Without a third-round pick because of the Justin Braun trade in June 2019, the Flyers decided to slide all the way up to the front of the fourth round during Day 2 of the 2020 NHL draft.
The Flyers on Wednesday traded the 116th and 147th overall selections to grab the first slot in the fourth round, where they took forward Zayde Wisdom at 94th overall.
Wisdom is a winger who scored 59 points (29 goals, 30 assists) through 62 games for the OHL's Kingston Frontenacs in 2019-20.
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The 5-foot-10, 195-pounder was the 71st-ranked player in the draft by TSN's Craig Button.
"We really like him from a complementary standpoint," amateur scout Rick Pracey said Wednesday, via Flyers director of public relations Joe Siville. "He’s a guy that can make plays, he thinks on the ice well. His puck game is a positive. We like that he provides a physical element. He’s strong. We think he’s competitive and he has a well-rounded game.”
Wisdom comes to Philly with a tremendously inspirational background of perseverance from a difficult childhood, detailed here on "TSN Original: Nothing Given" and in a story by The Athletic's Scott Wheeler.
Beloved former Flyer Wayne Simmonds is a mentor to Wisdom. Simmonds presented the NHL's E.J. McGuire Award of Excellence to Wisdom this week. The honor is given to the junior hockey player who best exemplifies commitment to excellence through strength of character, competitiveness and athleticism.
In his post-draft video interview, Wisdom was excited about calling Simmonds later to talk about Philadelphia.
"Having a guy like that in your corner where he's giving you advice and letting you know what your best decision would be and advising you helps a ton," Wisdom said Wednesday.
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On Day 1 of the draft, the Flyers took another winger out of the OHL in Tyson Foerster at 23rd overall.
"I've known Tyson since I was 5 or 6 [years old]," Wisdom said.
The Flyers opened Day 2 of the draft by grabbing Swedish defenseman Emil Andrae at 54th overall.