Up next in 10
The Philadelphia Flyers are in an interesting position where they do have enough assets to trade up in the first round of the 2026 NHL Draft. And now, there's one prospect who is certainly worth it.
#2026nhldraft #nhl #prospects #hockey #flyers #letsgoflyers #philadelphia #sports #philadelphiaflyers
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0:04
Hi, my name is Jacob Russell and welcome
0:07
back to the Broad Street Hockey YouTube
0:10
channel. And today, as we watch the
0:14
finals continue, the Stanley Cup finals
0:16
continue and the Hurricanes and Golden
0:18
Knights battle it out in a match up
0:21
between two teams I don't necessarily
0:22
care about all that much or or or like
0:25
realistically. Sorry, Dr. T. Um,
0:29
I've started to look forward to the
0:31
draft. I mean, this is one of my
0:33
favorite times of the year, the NHL
0:34
draft. Um, so much projection, so many
0:37
young guys making their dream come true.
0:39
It's always fun seeing, you know, the
0:41
parents in the crowd and all that sappy
0:44
stuff. But realistically, you look at it
0:46
as another year where the Flyers can,
0:49
you know, pick up some more high-end
0:51
talent on their way to trying to cobble
0:55
together another comp competitive team
0:57
after they, you know, sort of went on a
1:00
a bit of a Cinderella run to end this
1:03
season here, culminating in that loss to
1:06
the Hurricanes in round two. And yeah,
1:09
later on this month, the 26th and 27th
1:12
of June, the uh Buffalo Sabres hosting
1:17
this year, uh have their own resurgence
1:19
season. So, the Key Bank Center where
1:21
everything's going to be kicking off and
1:23
the Flyers as of this moment are
1:26
drafting number 21 and there are going
1:28
to be some interesting names at number
1:31
21. Um you can see some of them at
1:33
broader hockey.com as we're doing the uh
1:35
community draft board over there. And we
1:37
just we just passed the 21 spot within
1:40
the last few days. So uh as we round out
1:42
the first round, go check that out over
1:44
there and we can uh you know get
1:46
involved. You can vote to the poll and
1:48
then you can see uh make make your voice
1:50
heard as to what prospects you think um
1:53
the Flyers should be taking this year in
1:56
the draft. But yeah, 21, let's be
1:58
honest, not the sexiest pick in the
2:00
world. That is the one downside of
2:01
having a a season where you overachieve.
2:04
Um you kind of expected to have a good
2:06
pick this year. You're not really going
2:09
to. Um the Flyers, you know, making the
2:12
second round, it drops that pick a lot
2:15
uh further than necessarily anyone
2:17
thought it could have, but there's still
2:19
some good names there. uh if you want to
2:21
take a look at maybe an Eliam Ros uh
2:24
from the NCAA uh University of Miami of
2:27
Ohio, which I still don't understand as
2:30
a Canadian, but whatever.
2:32
Otherwise, you know,
2:38
but when you're trying to keep yourself
2:41
busy, right, when you're trying to make
2:43
up fun scenarios in your head, it's not
2:45
really, you know, you kind of hit a wall
2:46
when you're talking about pick number
2:47
21. It's not really all that much to say
2:50
at a certain point, but there is one
2:52
thing that I've identified looking
2:54
through this draft, looking through a
2:55
lot of the names that I think are
2:56
interesting and what the Flyers need. Uh
2:59
there is one name that's popped up in a
3:01
potential trade up scenario. Now, the
3:03
Flyers, no secret, they have a lot of
3:06
wingers. They even, you know, quietly
3:09
have a lot of defenseman. They have six
3:10
NHL defenseman plus David Derichek who
3:13
they just acquired and Oliver Bronc who
3:15
looks like he's going to be making his
3:17
NHL debut sometime this year. And we
3:20
know about the glut of wingers they
3:21
have. I mean Nikita Gurbankan is going
3:23
to come back next season after being
3:25
injured and I don't even know where he
3:26
plays. Who are you taking out? Carl
3:28
Grundstrom didn't play. And it's not
3:29
like that was because he was
3:32
necessarily, you know, bad at any point
3:33
in the season. It's just a numbers game.
