The 2017 NHL Entry Draft lottery was quite the historical night for your Philadelphia Flyers. With just a 2.4% chance of leap-frogging 11 teams to the second overall pick, the lottery balls fell just the right way and Nolan Patrick fell right into the organization’s lap. Patrick was considered to be the consensus number one overall pick right up until his draft year was derailed by injuries requiring multiple core muscle surgeries, which allowed current New Jersey Devil center Nico Hischier to steal the spotlight.
With the revelation of drafting a legitimate, seemingly NHL-ready top-six center with the second overall pick, there was one player in the lineup who became expendable.