With the NHL Draft still taking place in June, lets examine which three players the Philadelphia Flyers could choose with their 26th overall pick.
Ever since I can remember, the Philadelphia Flyers have never truly had a prospect pipeline filled with prospects the way they do now. With talent not only offensively and defensively, they’ve also managed to stock the system with exceptional talent in goal. Having said that, I’m not overly excited about any of the offensive prospects aside from maybe Morgan Frost and 2017 2nd round pick Isaac Ratcliffe.
With the 2020 NHL Draft being heavier on offensive talent and the Flyers deciding to take Cam York in the first round of last year NHL Draft, I’m 100% expecting them to take an offensive player with their first round pick.
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If you look through the offensive talent in the Flyers system you’ll see many two-way type forwards who can play in both ends of the ice but none that really blow you away offensively, so naturally I’m hoping they target offensive minded players with the pick.
Jan Mysak
Let’s start with Jan Mysak, a player who could potentially be off the board by the time the Flyers pick as many prospect experts believe he could be a top 15 talent. However, some believe he could potentially slip and I’ll explain why.
At just 16 years old, Mysak played turned pro for Litvinov HC in the Extraliga where he went on to record 8 goals and 8 assists in a total of 57 games between two seasons. Now those numbers don’t jump off the stat sheet but keep in mind not only Jan’s age while playing against grown men but also that as a youngster in the Czech leagues you’re typically glued to the fourth line.
After 26 games for Litvinov this season Mysak had decided he’d had enough and took his talents to the OHL, where he seemed to excel almost instantly while playing for the Hamilton Bulldogs. In just 22 games, Jan potted 15 goals and added 10 assists on his way to becoming a point-per-game producer for Hamilton.
I recently had the opportunity to talk with prospect minded hockey guys like Brandon Holmes (@BHolmes_Hockey) and Alex Appleyard (@avappleyard) who both couldn’t wait to discuss the likes of Jan Mysak. You can listen in full to what they had to say about Jan and each of the prospects in this article here.
Brandon on Mysak, “Mysak could go towards the end of the first but could also go top 15 overall, not a dynamic skater but has good hockey sense and excellent puck skills. He’s strong on his skates and has great strength, using his 6’0, 176 lb frame.
Alex on Mysak, “Played fourth line minutes for a not great pro team in Europe, took off for OHL where he excelled playing top line minutes”
Mavrick Bourque
A player who could very well be there at 26 for the Flyers but would also have a chance to be selected higher is Mavrick Bourque. Mavrick not only possess one of the coolest names in this years NHL Draft, he’s also projected to have one of the higher ceilings.
In 2018-19 for Shawinigan, Bourque compiled numbers of 25 goals, 29 assists, in a total of 64 games played. This season he took quite a step forward as he improved in each of the aforementioned categories with 29 goals and 42 assists in just 49 games played.
According to Brandon Holmes, “Mavrick is a player who thinks the game well, great two way acumen, has a blistering shot, and gets himself into good goal scoring areas. He has solid vision and a high floor due to his good hockey IQ and two-way play.”
Bourque’s floor seems to be a third line player at the very least but has shown enough talent at 5 on 5 and possesses the offensive skill to be a top six contributor.
Zion Nybeck
The third player I’d like the Flyers to potentially take in the 2020 NHL Draft is another player with a cool name in Zion Nybeck. Nybeck is a bit smaller in height at only 5’8 but has decent size for his frame, weighing in at 176 lbs for this season.
Zion Nybeck is a player with very high upside and would be an exceptional pick this late in the first round. He’s maybe flown under the radar a bit with more talented offensive players from Sweden potentially going earlier in Lucas Raymond, Alexander Holtz, and Noel Gunler.
Here’s what Appleyard had to say on Nybeck, “Nybeck has everything, great work ethic, plays hard, grinds the wall, good in close, nice shot, shifty speed, fantastic penalty-killer, works defensively and sets up teammates. It’d be very hard for me to pass on him at 26.” Alex firmly believed that if Nybeck had a few more inches to him, he’d absolutely be a top 10-15 talent in this years NHL Draft, also stating that he needs to get a bit faster and reiterating that the Flyers will be hard pressed to find a player this late in the round with this high upside.
Who would you like to see the Philadelphia Flyers choose with the 26th overall pick of the 2020 NHL Draft? Was it one of these players or would you rather them trade up for one of these players instead?