Everybody knows that the Philadelphia Flyers are well stocked on defense prospects. They’ve used several recent first round picks to build up a corps of premium defensive talent, so most observers would assume GM Ron Hextall likes to draft defensemen.
A close look at who Hextall has taken in the last 2 drafts, however, might tell us different stories. One such story is possession-oriented forwards.
When you read the scouting reports of recent forwards taken with high picks by the Flyers, they all have a few things in common. They all are outstanding skaters, they have high “hockey IQ”, and they put it all together to play a “200-foot game” and thus dictate possession and pace of the game.