Things stayed pretty much to pre-NHL Draft Lottery form on Monday night as the Flyers stayed in their No. 7 spot at the drawing in Secaucus, New Jersey.
In fact, the only change in the order of picks for the 16 teams was Chicago jumping from No. 3 to No. 1. Anaheim, which had the best odds of getting the No. 1 pick fell to second and Columbus, originally slated No. 2, dropped to No. 3.
This was a pretty big deal because the No. 1 pick most definitely figures to be used on forward Connor Bedard, one of the most highly touted prospects since NHL leading scorer Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers.
The NHL Entry Draft will be held in Nashville next month.
>Ex-Flyer coach Stasiuk dies
Former Flyers coach Vic Stasiuk, who preceded two-time Stanley Cup champion coach Fred Shero, has passed away at the age of 93.
Immediately after coaching the EHL Jersey Devils from 1966-68,[3] Stasiuk earned a job with the Flyers. His team finished out of the playoffs by a single point in 1969-70, and then were eliminated in the first round of the postseason the next year.
Stasiuk was fired after the 1970-71 season; the Flyers offered him a scouting position, but he took a head coaching job three games into the NHL season with the California Golden Seals.
That position didn’t last long. Stasiuk was fired after the season due to a stylistic conflict with management, and he then spent one year behind the bench of the Vancouver Canucks before settling into a career in junior hockey coaching, both in Taber and Medicine Hat.
