Given the chance to select a flashy sniper in the first round, Philadelphia instead traded down and later chose two-way center German Rubtsov. Here's why those decisions made sense.
Around 8:30 PM on Friday night, the NHL Draft appeared to be shaping up perfectly for Ron Hextall and the Philadelphia Flyers. The Nashville Predators selected defenseman Dante Fabbro with the 17th overall pick, leaving coveted snipers Kieffer Bellows and Julien Gauthier on the board for the Flyers. For an organization lacking pure goal scorers both at the NHL level and in the prospect pool at large, it seemed to be a golden opportunity for Hextall.