👋 Good morning! Let’s get right into it, lots to discuss from the weekend.

As always, you can reach me at [email protected]

“Big people beat little people up.” — Charles “Chip” Kelly

Before this past weekend’s NHL Draft, I had two major questions* about the Flyers, who held a whopping six picks in the first two rounds.

*I had two major questions… after listening to the PHLY Flyers Podcast for the last month or so and learning a whole lot about the strengths and weaknesses of this class.

And the answers to those questions, in order, were “absolutely” and “we’ll see.” Let’s first provide y’all with a list of the Orange and Black’s drafted players, and to hammer home the point that bigger was in fact better, I will add their listed heights and weights.

(In case you were wondering, “USNTDP” means “United States National Team Development Program.” That is an American program that feels downright European: We take many of the elite youth hockey players around the country, centralize their training, and have them play games together. Tons of good players have walked through that program’s doors, but since I always look at it through a Flyers lens, I associate it with James van Riemsdyk.)

Those are some big boys! Look at those first six picks in particular. That is basically a basketball team! The smallest guy, Jack Murtagh, is not small at all by NHL standards. If there was not a decentralized draft and the front office was on the stage like the old days, Danny Briere would have been looking up at a lot of these dudes.

I have always joked that being a hockey player is not a bad deal because you can remain relatively anonymous. During the time that I covered a few Flyers home games about a decade ago, I would occasionally notice a player out and about in Philadelphia. They would usually be relatively unbothered, which I loved for them. Now, not every player is the same, I am sure that the experience was different if you were, say, Claude Giroux or Wayne Simmonds. But I used to see Mark Streit (a good player, making $5 million per year) walking his dog and nobody bothered him.

Some of that is likely due to the nature of the sport. It is not football in terms of overall popularity, although the Flyers’ fan base is incredibly passionate. And you are wearing a helmet on the ice, which probably adds to your public anonymity a good bit. But the biggest reason that I thought that nobody bothered Streit? He was listed at 5’11” (might have been a bit smaller) and did not really stand out! My point, which I am admittedly taking a while to make, is that if Porter Martone, Jack Nesbitt or Carter Amico are any good, people will notice them if they walk their dogs.

Let me get you your links before I keep going. Our Flyers crew really is killing it:

A lot of the focus will be on the two first-rounders, which was always gonna be the case. But what is particularly interesting to me is the very obvious contrast between the two players, and the process that led to each of them.

I thought the decentralized draft experience was interesting. On one hand, the conversation between the front office and player that we all got to eavesdrop on was awkward. But hey, when Gary Bettman put Charles Barkley on the screen to announce the pick, I loved it… and that is rare compliment for Mr. Bettman. And Chuck said a name that everyone at the draft party (including Bill) was pretty excited by: Porter Martone.

At least from a talent standpoint, Martone was a no-brainer. The quick scouting report on Martone: Big, nasty, skilled, NHL-ready. His only weakness is his skating, but Martone is viewed as a relatively high-floor and high-ceiling prospect. The best kind.

I liked the process on this selection, even if there is a counterpoint that I will get to at the end. Picking at 6, the Flyers had more top options than we thought they would have. That is because Nashville took the plunge and selected Brady Martin, a thumper who does not appear to have the skill level for a top-five pick. So, the Flyers had two highly-rated centers on the board that people thought were legit options: James Hagens and Jake O’Brien.

But I view the draft, especially when you are a rebuilding team like the Flyers, as a pure talent acquisition play. I understand that you need to draft for fit/style at some point (and the Flyers did later), but the Orange and Black did not at the top of the draft. Martone was the best talent on the board, a power winger that gets compared a lot to Corey Perry and Matthew Tkachuk. And they said, “We will gladly take the best talent.” I cannot argue with that line of thinking.

Martone seems rad, too. This random Canadian kid is a longtime Flyers fan who visited Philadelphia as a teenager? Like, voluntarily? Man, I already like this kid so much more than the last North American winger that the Flyers took in the top-ten.

The Martone pick provided quite the contrast with the next selection. The Flyers packaged their other two first-rounders (22, 31) and traded them to the hated Penguins for 12. That seems like a pretty penny. And not only that, the Flyers selected Jack Nesbitt, a legitimately huge center who was polarizing (a good bit down some draft boards, but not all) and feels like a project. Maybe not “two years away from being two years away,” but Briere and Flyers scout Dennis Patterson made it sound like Nesbitt will be spending both of his post-draft years in juniors. He certainly was not playing at the World Championships with Travis Konecny and Travis Sanheim, like Martone just did.

