The New New Unending Flyers thread

[Austinfan]

Only so many contracts, and they're going to need some slots going forward (8 draft picks in the top 70 this summer).
They have Michkov (LH but prefers RW), TK, Tippett, Brink, Tuomaala, Wisdom all RH shots, as is Gaucher.

Right now, 46 players under contract.
Peterson, G Smith, Lycksell, Gardner, Abols, Belpedio and Gleason are UFAs. Makiniemi, but might be resigned
Murchison is a 2025 signing, Eklind is RFA who probably won't be offered. Desnoyers same.
Bjarnason, Bump, Ciernak and Sotheran are possible summer signings.

[zambonir]

Double OT for Denver and Western Michigan (which will also delay the Penn State game). I'm watching Phillies on second screen.

[zambonir]

Broncs take it.

I would think Jones is probably there, given his alma mater and his good friend/former teammate coaching. But he could also grab a cup of coffee with Carle. Or maybe he's only going off they make the final, which they have.

[rkeden]

Our bright young potentially future star Alex Bump was a standout-- all over the rink. 9 shouts on goal. 2 Denver players covered him off the middle, leaving the winning goal to be scored in the Double OT.

[Austinfan]

Think Bump is going to be bottom six forward, I don't see any outstanding quality, good shot, worked hard along the boards, decent passer, decent skater, but nothing stands out. Isn't used on the PK and I don't see great defensive instincts. Should be solid 3LW in a year or two, but I'd be surprised if he's a top six forward. Compare to Foerster, who is slower, but has great instincts, I don't see Bump in the same class of player.

On the other hand, I didn't see Buium take over the game, for a guy who supposedly was an elite prospect, I got the same vibes I got watching him in a couple WJC-20 games, good player but lacks special qualities, isn't a good enough skater to drive play from his own blue line, smart, good edge work, good passer but didn't stand out to me. The reason he dropped may simply be scouts feeling he's maxed out already and won't stand out in the pro game like he did in college.

Now if you want a future Flyer, Barkey is going nuts in the OHL playoffs, hat trick tonight (ES, PP, EN), that's 8 goals and 15 points in his first 5 PO games. He's a waterbug, great edge work, great vision, has improved all season. Probably a year behind his peers b/c he needed to add some strength, over 170 lbs now, will probably have to get up to 180 lbs to play in the NHL.

Bonk is also playing well, but his role is as the defensive stopper, he's been separated from Dickinson so he can play against opposing top lines and free Dickinson for easier matchups so he can focus on offense. But had a goal tonight, can shoot the puck. Will be the perfect partner for an offense first LW (Sanheim, Andrae?)

[bigegypt0417]

Think Bump is going to be bottom six forward,

This feels so arbitrary...eyeball scouting wouldn't even get you here.

He's in the frozen four and was the best player on the ice.

He was also a 5th round pick and with the season he had he'd be almost assured to go much higher in this draft.

[zambonir]

AF the hockey scout feels very different from AF the baseball scout.

[Austinfan]

Scott Wheeler (the best media scout, writes for the Athletic) had him 13th among Flyer prospects in January. Probably would rank higher now, but not that much higher:

He has been one of Western Michigan’s top players in each of his two seasons there as a freshman and sophomore. Last year, he was fourth on Western Michigan in scoring as a freshman with 36 points in 38 games and this season he’s been a go-to-guy and their leading scorer for much of the season. He’s not a penalty killer or a go-to defensive guy in college and that could limit the number of possible jobs for him to win in the NHL but Bump’s a strong, 6-foot-2, 200-pound winger with a natural release and skill who can make plays and who is owed more in the goal column than his stats indicate this year, with a single-digit shooting percentage that isn’t reflective of the quality of his looks. He needs to work to add more speed and pace to his game as well but he’s a good athlete who is strong on his feet. If he can round out his game and improve his skating, he’ll have a chance. If he doesn’t, he’s probably still good organizational depth to have in the AHL.

[bigegypt0417]

Scott Wheeler (the best media scout, writes for the Athletic) had him 13th among Flyer prospects in January. Probably would rank higher now, but not that much higher:

Scott Wheeler is fine but he might be the only writer/scout anywhere that has him that low....

You don't really win points by selectively picking two aspects (defense and PK?) and saying that's why he's not that big of a prospect.

Again...it's an arbitrary selective determination based on two things at the end of a list for an offensive minded scorer.

