I was disappointed with pick 72 but who knows. Maybe he tones down the fighting when his junior club needs him to put the puck in the net next season and his game develops.
- mayorofangrytown

Im hoping Lappy can get through to him. Seemed to work with Cousins. Im not expecting much from Goulbourne but if Lappy can teach him he needs to pick his spots to fight and maybe help turn him into a fine PK player with tons of energy and will drop the gloves when needed he will be fine. Still way overvalued at 72.

I'm not giving him 5 years, like he wants.
- bradleyc4

great stuff, Bill.

As most Flyer fans I was disappointed in our 3rd pick ... and just completely baffled as to why the Flyers don't realize that these type of players are easily available in the later rounds.

I guess I was also disappointed that Homer didn't pull off a trade, but I'm sure by the end of this week we'll have a couple of new FA's on board.

go Flyers.

- FlyerGuy

I still think you see two (2) trades this week to free up space and/or bring in a goalie.

I still think you see two (2) trades this week to free up space and/or bring in a goalie.
- cmr.266

Doesn't seem to be many teams out there willing to take on $$... dumping salary may be easier said than done.

I'm not giving him 5 years, like he wants.
- bradleyc4

I'd go 3/17 what you think

Doesn't seem to be many teams out there willing to take on $$... dumping salary may be easier said than done.
- Tomahawk

Which is why you likely see Coburn dealt than Mez.

Doesn't seem to be many teams out there willing to take on $$... dumping salary may be easier said than done.
- Tomahawk

I think they could get a nice return on a coby and read package deal

- Winning

Doesn't seem to be many teams out there willing to take on $$... dumping salary may be easier said than done.
- Tomahawk

Meszaros, Cousins, and a 2nd for Pulock?
It might work in NHL 13.

One good thing about "reaching" for a pick is the affect you have on that kid. He knows what the media is saying. I wouldn't discount the psychological impact that can have on a player when Holmgren looks him dead in the eye and says "I believe in you over and above everyone else still on the board. Don't let me down." It won't impact everyone but it has to be a huge motivator to KNOW you went to a team who really wanted you.
*puts on orange colored glasses and crosses arms aggressively*

Columbus going in on Bobrovsky for 2 yrs and slightly less than 12 mil. That's a lot of money but the term is good.

The Hagg pick may end up saving the draft. If the Flyers walk away with two top 4 defenseman in 5-7 years then the draft was successful.
- PhillySportsGuy

i'd call that VERY successful

I still think you see two (2) trades this week to free up space and/or bring in a goalie.
- cmr.266

yeah, I agree ... I was hoping for something at the draft so we could move up to the top 5 ... but there's no question there will still be a trade or two in the next week.

The way I looked at it going in (and I'm no expert, get to see very little of the kids being selected other than NCAA and whatever Junior games are televised) was that most "experts" claimed there were 8 can't miss prospects at the top of the draft, from there it was extremely good through to 25 and there were another 10 that could be considered in that group.

Picking 11 and outisde the top 8 I was hoping for the Flyers to trade up a little or there would be some reaches and the top 8 would slide. Ristilainen and Horvat moved into that top 8 and Nichushlin slid to 10. One spot away. The Flyers couldn't move up.

At 11 and 41 I figured they'd get one excellent pick and one fairly good one. Morin was in the mix in that next level of Defensive prospects. I would have been fine with any one of Hagg, Zadorov, Morrissey, Morin, Mueller or Poluck. The fact that they got two of them made me pretty damn happy.

I was disappointed with pick 72 but who knows. Maybe he tones down the fighting when his junior club needs him to put the puck in the net next season and his game develops.
- mayorofangrytown

He would be nice but not getting my hopes up, when is the last time the Flyers won on any big/popluar free agents (ones that had multiple interest).
- flyerfan28

briere?

- Don'tForgetTocchet

I was a little upset with the Morin pick, as I am a big fan of Pulock (size, scoring, booming shot, hits, is right handed). But I don't think Morin is a truly baffling pick. Maybe a bit high, but not too bad. But the Hagg pick definitely made up for any gun jumping done to grab Morin. Definitely a solid if unspectacular 2 rounds.

One good thing about "reaching" for a pick is the affect you have on that kid. He knows what the media is saying. I wouldn't discount the psychological impact that can have on a player when Holmgren looks him dead in the eye and says "I believe in you over and above everyone else still on the board. Don't let me down." It won't impact everyone but it has to be a huge motivator to KNOW you went to a team who really wanted you.
*puts on orange colored glasses and crosses arms aggressively*
- FlyersGrace

That's all well and good but it doesn't magically provide them with athletic skills that they weren't born with. There are only so many things about a player's game that they can improve with just hard work.

I still think you see two (2) trades this week to free up space and/or bring in a goalie.
- cmr.266

wait how many?

I was a little upset with the Morin pick, as I am a big fan of Pulock (size, scoring, booming shot, hits, is right handed). But I don't think Morin is a truly baffling pick. Maybe a bit high, but not too bad. But the Hagg pick definitely made up for any gun jumping done to grab Morin. Definitely a solid if unspectacular 2 rounds.
- jmatchett383

Maybe we should just imagine that Homer did trade our 11 for 2 late first rounders and then choose Morin and Hagg. People would probably not care if that were the case.

One good thing about "reaching" for a pick is the affect you have on that kid. He knows what the media is saying. I wouldn't discount the psychological impact that can have on a player when Holmgren looks him dead in the eye and says "I believe in you over and above everyone else still on the board. Don't let me down." It won't impact everyone but it has to be a huge motivator to KNOW you went to a team who really wanted you.
*puts on orange colored glasses and crosses arms aggressively*
- FlyersGrace

Which is why you likely see Coburn dealt than Mez.
- cmr.266

Instead of a salary dump and subsequent dipping into UFA to fill holes, maybe a problem-for-problem, salary-for-salary kind of deal would be a better choice. There are no shortage of young-ish forwards out there that teams would like to get dump themselves... Stafford, Booth, Setoguchi, Upshall.

That's all well and good but it doesn't magically provide them with athletic skills that they weren't born with. There are only so many things about a player's game that they can improve with just hard work.
- Tartan69

I'm not sure I agree with you there. Sure it's not going to make him an all star overnight. But every athlete knows that winning is half mental. What are you willing to do to reach the next level? There is ALWAYS someone faster, stronger, meaner, more skilled - doesn't mean that you roll over and let them win. I think it's a small edge but it exists.
We can agree to disagree.

briere?
- flyler

Yeap and also helped they threw a lot of money at him. Great signing tough

Zadorov wasnt taken because he's Russian, and we all know what the Flyers history is with Russian players... end of story.

I thought Morin was scouted by Nolet but he's not handling the Q anymore, so I'm not sure.

Obviously would have been nice for Nichushkin to fall 1 more spot down to us, but again, not so sure we would have taken him even if that happened.

The biggest question mars is the round 3 pick. Other than that I'll give Homer a respectable B- for this draft.

Before the draft I thought trading down and getting two blue chip defense prospects in the first round would have been a fabulous outcome.

I remember Bill wrote about Hagg and said the Flyers have been paying particular attention to him. I asked what are the chances Hagg drops to them at #41? I was told next to zero chance.

I think they did very, very well here.

The goaltender position is still bugging me, I guess I need a little patience to see what they do Friday.

Also the fact that Coburn's name was thrown around in the trade rumors is annoying me. I guess you expect a player to be professional, but if I were in Coburn's place I would be a little ticked off and not sure what to expect from him next year if he isn't traded.