Quick Hits: May 8, 2023
1) Flyers Daily; On this week's Mondays with Meltzer edition of the Flyers Daily podcast, Jason Myrtetus and I discuss the ramifications of the 2023 Entry Draft lottery and answer listener questions in an Ask Billy segment. Among the questions: If the Flyers wind up holding on to their default 7th overall pick as a result of the lottery, who would I pick? Since the Flyers could draft first, second, third (0.2 percent chance), seventh, eighth,or ninth, I think it makes more sense to come up with a rough BPA (best player available) list. If I were making the list, solely based on projected ceilings with factors such as politics removed, it'd go something like this:
1. Connor Bedard 2. Adam Fantilli 3. Matvei Michkov 4. Leo Carlsson 5. Will Smith 6. Dalibor Dvorsky 7. Zach Benson 8. Ryan Leonard 9. David Reinbacher 10. Gabe Perrault
Michkov is the biggest wildcard. There is at least a 50-50 chance he'll still be on the board at No. 7, depending on teams' degree of concern over the player's availability come 2026 and the political volatility of the situation in Russia for the foreseeable future.
From the Flyers' perspective, considering that the Flyers' 2023 first round pick will be Danny Briere's first major Draft-related decision and the fact that the Flyers currently will not pick again until the third round, it would take a whole lot of risk tolerance to select Michkov. Where the KHL and NHL is concerned, everything is on a case-by-case basis right now in terms of when a player will be made available to come to North America.
As I said on the podcast, this year's top 10 -- even top 15 or so -- is a very good group of high-upside prospects. There's a strong possibility of getting a player who, with proper development, some patience and a dose of good luck in terms of avoiding career-altering injuries, will go on to become a good NHL player. There's not a big difference between No. 6 to 10, for example. Obviously, Bedard is the one expected to be a franchise player, even a generational talent. But, short of that (or Fantilli at second overall), there's still going to be lots of high-quality talents to choose among.
To listen to the podcast, click here.
2) The NHL Draft Lottery will be televised tonight on ESPN, starting at 8:00 p.m. ET.
3) On PhiladelphiaFlyers.com, I discuss the odds, in descending order, of the Flyers coming away with the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 7th, 8th or 9th pick. Also on PhiladelphiaFlyers.com, Brian Smith talks about Carter Hart's 2022-23 season and short-term future.
4) On May 8, 1980, the Flyers clinched the fourth trip to the Stanley Cup Final in franchise history, earning a 7-3 blowout win over the Minnesota North Stars at the Spectrum in Game Five of the semifinals.
The holdover players from the Broad Street Bullies' heyday led the way. Bill Barber (10th and 11th goals of the playoffs) and Reggie Leach scored twice apiece, while Bobby Clarke collected three points (one goal, two assists). Rick MacLeish notched a goal and assist.
In the meantime, defenseman Bob "the Count" Dailey continued his torrid playoff run with a goal and a helper of his own. Winning netminder Phil Myre made 22 saves.