June 23, 2018
After adding a pair of forwards in the first round of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, the Philadelphia Flyers made the most of their seven remaining picks on Saturday, drafting six players (three defensemen, two forwards and a goalie) and trading one of their seventh round picks to Montreal for a seventh-rounder in 2019.
Odds are, you haven't heard any of these guys. And that's just fine, because we've got breakdowns of each of their picks to get you up to speed on the newest members of the Flyers organization. But before we get to that, let's catch up on what happened on Day 1 of the NHL Draft:
And now, on to Day 2...
Age: 18 | Height: 6-4 | Weight: 205 | Shoots: L
• Ranked #5 by NHL Central Scouting (EU Skaters)
• Ranked #43 by TSN's Bob McKenzie
Big defenseman who plays with a lot of authority. Very good along the boards and in front of the net. Plays physical and has potential to become a solid shutdown defenseman. Moves pretty well and has fine leadership qualities. Has some offensive upside and a good first pass. [eliteprospects.com]
Ginning has the potential to be a defensive defenceman in the top four, however he must continue to improve his skating. He will likely never be a big offensive contributor, but can still keep the puck moving. He will need some time to add muscle to his growing frame as well. Expect Ginning to spend at least another season or two in Sweden before coming to North America. His style is comparable to Johnny Oduya, but this is not a talent comparison. [lastwordonhockey.com]
Age: 18 | Height: 6-3 | Weight: 198 | Shoots: R
• Ranked #119 by NHL Central Scouting (NA Skaters)
Defensively St. Ivany uses his reach and active stick to take away time from his opponent and does a good job challenging plays at his own blue line and closing players off to the outside against the rush. Jack needs to add more grit and physicality and make things harder on opponents in front of his own net and in puck battles as he has been susceptive to losing battles. St. Ivany distributes the puck well on break outs and is able to stretch the ice using his vision and passing ability. He possesses good puck skills and is able to carry the puck up ice and through traffic when the situation calls for it. St. Ivany can run the Power Play at the point efficiently. [NHL Draft "Black Book" via broadstreethockey.com]
St. Ivany ➡️ Walker pic.twitter.com/2GY6j3Kg0c
— USHL (@USHL) January 13, 2018
Age: 18 | Height: 6-1 | Weight: 192 | Shoots: R
• Ranked #71 by NHL Central Scouting (NA Skaters)
Wylie’s bread and butter is his defensive game. Simply put, at the WHL level he’s established himself as a reliable, responsible two-way defender. He has effective mobility and skates well, but he’s elevated by his superb defensive awareness and ability to anticipate offensive attacks from the other team. He uses his size well, and just seems to know where to be in his own zone to minimize enemy offensive rushes. He’s also not afraid to block shots.
His offense is more of a work in progress. His contributions with the puck this past season were sporadic – he went through stretches where everything went in (December and January) and ones where he fought the puck a bit (the rest of the season) – and the key to future success will be finding some consistency in that area. He’s a player that’s played a safe, simple game at the WHL level thus far and has to seemingly learn to be comfortable taking a few risks (and being a bit uncomfortable) with the puck. If he can channel the confidence he has in his shutdown game into the offensive side, he’ll make some progress. [thehockeywriters.com]
Age: 18 | Height: 6-2 | Weight: 176 | Catches: L
• Ranked #7 by NHL Central Scouting (EU Goalies)
Ersson is a modern-day butterfly goalie, who possesses a calm demeanour and fluid movement. His fluidity allowed him to come out of his reverse V-H or drop into it before most short-side shot attempts could get through. His ability to transition from a butterfly to a standing position and visa-versa is impressive. Furthermore, his butterfly is technically refined and this allows him to seal it shut on most shot attempts, as well as being able to absorb rebounds at a high-rate. It works in combination with his plus puck-tracking skills, giving him the ability to square up and stop the initial shot. It’s rare to see Ersson have to scramble since he doesn’t over-commit on most shot attempts and his rebound control reduces his need to make recovery saves. [NHL Draft "Black Book" via broadstreethockey.com]
Age: 18 | Height: 5-11 | Weight: 194 | Shoots: L
• Ranked #104 by NHL Central Scouting (NA Skaters)
The #Flyers have traded the 190th pick to Montreal for their 7th round pick in 2019. #NHLDraft
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) June 23, 2018
Age: 18 | Height: 6-3 | Weight: 203 | Shoots: L
• Ranked #37 by NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING (EU Skaters)
A strong two-way player with pretty good scoring ability. Plays a solid physical game, has very good hockey sense and can be used on both special teams. Leads by example and has great attitude and work-ethic. [eliteprospects.com]
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