BUFFALO — With the 169th pick in the 2016 NHL Draft, the Philadelphia Flyers have selected forward Tanner Laczynski from Lincoln of the USHL. He’s 6’1 and near 200 pounds.
Here’s what Future Considerations has to say about him:
Laczynski is a power forward with a heavy scoring mentality. He has good touch with the puck and is comfortable making plays with the puck on his stick. He shows good vision setting up his teammates on the ice and uses his body to bash through checks down low. Laczynski works the cycle well and is capable of grinding out consecutive shifts without showing much wear. He is a smooth skater with a long stride, and decent speed and agility. He shows good hustle and is tenacious on the puck. Laczynski plays the body and supports the puck. He does all the little things well and is smart enough to know how he can contribute each shift. He protects the puck using his frame and strength. Defensively, he has solid awareness and gets into lanes aggres- sively. The Ohio State recruit was a ranked skater last year, but he went untouched in the draft and now takes a crack as a second-time eligible. He gained an inch and nearly 20 pounds last summer, enabling him to play stronger this season. He’s not the ashiest guy on the ice, but he plays a heads-up game and gets to the areas of the ice that lead to success. Laczynski shows some positive upside, but would bene t from consistent effort in the defensive zone and gaining even more muscle to allow for better dominance along the wall and in the corners.
Laczynski was a year overage for this draft, as he turned 19 earlier in June. Central Scouting had him as the 99th-ranked North American skater in the draft. The Chicago-area native tallied 63 points in 52 games in the USHL this past year, and is committed to play at Ohio State this fall.
