2016 Flyers Draft: 1 year later

[Stizzle]

2016 Flyers Draft: 1 year later

Let's revisit last years draft choices and drum up some talk on each...

1- (22nd) German Rubtsov
2- (36th) Pascal Laberge
3- (48th) Carter Hart
4- (52nd) Wade Allison
5- (82nd) Carsen Twarynski
6- (109th) Connor Bunnaman
7- (139th) Linus Hogberg
8- (169th) Tanner Laczynski
9- (172nd) Anthony Salinitri
10- (199th) David Bernhardt

This draft class is certainly a mixed bag, but I'd say there's a lot more to like here than not.

One year out, and despite his injury issues, I still love the Rubtsov pick. He was so good in Chicoutimi. Center or wing, Rubtsov is a joy to watch play hockey. I'm really looking forward to see how next year plays out for him.

Hart and Allison both lived up to expectation. Hopefully Laberge will bounce back from his bad concussion. His poor play for much of the season is definitely concerning.

Twarynski was not a very popular pick by most. I don't think much has changed. He did show signs of life after his trade to a much better Kelowna team.

IMO, the next 3 picks are all very intriguing. Guys who deserve some talk.

Bunnaman showed some scoring prowess. A big kid with legit hands in tight. He can get in front and finish. A real nice step forward for him. He just needs to add some speed.

Hogberg? I don't have a clue. But he played 35 SHL games in a season where he just turned 18 in September. That's pretty legit. The Swedes seem to expect him to make the WJC team this year. If anyone has seen him, we'd all love some updated scouting reports.

Laczynski is my big riser. I saw him a lot this year and confidently will have him in my top 10 in a few weeks. Everything he does screams NHL player to me. I can't say enough good things about him.

Salinitri I did not see play this year.

Bernhardt doesn't do much for me. He was ok almost every time I saw him (WJC & Summer Showcase). His calling card seems to be his big slap shot. For a 7th round pick, he's quite fine.

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[Rebels57]

Safe to say that 7 of the 10 picks still have NHL upside to varying degrees. It has the potential to be an excellent draft still.

 

[Magua]

Absolutely incredible to me that we got Laczynski near the end of the 6th round. Just combing through the draft, I don't think there's a single player I'd consider over him before early round 3. I'd match him up with a lot of the 2nd rounders too.

If there's anyone to me who is going to be the next Lindblom, Vorobyov type steal, it's Laczynski. He even has a lot of their same attributes (and could stand to keep working on his first strides too, which is the only real knock). Don't care that he was a re-entry.......if we were to rank our 2016 picks by NHL potential, he is my #2 skater as of today. Admittedly that could change, but no one should be sleeping on him. Encourage people to watch some more Ohio State next year. I could definitely see him being a player who gains hype quickly and gets on the fast-track to the NHL.

 

[Dicky Dangles]

Of a list of some pretty good names, Linus Hogberg takes the cake.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

The two top forwards (Rubtsov & Laberge) obviously didn't have ideal seasons. Rubtsov did his best to salvage it but then unfortunately got hurt a few times after settling the issue that plagued him playing in Russia. They both have contracts though. However the guys behind them did in Allison, Bunnaman, & Laczynski. It's going to be tough for guys like Twarynski & Salinitri sitting without contracts right now with a year left in their signing window. I think they'd save face with Twarynski though given the third round investment.

It should be interesting to see what Hextall does this draft. As a potential spacing issue is starting to present itself upfront. You're still going to end up drafting more forwards than defensemen & goalies but a more balanced approach is probably going need to be done. Perhaps go for non-CHL forwards as the draft moves on to get longer a signing window than two years.

 

[FLYguy3911]

Absolutely incredible to me that we got Laczynski near the end of the 6th round. Just combing through the draft, I don't think there's a single player I'd consider over him before early round 3. I'd match him up with a lot of the 2nd rounders too.

If there's anyone to me who is going to be the next Lindblom, Vorobyov type steal, it's Laczynski. He even has a lot of their same attributes (and could stand to keep working on his first strides too, which is the only real knock). Don't care that he was a re-entry.......if we were to rank our 2016 picks by NHL potential, he is my #2 skater as of today. Admittedly that could change, but no one should be sleeping on him. Encourage people to watch some more Ohio State next year. I could definitely see him being a player who gains hype quickly and gets on the fast-track to the NHL.

Making an assumption here, but you think he has more potential than Allison?

 

[Stizzle]

Making an assumption here, but you think he has more potential than Allison?

Not trying to steal a question to Magua, just throwing in my 2 cents. I think Allison has more potential, but Laczynski is the better prospect.

 

[Magua]

Making an assumption here, but you think he has more potential than Allison?

I will likely rank them back-to-back for forwards when we do the poll. I think Wade Allison has better physical tools. I think Laczynski is smarter, more versatile, and just a better overall hockey player. And it's not like Laczysnki has any less hockey skill, and I think he uses it better. They're essentially the same age and have the same amount of USHL/NCAA experience, despite the re-draft status, so I think you can judge the two on a level playing field.

I did say "NHL potential," my definition being who will be the best overall NHL players. Perhaps "potential" was the wrong word with its connotation of ceiling and whatnot, though I'm not particularly certain Allison's is much if any higher. Maybe as a pure scorer, but not as a complete hockey player. Because purely on raw talent and ceiling, Laberge should trump both, no?

 

[The Madrigal]

Rubtsov still looks like a really good pick for where the Flyers got him. I thought for sure he would around 15 and no later than 20.