3:35
they have too many decent, you know,
3:37
especially middle six wingers um to play
3:40
all of them. So, there are pieces that
3:42
they can move around. And the name that
3:44
I'm looking at to maybe move up for is
3:47
Ty and Lawrence, the the centerman out
3:49
of Boston University. Um, you know, he's
3:52
got a stout two-way game, plays, you
3:55
know, a traditional centers game while
3:59
also possessing like this kind of next
4:01
level offensive talent that he more so,
4:05
you know, showed as a 16-year-old in the
4:08
USL with the Moskegan Lumberjacks in his
4:10
draft minus one year. Um, so last
4:13
season, uh, he, you know, had a great
4:15
point per game season. Then in the
4:17
playoffs, um, you know, he really turned
4:19
it up. He ended up winning Clark Cup MVP
4:23
as the lumberjacks won um the the the
4:26
championship in the USL. Heading into
4:28
his draft year, Lawrence was touted as
4:30
one of the more dynamic and high ceiling
4:33
players available. Um being that he is a
4:35
center, he plays through the middle,
4:37
it's very easy to see him as a guy, you
4:40
know, with a pretty polished offensive
4:42
game and some two-way value, it's it's
4:45
easy to see why scouts would fall in
4:47
love with him. and you know he was
4:48
routinely being ranked as a potential
4:50
top five or top 10 pick in a lot of
4:53
preseason mocks um heading into this
4:55
past season and after playing and
4:57
impressing in last year's Helinka
4:59
Gretzky Cup where he won uh bronze with
5:01
team Canada, Lawrence sustained a lower
5:05
body injury that kept him out until the
5:07
end of October of last year. Um, so he
5:11
would only come back and play two games
5:13
before, you know, leaving not he didn't
5:16
feel right or got reinjured, whatever
5:18
the case may be. Um, he played two games
5:21
on backto-back days. He had two points
5:22
in those two games and then he would
5:23
exit the lineup again after a game on
5:26
October 25th and then he would be out
5:28
for a month. Um, he would be out for an
5:31
entire month and then he returned for
5:33
the lineup for Moskegan on November 26th
5:36
and he was back for good. uh he put up
5:39
15 points in 11 games uh in the rest of
5:42
his time in the US before he made the
5:45
jump to the NCAA and he jumped onto you
5:49
know a Boston University team that
5:51
that's a good program that's a team
5:53
where you you know high pedigree players
5:56
come from that from that organization
5:58
right so jumps into that you know really
6:02
difficult situation mid-season after
6:04
already playing after recovering from an
6:06
injury and And it was a difficult
6:08
learning curve for for a 17-year-old.
6:11
Um, one of only a handful in in college
6:13
hockey last year. Um, and it took him
6:15
five games to record his first point. He
6:18
only had one point in his first 10. And
6:21
even though his numbers got better as
6:22
the year went on, he got a little bit
6:24
more opportunity. It never quite reached
6:27
the heights that I think people thought
6:29
he was going to get to. Um he finished
6:32
with seven points in 18 games with Beu
6:34
and he never really found his offensive
6:37
rhythm in a way that I think people
6:39
thought he he was going to. Um this was
6:42
a guy who with Moskegan after after that
6:46
playoff run uh in particular he had 18
6:48
points in in 14 games I believe in that
6:50
playoff run it really looked like he was
6:53
a guy who was starting to blossom into a
6:56
full ice stud right as as a offensive
7:00
player. um he just he's so shifty, but
7:03
he's still direct at the same time. Um
7:07
and and
7:09
you know, it's just so tempting to want
7:11
a centerman of his caliber to really
7:14
have that big offensive season and say,
7:16
"Okay, you are a top five pick. Like,
7:17
lock it in. You're a top five pick." And
7:20
that didn't necessarily happen at his
7:23
time with Beu. But I started to look
7:26
into the numbers a bit more. Um, and I
7:29
started to warm up to the idea of
7:32
drafting Lawrence or the idea of a team
7:34
even valuing Lawrence a bit more because
7:36
BEu was very poor in comparison to their
7:39
past seasons. You know, the Jack Eel
7:41
years of the past, you know, the the the
7:44
Hudson clan that's come through there
7:46
year over year over year, right? Like,
7:48
you know, that family that family tree
7:51
essentially. Uh, not anywhere close to
7:54
that. They were 17 17-2 and just 12 and
7:57
12 in their conference before losing in
8:00
the Hockey East quarterfinals to Yukon.