Almost like saying i don't like this hitter because his slider needs work.

[Austinfan]

PK and defense are key elements for most forwards, at lower levels it tells you the coach doesn't have confidence in the player's defensive instincts. Barkey for example, even though he's only 170 lbs, plays every situation on a talent laden team. Being able to play in all situations makes it easier to develop a player on a NHL roster, it's not like Bump is going to play ahead of TK, Michkov, Brink, Foerster or Tippett, He'll be competing for a job on the 3rd or 4th lines.

Bump should join LHV next weekend (hopefully), and we'll get a better read on him.
But watching him, I don't see the pure skill of a big guy like Grebenkin, who has better edge work and vision.

[flyers19rw]

Michkov, Konecny, Tippett, Foerster, Brink and Bump are the top six wings for next season. With that it’s easy to see why the club dealt off Farabee. With the contract that Farabee carries, it was too much to pay for a fourth line wing.

[Docs]

This points run post firing leaves all hope in the ping pong balls

[Austinfan]

Pelletier, the throw-in on that trade, has become a better player than Farabee.

He's one of those "the whole is more than the sum of the parts" players, too small, slightly below average speed, but smart, vision, non-stop motor, no fear. Wonder why Briere likes him?

[Austinfan]

Unless they win out, they're likely to pick #6. Unless a team jumps ahead, they should get a top player. Even at #7, they'll end up with Desnoyers or McQueen. And they also have 6 other picks in the top 50.

[zambonir]

What's interesting is the PP has also gotten hot.

It's not ideal, but it's also not bad to see guys step up, and for the season to end on an up note.

I wouldn't say Pelletier was the throw-in, just an upside/buy low play. Kuzmenko was just as much of a flier, and had to be in the trade for Calgary to shed some $. The whole thing was really a salary dump for the Flyers.

I bet three of those Top 50 picks are traded. Whether for players, a move-up, or a slide to next year.

[LegoDoom]

I wouldn't say Pelletier was the throw-in, just an upside/buy low play. Kuzmenko was just as much of a flier, and had to be in the trade for Calgary to shed some $. The whole thing was really a salary dump for the Flyers.

In AF's mind, he was a throw-in because he doesn't play C.

And yes, he needed to be included, but is just an RFA next year.

[zambonir]

Haha well, he was not playing in the NHL at the start of this season (and also went unclaimed by every team on waivers) so he certainly didn't have much value. But I think the Flyers wanted him. And he's still cheap as an RFA, so it wasn't gonna be that risky to keep him even if he'd shown less. But now it's an easy call.

[Docs]

They don’t need more second and third line forwards, they don’t need more second or third pair defender, they have enough of them. they need a top line forward for michkov’s line or a 1a defender. The potential after the first four players goes down.

[zambonir]

Do you think they should have kept what was at best a checked-out coach or at worst a poisoned locker room to openly tank? Or are you just bummed it worked out this way? Even shutting down Risto and playing Fedotov hasn't been able to stop them from this hot streak.

Nobody's guaranted to be a 1 or 2C or 1D anyway. The 4th pick could disappoint, the 7th pick could exceed expectations. Of course I want to win the lottery but it's up to the Flyers to pick well, and to turn those other two picks into something.

I gotta think that if we are watching this team actually do something in the 2027 playoffs the key center or defenseman who is TBD still won't necessarily be from this draft (versus trade or FA).

[Austinfan]

You always need depth, that's like saying the Phillies don't need Walker to pitch well or Suarez to get healthy or Ross and Ruiz not to be solid RPs.

If you have too many solid young forwards, you can always package them with draft picks in a deal for an upgrade.

Right now, they're pretty deep at wing, Michkov, TK, Tippett, Foerster, Brink.
Pelletier is scoring at a top 6 rate and has great metrics, but I'd want to see him sustain that for a full season.
Bump, Barkey, Grebenkin are solid prospects who'll probably start next season at LHV. Maybe Kaplan as well.
Wisdom, Grendron, Tuomaala, Gaucher (as a wing, too slow for center), are more marginal prospects, but have upside.

Same on defense, next season LHV will probably start with Bonk, Grans, McDonald, Samson, Murchison and probably Sotheran (still unsigned but I expect them to sign him for next season after WHL POs).

Top guys are hard to find, and have a cascade effect, just like Painter will move Sanchez et al down a notch in the rotation, a first line forward/first pair D-man moves everyone down. So you only need to find one or two.