After ranking the top 100 NHL prospects for 2015-16 and ranking each team by organizational depth, ESPN Insider Corey Pronman ranks the top 10 prospects for each NHL team. Here is his entry for the Philadelphia Flyers. Extended write-ups on prospects ranked in the top 100 can be read here.
After many years of being in the basement of the NHL in terms of prospects, the Flyers have started to turn around their system the past few years. The public chatter is mostly concerning their elite group of defensemen prospects, but in my view, the system is well-rounded. It is strong at forward and goalie, though not as strong there as with the elite D group. Unsurprisingly, the Flyers have a large number of prospects represented in our top 100 overall prospects.
Samuel Morin is a prospect on whom I have been (and remain) conflicted. I hear from NHL scouts who see a top-end prospect, and though I'm not all the way there, I certainly see some things to like. His defensive play is very good. Morin has the huge, 6-foot-7 frame that is always noticed, along with his willingness to use it, but he's also a pretty smart player in his own end who can be a fantastic penalty killer. While he is mobile for his size, his subpar puck skills and offensive IQ give me cause for concern, and even among optimistic NHL scouts, nobody really sells him on being a point-producer.
For a teenager, Robert Hagg was pretty effective in the AHL this past season. He's a mobile puck-mover who is smart in his own end. He has lowered the risk in his game and shown a calm, steady efficiency to the way he goes about his shifts. Still, Hagg doesn't stand out that much, and he hasn't shown a dominant level since his days in the Swedish junior league. But what he has shown the past few years has been impressive, even if he has never been a guy who demands your attention during a game.
Shayne Gostisbehere is a tough player for me to read, and a knee injury that knocked him out for the season after a few (very impressive) pro weeks didn't help. His skating is outstanding, and all indications from his work this summer show the ACL surgery hasn't hampered that aspect of his game. He projects to put up points in the NHL, but his size and average defensive IQ don't help his cause. Gostisbehere is not an overly risky player, despite his flashy tools, but the defensive projection causes me to hedge a bit on him.
David Kase is a quick, shifty skater who can lead a rush and be elusive in tight spaces. He's a great playmaker who can dictate the play on the man advantage with his skill and vision. He also shows the willingness and hockey IQ to be an effective defensive player; as he gains strength, that aspect of his game should improve even more.
Taylor Leier is a solid, two-way forward with above-average speed and hockey IQ. He plays the game hard, and though he won't put up 50-plus points in the NHL, he has some creativity to his game and will make a flashy play happen on occasion.
Nicolas Aube-Kuberl (11th) had a very strong season using his above-average speed, puck skills and vision to generate a lot of offense. He's not great off the puck, but there has been some improvement there. Anthony Stolarz (12th), otherwise known as Stolie the Goalie, had a fine rookie pro season, though he was up and down. He's a huge, athletic goaltender who competes for loose pucks and makes unique saves for a big man, in terms of his movements and glove hand. He needs to work on a lot of the finer parts of his game, such as his reads and angles, as well as quieting his movements generally.
Noteworthy prospect
After he came into the campaign as a top prospect, Felix Sandstrom missed chunks of the 2014-15 season because of various ailments. Sandstrom has shown advanced play for several seasons and has impressive raw tools. He moves pretty well for a player of his size, while not being erratic. His goaltender IQ grades high, as he tracks the puck pretty well and stays ahead of the play.
2015-16 impact
It's a free-for-all among all those great defensemen for probably one open spot on the everyday roster -- at least to start the season. It will probably come down to Morin or Gostisbehere, but really, one could see a scenario in which any of those top guys pushes for a job. Hagg will be interesting to watch as a potential midseason call-up, but I think he's roughly a year away. My gut says it will be Gostisbehere. Top 2015 draft picks Travis Konecny and Ivan Provorov need more seasoning before they make a real push for the NHL.