The Flyers started out draft day by making a major move. They sent RJ Umberger to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for the 19th and 167th overall picks in the draft. The deal appears to be a move to free up cap space to bolster the defensive depth of a team that is very deep at the forward position.
They used that 19th pick to draft Luca Sbisa, defenseman from the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the Western Hockey League. The scouting report on Sbisa says:
Luca is a poised and, sometimes, too poised a defenseman. One would say that a lot of times his calmness with the puck is misinterpreted as either slowness or laziness; that’s not the case with Luca. He is a smart player who moves the puck at the right time and carries the puck correctly, supports the rush and is adjusting very well to the North American game. He needs continued adjustment to the North American game, he isn’t afraid under a forecheck, but sometimes under a hard forecheck of one or two players of the opposition, he will tend to throw the puck away too early. As much as the poise comes in to play with the puck on his stick, when the puck isn’t on his stick that will be an area that will get better with time.
The Flyers also had another first round pick, the 27th overall, and decided to send it to Washington in exchange for defenseman Steve Eminger and third round pick in this year’s draft.
Of Eminger, Flyers GM Paul Holmgren said:
“Steve is a player we’ve always liked,” said Holmgren. “He’s a former teammate of Mike Richards in Kitchener, so we those two have a connection. He’s still just 25 years old. I don’t believe he’s reached his peak yet and still has a ways to go. We think he’s going to be a nice fit.”
The Flyers posted an interview with Holmgren after all of the action of the first round.
The Flyers’ next pick didn’t come until the 3rd round when they picked up defenseman Marc-Andre Bourdon from the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
The Flyers’ second third round pick was used to draft goaltender Jacob DeSerres from the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League.
The Flyers rounded out draft day by selecting center Zac Rinaldo from the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors of the Ontario Hockey League in the sixth round and goaltender Joacim Eriksson from Brynas IF in the Swedish Under-20 League.
Click here for complete stats on the Flyers’ draft picks.
Tags: Bourdon · DeSerres · Eminger · Holmgren · Sbisa · Umberger
