Nolan Patrick was the headliner of the Philadelphia Flyers’ 2017 NHL Draft class as the second overall pick, but he’s not the only important part of GM Ron Hextall’s continuing rebuild.
The Flyers ended up with the 27th and 35th picks of this past draft, and they signed both players to rookie contracts on Thursday. Entry-level deals went to Morgan Frost (number 27) and Isaac Ratcliffe (35th overall).
Both forwards have enjoyed solid work in the OHL, and both will see their development tied to how some Flyers’ trades will be judged.
In the case of Frost, he joins Jori Lehtera (and cost certainty) as the biggest takeaways of the Brayden Schenn trade.
Ratcliffe, meanwhile, was deemed valuable enough for Hextall to trade up. Philly sent the 44th, 75th, and 108th pick of 2017 to Arizona to get the 35th choice, which ended up being Ratcliffe.
Their numbers were fairly similar in the OHL last season, but Ratcliffe brings one thing that really makes him stand out: size. The Flyers list his height as an imposing 6'6,” with a weight of 200 lbs.
Patrick got his deal earlier this summer, but now the Flyers have their highest picks locked up. It should be interesting to see if/when they make a big impact as Philadelphia tries to climb out of a period of relative struggles.