8:02
Um it was just a bad year for BEu. It
8:05
was not a good year for BEu hockey
8:07
whatsoever. And especially with a lot of
8:08
teams who um not necessarily hockey
8:12
powers uh starting to really develop
8:16
their programs, it was difficult for BEu
8:18
to keep up this year it seemed. Uh, and
8:21
when you look at the rest of their
8:22
lineup, there are a lot of already
8:25
drafted players and and talented
8:28
individuals on that lineup who are older
8:30
than Lawrence who also struggled to
8:32
perform. Um, chief among them, Jack
8:35
Merte, uh, Flyer second rounder just
8:38
just last year. He struggled this year
8:39
immensely as well. Only 11 points in 35
8:42
games for him. Really not what you would
8:44
expect to see from him. Camille Bedner,
8:47
uh, a bit better. a 2024 though
8:49
Islanders second rounder. So two years
8:52
um I guess a draft prior to last uh if
8:56
that makes sense. Uh he only had 16
8:58
points in 35 games as well. Sasher
9:00
Bidian, talented offensive defenseman.
9:03
Uh that was a firstrounder last year to
9:04
Winnipeg. He only had 10 points in 35
9:07
games. It's a bit different because he
9:08
was a defenseman but still a low number.
9:10
And he's actually transferring to Ohio
9:12
State. Um, and and just to round up like
9:16
the sort of data I collected or whatever
9:19
you want to say, uh, Conrad Fondric, uh,
9:21
2025, second rounder out of New of New
9:24
Jersey,
9:26
eight points in 25 games. Like, that's
9:27
rough, right? and Lawrence, you know,
9:30
you hear that a guy who,
9:33
you know, 2025 second rounder, uh,
9:38
older older guy, more experienced, he's
9:40
getting, you know, uh, eight points in
9:43
25 games. It makes the seven and 18 look
9:46
a lot better for Lawrence, right? And
9:47
and it's hard to for me personally in my
9:51
evaluation, whatever that's worth, to
9:53
ding Lawrence for his lack of production
9:55
when really nobody else on BEu reached
9:58
their potential either in that front on
10:01
that front, right? Uh despite his injury
10:03
and the stop start nature of his entire
10:05
season, I mean, he was still able to be
10:08
a solid two-way player. He's not a guy
10:09
who was BEu was nervous about putting on
10:12
the ice. He's not the reason they lost.
10:14
It's not that they gave him a top six
10:16
role and he didn't perform and that's
10:18
why BEu sucked this year, right? He just
10:20
he was tasked as an underager, as a
10:23
really young guy playing against like, I
10:25
don't know, 24 year olds, guys in their
10:26
fourth, fifth year of of university, uh,
10:29
uh, playing college hockey. Um,
10:33
he's still able to compete at that
10:36
level. It's just not fully there yet.
10:38
And I think with the how bad the team
10:39
was in tandem with that, it just became
10:43
a really difficult situation for him at
10:45
a draft year. And again, I I think he's
10:48
one of those guys you have to look at
10:49
and say, if Tyan Lawrence was playing in
10:51
the OHL, if he went to play with the
10:52
Windsor Spitfires, if he was out in the
10:55
dub, you know, he's in Red Deer or
10:57
something,
10:58
it feels like it's a given that the guy
11:00
has 90 points, right? He's got 90 to 100
11:03
points. He's a good two-way center.
11:06
He's going in the top 10, but he tries
11:08
to take that jump to the NCAA, a much
11:11
harder place to play. That's why a lot
11:13
of guys, that's why Gavin McKenna went
11:15
over there. That's why Katon Verhoff
11:16
went over there. You know, if you can
11:18
perform at that level, you will have uh
11:21
um your draft stock raised.
11:24
And it didn't work necessarily. I think
11:26
the injury had a lot of things to do
11:28
with that, right? a lot to do with that
11:29
because you couldn't get physically in
11:32
shape as a 17-year-old where you're
11:34
already going to be, you know, playing
11:36
against grown men. Um, and you don't you
11:38
need to develop that strength on the
11:40
puck, that that confidence to get to the
11:43
middle of the ice. Uh, it's a bit harder
11:45
in the situation Lawrence was put in.
