I love micro level decisions that show you the Grand Canyon gap between two organizations. The Leafs took an upside player who missed his entire COVID season; the Flyers lazily only chose players that played that year and all but avoided the CHL, the biggest feeder. The former player is leading the OHL in points; the Flyers sandwich picks have 1 point in 19 NCAA games and 5 points in 26 OHL games, looking like non-prospects.
Teams like the Leafs run a billion dollar business; the Flyers run a lemonade stand.
The Flyers have gone back to taking junior level defenders who are essentially zeros or close to it offensively & transitionally at those levels. They are somehow not expecting that to be an issue at the highest level if they somehow ever get there or they’re just hoping for a complete statistical oddity that they develop these areas as they move up against tougher competition. As even bottom of the barrel NHL defensemen show higher levels of all around ability at the levels before the NHL whether it be CHL, USHL/NCAA, or non-NHL pro leagues.
I think they somehow think a guy getting typecasted in for a defensive role at the lower level is a good thing because they think the player will really be polished in that role going forward. Not realizing most NHL defensive defensemen were often played in all around situations at the lower levels & were good at it.
We’ve gotten guys like Myers & Zamula undrafted so it’s not impossible to get taller defensemen with plausible upside that late opposed to the Zanetti, Murchinson, McDonald, etc. of the world.
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