Prospect Info: Round 4, Pick 94, Zayde Wisdom, RW, Kingston (OHL)

[Ghosts Beer]

I see some real upside with Wisdom. There are Simmonds qualities there. He's not as big, not as good of a fighter, but he's a high-motor guy who's got raw talent that just screams he's going to keep improving. The kind of guy you want on your team.

 

[Beef Invictus]

View attachment 371076

Does he have a time machine too? Cause I cant remember the last time I correlated flyers hockey with broad street bullies. Ah, well, AuthenticFans will eat it up.

Here's to hoping he's a useful player who doesn't get buried behind useless vet plugs.

Can we please bury the BSB? They're neat and an amazing bit of history but it's time to stop pretending the current team or league are anything like them. Get out of their shadow and let's build a new legacy instead of trying to make every team since live in their mummified husk.

 

[Starat327]

Can we please bury the BSB? They're neat and an amazing bit of history but it's time to stop pretending the current team or league are anything like them. Get out of their shadow and let's build a new legacy instead of trying to make every team since live in their mummified husk.

The league is focused on speed and skill. If we focus on heavy and some skill, we can definitely win the cup. Just you wait and see!

 

[Beef Invictus]

Also, Zayde Wisdom is a f***ing amazing name and I badly want him to succeed for that alone. I don't care if he's bad, dude has to make it.

 

[deadhead]

The league is focused on speed and skill. If we focus on heavy and some skill, we can definitely win the cup. Just you wait and see!

Really? Washington, St Louis, and TB after they add Cernak, Goodrow, Coleman, Maroon, Bogosian and L Schenn.
Guess speed/skill is a tad overrated, just ask any Toronto fan. How they do in the playoffs the last four seasons?

Balance is the key, some speed, some skill, some size/physical play, depth and a hot goalie.
In the playoffs, you don't know who you'll face, so you need to be able to play against anyone.
And guys like Wisdom can fill out a bottom six that can give opponents fits.

 

[Beef Invictus]

Really? Washington, St Louis, and TB after they add Cernak, Goodrow, Coleman, Maroon, Bogosian and L Schenn.
Guess speed/skill is a tad overrated, just ask any Toronto fan. How they do in the playoffs the last four seasons?

Balance is the key, some speed, some skill, some size/physical play, depth and a hot goalie.
In the playoffs, you don't know who you'll face, so you need to be able to play against anyone.
And guys like Wisdom can fill out a bottom six that can give opponents fits.

The Flyers have spent the last 30 years absolutely sucking at that balance.

Having one or two of those guys is one thing, this team has spent year after year seeking to have multiple no-skill "Physical" players because they disastrously overrate their value.

 

[Tripod]

The Flyers have spent the last 30 years absolutely sucking at that balance.

Having one or two of those guys is one thing, this team has spent year after year seeking to have multiple no-skill "Physical" players because they disastrously overrate their value.

That's where NAK is good for us. And this kid seems the same way.

 

[Adtar02]

I don’t watch tons of prospects prior to us drafting them. But it’s clear who does on the boards. It’s a lot easier to respect their opinions over those who clearly are here to stir things up.

 

[deadhead]

That's where NAK is good for us. And this kid seems the same way.

Yeah, we loading up on GOOD bottom six players, maybe they don't have the offensive skill package for the top six, but they're good enough and are solid two way prospects that can have an overall positive impact instead of killing minutes with minimum damage.

Raffl is a good example, now we have NAK, Laughton, Sandin, Bunnaman, Laczynski, Twarynski, Cates, Rubtsov, Sushko, and now Wisdom.

Lindblom is that kind of guy, Farabee will be that kind of guy when he fills out, just that they're top 6 talents with bottom 6 'tudes.
So is Couts, of course, which is why he was so good at 3C and even better at 1C.

 

[CanadianFlyer88]

Also, Zayde Wisdom is a f***ing amazing name and I badly want him to succeed for that alone. I don't care if he's bad, dude has to make it.

Cheering for a name can only lead to disappointment as a Lyon-Hart combo means the Flyers' goaltending situation is less than ideal.

