Cooley? Gauthier? Jiricek? Nemec? Trade?!? What Will The Flyers Do With The 5th Overall Pick
It’s officially the NHL off-season as we crowned a new Stanley Cup Champion just over ten days ago when the Colorado Avalanche dethroned the two time defending Stanley Cup Champion, Tampa Bay Lightning in six games. Now that last season is in the past, it’s time to look forward to what will hopefully be a much better year for us Flyers fans.
Step one of the “Aggressive Retool” was hiring a coach, that was completed when the team hired John Tortorella. Tonight is step two in the process as it is draft day. The Flyers currently hold the 5th overall pick in tonights 1st round but will they still have the pick by the time the draft starts?
Let’s Make A Trade:
That is the biggest question at the moment as the rumors have been running rampant over the last few days. Some people claim that it’s just people blowing smoke, but where there’s smoke there is fire and Chuck Fletcher has been working the phones hard over the last week. One of the hottest names on the trading block at the moment is Blackhawks 24 year old winger Alex DeBrincat.
Multiple sources have confirmed that it is a matter of when, not if DeBrincat is traded. The Philadelphia Flyers are indeed one of the teams making the biggest push. Sources have also said, the Flyers have offered the 5th overall pick as part of a trade package. While the price for DeBrincat is steep, if the Flyers are committed to this “Aggressive Retool” as I think they are, then you have to pull the trigger. He is a guy that can come in here an provide an immediate impact and has already scored 25+ goals in 3 of his 4 NHL seasons including two 40 goal seasons. He is a guy that would pair extremely well with the likes of Kevin Hayes and Sean Couturier.
Now it’s possible the Flyers could get outbid by one of their division rivals such as the Devils who reportedly may be willing to move the 2nd overall pick or possibly even the Rangers. All of that could just be talk to drive up the price for the Flyers but this time of year you can never be really sure. From what I have seen/heard I do believe the Flyers have offered the best deal for DeBrincat and at this point are holding off a little longer for the Blackhawks to come down on the price. It may come down to when the Flyers are actually on the clock but based on the information I do think the Flyers are the front runner to land him.
Making The Pick:
Buuuutttt, lets just say they decide not to pull the trigger on a trade and instead decide to make the selection at 5th overall. The first two picks are just about set in stone with Shane Wright going 1st to Montreal and Juraj Slafkovsky going 2nd to the Devils. After that is where things get a little more interesting. You have Logan Cooley a center from the US National Development Team, two right shot defenseman in Simon Nemec and David Jiricek, and behind them in the rankings you have Center Matthew Savoie and winger Cutter Gauthier.
The two teams right in front of the Flyers are the Arizona Coyotes and the Seattle Kraken. Both teams have a bunch of needs and really can go in what ever direction they want. I do believe the Coyotes are going to be more inclined to take one of the two defenseman on the board and I believe it will be Simon Nemec who goes at 3. Then when it comes to Seattle I think it’s a toss up for them between the two centers in Cooley and Savoie. Young teams always love to go with the center position when drafting and that’s why I think one of them go there and I believe it with be Savoie.
That would leave the Flyers with some great options at 5 to choose from. They could potentially have Jiricek, Cooley, and Gauthier right in their lap. Logan Cooley and Cutter Gauthier are the two guys that makes the most sense if they are there and I do think both are going to be a great player but the Flyers recent draft history when it comes to centers has not been all that great. So for me, I think the guy they should take is David Jiricek.
Jiricek is a right handed defenseman who has size and speed standing at 6’3 and 190lbs he is someone that can step right in and play at the NHL level. One of the Flyers biggest weaknesses last season had been clearing the puck out of their own end and getting clean breakouts. Jiricek is a guy that showed he can do both of those things well and also doesn’t panic under pressure. He has drawn comparisons to Calder Trophy winner Moritz Seider from the Detroit Red Wings. After Seider’s incredible season last year that’s a pretty good player to be compared to coming out of the draft. The Flyers need a consistent defense partner for Ivan Provorov and while it may not be this season I think Jiricek is a guy that could compliment Provorov very well. If he is somehow there at 5 you have to take him even if one of those other three guys I mentioned are there.
The next two days are very important for the Flyers in trying to turn around what has been a disappointing last few seasons. Chuck Fletcher needs to hit on these draft picks or his time in Philadelphia could be close to coming to an end. Between the next two days of the draft and the opening of free agency which is next week, it’s an exciting time of year to be a hockey fan and hopefully the Flyers can pull off some exciting moves to give us some sort of hope going into the upcoming season. Here’s a look at all the picks the Flyers have over the next two days:
Follow me on Twitter @Keith_Walsh18 as I will be updating throughout the day tomorrow in regards to the draft and any trades that may go down.
-Walsh