With the 165th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, the Philadelphia Flyers have taken right winger Egor Serdyuk. The 5’11”, 165-pound Russian forward spent this past season in the QMJHL and is expected to return to the junior league for 2019-20. He finished this season ranked as the 71st skater on Central Scouting Services’ European skaters rankings.
With the 165th pick, we’ve selected right-wing Egor Serdyuk! #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/WVVAsOwSAJ
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) June 22, 2019
Philadelphia takes Egor Serdyuk in the 6th round. He had, by far, the greatest cohort success rate of any remaining CHL player. Over 30% of his similar scoring league/age adjusted cohorts became NHL regulars. In the 6th round!
— Jeremy Crowe (@307x) June 22, 2019
After he spent last season in Russia splitting time between Avangard Omsk’s U-17 club and Omskie Yastreby in the MHL, Serdyuk joined the Victoriaville Tigres in the QMJHL this season. He finished with 25 goals and 65 points (both highs among all QMJHL rookies) in 63 games this season before he provided three goals and three helpers for six points in 11 postseason games. Some other players who have recently led QMJHL rookies in goal scoring were Filip Zadina, Nico Hischier, Vitali Abramov, Nikolaj Ehlers, and (a little further back) David Perron. Serdyuk’s goal and point totals helped him earn a spot on the QMJHL’s 2018-19 Rookie All-Star Team.
Fletcher and his crew may have not taken Cole Caufield at 14th overall, but he has now added a few goal scorers to the prospect pool with Bobby Brink and Serdyuk. Obviously it would be a leap to say Philly has definitely gotten an NHL goal scorer in the sixth round on the day that player was drafted, but Serdyuk does have a history of scoring regardless of his competition. The forward potted 41 goals in 36 games Avangard Omsk’s U-16 squad in 2016-17 before he put home 15 in 26 tilts last season for their U-17 club. Eight goals in 30 MHL games isn’t an eye-popping stat, but it’s a pretty good goal total for his first stint in a new league.
Out of the 94 QMJHL forwards that played in 63 games or more this season, at 5-on-5 Serdyuk finished tied for 33rd with 16 goals, tied for 35th with 37 points, tied for 30th with 32 primary points, tied for 52nd with 0.12 expected goals per game, and ninth with a relative goals for percentage of 12.84.
For more on his goal-scoring abilities and Serdyuk’s overall game here is Mike Stromberg’s take, who provided a thorough scouting report of the winger for All About The Jersey last month:
“Serdyuk is regarded as a very skilled player with the puck, being able to both create on his own and through strong passing. As with any forward, having good vision and an ability to anticipate and make smart plays is a huge part of the battle. His shot is also generally considered a plus in his game, as multiple sources like his wrist shot in particular. His skating is conspicuously absent from most analyses, which leads one to believe that it is neither notably good nor bad. The one knock on his game seems to be that he needs a bit more focus in his game away from the puck, but while a few profiles ding him on that, none seem to consider it a major issue. The picture that arises is of a skilled winger who made the most of his rookie season on an otherwise mediocre Victoriaville team and produced well.”
Feb 17, 2018 5Nations U17: Yegor Serdyuk hat-trick vs Sweden pic.twitter.com/FAd9Yg4hh8
— HockeyRU20 (@HockeyRU20) February 17, 2018
Nov 30, 2018 QMJHL: Yegor Serdyuk goal vs Rimouski Oceanic pic.twitter.com/XddRtaJ9Pk
— HockeyRU20 (@HockeyRU20) December 1, 2018
According to Sam Carchidi of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Serdyuk will be the only Flyers’ pick from this year’s draft who won’t be at next week’s prospect camp. The Orange and Black have until June 1, 2021 to sign Serdyuk.
*Stats via Elite Prospects and Prospect Stats.
