Flyers Farm System Ranked Best in NHL by ESPN’s Corey Pronman

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

The Flyers have used the NHL Draft in the last four seasons to completely restock their farm system with talented prospects with NHL potential. That hasn't gone unnoticed around the hockey world.

ESPN's Corey Pronman released his farm system rankings on Tuesday and had the Flyers moving up to the top spot on the list from sixth a year ago.

"The Flyers don't have as much game-breaking talent as our No. 2 team does at the top of their system, but 2017 No. 2 overall pick Nolan Patrick is right up there; after Patrick, the Flyers have the cupboards lined with talent at every position," Pronman writes in the ESPN Insider piece. "The group includes solid first-round picks, middle-round selections who have trended up, and an undrafted free agent in Philippe Myers who is one of the very best defense prospects in hockey.

"Not too long ago, the Flyers' farm system was a laughingstock, with C-grade college free agents making it into their top five. Today, they are in the best position of any NHL team in terms of adding young premium players to their roster."

The Arizona Coyotes, Nashville Predators, New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils rounded out the Top 5 on Pronman's list of NHL farm systems.

The Flyers received a lot of praise following the NHL Draft for yet another year as they focused on adding size among forwards, particularly on the wing. In the past few years, they have bolstered their goaltending pipeline and have a host of blue line prospects poised to make the leap to the NHL soon if they haven't already.

Related: 2017 Flyers NHL Draft Results: What They're Saying

Several of the Flyers prospects will be making a push for open roster spots in the upcoming 2017-18 season. The Flyers are expected to have two defensive slots open for rookies and forwards like Patrick and Oskar Lindblom are also expected to push for roster spots during camp.

With the preseason just a little over a month away, it won't be long before Flyers fans get another look at some of the prospects as they push to make the NHL roster in October.

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