MELTZER'S MUSINGS: JULY 9, 2015
1) The unquestionable crown jewel of the Philadelphia Flyers' farm system is the collection of defensemen with impact potential. This is a product of using first-round picks in three consecutive Drafts, a 2013 second-rounder on a projected first-round candidate who dropped to them, and plucking an offensively gifted blueliner in the third round of the 2012 Draft.
The flop side of the coin, of course, is that selecting so many defensemen -- even on a "best available player" basis -- means bypassing forwards. That does not, however, that the Flyers farm system is devoid of skilled prospects.
Even apart from 2015 late first-round pick
Travis Konecny and 2012 first-rounder
Scott Laughton, the Flyers have their share of forwards in the pipeline with skill, speed and grit. They have also done a good job in recent years in drafting latter-round breakout candidates with NHL top-nine upsides.
What the Flyers do not have much of is in the farm system is skilled and/or speedy forwards who also have above-average size. On the whole, it's an undersized-to-average-sized group:
* Laughton, who has filled out considerably since his first Development Camp, has grown to 6-foot-1 and is listed at 190 pounds (but seems to have filled out a bit beyond that). This would be considered roughly an average-size player.
* Konecny, a "little big man" who plays an aggressive high-energy style, is listed at 5-foot-10, 175 pounds at age 18.
* Fellow 2015 draftee
David Kase has somewhat similar attributes to Konecny --- it is tough to match Konecny in sheer puck skill and creativity although Kase is in the same ballpark-- but himself carries just a listed 5-foot-10 and 170 pounds at age 18.
* 2014 second-round pick
Nicolas Aube-Kubel is another skilled and speedy forward but is no more than average-sized at a currently listed 5-foot-11, 196 pounds.
* Speedy two-way Phantoms winger
Travis Leier, a second-year pro, is still listed at 5-foot-11 and 177 pounds on the camp roster but has added some muscle over the last year.
* Phantoms winger
Danick Martel is a mighty mite -- very fast skater, fearless, good with the puck, exuberant -- but the free agent signing is listed at 5-foot-8 and even that appears a bit generous.
* 2014 sixth-round pick
Radel Fazleev has pro-caliber attributes as a versatile two-way player (he can play any forward position) with eighth-to-12th forward potential. He is average-sized at a listed 6-foot-0, 188 pounds.
Taken individually, it is not a concern if a player lacks size. Given an either/or choice between skill or size, it is better to take the skill. Being somewhat undersized has never negatively affected Flyers captain
Claude Giroux, for example. However, it is a bit of a concern when the decided majority of a forward group are undersized to average sized.
Getting more forward size into the mix was a motivator behind the Flyers taking
Samuel Dove-McFalls (already a listed 207 pounds on a 6-foot-2 frame) in the fourth-round of the 2015 Draft. Dove-McFalls, however, projects as a fourth-line forward if he makes it to the NHL; a useful one in a checking and penalty killing role.
Swedish power forward
Oskar Lindblom , who will turn 19 in August, was drafted at 192 pounds on a 6-foot-1 frame last year but has since added muscle and improved his first-step skating quickness. He is currently the organization's best prospect hope for producing a power winger who can fit somewhere in the top nine or even the top six depending on his linemates.
The Flyers are also very high on 2015 fourth-round pick
Mikhail Vorobyov as a potential sleeper prospect that Flyers scouts
Todd Hearty and
Ken Hoodikoff (the organization's Russia-based scout) believe has top-six NHL upside as a playmaking two-way center as he adds more muscle to a 6-foot-2 frame.
2) After Wednesday's Trial on the Isle in Stone Harbor, NJ, the Flyers 2015 Development Camp resumes on Thursday at the Skate Zone in Voorhees, NJ. The tentative schedule is as follows:
Goalies, 8 a.m. to 9 a.m.
Forwards, 9:15 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Defensemen, 10:45 a.m. to noon
Forwards, 3:15 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Defensemen, 4:45 p.m. to 6 p.m.
3) Flyers 2015 sixth-round pick
Cooper Marody is expected to join the group today at Development Camp.
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TODAY IN FLYERS HISTORY FROM FlyersAlumni.org
1997: The Flyers sign second-round draft pick Jean-Marc Pelletier to an entry-level contract.
1999: The Flyers sign hard-shooting free agent AHL defenseman Sergei Klimentiev to a two-year contract.
2001: Unrestricted free agent forward Marty Murray signs a one-year contract with the Flyers.
2010: The Flyers sign talented but underachieving unrestricted free agent forward Nikolay Zherdev to a one-year contract after the former high-end first-round pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets played one season in the KHL.
2012: Tough forward Tom Sestito, a restricted free agent, signs a one-year, $605,000 contract with the Flyers.
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Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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