Draft Prospect Profile: Dylan Strome

It's time to take a look at another potential Flyers draft prospect as the draft continues to approach.

All of the talk throughout the regular season was about the battle across the league for the first overall pick and Connor McDavid. But one of McDavid's teammates is projected as a fairly high pick as well.

While it's not as likely that he is on the board when the Flyers pick at seven, if the Flyers look to trade up slightly or if the selections prior fall the right way, the Flyers could certainly be gunning for one of McDavid's partners in crime.

Today, we look at Erie Otters forward Dylan Strome.

The younger brother of Islanders breakout forward Ryan Strome, Dylan is an 18-year-old center that has starred alongside McDavid.

In a season that is continuing in the OHL Playoffs, Strome scored 45 goals and added 84 assists for 129 points in 68 games, and he has another 19 points in 15 playoff games. That is actually more points than McDavid, who had 120 points this season playing in 21 fewer games between dealing with a broken wrist and his time with Team Canada at World Juniors.

If anything, McDavid's absence has only helped Strome's draft stock. It's easy to see 129 points and think a lot of it is McDavid's doing. But Strome showed no signs of slowing down even without McDavid in the lineup, a sign that he could certainly turn into an NHL standout.

After McDavid and Jack Eichel, Strome may be the best forward in the draft, and even go third overall. He's that good at his position.

He understands the centerman's role, plays the game with great vision and combines it with all sorts of ability in scoring. Sometimes, the numbers truly speak for themselves. 45 goals and 84 assists tell you all you need to know about Strome's offensive prowess.

Defensively, he could still improve and part of that comes from his size – he's got great height at 6'3" but could add some muscle to his 187-pound frame. However, his defensive game has come around during his second season in the OHL.

An aspect that makes forwards so talented offensively is their skating ability, and Strome is certainly strong on his feet with good hockey sense. He has great hands that aid in stick-handling and passing. He reads the play well. There is no sugarcoating this: Strome is the total package, and for the teams not picking at the top for McDavid and Eichel, this is one heck of a consolation prize.

So why are we talking about Strome and the Flyers?

If Ron Hextall tries to get daring on draft day, the Flyers could try to jump up two or three spots to grab the talented forward. Hextall said recently that there were several prospects that could be NHL ready. This would most likely be one of them.

Also, depending on team need, there is a chance that defensemen could help Strome slip back to fifth or sixth. He won't go much later than that, and the Flyers would be crazy not to take him if he's still there at seven.

But with Noah Hanifin and Ivan Provorov being highly touted defensive prospects that also have a chance to go early in the draft, it might not take that big of a move to get a player who ranks right behind McDavid and Eichel.

Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.