At the Flyers really that good with their draft picks?

[Tripod]

Well it is essentially the same scouting staff in place. At the end of the day they are the ones doing the bulk of the work based off guild lines set forth by the GM.

I still think the issue was the lack of picks over the years more so than anything else. They pretty much played the percentages over the years (hit on the most likely ones & missed on a lot of the least likely ones).

But that does happen when you are buyers. We are sellers now.

 

[Appleyard]

Well it is essentially the same scouting staff in place. At the end of the day they are the ones doing the bulk of the work based off guild lines set forth by the GM.

I still think the issue was the lack of picks over the years more so than anything else. They pretty much played the percentages over the years (hit on the most likely ones & missed on a lot of the least likely ones).

Depends on what area of amateur scouting:

CHL: Almost identical staff over last 5 years. (Beaulieu out, Pracey in... last big overhaul was in ~2007-10. But two main guys stayed through that were here since mid 90's.)
Eastern Europe: Almost identical staff for ~8-9 years. (though Zimin is gone.)
College: Virtually same staff in last ~8 years. (until this year, Fitzpatrick moved to pro scout, Clarke becomes main college guy, was USHL before 2013, college last 2 years.)


Northern Europe: Completely different staff.
USHL/NAHL/High-school: Completely different staff.

Considering between the mid-2000's and ~2013 our Northern European scouting had produced nothing and neither had our USHL scouting the fact those areas were changed made a lot of sense.


I do agree though a lot was due to trading draft picks away though.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

But that does happen when you are buyers. We are sellers now.

Well at the end of Homer's tenure they were at least maintaining picks to a reasonable level to give themselves a better chance. They would essentially replace picks with picks through trades.

Depends on what area of amateur scouting:

CHL: Almost identical staff over last 5 years. (Beaulieu out, Pracey in... last big overhaul was in ~2007-10. But two main guys stayed through that were here since mid 90's.)
Eastern Europe: Almost identical staff for ~8-9 years. (though Zimin is gone.)
College: Virtually same staff in last ~8 years. (until this year, Fitzpatrick moved to pro scout, Clarke becomes main college guy, was USHL before 2013, college last 2 years.)


Northern Europe: Completely different staff.
USHL/NAHL/High-school: Completely different staff.

Considering between the mid-2000's and ~2013 our Northern European scouting had produced nothing and neither had our USHL scouting the fact those areas were changed made a lot of sense.


I do agree though a lot was due to trading draft picks away though.

I'm talking about towards the end of Homer's tenure as GM.

 

[Appleyard]

Well at the end of Homer's tenure they were at least maintaining picks to a reasonable level to give yourself a better chance.



I'm talking about the end Homer's tenure.

Oh right... yeh, the scouting staff is virtually unchanged barring ~two small shuffles, Little going and Luce going (not officially a 'scout' but had a big say) since summer 2013. (and frankly I believe that during the 2012-13 season from what I have read and seen Grundberg, Niittymaki & Pryor were effectively in place scouting for the Flyers already.)

The philosophy had already changed I agree before Homer left... it did somewhat as soon as Richards and Carter were traded.

 

[cheesesteakarmor]

Don't forget that the Flyers typically draft forwards in the first round, and we have a reputation of developing very good forwards.

That's been the issue with the defense, we rarely drafted top tier defensive talent until the Hextall era.

 

[Curufinwe]

It seems like there's a noticeable difference between the picks outside the top of the draft since Hextall took over and made it a point of emphasis.

http://www.csnphilly.com/hockey-philadelphia-flyers/hextall-aims-fix-flyers-late-round-draft-woes

“We've got to have kids coming,” Hextall said. “We've got to have kids coming. It’s more than having draft picks. You've got to hit on them. We’ve done a great job on first-rounders for years, but there is room for a little bit of growth on the later rounds. We've got to get some kids coming in the later rounds.”

“It doesn’t mean we've got to hit them all,” Hextall said. “You've got to hit those late rounds once in [a while]. That is one of the things I’ve been banging on the table. Guys, you've got to hit on these late rounds. We have to.

“If you look at the history of the draft, the kids who don’t play are kids who are not hungry to play. It doesn’t always come in physical play … it’s the will to win and it comes in skill players.

“That’s been my stress to my scouts, whether it is pros or amateurs, the will to win is huge. The gap between best team in the league and worst team is not very big. A lot of times, it’s whoever wants to win and sacrifice and pay the price. That comes in skill players, not just your grinders and fourth line guys.”

 

[Tripod]

Love that Hextall is pushing for those types of players

 

[Rebels57]

Love that Hextall is pushing for those types of players

He really has been a god send.

 

[Captain Dave Poulin]

He really has been a god send.

Twice. First after the tragedy of losing Pelle, and now as GM.

 

[deadhead]

I think another factor, which Hextall probably doesn't want to say publicly, is that 4th line wingers and 3 pair defensemen can be obtained cheaply in free agency, where you save money in the draft is producing top 9 forwards and top 4 defensemen whom you don't have to pay top dollar for a few years.

PEB, VV, White, may not be great players, but they don't hurt your cap and can be upgraded easily without "dead money.
On the other hand, when you have Umberger and Read on your 3rd line . . .

Same on defense, Gudas was cheap, but L Schenn and Schultz as your third pair?

So you need to draft for upside in the later rounds rather than stock up on 4th line or marginal defensemen types.