So how do YOU think the Flyers did in the draft?

[WastedTalent]

Obviously draft grades always are taken with a grain of salt but I'm curious how people on these boards feel the Flyers did. I'd imagine most of the debate is going to be between Bellows/Rubstov as well as taking a goalie in the 2nd.

Personally I give the Flyers an A for the draft. I love Rubstov and think he can be a great player whenever he comes over. Would I have like to have had Bellows, a pure goal scorer? Sure, but I won't complain at all that Rubstov was the pick. Grabbing Laberge is another pick I love and I think he's got great upside.

What do you guys think?

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[Laveuglette]

Ask me in five years. I like the guys we got, but it's hard to tell whether or not is was a great draft from our seat chairs and youtube videos. I trust our scouts. I remember some people being excited about Kevin Marshall and thinking Claude Giroux "could become a 2nd liner if he reaches his potential". There will be surprises. Hopefully great ones.

I think the trade was great, though. Trading #18 and #80something for #22 and #36 is huge, value-wise.

 

[hatcher]

Since they took players that I like and play with will and compete will skill I'll give it an A.

 

[DrinkFightFlyers]

Probably about as good as we could have hoped. B+ is a fair assessment I think.

 

[markzab]

Probably about as good as we could have hoped. B+ is a fair assessment I think.

Exactly my thinking as well. Nothing flashy, but a smart move thrown in the mix to push it from a probable B, to a B+.

 

[Sombastate]

I went with C. I don't think the trade back made sense considering who was available.

I understand the Center position is more important, but i think losing out on Bellows leaves us exactly where we were a week ago. Still hoping for someone who can score goals.

 

[Laveuglette]

Flyers definitely need a goalscorer now. But what will be their needs in the future? Who knows. There are other ways we could acquire that goalscorer. Draft BPA.

 

[Random Forest]

I went with C. I don't think the trade back made sense considering who was available.

I understand the Center position is more important, but i think losing out on Bellows leaves us exactly where we were a week ago. Still hoping for someone who can score goals.

When do you think Bellows would be ready to make a legit goal-scoring impact on the Flyers?

 

[DrinkFightFlyers]

I went with C. I don't think the trade back made sense considering who was available.

I understand the Center position is more important, but i think losing out on Bellows leaves us exactly where we were a week ago. Still hoping for someone who can score goals.

Yeah, I like Rubstov and Laberge, but Bellows would have been a nice get. I still probably would give then a B+ with Bellows in there. He's a more exciting prospect to me than Rubstov/Laberge, but who has the bigger impact? We'll know in a couple years.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

They did draft Allison though. He's your goal scorer in the class. A lot of people think Rubtsov is the second best two-way player in the draft behind Mathews so he was a lot safer of a player than Bellows. Rubtsov is a guy who can push the pace too. As where Bellows is more of a complimentary player. So you trade back get Rubtsov & get an additional pick where you take Laberge. Laberge is a more of a playmaker but has top six upside. He's brings speed & grit to the table too. So these picks allowed them to take a gamble on a player like Allison who's more of in the same mold as Bellows (their overall effectiveness at the moment tips to Bellows favor obviously).

Ultimately we'll see how it plays out down the road but there's certainly logic behind what they did & that's all you ask for right now.

 

[markzab]

Koneckny - Rubtsov - Laberge...if they pan out, could be a nice line in the future.

 

[Cyborg LeClair]

Rubtsov, Laberge, Hart, and Allison were all picks I'm pretty excited about. The rest of our draft has some more unknowns to me, but from what I've read, I like what they bring to the table and Hextall was clearly drafting for size and two way ability. Couple risk/reward picks later in the draft and a move to get a 4th round pick for next year. If there was no one they were too keen on there, it could be a great move if next season is a deeper draft, or we could use the pick for trading purposes. Wanted to give it a B+, but I think we got two top 6 level players in Rubtsov and Laberge so i bumped it to an A.

 

[Curufinwe]

I went with C. I don't think the trade back made sense considering who was available.

I understand the Center position is more important, but i think losing out on Bellows leaves us exactly where we were a week ago. Still hoping for someone who can score
goals.

If you want young guys to score goals for us soon look at Konecny, Lindblom and NAK.

It's not likely Bellows will be in the NHL before them. He's good, but I don't think he's another Kyle Connor.

 

[Ghosts Beer]

B+ buoyed by the trade that led to Rubtsov + Laberge. Also like the goalie and the gambles from rounds 5-7.

 

[DrinkFightFlyers]

Really will be interesting to see in 5 years or so who is the more valuable guy among the guys most of us here had pegged at 18/22. Jones, Tufte, Bellows, Gauthier, and Rubstov were all there at 18 and Jones/Rubstov/Tufte were there at 22. We got Laberge too so that will factor in as well.

 

[nuclear reactor]

As always, if you can get two good players from a draft, it's a success. Fairly certain at least Rubtsov and Leberge will be good NHL players. If anybody else hits, it's a huge success.