This kid has a massive chip on his shoulder, but will hopefully benefit furher from playing more with Shane Wright. Plus, now that the OHL is going to ban hitting, he won't have to watch over Wright and can concentrate on other skills.

 

[Starat327]

Cheering for a name can only lead to disappointment as a Lyon-Hart combo means the Flyers' goaltending situation is less than ideal.

This kid has a massive chip on his shoulder, but will hopefully benefit furher from playing more with Shane Wright. Plus, now that the OHL is going to ban hitting, he won't have to watch over Wright and can concentrate on other skills.

When I saw this article earlier, I thought it was a post on theonion.com or breitbart or something.

 

[Adtar02]

So aside from skin colour, he actually has a similiar game to Simmonds?

Bull on his skates, relentless forchecker, tough as old boots, can hold his own in a scrap and scores all his goals from 5 yards out of the net?

Not saying he has the same 30-30 upside, but Simmonds was a projected third line winger until he broke out at the flyers.

Fair comparison?

Simmer was a third line winger pp specialist. Loved him. But he was always best there.

 

[FLYguy3911]

That's where NAK is good for us. And this kid seems the same way.

Just want to point out that NAK was drafted as a skill guy that just happened to have a physical element to his game. The skill didn't quite translate into a top 6 scorer, but it was enough for him to be an effective bottom 6er. Wisdom is probably a notch or two below skill wise so NAK is like his best-case scenario with a floor much lower than that.

I had him ranked 90th and he went 94th, so I again I don't think it's a bad pick, but I think if he works out you are looking at a 4th liner. Valuable for sure and I think he has a reasonable shot at reaching that level, but when you trade up, generally you should hope for someone with a little more potential. I do think there were a few guys that fit that bill and looking in hindsight, there were some pretty talented players that slid. Hell he might have. Tyler Tullio went in the 5th round. The draft is about maximizing your odds and I think they could have done a better job.

 

[Here4ThaLids]

Cheering for a name can only lead to disappointment as a Lyon-Hart combo means the Flyers' goaltending situation is less than ideal.

I was quite happy to see a game of Goul 'n' Ghost (note: only happy for one!). Looks like my dream of a Felix-Oskar Swedish couple will not come to pass.

Still need to find a Virgil to draft for an Earp trio. Perhaps we should have drafted Holloway and nicknamed him 'Doc'.

 

[Psuhockey]

The Flyers have spent the last 30 years absolutely sucking at that balance.

Having one or two of those guys is one thing, this team has spent year after year seeking to have multiple no-skill "Physical" players because they disastrously overrate their value.

The Flyers sucked for the last 30 years because they believed defensemen just had to hit and block shots. At least that part has changed at the draft table for the most part.

It seems like the USHL and USA hockey had a bit of down year. That is where this team has found the most later round talent in recent years . Perhaps that why it was a bit of a meh draft.

 

[Starat327]

I was quite happy to see a game of Goul 'n' Ghost (note: only happy for one!). Looks like my dream of a Felix-Oskar Swedish couple will not come to pass.

Still need to find a Virgil to draft for an Earp trio. Perhaps we should have drafted Holloway and nicknamed him 'Doc'.

Bah, - trade for Goulbourne again, and talk to NY about getting Boo Nieves. NOW were talking.

 

[Rebels57]

The Flyers have spent the last 30 years absolutely sucking at that balance.

Having one or two of those guys is one thing, this team has spent year after year seeking to have multiple no-skill "Physical" players because they disastrously overrate their value.

The end goal should just simply be that we are "hard to play against."

Usually the teams that are hardest to play against do have that balance of speed, skill, size, and strength. It's not easy to have it all come together at the same time but when it does, it's usually going to equal success (2010 Flyers had it all but were sunk by goaltending).

 

[BritainStix]

The Flyers have spent the last 30 years absolutely sucking at that balance.

Having one or two of those guys is one thing, this team has spent year after year seeking to have multiple no-skill "Physical" players because they disastrously overrate their value.

The flyers have been to the finals 3? Times in that period. They were one defenseman short of winning the cup.

Little ridiculous to say they sucked at getting the balance right...

