Another week of hockey has come and gone, so it must be time for another Future Flyers Report. This week, we will be taking a look at the team’s most recent draft class to see how it has been performing so far this season.
Did Fletcher make the right decision at the draft?
There has been a lot up for debate when it comes to evaluating how the Flyers did in the most recent NHL draft. The biggest controversy being Chuck Fletcher not drafting the highly-anticipated Cole Caufield with the 11th overall pick — but traded the pick instead. With that, the Flyers selected Cam York with the No. 14 pick and gained an extra pick in the second round.
That pick came into play quickly when the Flyers traded their 45th and 65th selections for the 34th overall pick. There, they drafted Bobby Brink.
So, while Caufield would have been a great addition to the talented prospect pool the Flyers currently have, adding both a skilled defenseman and a talented winger with a snipe-shot of his own is a prime example of a win-win scenario.
Early last week, both York and Brink were named to the U.S. national junior team preliminary roster.
Cam York
York and Michigan were off this past week and won’t play again until Dec. 30, but through 14 games, York has tallied eight points (four goals, four assists) in his rookie year. The 18-year-old has become a huge asset for his team and is setting himself up to have a long, solid career in the pros if he keeps performing at this rate.
NHL
Bobby Brink
Now, let’s take a look at that 34th overall pick with the great hockey name.
While Brink went without a point last week against Arizona State, he got things rolling again when Denver swept Colorado College with a two-point (one goal, one assist) weekend. The highlight of the weekend had to go to this beauty of a backhanded shot that he had Saturday night.
Mason Millman
Millman did not play this weekend, as he was serving the rest of his suspension from this hit on Dec. 6 when he and the Saginaw Spirit faced the Sarina Sting. He will be able to return Dec. 19.
Through the 28 games he has played so far this season, he has 15 points (six goals, nine assists), which gives him the second-most points by a defenseman on the team — trailing only Ilya Solovyov, who has 27 points (three goals, 24 assists).
Ronnie Attard
It’s an unfortunate situation for Attard, who hasn’t played with his team, the Western Michigan Broncos, in over a month because of an injury. Though he hasn't played since Nov. 9, Attard does have five points through the 10 games he was a part of. His most highlight-worthy game of the season so far came against Colorado College, when he had a three-point game (two goals, one assist).
Egor Serdyuk
Serdyuk had a solid showing this weekend with the Victoriaville Tigres in the QMJHL, having an assist in both games. After having a fiery start to the season, registering seven points (six goals, one assist) in the first four games, things have slowed down significantly for the 18-year-old. Aside from that first stretch of games, this past weekend was only the second time he had points in consecutive games.
Roddy Ross
Ross has had an average season so far, having a 9-12-2-1 record through 24 games played. His best performance of the week came on Dec. 13, when the sixth-round pick allowed only a single goal on 22 shots and had a .955 save percentage.
Bryce Brodzinski
Making the transition from league to league is a big jump for many and most times than not it’s difficult to instantly become impactful for their new team. This seems to be the case with Minnesota’s Brodzinski. While in his senior year of high school he received numerous accolades for his work, it’s taking some time to get used to the pace of the game at a college level. Through the 18 games he has played this season, he’s managed only five points (one goal, four assists).
There’s no need to panic, though, as Brodzinski was the perfect move in the seventh round of the draft.
Overall?
As time continues to move forward after the draft, it seems as though these picks are growing on many. While there will always be a few who question the "what if" in Caufield, it’s important to focus on knowing what the organization walked away with instead. The past cannot be changed — and looking ahead, there are too many promising names in the pipeline to be caught up in such things.
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