Hey look at that, another pick! The Flyers have broken from their pattern of taking only American wingers so far… to take an American defenseman. Hunter McDonald, welcome to Philadelphia!
🔶 WELCOME TO PHILLY! 🔶
With our sixth round pick (165th overall) in the 2022 #NHLDraft, we have selected defenseman Hunter McDonald. pic.twitter.com/hJPnuWKq57
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) July 8, 2022
The Flyers really do seem to have found themselves a type in this draft, and they sure are rolling with it. McDonald is a big (6’3”, 207 pounds) defenseman who just closed out his second season in the USHL, where he put up 10 points in 33 games with the Omaha Lancers and four points in 22 games with the Chicago Steel.
Also worth noting is that McDonald, at 20, is an overager, passed over in last year’s draft, but the Flyers seem to like his upside and just like they seemed comfortable taking a swing on a player coming out of high school with their last pick, here we’re seeing them taking a swing on a player who could be a bit of a late bloomer. So we’ll see how this pans out! McDonald will be taking the next step forward in the fall, making the jump to the college level with a Northeastern program that seems to be well on the rise.
They’ve got two more picks coming up later on in the seventh round, with the 197th and 220th to close things out.