 

[Curufinwe]

The Flyers were the 12th best team in the 10s, the 8th best team in the 00s, and the 5th best team in the 90s.

 

[Beef Invictus]

The flyers have been to the finals 3? Times in that period. They were one defenseman short of winning the cup.

Little ridiculous to say they sucked at getting the balance right...

Considering the talent they had at the top of the roster and they way it's always being held back at the bottom because they value veteranyness and toughness over actual ability, no, it is not ridiculous, and claiming otherwise requires some heavy revisionism.

Since 1990 they have been the the Finals twice, btw. Not 3 times. That isn't very special.

Edit: Something like 13 teams have been to the Finals twice in the last 3 decades. Quite a few have done more. If close to half the league has done a thing that thing isn't unique.

 

[tymed]

Really nice pick here in the 4th round.

NAK is a great comparison for him--The assertion that NAK was drafted as a skill guy that happened to have other elements is simply not true at all. Both these players were drafted as +skating 200-ft puck hounds that happen to have some offensive chop and IQ to give them potential for playing up the lineup with skill players. They're play drivers. Their draft year scouting reports are nearly identical.

I love the recent few years' tendency to trade up and take confidence in their homework.

Also, Shayne Wright is stupid good.

 

[FLYguy3911]

NAK was absolutely a "skill guy" in Junior. He was a top pick in the Q draft and the best '96 from Quebec. I wouldn't have spent years campaigning for him if he weren't. He didn't have top line upside, but there was a chance he could be a 2nd liner. He was an entry machine with the ability to go end to end and could carry the puck at will. He had a killer one-time shot on the powerplay as well. Part of the reason I spent three years saying they should try him on the PP in LV. This assertion that he was some grinder that worked his way into an NHLer is simply not true. He always had a lot of raw talent. The Flyers just did their best to hid it.

 

[Jettany]

Really nice pick here in the 4th round.

NAK is a great comparison for him--The assertion that NAK was drafted as a skill guy that happened to have other elements is simply not true at all. Both these players were drafted as +skating 200-ft puck hounds that happen to have some offensive chop and IQ to give them potential for playing up the lineup with skill players. They're play drivers. Their draft year scouting reports are nearly identical.

I love the recent few years' tendency to trade up and take confidence in their homework.

Also, Shayne Wright is stupid good.

Try hard... floor pick. Fletchers specialty in both drafts here! Disgraceful.

 

[deadhead]

NAK was absolutely a "skill guy" in Junior. He was a top pick in the Q draft and the best '96 from Quebec. I wouldn't have spent years campaigning for him if he weren't. He didn't have top line upside, but there was a chance he could be a 2nd liner. He was an entry machine with the ability to go end to end and could carry the puck at will. He had a killer one-time shot on the powerplay as well. Part of the reason I spent three years saying they should try him on the PP in LV. This assertion that he was some grinder that worked his way into an NHLer is simply not true. He always had a lot of raw talent. The Flyers just did their best to hid it.

I don't know where that player went, but the one I saw for three years in the AHL was a bottom six player, sure, he has a good shot, so does Twarynski (40 goals in CHL), NAK skates fast but is a bit stiff, mediocre passing touch. His game has always been built around the forecheck, when he doesn't skate hard he goes MIA.

 

[tymed]

NAK was absolutely a "skill guy" in Junior. He was a top pick in the Q draft and the best '96 from Quebec. I wouldn't have spent years campaigning for him if he weren't. He didn't have top line upside, but there was a chance he could be a 2nd liner. He was an entry machine with the ability to go end to end and could carry the puck at will. He had a killer one-time shot on the powerplay as well. Part of the reason I spent three years saying they should try him on the PP in LV. This assertion that he was some grinder that worked his way into an NHLer is simply not true. He always had a lot of raw talent. The Flyers just did their best to hid it.

Nowhere had I implied that either players were grinders. NAK, despite having some specific noteworthy offensive tools, was never drafted as a "skill guy" though. It just didn't happen that way, go back and read the scouting reports for yourselves, the two are basically interchangeable.

I'm not sure why it's taken as a dig, I really like these 2 players.