Today we continue our look back at players selected where the Flyers are drafting in the first round. Yesterday, we dove into the 31st overall pick, and today we’re looking at 22nd overall–which means we’ll be starting from the 2005 draft at the dawn of the cap era.
The 22nd-overall pick is, historically, quite interesting (and there are a few Flyers on here!). It isn’t a gaudy pick like a top-ten selection or one in the teens, but a couple of these players became stars in the league and several others became impact NHLers. There are still busts, sure, but some of the names here may surprise you. Lets get into it.
The Draftees
2005: Matt Lashoff (D), Boston Bruins
A 6-foot-2, left-shot defenseman, Lashoff played 74 NHL games on three teams (Boston, the Tampa Bay Lightning, and the Toronto Maple Leafs) across five seasons, where he scored one (1) goal and 16 points. Not being able to stick on the 2008-09 and 2009-10 Lightning teams should tell you what you need to know: those teams were bad, as the franchise was early in its rebuild, and he couldn’t hold a roster spot.
2006: Claude Giroux (RW), Philadelphia Flyers
We’re kicking off a run of outstanding players with one of our own: Claude…what was his name again? Oh yeah, Claude Giroux.
What more can be said about the long-time Flyers captain that hasn’t been said already? Still kicking at 37 years old, Giroux may have had the best career of any player on this list. Over 1,200 NHL games and 1,116 points in a nearly 20-year career, he is the definition of a star-level talent. The Flyers have two more names on this list (and will maybe add a third on Friday), so here’s hoping they get this lucky again.
2007: Max Pacioretty (LW), Montreal Canadiens
Calling Pacioretty a star may be a stretch, but for some perspective: Giroux has 365 goals in 1,263 games; Pacioretty has 335 in 939. Injuries have taken a toll on Pacioretty’s career of late, but he was once a fairly consistent 30-goal scorer with the Canadiens (and was their captain for quite a while), and he received scattered Selke votes throughout his career. He may not be a Giroux-level talent (or have Giroux’s longevity), but getting a player of Pacioretty’s caliber at 22nd overall would be a steal for the Flyers.
2008: Jordan Eberle (RW), Edmonton Oilers
Our run of high-end players concludes with Jordan Eberle. He’s not as flashy as the previous two entries, but 308 goals and 728 points in 1,060 NHL games is quite the career. The current captain of the Seattle Kraken–his third team after the Oilers and New York Islanders–missed much of the 2024-25 season, and has seen his scoring wane as well. Still, if the Flyers get a player at Eberle’s level with the 22nd pick, that’s a fantastic get.
2009: Jordan Schroeder (LW), Vancouver Canucks
Schroeder spent five seasons in the NHL on three different teams: the Canucks that drafted him, the Minnesota Wild and the Columbus Blue Jackets, for a total of 165 game, 18 goals, and 42 points. At 5-foot-9, this was a swing on a smaller player; as we all know, however, teams generally don’t care for small bottom-six players–especially in this era–and he never really stuck.
2010: Jared Tinordi (D), Montreal Canadiens
Tinordi has a 12-year NHL career with six different teams: the Habs, Arizona, Nashville, Boston, the Rangers, and Chicago. A towering 6-foot-6 defenseman, Tinordi played 205 NHL games and registered four goals and 30 points. This isn’t the ideal NHL career you want, but good for Tinordi for sticking around as long as he did.
2011: Tyler Biggs (RW), Toronto Maple Leafs
Zero NHL games, so we’ll move right along.
2012: Olli Maatta (D), Pittsburgh Penguins
Oh good, a decent player again. Maatta is on his fifth team, and has had something of a career renaissance on the Utah Mammoth at age 30. A bottom-pair-caliber defenseman for most of his time in Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Los Angeles, Maatta improved substantially in Detroit before being traded to the Mammoth. In 761 career games Maatta 42 goals and 195 points–not too shabby of a pick.
2013: Emile Poirier (LW), Calgary Flames
Eight NHL games with the Flames over two seasons, with one assist. Not much to talk about with Poirier.
2014: Kasperi Kapanen (C), Pittsburgh Penguins
It’s still a bit of a mystery how Kapanen never really put it all together. There was a lot of potential–and he did have some moments on the Oilers’ most recent Cup run–but he is what he is: a decent fourth line player. For his career, Kapanen has 527 games under his belt, along with 90 goals and 222 points.
