Defenseman Ivan Provorov and forward Travis Konecny highlight selections from a draft that illustrates how Flyers GM Ron Hextall is departing from the team’s historic past.
By Josh Kaz
The NHL Draft came and went, and the Philadelphia Flyers could not have asked for a better outcome, especially in the first round. At the beginning of the night, the Flyers started the draft with the seventh and 29th overall picks; by the end of the evening, they ended up with two, top-14-ranked prospects.
With the seventh overall pick, the Flyers, for a third consecutive season, picked a defenseman: Brandon Wheat Kings prospect Ivan Provorov.
- Ivan Provorov (Russia)
- Position: Defense; Shoots: Left
- Size: 6’0″ 201 lbs
- Stats: 15 goals & 46 assists for 61 points in 60 games playing with the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League (WHL)
- NHL Comparable Player According to TSN: Mark Giordano
- Notes: Ivan Provorov (pronounced: pro VOR off), who played at a point-per-game pace, had an excellent rookie season with the Wheat Kings, coming in fourth in scoring among all defenseman in the WHL, only four behind the leader, Travis Sanheim (Flyers 2014 first-round draft pick). Some scouts have Provorov as the most NHL-ready defenseman in the draft. Provorov said in an interview that he doesn’t think he had any weaknesses to his game, yet still wants to improve in all aspects of it.
After drafting Provorov, the Flyers wanted to move up in the draft to get a player from their wish list. So when Toronto went on the clock at 24, the Flyers shipped their second first-round pick (29th overall, from Tampa Bay in the Braydon Coburn trade) and 61st overall (second-round pick) to the Maple Leafs.
With that 24th overall choice, the Flyers selected Ottawa 67’s forward Travis Konecny.
- Travis Konecny (Canada)
- Position: Center/Right Wing; Shoots: Right
- Size: 5’11” 176 lbs
- Stats: 29 goals & 39 assists for 68 points in 60 games playing with the Ottawa 67’s of the OHL
- NHL Comparable Player According to TSN: Pat Verbeek
- Notes: Future considerations has Travis Konecny ranked as high as 11, citing his flashy goal-scoring and quickness, while Craig Button didn’t even have Konecny in his top 30 (ranked 33). Excluding Button’s assessment and averaging Konecny’s ranking among the rest of the seven scouts, he was the 14th-best prospect in the draft. Due to his impressive, highlight-reel goals and his drive to win, Konecky may be the surprise of the draft. Konecny already possesses a ton of heart and leadership qualities–so much so that he was chosen as the captain of the 67’s as a 17-year-old.
Day 2
Rounds two through seven of the draft took place on Saturday. With seven picks remaining, the Flyers traded the 99th overall choice to the Los Angeles Kings for the 104th overall and a sixth-rounder in 2016, and still ended up with three goalies and four forwards.
Results:
- Third Round (two picks):
- 70th overall (from San Jose via the Tye McGinn trade) – Felix Sandstrom (Sweden)
- Position: Goaltender; Catches: Left
- Size: 6’2″ 192 lbs
- Stats: 2.63 GAA, .907 save percentage in 14 games playing with the Brynäs J20 of the SuperElit (Sweden)
- Notes: Sandstrom was ranked third by Central Scouting among European-playing goaltenders. The Swedish-born goalie played most of last season with Sweden’s 20-and-under junior league; however, he did play two games for SHL, Sweden’s top professional league, and was excellent in those contests, logging a 1.09 GAA and .963 save percentage.
- 90th overall (from Tampa Bay via the Coburn trade) – Matej Tomek (Slovakia)
- Position: Goaltender; Catches: Left
- Size: 6’3″ 181 lbs
- Stats: 1.83 GAA, 928 save percentage in 33 games playing with the Topeka RoadRunners of the NAHL
- Notes: Tomek was ranked as low as 67 by Bob McKenzie, and was number five on the Central Scouting goaltender list. Tomek is committed to the University of North Dakota, meaning former UND coach and current Flyers coach Dave Hakstol recruited him.
- 70th overall (from San Jose via the Tye McGinn trade) – Felix Sandstrom (Sweden)
- Fourth Round (two picks):
- 98th overall – Samuel Dove-McFalls (Canada)
- Position: Center; Shoots: Left
- Size: 6’2″ 207 lbs
- Stats: 14 goals & 20 assists for 34 points in 66 games playing with the Saint John Sea Dogs of the QMJHL
- Notes: Dove-McFalls was ranked as high as 106 by ISS and as low as 70 by Central Scouting. Dove-McFalls, who scored just ten points in his rookie season in the QMJHL tripled that total during his draft year. The Montreal native was also picked as an assistant captain at the age of 17 for the Sea Dogs this season.
