Underwhelming Draft Class Sheds Light on Larger Issue for Flyers

It was a different kind of draft weekend for the Philadelphia Flyers. The team fresh off a second-round playoff appearance has less draft capital than in years past.

In an effort to make the most of it, GM Danny Briere traded back in the first round, adding two more picks. In total, the Flyers made six selections after starting the draft with four picks.

Their first-round pick was on hulking defenseman Maksim Sokolovskii. It was a predictable fit for style, the potential to unlock some hidden offensive talent seldom seen in his first season in London in the OHL, with his calling card being more physical.

It was far from the more exciting names that were available, even at 21st overall before the Flyers traded.

Their first second-round pick of Brek Liske could turn out to be a sneaky good pick in the future. But again, the Flyers opted for a left-handed defenseman that they had few of in the prospect pipeline. Then they took two goalies, another position of need.

They finished with late-round selections of a physical checking forward and another defenseman.

All in all, it was a draft that underwhelmed in both selection and activity. Just the one trade, and six picks that felt like trying to add by number, but not by immediate draft grade. That’s not entirely how it works, with years of development ahead, but it doesn’t overly excite the fan base either.

But that’s not the biggest thing to happen on draft weekend.

The Flyers have been linked to many players potentially available via trade. But you start to see these pieces moved and the return value and wonder how the Flyers would have been in the running at all.

Bowen Byram was traded for the fourth overall pick. Pavel Dorofeyev netted two first-round picks. So did JJ Peterka. So did Mason McTavish.

Now, word over the weekend was that the Flyers were entering the Zach Werenski sweepstakes. If they didn’t have the pieces for the others on this list, more middle of the lineup players than stars, how can they compete in a potential acquisition of the reigning Norris Trophy winner?

And even if they do have the assets to make it happen, would Werenski even choose them?

It’s a lesson in what the NHL has evolved into. Go back 10 years to the 2016 NHL Draft. Only three players from the first round are still with the team that drafted them: Auston Matthews, Clayton Keller, and Charlie McAvoy.

From the 2017 NHL Draft, 14 of the Top 20 selections have changed teams. From the 2018 Draft, only four of the Top 20 picks are with their draft team. Even from the 2019 Draft, only eight of the Top 25 picks have not been moved yet in their careers.

The draft is becoming less and less of a natural builder for contenders. The NHL has entered into a world where the players have more say. You get drafted, sign an entry-level deal, sign your first big contract and find a way to work in a no-movement clause, then utilize it to hand-pick your future destination.

It’s becoming a rarer feat to draft a player and develop him into a one-franchise icon. And it’s what is making the Flyers path to improvement more challenging.

Drafting and developing remain important, but the very makeup of your team can change overnight, whether it’s being on the cusp of losing a leader – as with Dylan Larkin in Detroit or Werenski in Columbus – or moving a player before having the chance to establish much of anything, like Cutter Gauthier.

It also means things are very different for teams trying to acquire that talent. The approach should be to accrue as many valuable pieces as possible. And while on draft day your goal is to make selections for your own future, you want to have something of value to teams around you, so you’re ready for these opportunities.

It’s not that the Flyers aren’t interested in adding to the greatest degree. It’s that it feels like they can’t. Because the players on the move are choosing factors beyond the Flyers’ reach. Contenders. More money. The opportunity to play with someone they are close with. So the same five or six teams keep winning the sweepstakes, and the rest, like the Flyers, are left to figure out how they can compete.

That might be the biggest challenge facing the Flyers going forward. How do you get in on the action when you want to be patient with prospects and young players? It’s a fine line to walk in today’s NHL, but one where the Flyers must crack the code to be active participants. And this weekend wasn’t a ringing endorsement that they can anytime soon.

Kevin Durso is Flyers insider for 97.3 ESPN. Follow him on social media @Kevin_Durso.