11:47
And I think just because he had a rough
11:49
year on a team that sucked um it doesn't
11:52
necessarily take away what they
11:54
originally he originally um was was
11:58
tipped to be coming into the season. I I
12:01
just don't think you can ding him. I
12:04
don't know why I keep saying ding. I
12:05
don't think you can you can drop him
12:07
down your order too far just given the
12:09
overall, you know, mold of his game. And
12:12
you know, with the Flyers needing a 1C,
12:14
needing a top six center at the very
12:16
least, and with it proving to be very
12:19
hard to get that in a trade, um, as you
12:22
know, we've done on the channel prior,
12:25
the reported Robert Thomas package was
12:28
started with Porter Merton, which is
12:29
basically, you might as well not even
12:31
sent that over. Um, unbelievable, crazy,
12:35
uh, ask for the Blues. And then you look
12:38
in Dylan Lens direction and he's
12:40
seemingly trying to do the Kevin Durant
12:42
and just join a Florida or a Dallas in
12:45
order to kind of just be an additional
12:49
piece on a team that's basically a
12:51
championship contender already. And you
12:54
know, make no mistake, if Lawrence
12:56
bounces back to what he was, if he has a
12:59
great year at BEu next year, close to
13:00
point per game, even a little bit under,
13:02
and plays a good two-way, he still
13:04
brings that two-way ability. That's what
13:06
really I think the the holistic you know
13:09
developed rounded out game that is
13:12
something you know if he can bring the
13:13
offense up to where it should be you
13:16
know he's he's you're going to be
13:18
looking at a guy who's a top 10 talent
13:21
at the very least you know it could be a
13:23
top five talent depending on how you
13:25
feel about some of the defenseman in
13:26
this draft. Um, and if he's going to
13:29
fall closer to the 12 15 range, like
13:32
he's being mocked in some, you know,
13:34
some different mock drafts that have
13:35
come out recently, I mean, it's it's
13:38
good to at least take a look at. And I
13:40
think he's worth trading up for. I think
13:42
he's definitely worth more than say a
13:44
Jack Nesbbit, who the Flyers traded up
13:45
for. I'd rather trade up for Tina
13:47
Lawrence than trade up for Jack Nesbbit.
13:49
But here we are.
13:53
Outside of all that, you know, finding a
13:56
trade partner could prove to be a little
13:58
difficult. Um, the Flyers have 21. You
14:02
They'd probably have to move somewhere
14:04
within the top 15. I mean, if you get
14:06
even close to 15, I'd say 14, 13, 14,
14:08
15. Maybe the top 12 is where they have
14:11
to move into. It's going to be very
14:13
difficult, but they may still only have
14:15
to jump say 10 selections in order to
14:19
really get in that mix to guarantee that
14:21
Lawrence is still on the board. But, you
14:24
know, as we said, as I've said, and I
14:26
think a lot of people on the channel
14:27
have said, there are there is a log jam
14:31
in the organization that is going to
14:33
need to be, you know, cut through. Uh
14:36
Bobby Brink is a guy who I think you
14:38
know nobody was excited about the the
14:40
prospect of trading Bobby Brink but you
14:42
look at it and say well you were able to
14:43
get a guy like a nice lottery ticket and
14:46
where the Flyers did not end up missing
14:49
Brink whatsoever once Denver Barky comes
14:51
in once Alex Bump comes in these guys
14:53
take his spot and you know that's kind
14:56
of where you know you get that um
15:00
replacement from within the
15:02
replenishment from the AHL that has
15:04
become a lot more reliable. development
15:06
wise and you don't have to worry about
15:08
it. But you're going to have to start
15:10
burning through some of these guys where
15:11
the Nesbits, the Meritags, the Luchenkos
15:13
are going to try and push for spots and
15:17
they're going to need places to go. Um
15:20
I I saw a team like the Devils at pick
15:23
12 maybe as an option. They're sort of
15:25
in the the the middle of their
15:27
contention window right now. uh in the
15:29
middle of their competitive window. You
15:31
know, they got guys like Teemo Meer and
15:32
Nico Heir, both the Hughes brothers,
15:35
right? Like I think they want to contend
15:37
now. I don't think the 12th overall pick
15:39
is going to come in this year. Even if
15:41
they got a guy like Lawrence, I I don't
15:43
think they're going to come in this year
15:44
and really change the fortunes of a
15:47
team. I don't think you'd even want them
15:48
to play in the NHL in their first year.
