When the Philadelphia Flyers selected Tyrell Goulbourne in the third round of the 2013 NHL Draft, we had our fair share of criticism for the pick. It’s nothing against the kid himself, but taking a forward who only put up 27 points through 64 games in his draft year as early as the third round is a bit of a red flag.
That, and the 135 penalty minutes pointing towards a clear role: tough guy. Fighter.
To that, you could say: “So what? It was jut a third rounder.” But Anthony Duclair was still on the board at that time; there are still guys with potential to become legitimate NHL threats available at that point in the draft.
Goulbourne has handled any criticism of himself well; of course you want to see confidence from all your draft picks. But as the 2016 NHL Draft approaches, he has a new solution:
Praying the flyers take a fighter in the second round to take some heat off me
— Tyrell Goulbourne (@Tgillz12) June 23, 2016
Goulbourne is now one year into his professional career: he debuted in the AHL with 17 points over a 73-game season. So… not super great.
But his sense of humor is awesome.
(Hopefully the Flyers don’t actually follow through on his advice, though.)
