swflyers25
8-01-05, 4:59 PM
Flyers Assistant General Manager Paul Holmgren discusses the Flyers draft picks as well as the team stockpiling second round picks for the 2006 Entry Draft. Philadelphia chose six players in this year?s draft, which was held on Saturday, July 30th in Ottawa, Ontario.
Q ? Tell us about Steve Downie, the Flyers? first round pick.
?Steve is just a real good two-way, hard-working, hard-nosed kid. He put up some pretty good numbers this year in Windsor, and we like his character and aggressiveness. We think he?s going to get better and better as an offensive player.?
Q ? What did [Flyers prospects] Jeff Carter and Mike Richards say about him?
?I don?t think they liked playing against him. Jeff had to play against him in a seven game series, and Steve actually was probably a big reason why Windsor could come back from down three games to none and win that series. He?s just a real competitive kid.?
Q ? What about the tragedy that Steve had to endure as a child, with his father passing away?
?We knew about Steve?s tragedy as a young boy that he went through. We did a lot of background work on him. We actually had him into Philadelphia. It was just a quick, two-hour visit. We sat with him, talked with him, and he?s a wonderful young man. He just loves to play the game, and that?s what really shows when he?s on the ice. He just wants to play and compete. There are some areas he?s got to get better in, but typically kids that work that hard and compete that hard, they make themselves into good players. He?s not much different than a young Rick Tocchet, in terms of where Rick was as an 18-year-old. Rick turned out to be a great player for the Flyers, and in the NHL. That may be a tough act to follow, but there are some similarities.?
Q ? Tell us about your second pick, Oskars Bartulis.
?Oskars is a big defenseman. He skates well, and moves the puck really well. Coming over to North America [from Latvia] and playing, he made the adjustment fairly fluidly. He?s a good puck mover, gets involved in the play, and I think over the next few years he?s going to develop into a nice young player.?
Q ? What about your fourth round pick, goaltender Jeremy Duchesne?
?I?m not sure if you remember Gaetan Duchesne, but it?s his son. Gaetan played many years in the NHL, and was one of the better defensive players in the game ? a hard-working guy. [Flyers scout] Simon Nolet and our other scouts had a chance to watch [Jeremy], and he just kept getting better and better as the year went on. He?s a typical French goalie, butterfly style with good size. He?s a very quick reflex goalie that covers the bottom of the net.?
Q ? What about Josh Beaulieu?
?He played for London, the Memorial Cup champs. He didn?t get a chance to play much, but when he did, at the World Junior championship break when a lot of kids on his team were gone, he got a chance to play more and he really stepped it up. He didn?t play as much later on, but now we think he?s going to develop into a nice, hard-working two-way player. We think his puck skills are going to get better and better with more playing time. He?s a real hard-working, aggressive kid. We believe his skills will get much better with more playing time.?
Q ? You chose John Flatters in the sixth round. What kind of player is he?
?[He is] real raw. He?s a Western Canadian boy, who likes to initiate contact. [He is a ] good skater. He?s another kid who didn?t get a chance to play a lot as a 17-year-old, but we really like the Red Deer situation. It?s hard to find a better coach than Brent Sutter there, and we feel he?ll really develop under him.?
Q ? The Flyers acquired three second round picks in various trades. Can you tell us about those transactions?
?Any time you have a chance to acquire a number of second round picks, they are huge assets in a lot of different ways.?
Q ? Will these players go back to juniors for this season?
?Absolutely. All of them.?
Flyers (http://www.philadelphiaflyers.com/PressBox/Draft2005/227.asp)
Q ? Tell us about Steve Downie, the Flyers? first round pick.
?Steve is just a real good two-way, hard-working, hard-nosed kid. He put up some pretty good numbers this year in Windsor, and we like his character and aggressiveness. We think he?s going to get better and better as an offensive player.?
Q ? What did [Flyers prospects] Jeff Carter and Mike Richards say about him?
?I don?t think they liked playing against him. Jeff had to play against him in a seven game series, and Steve actually was probably a big reason why Windsor could come back from down three games to none and win that series. He?s just a real competitive kid.?
Q ? What about the tragedy that Steve had to endure as a child, with his father passing away?
?We knew about Steve?s tragedy as a young boy that he went through. We did a lot of background work on him. We actually had him into Philadelphia. It was just a quick, two-hour visit. We sat with him, talked with him, and he?s a wonderful young man. He just loves to play the game, and that?s what really shows when he?s on the ice. He just wants to play and compete. There are some areas he?s got to get better in, but typically kids that work that hard and compete that hard, they make themselves into good players. He?s not much different than a young Rick Tocchet, in terms of where Rick was as an 18-year-old. Rick turned out to be a great player for the Flyers, and in the NHL. That may be a tough act to follow, but there are some similarities.?
Q ? Tell us about your second pick, Oskars Bartulis.
?Oskars is a big defenseman. He skates well, and moves the puck really well. Coming over to North America [from Latvia] and playing, he made the adjustment fairly fluidly. He?s a good puck mover, gets involved in the play, and I think over the next few years he?s going to develop into a nice young player.?
Q ? What about your fourth round pick, goaltender Jeremy Duchesne?
?I?m not sure if you remember Gaetan Duchesne, but it?s his son. Gaetan played many years in the NHL, and was one of the better defensive players in the game ? a hard-working guy. [Flyers scout] Simon Nolet and our other scouts had a chance to watch [Jeremy], and he just kept getting better and better as the year went on. He?s a typical French goalie, butterfly style with good size. He?s a very quick reflex goalie that covers the bottom of the net.?
Q ? What about Josh Beaulieu?
?He played for London, the Memorial Cup champs. He didn?t get a chance to play much, but when he did, at the World Junior championship break when a lot of kids on his team were gone, he got a chance to play more and he really stepped it up. He didn?t play as much later on, but now we think he?s going to develop into a nice, hard-working two-way player. We think his puck skills are going to get better and better with more playing time. He?s a real hard-working, aggressive kid. We believe his skills will get much better with more playing time.?
Q ? You chose John Flatters in the sixth round. What kind of player is he?
?[He is] real raw. He?s a Western Canadian boy, who likes to initiate contact. [He is a ] good skater. He?s another kid who didn?t get a chance to play a lot as a 17-year-old, but we really like the Red Deer situation. It?s hard to find a better coach than Brent Sutter there, and we feel he?ll really develop under him.?
Q ? The Flyers acquired three second round picks in various trades. Can you tell us about those transactions?
?Any time you have a chance to acquire a number of second round picks, they are huge assets in a lot of different ways.?
Q ? Will these players go back to juniors for this season?
?Absolutely. All of them.?
Flyers (http://www.philadelphiaflyers.com/PressBox/Draft2005/227.asp)