Didn't like taking a goalie in round two initially, but I'm starting to like it.

Nice to stock up on forwards. Right now, the Flyers have Konecny, Rubtsov, Leberge, and Lindblom as guys who will almost certainly be NHL regulars.

 

[Juicy Pop]

It's not exactly what I expected, but apparently I have no idea how to draft per the mock.

It feels good so I'll give it a B+.

 

[Dabest]

Rubstov Laberge and Hart

B+

 

[Striiker]

Based on what we know now, I gave it an "A".

I'd definitely take Rubtsov and Laberge over Bellows, so I think that was a fantastic trade. Love the Allison pick and really like Carter Hart too. The 3 next picks aren't flashy, but I like them considering where they were taken. Also love that they took the two sleeper Swedes in the 6th and 7th.

Very very very happy with this draft. Our prospect pool got much more balanced, as much as could be hoped for in one draft.

 

[JojoTheWhale]

It's not exactly what I expected, but apparently I have no idea how to draft per the mock.

It feels good so I'll give it a B+.

Agreed entirely, including the self-incompetence. I would have considered an A- were it an option, but not the full A. I'm not grading on the scale of who I would have taken, but rather how much sense the picks make given what they tell us as a whole about their approach.

I wanted Rubtsov more than anyone who would who would likely require a good deal of quality assets, but I value playing Center heavily, especially if you're a true two-way player who can drive your own line. Laberge was a guy I wanted them to love. Taking him at 36 actually feels better to me than taking him at 48 because it shows they had strong feelings on a player who is fairly dividing.

 

[Rebels57]

I like Bellows but Rubstov does have the potential to be a more important player. Especially when you look at Giroux being 28 years old and the Flyers likely not picking any higher than 18 for the forseeable future. To get a guy like Rubstov and move up from 79 to 36 to get Laberge is really quite brilliant. Hextall wanted Rubstov at 18 and got him at 22. I trust him and the Flyers scouts more than anyone elses opinion. They are putting in far more work than any of us. Thats not to say they are impervious to criticism, but they did nothing this draft to piss me off

All that being said, I gave them an 'A' based on the strength of their first 4 picks and the later round defensemen they took that seem like they have steal potential. The jury is still out on the other 4 forwards they selected. I also liked that we picked up another pick for 2017.

 

[FLYguy3911]

Don't believe in draft grades days after the draft, but I like what they did. They had 10 selections and I think they took a bunch of guys with differing skillsets. The Flyers needed to build depth up front- they drafted 7 forwards including a couple of centers. Not sure if there is a superstar in the group, but Rubtsov looks to have a high floor and good upside. How the 2nd round picks turn out will ultimately determine how good of a draft this was. If they get a top 6 forward and/or a starting goalie out of it that will be huge. Laberge is a highly skilled player who I think has another level to his game. The Flyers felt Hart was the best goalie in the draft. Allison looks like an emerging power forward. Wasn't crazy about Twarynski but he went about where he was projected. He's a big body who came on late in the season. Bunnaman is a big center who could be a good role player in time. Hogberg was the 2nd youngest player drafted and posted good numbers in the Swedish junior league. Laczynski was an overager who posted the 2nd best PPG in the USHL. Bernhardt is a 6'3 defenseman who was the 2nd highest scoring defenseman in the SuperElit regular season and highest scoring defenseman in the playoffs.

Not all these guys will make it but there's a lot to hope on.

 

[BobbyClarkeFan16]

Pascal Laberge is a fantastic human story. I'm really rooting for the guy that he becomes a Simon Gagne type player. This kid has TONS of character.

 

[FlyTimmo]

No A- option? I guess I'll go with A

 

[renberg]

I may be wrong but if Kunin was there at 18, I don't think that Hextall would have traded down. It will be interesting to see if Rubstov turns out to be the better player; he could be. Putin is being a real dick these days and it wouldn't surprise me to see him make it difficult for players to get out of Russia once again. The sooner that the Flyers can get Rubstov over to NA, the better.
Passing over Bellows, Jones, Gauthier and Tufte doesn't faze me. I get that Bellows can shoot but what about the rest of his game? If he was a class A scorer, he'd of been snapped up before 18. Jones has it all but has problems scoring and then there is his lack of judgement. Gauthier is a physical beast who can score but after that, there's not too much. Tufte is a big kid but if he was so good why was a scholly to a second rate university the best that he could do?
IMO, the talent in this draft went down quickly. The first five to seven selections were guys who should be top of the roster players. From selection eight to fifteen seemed to be second liners and pair players at best. After that, in the first round, it was bottom sixers and lower pairing players.
Rubstov is a wild card because no one saw him play in good international competition and also the PED issue. He really is an unknown. It's a rare year when the Russians have no players in a draft that end up being impact players. Rub stove is the best of their bunch so he may well prove to be a quality player.