- 104th overall – Mikhail Vorobyov (Russia)
- Position: Center; Shoots: Left
- Size: 6’2″ 198 lbs
- Stats: 8 goals and 12 assists for 20 points in 39 games playing with the Tolpar Ufa of the MHL (Russian junior league)
- Notes: Vorobyov was ranked 24th in Central Scouting for European league skaters. Vorobyov played for Russia in the World Junior Championship 18 and under (WJC-18) picking up four points in five games.
- 98th overall – Samuel Dove-McFalls (Canada)
- Fifth Round:
- 128th overall – David Kase (Czech Republic)
- Position: Center/Left Wing; Shoots: Left
- Size: 5’11” 170lbs
- Stats: 7 goals & 7 assists for 14 points in 30 games playing for the KLH Chomutov of the Czech2 (Czech Republic’s second-highest league)
- Kase (pronounced: Kash ay) was ranked as high as 150 by Hockey Prospects yet as low as 76 by ISS; he was also ranked 11 by Central Scouting for European league skaters. Kase impressed many with his play at the WJC-18, where he picked up five points in four games while captaining the Czech Republic team. Kase also played 17 games in the Czech juniors (regular season and playoffs combined), scoring 12 goals and 27 points.
- 128th overall – David Kase (Czech Republic)
- Sixth Round:
- 158th overall – Cooper Marody (USA)
- Position: Right Wing: Shoots: Right
- Size: 6’0″ 176 lbs
- Stats: 22 goals and 36 assists for 58 points in 52 games playing with the Muskegon Lumberjacks and then Sioux Falls Stampede of the USHL
- Notes: Marody was ranked 83 by ISS and 53 by Central Scouting for North American skaters. Marody got off to a bit of a slow start with the Lumberjacks, picking up just nine points in the first 14 games before catching fire after he joined the Stampede. He registered 49 points in 38 games with Sioux Falls, and then scored another 12 points in 12 playoff games, helping the Stampede win the USHL Clark Cup. Marody is committed to the University of Michigan next season.
- 158th overall – Cooper Marody (USA)
- Seventh Round:
- 188th overall – Ivan Fedotov (Russia)
- Position: Goaltender; Catches: Left
- Size: 6’6″ 192lbs
- Stats: 1.95 GAA, .911 save percentage in 41 games playing with the Reaktor Nizhnekamsk of the MHL (Russian junior league)
- Notes: Fedotov played very well in his second season in the MHL. The tall Russian improved his GAA from 3.30 to 1.95 while hiking up his save percentage from .866 to .911 from his first season to his second. Fedotov was also named the player of the month in the MHL for November.
- 188th overall – Ivan Fedotov (Russia)
Moments after the draft completed, the Flyers made another trade, shipping Nicklas Grossmann and the contract of Chris Pronger to the Arizona Coyotes for forward Sam Gagner and a conditional pick (either a fourth-rounder in 2016 or a third-rounder in 2017).
Gagner, 25, will come with a $3.2-million cap hit. The former first-round pick (seventh overall in 2007), scored 41 points in 81 games for the Coyotes last season, which would have been good enough for sixth among all Flyers last year.
Flyers Draft Notes: & Numbers:
- Drafted nine players from five separate countries: Russia (3), Canada (2), USA (1), Czech Republic (1), Slovakia (1), and Sweden (1).
- Drafted three Russian-born players in the same draft for the first time in 23 years.
- First time ever that the Flyers selected a Russian-born player with their first-round pick.
- First time in 16 years that the Flyers did not select at least three Canadians.
- Tomek became the first Slovakian-born player drafted by the Flyers in 11 years.
- Drafted a defenseman first for a third consecutive season–the first time in 37 years that the organization selected defensemen first in three straight years (1976-78).
- Drafted five forwards, three goalies, and one defenseman.
- Only the fourth time in Flyers draft history that they selected three goalies in the same draft.
- Average drafted player height/weight: 6’1″, 188 lbs.
- Drafted seven left-handed shooters and two right-handed shooters.
Josh Kaz writes about the Flyers on DropthePuck.org.
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