And why is that? Nesbitt is huge, he plays hard, and he is super skilled. But, and you are probably sensing a theme here, it sounds like Nesbitt really cannot skate.

Hey, points to Nesbitt for being self-aware. Ace Bailey, take notes. And I think the Flyers should give him the Luis Mendoza treatment. If you fall, we’ll get up and try it again.

Overall, Charlie and a bunch of the national prospect analysts think the Flyers did well for themselves overall. I saw a bunch of A, A-minus, “above-average draft,” etc. Some of that has to do with their work on Day 2. Amico seems like a heat-seeking missile. Murtagh skates well and has a big shot. Vansaghi, like Martone, is a power winger who needs to improve his skating. And like Amico, he throws his body around. Gard is another dart throw at the center position.

The center position is a good place to wrap it up here. As Charlie pointed out on the podcast, the Flyers have essentially spent three first-round picks and three second-round picks on the center position over the past two years…

Despite that heavy allocation, we still do not know if the Flyers have that super valuable 1C. Maybe it is Zegras, but that is far from a sure thing. That is a lot of draft capital thrown at a position that is still unsettled. And that might be the issue with the Martone pick, especially if Hagens and/or O’Brien become that 1C. Just something to keep in mind, but certainly an interesting weekend in Flyers-land.

Phils take 2 of 3: Let’s talk positives first.

Over his last ten games, Ranger Suárez has a 7-2 record (would be 9-0 with even a modicum of run support) with a 1.19 ERA, 61 strikeouts and 15 walks. He did not even have his best velocity in this one, and it did not matter because our beloved Ranger just knows how to pitch. His command is A-plus-plus.

Scott Boras adds another comma to that contract demand every time Ranger toes the rubber. Maybe something changes, but there is no way this guy would be pitching in the bullpen if the playoffs started this week. HIT THE MUSIC!

Orion Kerkering looked excellent in this one, which was a nice bounce-back after a somewhat fluky loss against Houston on Thursday. The kid is trending in the right direction. Matt Strahm got the save, but it was not a particularly encouraging one. Ozzie Albies smoked a single off him, Eli White worked a walk, and Strahm gave up 320, 370 and 373-foot fly balls. Do not like the direction he is trending in, but he got the job done on Sunday. This, of course, was on the heels of Jordan Romano throwing the meatball of all meatballs for a grand slam on Saturday night.

But the big takeaway from the weekend is that the Phillies somehow went 2-4 on a six-game road trip that saw them score four combined runs in five of the games. Friday was the textbook example of, “Save a few for tomorrow!”

(Narrator: They did not save a few for tomorrow.)

Sunday’s win was nevertheless excruciating, and there was nothing more frustrating than the eighth inning sequence that saw the Phillies waste second and third with nobody out.

The Phillies are on pace for 94.5 wins. That is great, and the Mets somehow lost to the Pirates by a combined score of 30-3 this weekend. Seriously. I wonder if they wore OMG chain after all three of their runs. The NL East lead is now 1.5 games.

The Phillies’ starting pitching is incredible, and will keep them in games all year. Hopefully the lineup can get going at some point, because this was an unbelievably brutal road trip for them. Ranger (or anyone else) should not have to pitch at a Cy Young level to win a baseball game, and that was very much the case this week.

Sounds like Bryce is close, at least. He took live BP this weekend.

Tons of Sixers news from over the weekend, but I am gonna go rapid-fire here. They will get main billing tomorrow, I would imagine.

Meet the new guy: VJ Edgecombe and Johni Broome were officially introduced on Friday, and VJ very much won the press conference. Love winning the press conference.

I really hope VJ is wearing something besides 77 when the games start, though. The Sixers have to un-retire some of these numbers, as they are running out of basketball numbers! I am sorry, a hyper-athletic swingman should not be wearing Mekhi Becton’s number. I know that is Luka’s number, but it makes sense since he is honestly built like an offensive tackle nowadays.

So much contract news: I believe of all this was from Shams, and much of it was #AsExpected as #AsExpected gets.

Free agency starts tonight. All eyes on Quentin Grimes (likely back) and Guerschon Yabusele (likely gone). Wonder if Daryl Morey has any other signings up his sleeve.

Columbus 1, Union 0: The 13-match unbeaten streak is over. Hell of a run, boys.

Busy, busy week coming your way! Tonight, we have Phils-Padres (6:35 p.m., NBC Sports Philly) and the start of NBA free agency.

Your tentative Monday schedule at ​PHLY​:

Let's make it a good one.

Rich Hofmann
Daily Newsletter Editor
PHLY SPORTS