BUFFALO, N.Y. — They came to the NHL draft with a simple mission: fortify themselves at the forward position.
And of that end, the Flyers seemed to succeed, taking seven forwards, two defensemen and one goalie during the two-day draft, which concluded Saturday.
General manager Ron Hextall moved one of his 11 total picks to 2017 in a late deal with the Islanders.
“We had a lot of picks, and sometimes you get a little too greedy on the day of the draft and you want to use your picks, and you forget about next year or the year after,” Hextall said. “Going into today, I wanted to move one or two. We have nine picks next year.”
Six of his seven forwards were taken Saturday. The team selected centerman German Rubtsov (22nd overall) during the first round Friday night.
“We’re happy,” Hextall said. “The needs we filled, moving into the draft, we knew we’d be heavy with forwards. We ended up that way.”
Here's Hextall's quick take on his nine picks from today:
Second round
36: Pascal Laberge, 6-1, 174. Center/wing. 18. Victoriaville (QMJHL).
Hextall: “Character, the grit, the will, he fit the bill. We see a kid who is potential top six forward. He has speed and skill. Good size.”
48: Carter Hart, 6-1, 180. Goalie. Turns 18 in August. Everett (WHL).
Hextall: “We feel he has a good shot at being a No. 1 goaltender. Brady Robinson spent time with him the last couple weeks and was real impressed with his ability and work ethic. Most important, the mental part of it. Big part for a goaltender, and he seems to have everything in place.”
52: Wade Allison, 6-1, 205. Right wing. 18. Tri-City (USHL).
Hextall: “We didn’t expect him to be there. We zeroed in on some bigger bodies later in the draft not knowing if we’d get a kid like him. He’s got speed, got size, real good shot. Good intelligence. A good support player who can play up in your lineup.”
Third round
82: Carsen Twarynski, 6-2, 201. Left wing. 18. Calgary (WHL).
Hextall: “A prototypical power forward. We knew we needed to add some size and grit. Our guys to a man all liked him. Terrific character and work ethic with a nice set of skills, too. He’s not just a bottom-end guy.”
Fourth round
109: Connor Bunnaman, 6-0, 183. Center. 18. Kitchener (OHL).
Hextall: “We really like him. Good skill later. His feet need to come a little bit, which I can probably say about a few of these guys. Excited we got him where we did. Another guy who fell.”
120: from Arizona: traded to NYI for 4th round in 2017
Fifth round
139: Linus Högberg, 6-1, 183. Defense. 17. Växjö HC (SHL)
Hextall: “That’s our sleeper. He’s a guy we talked about through our meetings. His name kept popping up as a late guy. An undervalued and underrated guy. He’s our sleeper.”
Sixth round
Philadelphia Flyers
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169: Tanner Laczynski, 6-0, 174. Center. 19. Chicago (USHL).
Hextall: “Going to school, Ohio State, I believe. Again, a skill player and we got four years with him. As you saw, our emphasis was a little on skill and size and we feel we filled both with some of these kids.”
172: Anthony Salinitri, 5-11, 170. Center. 18. Sarnia (OHL).
Hextall: “Smaller guy but a skill forward. You try and hit on his skill. He has lots of ability and upside. Obviously, he is not the biggest guy. But to add some skill, we like him.”
Seventh round
199: David Bernhardt, 6-3, 203. Defense. 18. Djurgårdens IF J20 (SHL)
Hextall: “Decent-sized guy, good with the puck but a little inconsistent. Enough there though where you can grab onto.”
