Quick Hits: June 30, 2021
1) With the 2021 NHL Entry Draft just a few weeks away, Flyers European-based scout Joakim Grundberg was the guest on the first edition of "Scout Week". He discussed the unusual circumstances surrounding the 2020-21 season, which actually began in Sweden before the 2020 Draft was even held. Travel was also much trickier. A higher concentration of video scouting was necessary across the NHL than in pre-pandemic seasons. At least the 2021 Under-18 Worlds in April were held after being canceled last year.
Grundberg talked about how, in Europe, it is more common for hockey players to play multiple sports until a little later age. North American players tend to be a little further ahead, strength-wise, in their teens although it evens out over time. The flip side is that players who develop later in terms of filling out may develop their skating technique, hockey sense and creativity at a young age. It's not a sprint, it's a marathon.
In terms of the 2021 NHL Draft, it's a little harder to know what teams are going to do. Some of the group of players expected to go in the first 15 picks didn't play much hockey this past season, while others got in much closer to a full season. With the Flyers picking 13th -- assuming the pick is not traded in a deal for an NHL roster player -- there could be opportunities to slide up a few spots or trade down a few slots and pick up an extra pick.
The Flyers' scouting staff, Grundberg says, places a lot of emphasis on two-way players. Sometimes, a team has to trade off a little bit of offensive upside to get a more well-rounded player. If someone is a strong two-way player but also elite-caliber in terms of his offensive upside, he's probably going to be selected near the top of the Draft. However, there are late-bloomers in every Draft class, both offensively and in terms of all-around games and intangibles, so it's dangerous to pigeonhole a player at too young of an age.
In terms of Drafting defensemen, the gold standard nowadays are players who combine size with mobility and puck movement. It's been trending in recent years toward back toward bigger blueliners and perhaps smaller forwards but there are many different compositions of winning teams.
To listen to the full 30-minute interview, click here.
2) June 30 Flyers Alumni Birthdays: Andrew Alberts (1981), Steve Duchesne (1965), Craig Fisher (1970), Bob Froese (1958), Jim Montgomery (1969).
3) One of the biggest stars of Flyers Alumni Weekend was Scott Daniels' six-year-old grandson Adrian Diaz. An extremely outgoing, gregarious and energetic young child, Adrian has his own YouTube channel and was profiled in an ad for Boston Children's Hospital.
Adrian deals with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) and his mom started a Facebook community to spread SMA awareness and detail what's involved in Adrian's treatments.
The Flyers Alumni Association's "Every Child Deserves a Bike" program, which builds and donates fully customized adaptive bicycles to special needs children, will keep an upcoming donation within the extended Flyers Alumni Family by donating a bike to Adrian. His is one of several of upcoming bike donations made possible through the support of Flyers' fans.
Adrian is a young sled hockey player. Grandpa Scott, one of the NHL's toughest pound-for-pound players in his playing days, reports with a laugh that Adrian is a born agitator on the ice.
One of our upcoming "Every Child Deserves a Bike" adaptive bicycle recipients is someone within the @FlyersAlumni family: Scott Daniels' grandson, Adrian. pic.twitter.com/GZ03XaGrQ0
— Flyers Alumni (@FlyersAlumni) June 29, 2021
4) On a related note, Lucy Brooks and her family were the special guests of the Alumni at Monday's Alumni Golf event. Lucy was the first bike recipient and her sheer joy at receiving an adaptive bike from the Alumni right before Christmas 2020 was Brad Marsh's inspiration to turn a one-time donation into a full-blown program designed spread joy and more independent mobility to other special needs kids. Hence, the birth of "Every Child Deserves a Bike."