15:50
They're going to need some more
15:51
seasoning. So, while they wouldn't
15:53
necessarily be jumping to move back to
15:57
21, if the Flyers are able to attach a
16:00
roster player or two or another prospect
16:03
who is a bit further down their
16:05
development path, I think there's a
16:07
mutually beneficial move to be made
16:09
between the two teams. And, you know, to
16:11
be honest, frankly, outside of that, the
16:13
options are kind of slim. Maybe a team
16:15
like the Blues would be open to giving
16:18
up pick 15 because they already have a
16:20
selection at 11 if you make a trade
16:23
there. It seems like the Blues are open
16:25
to moving some guys around. Maybe you
16:28
take on a a contract here or there, a
16:32
Jordan Bennington, you know, you grab
16:35
him at maybe a reduced cap hit in order
16:37
to get that off the books for the Blues
16:39
and you get a pick a pick swap that can
16:42
get you a guy like Lawrence. I don't
16:44
know. Maybe
16:46
15 is a bit too far. I think I don't
16:49
think Lawrence is necessarily going to
16:51
to fall that far. I think it would be a
16:53
really foolish thing if teams let him
16:55
fall that far. But, you know, crazier
16:57
things have happened. Marton fell to the
16:59
Flyers right past Brady Martin and guys
17:01
like that. Caleb Denoier and like things
17:04
have happened that are more insane than
17:06
than Ty and Lawrence dropping into the
17:08
teens. But I just don't see it um really
17:11
having a chance. and teams like the
17:12
Predators, the Islanders, the Blue
17:14
Jackets, they're going to be making the
17:15
pick. Um, if not moving up or trying to
17:18
move up, I I don't think they're too
17:20
keen on giving up their first given on
17:23
how their roster is currently
17:25
constructed. But it it's a pretty slim
17:27
window for the Flyers to hit in terms of
17:29
a trade a trade market. But if Danny
17:32
Brriier and and Keith Jones and the
17:33
Brass really want to add another true
17:36
top six center prospect into the mix, I
17:39
think this is, you know, one of the most
17:42
successful ways to do it. Yes. Do you
17:43
want um a guy who could play right now?
17:46
Sure. But that's proving very hard to
17:49
get. That's I mean, it was always going
17:51
to be hard. The the things that the
17:52
Flyers needed, you know, have always
17:53
been proven hard to get, right? So like
17:56
you're not just going to trade for a
17:57
number one goalie. You're not just going
17:58
to trade for a number one defenseman.
18:00
they're not just going to trade for a
18:01
number one center unless they're really
18:03
really upset with where they are. And
18:07
even if they are, um, they're not, while
18:10
they did improve their situation with
18:12
their run this year, I think they've
18:13
made themselves a lot more attractive to
18:15
say free agents, you can't just force
18:18
guys to want to be traded to the Flyers.
18:20
Unfortunately, as much as Twitter might
18:22
want it to be so, you can't do it. So,
18:25
uh, you know, while a lot of this relies
18:28
on Lawrence, and like if the Flyers even
18:32
like him as a player, I think they do. I
18:34
think they'd be foolish not to like say
18:38
or like even think that this guy is in
18:41
the mold of somebody who would help
18:43
their problems. Um, but he's the type of
18:47
guy and this is the type of splash that
18:50
I think you can immediately raise the
18:53
ceiling of your prospect pool with. And
18:56
you know, they they did it when they
18:57
traded up for Nesbbit right before, like
19:00
I said. Um, they're willing to make
19:03
moves like this. And I think Lawrence
19:05
just the way that he plays, you know,
19:09
what he's been able to do with his speed
19:13
and his playmaking and just how strong
19:17
he looks playing against competition
19:19
that's his age in particular.
19:22
I think it's just it's really polished
19:24
and I think I could see a world where if
19:26
you draft him, whoever drafts him, if
19:28
it's not the Flyers, it probably won't
19:29
be the Flyers, okay? it's probably not
19:31
going to happen, but it's it's good
19:33
content and it's a good thing for me to
19:34
think about, right? It's just fun. It's
19:36
fun to think about and I think it makes
19:38
sense. But I could see a world where
19:41
Lawrence next year, he plays that year
19:43
at BEu, plays really well, and then as
19:47
he, you know, gets the end of his
19:49
season, depending on how far Beu makes
19:51
it. I mean, BEu every given year, I I
19:53
think could be a really good outfit and,
19:56
you know, make it really far in the
19:58
Frozen 4, maybe even win it, right? So,
20:01
depending how that year um looks for
20:04
them, I think Lawrence could make an NHL
20:07
debut next year. I think he's one of
20:09
those guys that if he's able to fully
20:13
adapt to the NCAA, fully have a season
20:17
where he can train and be healthy and go
20:19
in knowing that he is going to remain in
20:23
one place for an entire year and they're
20:25
going to support him and now he doesn't
20:27
have to worry about playing for draft
20:29
stock. I think I think that could do him
20:31
good and I think that's something that
20:33
the Flyers should maybe look at for the
20:35
future and uh we'll see what happens.
20:36
We'll have more draft stuff coming down
20:38
the pipeline both on the website and on
20:40
the YouTube uh as we approach June 26.
20:44
But for now uh my it's been Jacob. My
20:48
name is Jacob. The blog's name is Broad
20:50
Street Hockey. And I'll talk to you
20:53
soon.
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