Over the past several years, the Philadelphia Flyers have been one of the best teams in finding gems by signing undrafted free agents. They nabbed Sergei Bobrovsky and Evgeny Medvedev from Russia, Matt Read from the NCAA, Michael Raffl from Sweden 1st Division and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare from the Swedish Elite League.
The one place where Philadelphia hasn’t been able to find an undrafted treasure is in the Canadian Major Junior Leagues. They’ve swung plenty of times (Danick Martel, Maxime Lamarche, Petr Straka) but haven’t hit a home run. The best they have produced is Brandon Manning, who has turned into a borderline seventh defenseman in the NHL.
But that may all change with Philippe Myers. The Rouyn-Noranda defenseman was signed by the Flyers this past summer on Sept. 21 and has progressed so much that some believe he would be a first round draft choice in 2016, had Philly not signed him.
The #Flyers got a good one in Dman Philippe Myers. I think he would've been a top 30 pick in this draft if they didn't sign him.
— Mark Edwards (@MarkEdwardsHP) February 12, 2016
The 2015-16 Season For Myers
In 51 games, Myers has 35 points, good for 10th in the QMJHL. His 14 goals rank second among d-men and he’s first in the league with a plus-34.
While his offensive game has broken out this season, Myers’ size should also be of note to Flyers fans. He stands at 6-foot-4 and weighs 206 pounds according to the QMJHL’s website.
But the accolades don’t stop there, Myers was named to Craig Button’s top 50 NHL Affiliated Prospects List on Thursday, topping at No. 38, ahead of players like Michael Dal Colle and Alex Nedeljkovic.
This comes a year after Myers scored just eight points all season, so why the huge stride this season? Mark Edwards has some ideas:
@BroadStBullshit @J_Fahringer @michaelkinky new D coach who happens to be a friend of mine. I coached in Junior with him a few years back.
— Mark Edwards (@MarkEdwardsHP) February 12, 2016
The Future
The Flyers are stocked with defensive prospects, so Philly won’t be forced to rush anyone in the pipeline. That bodes well for Myers, who is clearly a late bloomer.
Hockey’s Future’s analysis of Myers describes his long-term potential as “difficult to predict at this point but his size and mobility suggest he can be an effective two-way defenseman.” However, that analysis was made before Myers’ stellar season this year.
Myers has another year left in juniors before he can play in the AHL, and the Flyers will have no issue with that. Expect him to play for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in 2017-18 before he’s even considered for an NHL role.
That may seem like a long time from now, but Myers has the potential to be the first undrafted Canadian junior prospect that makes a big impact for the Flyers in a very long time. Flyers fans should just be happy with that.