2015: Ilya Samsonov (G), Washington Capitals
Our first (and only) goalie appears! Samsonov is well known, mostly because the Toronto Maple Leafs decided to rely on him as their No. 1 goaltender for some reason, and is currently part of the tandem for the Vegas Golden Knights. He hasn’t had a save percentage over .900 two seasons straight, so it’s fair to say Samsonov hasn’t quite lived up to his draft pedigree, sporting a career .902 SV% and 2.77 GAA; if you’re drafting a goalie that high, you’d better be sure you’re getting Andrei Vasilevskiy. The only bright side is that, at 28 years old, Samsonov is a bit young by goalie standards.
2016: German Rubtsov (C), Philadelphia Flyers
Oof, sorry, Flyers fans. Four NHL games, no points. We won’t rehash this one.
2017: Kailer Yamamoto (RW), Edmonton Oilers
This is an interesting one. Yamamoto has over 300 NHL games at 26 years old; in that time he has 60 goals and 137 points. His underlying results are often strong, as well. Yet he’s on his third NHL team and is a pending RFA. What gives? Is being 5-foot-9 really holding him back that much? I can’t puzzle this one out, but a team in need of a middle-six right wing should have a contract ready to go on July 1 if he goes unqualified by the Mammoth.
2018: K’Andre Miller (D), New York Rangers
Sorry again, Flyers fans, though hopefully this one doesn’t sting as badly. Miller was drafted three spots after the Flyers swung (and missed) on Jay O’Brien, and while his future with the Rangers is in limbo, Miller’s a promising top-four defenseman with quite the set of tools. If the Rangers can’t figure out a way to keep the pending RFA–who has 36 goals and 132 points in 368 NHL games–teams will surely be lining up to see what it takes to pry him out of New York.
2019: Tobias Bjornfot (D), Los Angeles Kings
We’re now entering the “too soon to tell” part of the list, where the prospects are young enough that they could still develop into an impact NHL player. Bjornfot might not be that, though, and is already on his third team and rarely a lineup regular. However, his current team is the Florida Panthers, and they seem to know what they’re doing when it comes to picking up young defenseman that other teams aren’t sold on.
2020: Hendrix Lapierre (C), Washington Capitals
At 23, Lapierre is still trying to establish himself as an NHL regular. He’s played 84 games across three seasons with the capitals, and has registered nine goals and 31 points. There may be some bottom six potential, but the clock’s ticking for Lapierre.
2021: Xavier Bourgault (C), Edmonton Oilers
You know it’s bad when a player is ranked as the worst pick by a team in the last decade. The Oilers traded down two spots, selected Bourgault, and the player taken after him was…Wyatt Johnston. Yeah, they biffed this one. Bourgault has yet to play an NHL game and was dealt to Ottawa last summer.
2022: Nathan Gaucher (C), Anaheim Ducks
We are firmly in “jury’s out” territory now, as Gaucher has yet to play an NHL game for the Ducks. He hasn’t taken much of a step in the AHL, either, and probably tops out as a solid but versatile fourth liner, as he can play center and wing.
2023: Oliver Bonk (D), Philadelphia Flyers
Here’s hoping this one works out for the Flyers! We still don’t know exactly what kind of defenseman the Flyers have in Bonk, but he seems like a prospect that can be a set-it-and-forget-it two-way second-pair defenseman. That’s decent value for the 22nd overall pick, though it felt like a missed opportunity with Gabe Perrault on the board. Perhaps Bonk will get some games with the Flyers this season as he (and teammate Denver Barkey) turn pro.
2024: Yegor Surin (C), Nashville Predators
It’s definitely too soon to tell with Surin, but: he’s big, can play three forward positions, has some skill and is ultra-competitive. There are some questions about his hockey IQ but there’s a clear path to him becoming a top-nine forward, though that’s probably several years from now. Surin is one to watch, but this could end up being a solid pick by the Predators.
There’s a bit more consistency to the players taken here than there were when we broke down the 31st overall pick yesterday–even a few bona fide stars mixed in. Of the three 22nd overall picks the Flyers have made, one was a star, one was a bust, and the jury’s still out on the third. Stay tuned for our breakdown of the sixth overall pick!
