NHL Draft Preview: Day 2 Targets

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

With the first round of the NHL Draft complete on Friday night, several players who were regarded as first-round possibilities remain on the board going into the second round on Saturday morning.

The Flyers have one pick in the second round, their own at 50th overall. They do not have a third-round pick and will have six remaining picks in Rounds 4-7.

While it's difficult to put a projection on players who will still be available in the middle and late rounds of the draft, the second round can offer first-round talent and produce fruitful results.

Here's a few of the players still on the board that are worth watching on Day 2 of the draft.

Serron Noel – The 6'5", 206-pound forward sat on the best available list for half the night on Friday. With his size and potential to be a skilled scorer, he probably won't last long on Saturday.

Bode Wilde – With six players from the US already taken, it seemed like a matter of time before Bode Wilde joined them in Friday's first round, especially as a coveted right-handed defenseman. His mobility and offensive skills, notably his shot, make him a valuable blue liner to a team. This is a first-round value going in the second round.

Benoit-Olivier Groulx – Another Halifax player that had first-round potential, Groulx is a smart and competitive player with good two-way skills who can play in all situations. He's not as much of a natural goal scorer, but he's got the potential of a quality depth forward in the NHL with enough offensive upside to be a complimentary piece.

Ryan McLeod – He's a dynamic skater with good two-way ability. Again, it's probably the offensive numbers and performance that were a bit of a negative, but he's a raw talent that will need to work on his game and keep improving. 

Jared McIssac – A potential top-four defenseman with a well-rounded game. He has a lot of strong areas to his game, good hockey sense, leadership, physicality and skating skills that make him a mobile threat offensively.

Akil Thomas – A skilled, two-way centerman with great playmaking ability, leadership and pace to his game. He's an athletic player, but needs to add size as well.

Jonatan Berggren – A high riser in draft rankings, his development picked up substantially over the last year and made him an outside first-round candidate. He possesses a lot of strong skills on offense, needs to improve defensively and his size is a concern as well, but his growth over the last year shows signs of his potential to be a very good player in the years to come.

Mattias Samuelsson – The son of Flyers player development coach Kjell Samuelsson is still on the board. While he is a left-handed shot, he plays a steady game and first the role of a second-pair defenseman with a shut down style and capability to be mobile. Also has great size at 6'3", 217 pounds.

Adam Ginning – A big, physical defenseman that is a presence in the defensive zone. He's not an offensive-minded defenseman, but plays an aggressive style and shows off his strength defensively. He has the potential to be a top-four shutdown defenseman.

Sean Durzi – Considered a bit of a draft sleeper, Durzi has great upside with strong mobility, the qualities of a playmaker and a great understanding of the game. He's still working on adding a bit of size and some defensive zone play, but he's got a lot of potential. He's also a right-handed shot.

Calen Addison – This right-handed defenseman fits the bill of the mobile defenseman that the league has been embracing more and more. He has tremendous puck skills and is a strong skater. He progressively got better in the defensive zone as the year went on, though he still can struggle at times. Still projects to be a depth defenseman with offensive capabilities to contribute on special teams.

Jack Drury – The nephew of former NHLer Chris Drury, Jack has dynamic skating, tremendous hockey smarts and the offensive upside to be a scoring forward. He is a highly-determined player who can make an impact every shift and competes as hard as anyone. There's a lot of upside to this kid and he would be a great value in the mid-to-late second round.

Jack McBain – A versatile winger with a lot of size, good puck skills and two-way ability, he's got all the makings of a checking-line player. He's physical and brings energy on every shift while still being effective with the puck on his stick.

Riley Sutter – As the draft shifts to the middle rounds, Sutter has enough offensive upside to be a value pick at that stage. He's a strong power forward with skill and great size. He plays for Everett in the WHL, a teammate of Carter Hart last season.

Filip Hallander – A smart energy forward, Hallander uses a strong work ethic and great skating ability to be an effective offensive player. His competitiveness and hockey sense are solid for a potential second-round pick. His consistency needs to improve and he needs to bulk up, but he knows how to be an agitating energy guy on the ice.

Jett Woo – A depth defenseman option, Woo has a good foundation of defensive skills with the potential to add some offensive skill to his game. He's a physical, heavy player who has a lot of work to do in development, but could be a shutdown defenseman at the next level if he puts everything together.

Riley Stotts – The Calgary forward has a solid set of offensive skills, skating and a good shot. He needs to become a stronger player with more of an edge, but has a lot of potential to be a possible middle-six forward with the ability to create chances.

Vladislav Kotkov – A big powerful winger with solid offensive instincts, passing and hockey sense. He's built like a power forward, but has offensive upside. His skating could use more work and he needs to bring more of a consistent effort on a game-by-game basis.

Cole Fonstad – A high-energy forward with a solid 200-foot game and good skating skills. He's an undersized player that needs to add a lot to his frame, but has a good skill set.

Connor Dewar – Another of Carter Hart's teammates with Everett, he's a physical and competitive player who is difficult to play against, tough to move off the puck and has scoring ability.

Max Paddock – The Flyers have a healthy dose of goalies in the system already, but if they do choose to utilize the pick, it could be on Max Paddock. The Regina goaltender was impressive in the Memorial Cup, and he's the nephew of John Paddock, a former Flyers winger and former Phantoms head coach and Flyers assistant general manager. He's a developmental project with a long-term timeline, but the Flyers have a wealth of goalies in the system that are closing in on being NHL-ready that they can afford to let a newly-drafted goalie mature.

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