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Quick Hits: Draft Thoughts, Flyers at Worlds and More |
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QUICK HITS: MAY 2, 2017
1) Now that the surprise and euphoria of the Philadelphia Flyers winning the second overall pick of the 2017 NHL Draft has worn off, we've entered the seven-week phase of hot takes and unlikely trade suggestions, excessive anxiety about picking the "wrong" player or going off the board. When all is said and done, though, the Flyers are in a good position.
General manager Ron Hextall has always tended to be cautious in his decision making. Unless he and the Flyers scouts strongly feel in near consensus that someone other than Nolan Patrick or Nico Hischier is the best available prospect for the long-term, Philly is likely to stick with whichever one of the "big two" is on the board after New Jersey selects first overall.
Although both Patrick and Hischier are centers, they are different style players. It is unfair to compare prospects to established NHL players but that tends to be the frame of reference that the public inevitably wants. The caveat is always that additional post-draft development is necessary, even for high-end prospects.
That said, there is good reason for the Flyers to feel like they are in a win-win scenario regardless of whomever New Jersey chooses.
Craig Button's approximation of Patrick to a righthanded version of a young Eric Staal seems about right in terms of physical attributes and demonstrated skills by age 18. Others have used Jonathan Toews as a style comparison player for overall upside and two-way ability.
The widespread likening of Hischier to Nicklas Bäckström suggests what the Swiss forward's potential role in an NHL lineup may be as he matures: a creative and reliable player who plays near the top of the lineup and can run a power play. Stylistically, perennial 60-assist man Bäckström sets the playmaking bar extremely high and Hischier may have a bit more finishing mindset.
Is either player guaranteed to attain such status? No. Outside of those rare elite-of-the-elite draftees such as Connor McDavid or Auston Matthews, where it would have been a surprise had they NOT made significant impacts quickly, there are no guarantees. That said, both Patrick and Hischier have strong potential to develop into star-caliber NHL players, just ones of different attributes.
2) Patrick is one of those players who has been on the NHL Draft radar screen for so long that the inevitable backlash and second-guessing set in. As early as 2015, the 2017 Draft was being called the "Nolan Patrick Draft". The same thing happened to John Tavares leading up to the 2009 Draft, just to name one prominent example.
There is nothing wrong with Patrick's skating, despite what some have said. He gets from point A to point B quickly and, for a player of his frame, is plenty mobile. The groin issues of the past year may have had an adverse effect in some viewings but at least in 2015-16 (when I saw streams of many Brandon games while following the progress of Ivan Provorov), his mobility seemed to be a strong suit of his game. At absolute worst, it's not an area of concern. No, he isn't Connor McDavid in the speed department. He's also no plodder.
Additionally, I do no think that either the Devils or the Flyers will be scared off by Patrick's injury history if he is otherwise the team's best available player. While the injuries should not be completely ignored, it's nothing that should linger into next season.
I don't know why there are sudden concerns over whether Patrick has bonafide higher-end offensive upside. A Hockey News columnist criticized Patrick's (very) slight points-per-game drop in 2016-17, claiming it should have gone up with Brandon having fewer stars than the past season. In other words, less siphoning off of scoring chances.
The reality is, though, that the more stars a team has, the more there's a trickle down effect in the lineup. For Patrick to post 46 points in 33 games during an injury-plagued season was actually an affirmation that he is very promising offensive talent in his own right. Besides, the pedigree is there. Patrick was a 30-goal, point-per-game player in the Western League by age 16 after appropriately dominating every bantam and midget level.
Lastly, "200-foot player" is NOT code for "can't score." It means a player can contribute in a variety of different ways, and do so whether the puck is on his stick or not. Teams have to be able to win the 1-0 and 2-1 games, too, and Patrick's two-way hockey sense doesn't make him
"another boring forward who can't score" (as a few social media GMs have so expertly opined without ever having seen him play once). It makes him a versatile prospect who is likely to gain his NHL coach's trust quickly despite his youth. He plays with nuance and structure, and that resonates with coaches. Add to that the fact he can also score, and you have the makings of a player who will see a lot of ice time even early in his career.
I hate making predictions, and this is based on no more than a hunch because I have no idea what the teams themselves have in mind, but if I were Ray Shero, I'd see Patrick as a perfect fit for the Devils with the top pick.
If Hischier comes the Flyers way, there would be plenty of reason for excitement, too. Again, it's pretty much a win-win scenario when you are guaranteed of a shot at a player with outstanding potential, whether it's in column A or column B.
3) The IIHF World Championships get underway on May 5 in France and Germany. At present, there are 11 Flyers players participating and 13 Flyers representatives overall:
Canada: Claude Giroux, Wayne Simmonds, Sean Couturier, Brayden Schenn and Travis Konency, plus Ron Hextall (GM) and Dave Hakstol (assistant coach).
Czech Republic: Jakub Voracek and Radko Gudas.
Russia: Ivan Provorov and Roman Lyubimov.
Finland: Valtteri Filppula.
France: Pierre-Edouard Bellemare.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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