The Philadelphia Flyers have 5 top tier prospects now that the 2013 NHL draft is in the books. None are particularly likely to be stars in the NHL at a Simon Gagne, Mike Richards, Claude Giroux or Jeff Carter level of player. However, I am hopeful these 5 players will become quality NHL players capable of becoming 2nd line or 2nd defensive pairing players at some point.
The Flyers have no player they drafted from the 1st or 2nd round prior to the 2011 draft left in the organization and the only one they have prior to the 2012 draft is Sean Couturier who made the Flyers roster from day 1 of his career. The vast majority of NHL players who have significant careers in the NHL come from the first two rounds of the draft.
I believe the organization benefitted from a very good 2013 NHL draft so at least as fans we have the possibility of turning around the system of prospects if of course these players are not traded. In addition the development of several of our 2012 draft picks in 2012-2013 was positive. Four of the 2012 draft picks made fairly significant strides this past season and even the 5th round pick had a promising season as an 18 year old.
The Flyers have a handful of players who may be closer to the NHL and contributing to the big club than a few of the top 5 prospects but my prospect ranking is not based on what prospects are closest to making the NHL necessarily.
1. Center Scott Laughton 6-1, 194 (listed at 177 but he was reportedly 194 at the Flyers development camp in July of 2013) - The Flyers selected Scott with their first round pick in 2012, the 20th overall pick. He did well enough the Flyers kept him on their opening day roster in the lockout shortened season in 2013 for 5 games before they sent him down to his junior hockey club Oshawa which is required as part of the NHL/CHL transfer agreement and Laughton's agreement with Oshawa. His service on the entry level contract would have started had they not sent him down.
Although he did not score a point, he did not seem to be overmatched in his appearances. Laughton increased his point per game average some at Oshawa in 2012-2013 compared to 2011-2012 and he also scored 7 goals and 13 points total in 7 OHL playoff games for Oshawa. He also was permitted to play for the Adirondack Phantoms after his OHL season ended. Scott scored a goal and had two assists for them in 6 games.
Laughton has good not great size for an NHL center but is reportedly put on some muscle and he was up to 6-1, 194 from 6-1, 177 at their development camp in July 2013. He's a good two way center with good smarts, instincts and he has good skating speed. He also will get physical and isn't afraid to mix it up. He definitely has potential to be a 2nd line center someday in the NHL but he projects to 3rd line center right now and with Giroux, Lecavalier, and Couturier, he may not be a 2nd line center for a number of years. It's possible he may not even be a 3rd line center for a while.
2013 Philadelphia Flyers Development Camp Highlights
He also has special teams potential both on the power play and penalty kill but will probably be a penalty killer first when he establishes himself on the Flyers. Laughton is a very good prospect and the Flyers top prospect although all 5 players in the top 5 are very close in terms of long term potential right now. Laughton will likely be on the Flyers long before the other 4 players in the ranking though. They also may end up using him on the wing if he becomes a player they can't keep off the ice which is possible at almost anytime moving forward. Laughton hopefully should be on the Flyers no later than 2014-2015 but it could happen sooner.
2. Defenseman Robert Hagg 6-2, 205 (I've seen him listed at 193, 203, and 205)- Many would probably consider 2013 1st round pick Samuel Morin as the second ranked prospect over Hagg but I'm going to give Hagg the slightest edge despite the fact Morin was the Flyers 1st round pick and Hagg was the 2nd round pick. The reality is the top 5 ranked players in this article are all close in ratings.
I had Hagg rated slightly ahead of Morin although the week before the draft the consensus of the experts had Morin rated higher. I think Hagg is a faster skater, has a better shot, and he's a better two way defenseman than Morin. Hagg can cover all or most of the ice depending on what he is asked to to do within the system.
Some think Hagg is closer to the NHL than Morin but I don't think that is necessarily the case. Hagg needs more confidence and consistency. Both Hagg and Morin took big steps in 2013. Hagg did play a major role for Sweden's Silver Medal winning WJC u20 team while Morin had a big role for Canada's Gold Medal winning WJC u18 team.
Hagg will be playing for Modo in the top Swedish Pro League again this year (after playing about half the season for the Modo J20 team and half the season for Modo) while Morin will be playing for Rimouski in the QMJHL again. Robert has said he needs one or two years at Modo while also saying he and his agent will sit down with the Flyers after this year and talk about what the Flyers want.
Hagg is still very young. He turned 18 in February of 2013. I think he could need three seasons combined in the Swedish Hockey League and AHL and he'll only be 21 years old at the end of those three seasons.
Robert has excellent potential to be on a 2nd defensive pairing with very good potential to quarterback the power play and he also can be versatile. I think he's capable of playing with an offensive defenseman or as the offensive defenseman paired with a physical stay at home defenseman.
He needs to refine all of the aspects of his game but has shown ability and skill in every facet of the game.
Robert Hagg WJC Sweden Team #14 Yellow
Goal about 2 mins and he really shows stuff at around 3 mins vs Russia
Hagg interview with Philly Media After Selection
3. Defenseman Samuel Morin 6-6 203 - The Flyers 2013 1st round pick at 11th overall is a tall and very physical and tenacious defensive player. He improved his skating significantly this season and he said he had a much better latter part of the season in 2012-2013 after starting out slowly.
There is considerable discussion over Morin's skating speed. Some say he has adequate speed for a big and physical stay at home defenseman. Others believe he is fast for his size and has shown some ability to join an offensive rush. Morin may also be improving his shot and his goal scoring could increase with more emphasis on it.
