Last week, Ron Hextall announced that the Flyers will use the same philosophy they have for several seasons at the Draft and the take the best player available when their pick rolls around at 18th overall.
In a draft that has some good forward prospects, the Flyers can certainly fill an area of need by drafting a forward. But as Hextall indicated, if a defenseman is there at 18 that is too good to pass up, there will be another blue-chip defensive prospect on a crowded blue line.
Even if the Flyers were to take another defenseman as the best player available, they can still focus on the areas of need later in the draft.
The Flyers have 10 picks in the Draft this weekend, which will add 10 new prospects to the system, barring any trades. With two second-round picks and two third-round picks, the Flyers can either find a way to package those into a deal to move up higher, either early in the second or back into the first round, or simply add four more players between picks 31 and 82 — the Flyers hold the 48th and 52nd pick in the second round and the 79th and 82nd in the third.
With so many picks, Hextall's philosophy is almost necessary. The Flyers need to take a talented player in the first round, one that instantly falls into the discussion of playing at the NHL level. That said, the depth that can come from having so many picks on Day 2 is just as important. Remember, the Flyers drafted Shayne Gostisbehere and Nick Cousins in the third round of previous drafts and look how that turned out.
Success for a third-round pick isn't always the case, but building the pipeline allows more of the prospects to shine as their growth hits a certain point.
Since Hextall took over as GM prior to the 2014-15 season and even before then as he re-joined the organization as assistant GM prior to the 2013-14 season, the Flyers started to adopt a more patient approach, a focus on building the team from within by developing prospects for as long as it took. The best way to do that is to get more prospects.
The Flyers drafted just six players in the 2010 NHL Draft. They drafted just six in 2011. They drafted seven in 2012. They drafted six again in 2013 and 2014. In the two years Hextall has been in charge, the Flyers have drafted nine players in 2015 NHL Draft — the most since the 2006 Draft when they had 10 picks — and have 10 picks in 2016.
The reason the Flyers can focus on taking the best player available is because of the work Hextall has done up to this point, the same way he did last season. By stockpiling picks, the Flyers are able to truly use the draft as a building tool, rather than hoping to strike gold on one or two of six players selected.
The next 10 will be selected on Friday and Saturday, and the Flyers blueprint for building will continue on draft weekend by adding the best talent they can get early and building depth later.
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