Last year was definitely a down year for Laberge but it's difficult to get too concerned based on the concussion issues he had.

Hart did nothing but cement his place as one if not the top goalie from last year's draft and he is probably the Flyers best goalie prospect.

Allison is someone to remain excited about as a potential goal scorer in the NHL, and Bunnaman and Laczynski make up for the Twarynski pick in my opinion.

Still very early but I think this has a chance to be a great draft class for the Flyers.

 

[JojoTheWhale]

I was a huge fan of the Laberge pick, but there's no sugarcoating this year. On draft day, I was actually happier with him at 36 than I would have been at 48. That kind of guy where the whole is less than the sum of the parts is someone I want them to be in love with, not to scoop for value. I know he had the concussion issues, but he still played in almost 50 games.

 

[The Madrigal]

I'm not trying to make excuse for Laberge but it's not uncommon for athletes to be healthy enough to come back and play after a bad concussion but not be themselves for a long time. We will find out a lot about Laberge next season and whether or not that was the case or if he simply regressed as a prospect.

 

[Magua]

I know it's easy to write his year off due to the injury, but Laberge was never known for his consistency either. He gets the mulligan; he deserves that much. But I do wonder, at the back of my brain, if that doesn't give him a slight pass on any other issues he actually had this year. We will see next year because his talent is enormous. I'm going to make an effort to watch him more next year.

We've mentioned this before, but he needs to play with a quality center next year.......I'm thinking a particular one who could be traded for. Center hasn't been much of a strength for Victoriaville, and I think Laberge is a player who is best with more line structure.

 

[Oskar Man]

I was a huge fan of the Laberge pick, but there's no sugarcoating this year. On draft day, I was actually happier with him at 36 than I would have been at 48. That kind of guy where the whole is less than the sum of the parts is someone I want them to be in love with, not to scoop for value. I know he had the concussion issues, but he still played in almost 50 games.

Laberge worries me as well. After taking a hit like that, we can only hope it won't affect his confidence moving forward.

As for the overall draft, I think if the Flyers become a powerhouse down the road, it'll be on the back of this draft.

 

[The Madrigal]

Laberge worries me as well. After taking a hit like that, we can only hope it won't affect his confidence moving forward.

As for the overall draft, I think if the Flyers become a powerhouse down the road, it'll be on the back of this draft.

What would you do if you had a million dollars?

 

[Oskar Man]

What would you do if you had a million dollars?

I'd tell you what I'd do, man. Two chicks at the same time, man.

 

[Magua]

On draft day, I was actually happier with him at 36 than I would have been at 48. That kind of guy where the whole is less than the sum of the parts is someone I want them to be in love with, not to scoop for value.

Less than the sum of his parts is a good description for him. If I understand, you're saying you are happy the Flyers targeted him at 36 (though he probably wasn't lasting until 48, surprised he lasted until 36) because they strongly believed he or they could balance the equation, so to speak? I know I'm all for believing in players with question marks that you think are projectable fixes.

 

[The Madrigal]

I'd tell you what I'd do, man. Two chicks at the same time, man.

 

[JojoTheWhale]

Less than the sum of his parts is a good description for him. If I understand, you're saying you are happy the Flyers targeted him at 36 (though he probably wasn't lasting until 48, surprised he lasted until 36) because they strongly believed he or they could balance the equation, so to speak? I know I'm all for believing in players with question marks that you think are projectable fixes.

Precisely this, yes.

The way I remember Laberge being rated was in that end of the first or early second area that we know has much more grey area than the round split implies -- and that's before Boston goes completely off the board. Good value at 36, but nothing absurd. The board still had players rated on a roughly similar tier by some services in DeBrincat, Katchouk, Girard, etc.

 

[nvme90]

Taking Laberge over Abrimov and DeBrincat still ****ing kills me.

 

[Stizzle]

We've mentioned this before, but he needs to play with a quality center next year.......I'm thinking a particular one who could be traded for. Center hasn't been much of a strength for Victoriaville, and I think Laberge is a player who is best with more line structure.

Please, yes, please. Victoriaville even has an ex-teammate of Rubtsov's from the old Russian U-18 program. In some of the stuff I've seen, they even played on the same line. Rubtsov would probably be comfortable there.

 

[nvme90]

With that said I'm really excited for Rubtsov (Gimme all the Russians), Carey Price 2.0 (Just go with it) and Wade Allison who reminds me of Brandon Saad.

 

[FatTugboatFlahr]

I really like Laczynski. Watching his games, I just see NHL written all over him.

This has potential to be a monster draft for us. Just insane potential.

 

[Tripod]

I'd tell you what I'd do, man. Two chicks at the same time, man.

Didn't cost me a cent.

Anyhoo.....Laberge was a disappointment even before getting injured. I expected him to have a great year and it was not happening. Hopefully he has a great summer of training and comes back next year in a big way.

 

[briererocks]

Taking Laberge over Abrimov and DeBrincat still ****ing kills me.

It was not a bad pick when made. Many people were very high on him and he may bounce back.

The twarynski pick was bad the second it was made. The flyers do not need a player whose upside is a fourth line grinder. They have enough depth in their system that they should be swinging for the fences. They have plenty of players who can play in the bottom 6.

This year I hope they swing for the fences with their later round picks.

 

[Rebels57]

Didn't cost me a cent.

Anyhoo.....Laberge was a disappointment even before getting injured. I expected him to have a great year and it was not happening. Hopefully he has a great summer of training and comes back next year in a big way.

Laberge sustained the devastating concussion in his 7th game of the season...