The Flyers also think Morin has a hard work ethic and I do like his intensity on the ice. At 6-6 with his reach also he can steal pucks. Morin does not back down either although he needs to add weight and muscle to his frame. At the same time, I do not think this is a big concern as he just turned 18 in July of 2013. There may be some limitations because of his length but he should be able to add enough with his height so that is not a problem at the NHL level in a few years.
I don't necessarily think Morin is going to be a great 1st pairing big two way defenseman such as Chris Pronger or Shea Weber but he will be capable of becoming a very big 2nd pair defenseman with a nasty and physical aspect in his game. It was very encouraging when the Flyers selected Hagg at the 41st overall pick in the 2013 draft as he was a first round prospect on almost all boards and there is something about Hagg and Morin as a nice combination on defense to get out of a very good defenseman class that I really liked. I liked the Morin pick better when we also got Hagg as strange as that sounds.
There is a positive and negative side to Morin's youth. He did not even turn 18 until after the draft. The positive is with his size, skills and improvement in 2012-2013 there is upside and he has plenty of time to develop further. The negative is he may be a little further away from getting to the NHL. I also think under the transfer agreement between the NHL and CHL (governing body for Canadian junior hockey), he may have to play two more seasons for Rimouski if he is not on the NHL club.
So it is more likely he has at least three more seasons combined at Rimouski and the Phantoms in the AHL before he is ready for the Flyers. He may also get a handful of games with the Phantoms once Rimouski's season ends in 2014.
2013 IIHF u18 World Championships [Gold Medal Game] Canada - USA - Full Length Game (Russian announcers)
Samuel Morin (#5) paired with Winnipeg 13th pick overall Josh Morrisey (#7) 1st pairing.
Dillon Heatherington 50th pick overall paired with Madison Bowey 53rd pick overall.
Chris Bigras 32nd pick overall paired with Shea Theodore 26th pick overall.
#55 on Rimouski - 1 minute video
Paul Holmgren announces his selection of Samuel Morin
Sam Morin fights 2013 3rd Round Pick Jonathan Diaby
4. Defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere 5-11, 170 (Shayne has been listed at 160 and he reportedly gained some weight over this past year so he may be somewhere between 170 and 180 now) -
Shayne is a talented, smart, offensively skilled defenseman who can move the puck, stickhandle, set up the power play and offense, pass and shoot the puck. He worked on improving his defensive skills over the past season at Union College and as a member of the USA WJC u20 Gold Medal winning team in early 2013.
The question with Gostisbehere is his size and ability to hold up and be physical in the NHL but there are more smaller defenseman recently with success and Gostisbehere is a very skilled defenseman. He also has run the power play extremely well. Kimmo Timonen has played at 194 and no I am not saying he is a future Timonen, no one is. Erik Gustafsson is also a 5-10, 180 to 185 defenseman.
Shayne turned 20 years old in April and will play his junior year at Union College in 2013-2014. He seemed rather committed to playing all 4 years at Union College based on comments he made at the Flyers development camp in July of 2013. He is probably two years at the very earliest from playing on the Flyers and may be three years away if he plays at Union and the Flyers think he needs a full season with the Phantoms in the AHL.
Even though he was almost 20 at the WJCs, Shayne making the squad and playing on the power play at times with 2013 4th overall pick and top defenseman Seth Jones was a big positive. He was also paired with 2012 1st round pick Jacob Trouba. He did not look out of place playing with some of the NHL's best prospects against some of the NHL's top prospects.
I think Gostisbehere could be on just about any of the defensive pairings depending on his development and he is a top quality quarterback on the power play. He should be very capable of moving the puck and bringing it up the ice. He will need to figure out how to be a good player on defense in the NHL at his size.
It may seem overly optimistic for all three of these defensemen (Hagg, Morin, Gostisbehere) to make the Flyers and work out at the NHL level but one of the reasons I really was pleased with the 2013 draft was I think these three defensemen are a nice mix of defensemen. Morin is big, physical, hard working and plays with a nasty and competitive streak while Hagg is a near great skater and very good overall defenseman prospect and Gostisbehere can be a puck mover and offensive minded defenseman.
5. Center Nick Cousins 5-10, 180 - Cousins is a playmaking center who developed into a big time scorer in major junior hockey playing for Sault Ste. Marie in the OHL. He ended his career in the OHL with 291 points in 264 regular season games. He had 103 points in 64 games in 2012-2013 and may have taken the scoring title in the OHL or come very close but he was suspended for 4 games after a 5 minute major penalty and game misconduct penalty for hitting a player from behind.
Vincent Trocheck had 109 total points while Charlie Sarault had 108 points and Cousins finished 3rd in the OHL with 103 points. Cousins progressed from 32 to 68 to 88 to 103 points in his regular season career at Sault Ste Marie. Cousins isn't a big center and needs to improve his defense according to Paul Holmgren in 2013-2014. He is most likely going to play for the Adirondack Phantoms for the season.
If Nick can put it together and gets the opportunity for the Flyers, he is as capable of any of the top 5 prospects as having the best career especially offensively.
Next 5 up in a future post:
6. Defenseman Erik Gustafsson *
7. Defenseman Oliver Lauridsen *
8. Right Wing Petr Straka
9. Goaltender Anthony Stolarz
10. Left Wing Taylor Leier
*Gustafsson and/or Lauridsen could both be on the Flyers or get more time on the Flyers if called up so they may not be consideder prospects much longer. It is practically on the borderline if Gus should still be called a prospect. He has never played more than 30 games for the Flyers in a season but he does have 60 total games played for the Flyers.
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