As we get closer to the NHL draft (less than one month away!), more and more speculation is out there about which team is going to take which first-round prospect.
ESPN’s Corey Pronman took his shot at projecting the first round on Thursday, releasing what he called his “Grade A” Mock Draft. The full post is for ESPN Insider subscribers only, but here was his basic criteria in his picks:
The following is something we at ESPN Insider refer to as a “Grade A Mock Draft,” which is unlike other mock drafts in which I use all the information at my disposal to try to predict a team’s selections. In this case, I merely state which player I would take if I were in each team’s position at a given slot, with the board having played out as it has. I take into account my personal draft board, organizational needs and structure.
Fairly straightforward. And since he’s discussing the entire first round, we’ve got two picks (and subsequent explanations) to look forward to. Joy!
At their own pick, at No. 7 overall, the Flyers (via Pronman) selected Ottawa 67’s forward Travis Konecny:
7. Philadelphia Flyers
Travis Konecny, C, Ottawa (OHL)
DOB: 3/11/97 | Ht: 5-10 | Wt: 172
2014-15 GP: 60 | G: 29 | A: 39
Konecny may not cause me to race up to the podium to make the pick because of his so-so production this season, but I’d be doing a light jog. He’s a dynamic skater and puck handler, who is tough, plays his rear off, and is very smart. He has nearly every ability you want, other than size.
At No. 7 overall, Konecny is probably a tiny bit higher here than you’ll see him on most draft boards or mock drafts — other than Pronman himself, who has Konecny exactly at No. 7 on his own board, he generally seems to be in the No. 11 to No. 14 range in most places. So this may be a tiny bit above slot.
With that said, I don’t think Konecny is that far off from many of the other forward prospects who the Flyers could take at No. 7 (Mathew Barzal, a favorite of a lot of Flyers fans I’ve talked to, went at No. 6 to the Devils in this mock). He was the No. 1 overall pick in the OHL draft in 2013, and he’s posted above a point-per-game pace in both of his years in the league.
He is just a bit small, but that certainly shouldn’t stop the Flyers from being interested. He can play both center and right wing. His offensive numbers are obviously excellent — it goes to show how talented he is that he can put up over a point-per-game, sixth among OHL draft-eligibles (via chlstats.com), and one can say he only had “so-so production” this year — but there aren’t many obvious holes in his game. He’s a good defensive player and is strong physically for his size. Plus he can do things like this.
Konecny may not be the expected pick here, but it wouldn’t be too surprising of one. Our friends across the network at Matchsticks and Gasoline did a more in-depth profile of Konecny if you want some further reading.
Pronman pegs the Flyers’ second pick — via the Tampa Bay Lightning — at No. 27. (It could fall to 29th or 30th with a Lightning win in Game 7 vs. the Rangers on Friday night.) At 27, though, he has them taking Halifax right wing Timo Meier:
27. Philadelphia Flyers (from the Lightning)
Timo Meier, RW, Halifax (QMJHL)
DOB: 10/8/96 | Ht: 6-1 | Wt: 209
2014-15 GP: 61 | G: 44 | A: 46
The Flyers’ system is stacked on defense, and even with adding Konecny at the No. 7 pick, bringing in more offensive firepower is what they should be looking to do, especially if the talent lines up like it does here.
If Meier lasts to the Flyers’ second pick, it would probably be a bit unexpected. Most rankings out there have him in the early teens (Pronman himself has him at No. 26), so him falling to No. 27 (or wherever Tampa’s pick ends up) would be a coup for the Flyers. Meier was, on a per-game basis, the highest scorer among all draft-eligible QMJHL forwards this year (again, via chlstats.com).
He’s got both the size and scoring pedigree that you look for in a winger at that level, he can skate fairly well for a big player, and by all accounts he’s just a very well-rounded player. The Swiss winger took a massive step forward this year (he put up just over a half-point-per-game in 2013-14, compared to almost a point-and-a-half-per-game this year) so how much he’ll continue to grow is anyone’s guess.
But again, if he’s on the board by this time in the draft, I have a really hard time seeing Hextall not pulling the trigger on him, barring other unforeseen drops on the board. In the meantime, the folks at In Lou We Trust pulled together some more notes on Meier.
(On an unrelated note, how dang nice is it to read a highly respected prospect evaluator say “the Flyers’ system is stacked on defense”?)
Would you be OK with the Flyers’ first round playing out like this?
