On Tuesday, you may have seen some of the positive reviews coming in on Ron Hextall’s third year as Flyers GM at the NHL Draft.
But the rave reviews continued on Wednesday, as ESPN’s Craig Custance reported in an Insider piece on ESPN.com.
When Custance asked one scout for which team had the best draft, there was no hesitation.
"Philadelphia," the scout told Custance. "Hands down.
"He who gets the most best players wins. Philly was No. 1. Calgary and Carolina were tied for No. 2."
The Flyers selected German Rubtsov with the 22nd overall pick, trading down from the 18th overall pick. On Day 2, they had three second-round picks, used to select Pascal Laberge, Carter Hart and Wade Allison.
"Rubtsov is a top-10 talent," one NHL GM told Custance. "They got a good mix of skill and weighty players."
So the rave reviews only continue for Hextall and company.
It’s lofty praise to be labeled the best in front of Calgary and Carolina, at least in this scout’s eyes.
Carolina had two first-round picks and snagged Jake Bean and Julien Gauthier, then added Janne Kuokkanen in the second round and three more prospects in the third.
Calgary selected Matt Tkachuk with the sixth overall pick and added Tyler Parsons, Dillon Dube and Adam Fox in the next two rounds.
The Flyers added nine other players beyond Rubtsov in the first round. Those nine prospects will be a part of development camp, set to begin on Thursday, July 7.
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
