Grading the Flyers for Day 2 of the NHL draft, when they added some sizable players
There’s no doubt that the Flyers needed size. The active roster is listed at an average height of 6-1, but they drafted four players taller than that on Saturday. Some were a lot taller.
ATLANTIC CITY — It’s only fitting that with Def Leppard performing later Saturday night down the street, the Flyers said “Let’s Get Rocked” on Day 2 of the NHL draft.
They got big. They got physical. They got mean. And they got some talent.
Flyers Day 2 Grade: A-
The Flyers got Porter Martone at sixth overall and Jack Nesbitt on Friday night in the first round. Yes, they (gasp) traded with the Pittsburgh Penguins to move up and snag Nesbitt at No. 12, and looking back, it was not a terrible move because Nashville Predators general manager Barry Trotz all but confirmed what Flyers GM Danny Brière said about knowing that a team tried to move up for the center.
Did they lose some talent on the board there with the trade? Sure, partly because they consolidated two picks into one, and also because there were still a lot of talented hockey players who were taken in the first round. But on Saturday, they got some big pieces — literally.
In the second round, they selected right-shot defenseman Carter Amico (6-foot-6, 231) and forwards Jack Murtagh (6-1, 198), Shane Vansaghi (6-3, 212), and Matthew Gard (6-5, 194), before grabbing a right-shot defenseman in 6-4, 201-pound Luke Vlooswyk in the fifth round. They also got two smaller players in 5-11 forwards Max Westergård (fifth round) and Nathan Quinn (sixth round).
There’s no doubt that the Flyers needed size. The active roster is listed at an average height of 6-1, and they could use some height in the system, too, with the likes of forwards Jett Luchanko (5-11), Samu Tuomaala (5-10), Alex Ciernik (5-10), and defenseman Emil Andrae (5-9).
Plus, we all know this is a copycat league and the mantra is that size is important in the playoffs, so let’s note that the two-time Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers have an average height of 6-2.
Amico and Vlooswyk are great picks by the Flyers to help add size and physicality to the blue line. They took Amico at No. 38 — traded No. 36 to the Seattle Kraken for two picks in the second round (also No. 57) — and Vlooswyk, who plays for Red Deer in the Western Hockey League, at No. 157.
There are some concerns regarding the health of Amico, but assistant general manager Brent Flahr and Amico each tried to minimize the fact that he had two surgeries to repair a fractured kneecap. Hockey fans will remember how the promising career of Stefan Cherneski, a New York Rangers first-rounder in 1997, was severely shortened because of a fractured right patella.
The 18-year-old Flyers prospect is expecting to get back on the ice next week.
“He’s just an actually huge human being. I think he’s still got some things to work on, and he’s going to college and he’ll take time to round out his game,” Flahr said of Amico, who will attend Boston University in the fall. “He needs reps. Obviously, missing time this year is never good for any young player, but he’s going to play a lot here in the next couple of years.”
Murtagh, who said he can play center or wing, was projected by some of hockey’s top draft analysts to go in the late 20s or early 30s, so the fact that the Flyers grabbed him at 40 is huge. Aside from the build, he’s got some pop, can skate, and is not afraid to drive to the net and plant himself there.
Westergård adds depth on the left wing, and Vansaghi, someone The Inquirer had as a Flyers pick in several mock drafts, including the grand finale, adds size, grit, and an in-your-face game on the right wing.
And a Flyers team that needed centers got it. There are some question marks as the team did not get the No. 1 center it is craving — although maybe Trevor Zegras can be that guy? But after Nesbitt in the first round, they added Gard, an Adam Lowry comparable, Quinn, who has high-end skill, and Murtagh can play center.
The Flyers didn’t get a goalie for the second straight year. So all eyes will be heavily focused on Carson Bjarnason and Egor Zavragin for the future.
“Obviously, we’re elated with the first round, and then the second round, the way it turned out, we were very happy. We got a number of players,” Flahr said Saturday. “Murtagh was a guy we had highly touted, and we all liked across the board as a staff. He can play a lot of different ways. He can score, he can really skate, he’s competitive, he can bang, crash, go to the net, and do all these things. He is a terrific kid, and through the second round, we were happy with Gard and Vansaghi. [It] was a little dull there for a couple of rounds, and slow going, but we added a couple of guys that our guys have time for and were excited about at that point in the draft.
“The draft, as we stated before, there was a falloff point. We got a few guys, we threw darts, and have some assets that hopefully can have a chance to play down the road.”
The road is a long one, but as Flahr has often said, the draft is over, and all the work begins now.