Lindros had a Hall of Fame career but no one player could make up for all that went the other way.
The final trade from Philly: Mike Ricci, Peter Forsberg, Steve Duchesne, Kerry Huffman, Ron Hextall, Chris Simon, 1993 1st Rounder (Jocelyn Thibault), 1994 1st Rounder (Nolan Baumgartner) and $15 million (U.S.) in cash in exchange for Lindros' rights.
The reported package from the Rangers accepted by Quebec in trying to back out of the agreement with the Flyers: John Vanbiesbrouck, Alexei Kovalev, Doug Weight, Tony Amonte, 1993, 1994 and 1996 first-round picks, and $12 million (U.S.) in cash in exchange for Lindros' rights.
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