Not overly convinced I'm on the right side but went with Foerster. After the top four, I have a grouping of six I'm pretty confident in in some order. I think Foerster is the most skilled of the group so I gave him the nod for now. I'm not his biggest fan and I've made my reservations known, so I'll save everyone the time, but of the guys remaining, he's the one I have the easiest time envisioning playing high in a lineup even if his chances of being a true "Top 6" forward are probably smaller than most 23rd overall picks. I think he's going to score but he's going to need to be supported with guys that can offset his deficiencies to maximize his value, but I think there are enough well-rounded players in the organization to accommodate him.
The Flyers having Andrae as the best non-Drysdale or Sanderson defender in the draft is Banana Lands to me. Admittedly after the top two, there was a significant drop-off, but I'm not as bullish on his potential as others. At the Junior level last year on a stacked team he had more PP points than ES points and he didn't have a great impact on his team's goal differential in a high usage role. Fletcher even admitted he was 5'8. His skating looks improved from last year which is a good sign and he's skilled, but that's a tough profile. And for him individually, from a depth chart point of view, he couldn't have landed in a worse spot. He has a path to the Flyers as he can and has played RD, but it's going to be tough. He's only 18 but it's hard to say his ceiling is much more than a 3rd pair/PP2 type. A great outcome for a second round pick but you have to consider the floor.
Laczynski was NHL ready last year imo, so saying he's an NHL-ready forward seems like a bit of an understatement at this point. I think he's a positive impact bottom 6er right out of the gate. If I'm going to poke holes in his status, I'd point out Tanner also had more PP points than ES points as a forward and given he's the second oldest prospect in the system that prevents me from personally pulling the trigger at #5, but I can't really say people are wrong in their placement of him. He's a really good well-rounded player that can add value in multiple areas of the game. I can easily be convinced the scoring splits were a team issue (OSU has been well documented here) and he did have a big time impact on goals for and goals against when he was on the ice this year as you might expect, so he could have been a bit unlucky, but it's something I'd rather see than not. And I'm getting way ahead of myself here and the baseball guy inside of me is coming out, but due to his age, the Flyers only have four years of control here. Compared to the seven with Foerster. Big difference in value if that is your cup of tea.
Millman had a great year overall. Even better when you put into context his miserable start to the year. Like a couple others, I'm not truly convinced Andrae is the better prospect at the moment. Andrae is more skilled, but Millman brings a lot of NHL qualities that could easily make him a modern day third pair "defensive defenseman" with a lot of mobility. The track record isn't particularly long for Millman and he hasn't even been a #1 defenseman on his Junior team (yet), but the arrow is still pointing up. Unfortunately the OHL season not kicking off on time puts a damper on his development in that role and maybe any chance he had at representing Canada at the WJCs. Hopefully his season doesn't get truncated too much with a February start date and he gets the necessary experience before turning pro. He only has two seasons under his belt at the Major Junior level. Most players need at least three full seasons of Major Junior.
