The NHL Scouting Combine is ongoing in Buffalo this week, and on Friday morning, Ron Hextall spoke to the media about the annual event. Via NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman, here’s what Hextall had to say about potentially trading the No. 2 pick:
“We’ll listen,” Hextall said. “I’m not doing my job if I don’t listen. You never know what’s going to come along. As I said initially, I don’t anticipate trading the pick but you never know what comes along. You gotta be open to making your franchise better. If something comes along that makes us better we’ll consider it. But I do anticipate making the pick.”
This has been Hextall’s perspective since the Flyers moved up from 13th to second in the NHL Draft Lottery. I think you should take it completely at face value, too — Hextall is almost certainly not trading this pick. It’s just not his way of doing business, and the two players at the top of the draft are just perfect fits for this team. He’d have to get totally blown away to trade the pick.
Regarding the Combine, it’ll be a big weekend for Nolan Patrick in particular. He’s been cleared for full activity at the Combine, and on Saturday the players will undergo fitness testing. We’ll see how he performs; it could possibly be the difference between going No. 1 overall or No. 2 overall.
