Flyers Make 6 Selections on Day 2 of NHL Draft

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

After wheeling and dealing four times over the last week, it was a relatively normal afternoon for the Flyers from a draft standpoint. They entered the day with six picks and made each of them with no more trades taking place to move draft capitals and acquire or move additional picks.

Here is the list of the six new Flyers draft picks entering the organization.

In the second round, the Flyers selected right winger Samu Tuomaala with the 46th overall pick. He played the 2020-21 season with Karpat U20 in Finland, scoring 15 goals and 31 points in 30 games. He’s a sharpshooting winger with one of the best shots in the draft and a quick skater that has solid acceleration.

The Flyers selected goalie Aleksei Kolosov in the third round with the 78th overall pick. Kolosov played last season with Dinamo Minsk in the KHL, posting a 3-5-1 record with a 2.69 GAA and .911 save percentage in nine games. Kolosov has strong mobility and positional awareness and has a very good glove hand. He’s also strong at puck tracking and reading shooters. 

The Flyers took defenseman Brian Zanetti with the 110th overall pick in the fourth round. With U20 Lugano in Switzerland, he scored nine goals and had 29 points in 41 games in the 2020-21 season. Zanetti needs to work on his skating, but he does move smoothly and can use his reach to defend. He’s also effective at closing gaps and poke checking the puck from the opposition.

The Flyers selected defenseman Ty Murchison with the 158th pick in the fifth round. Playing for the USNTDP U-18 team, he scored seven goals and had eight assists for 15 points in 48 games in the 2020-21 season. He’s a strong skater with an effortless stride and is willing to use his body and be physical. He does have inconsistency in his game that will need work.

In the sixth round with the 174th pick, the Flyers selected defenseman Ethan Samson. Samson played on the Prince George NTDP in 2020-21, scoring one goal and adding 11 assists for 12 points in 22 games. He’s a big, right-handed shot that plays in all situations and uses his skating as the foundation of his game. He makes simple passes to keep the puck moving and plays a hard, physical game that helps him win battles.

Finally, in the seventh round with the 206th overall pick, the Flyers selected center Owen McLaughlin. McLaughlin had 16 goals and 38 assists for 54 points in 33 games with Mount St. Charles Academy in 18U AAA. He is also a local kid from Spring City, PA and a Penn State University commit. He’s a two-way center that can generate strong puck possession time and has good awareness. He’s going to need to put on more weight and develop over the years, but he’s a prospect that will have plenty of time.