1) In one of many inanities of NHL rules, the Flyers will pick 18th in the NHL Entry Draft as a result of the Nashville Predators losing Game Seven of their Western Conference Semifinal series with the San Jose Sharks. The Flyers would have picked 17th if the Predators had won.
Although playoff success supersedes regular season records in how draft order is determined, that only applies if a team reaches the conference final. Otherwise, it reverts to regular season record even if Team A advances to the second round and Team B loses in the opening round.
In the case of the Flyers and Predators, the two clubs had identical regular season records but the Flyers were ahead in the regulation and overtime win (ROW) tiebreaker category. Since the Predators did not reach the Western Conference Final, the ROW tiebreaker applies. As a result, Nashville picks 17th and the Flyers 18th despite the Predators going one one further in the playoffs.
Logically, if playoffs take precedence over regular season for many teams' draft spots, shouldn't regular season ROW be a secondary tiebreaker to one playoff round vs. two? It should but it isn't.
2) Congratulations to the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies for winning the QMJHL President Cup and the right to move on to the Memorial Cup. The Huskies closed out the finals on Thursday with a 7-2 home win over the Shawingan Cataractes in Game Five of the series.
Flyers defense prospect Philippe Myers scored a power play goal in the final minute of the first period to give the Huskies a 4-1 lead. For the game, he had four shots on goal, four credited hits and was plus-one at even strength. For the series, Myers had three goals and five points in five games.
Philippe Myers scores on the PP to make it 4-1 @HuskiesRn after 1 period of play. #QMJHL #QPresidentCup pic.twitter.com/riSeWp5sMA
— QMJHL (@QMJHL) May 12, 2016
3) Leading the Western Hockey League Final three games to one, the Brandon Wheat Kings and Flyers 2015 first-round puck Ivan Provorov can win the league championship and secure a spot in the Memorial Cup if the Wheaties win Game Five of their series with the Seattle Thunderbirds on Friday night. If not, Game Six will be in Brandon on Sunday.