Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Posted: 2:26 p.m.By Tim PanaccioCSNPhilly.com
CSNPhilly.com sat down with the Flyers director of pro hockey, Chris Pryor, to discuss how things have worked out this season with players his staff brought in and whats ahead.
Pryor oversees all amateur and professional scouting for the Flyers. He supervises Dave Brown on the pro side and Dennis Patterson on the amateur side.
CSNPhilly: This will be the third straight year the Flyers wont have a first- or second-round pick in the draft. Its got to be frustrating for your scouting staff doesnt it?
Pryor: No, not at all. Everybody uses their picks different ways. Theyre assets to be used and weve used them to better our team. Other teams use them. Our guys know the job general manager Paul Holmgren has done. Were trying to get better. We understand that. Theres no frustration at all. At the end of the day, look at the results from last year. The results speak for themselves and were happy about it.They all go about their business knowing they might or might not have picks. At the end of the day, we understand Paul is trying to get the best team he can and were on board with that.
CSNPhilly: Following up on that, is it fair to say that, once again, the Flyers are pushing the envelope here to win now because the clock is ticking with some the guys, like Chris Pronger and Kimmo Timonen?
Pryor: Let me ask you the flip side. Expectations here, we all know this, is to win. Isnt the expectation to win every year here?
CSNPhilly: I dont think youve been this close like this year and last.
Pryor: The feeling is right now, were got a pretty good group. You look at our team right now and we have a good feeling about our team. A lot of good things happen. We like our team. That bar we always set at that level. This year, last year, yeah, you could look at our group and say maybe were farther ahead.But the expectations are always to win.
NHL
CSNPhilly: How much harder is it on your scouts now, knowing they must project to the third round a future player as the first pick? If Im one of your scouts and have been following some people all year long and now losing that pick for Kris Versteeg, Im saying to myself, I have to project now on a third rounder.
Pryor: We had to do that last year. Same situation.
CSNPhilly: But you knew going into last season you didnt have a first-round pick. You didnt know that this year and its late into the season.
Pryor: Thats true. But weve done our due diligence with the work we have put in. The scouts know the group that is out there. There is a line at the draft where if we dont have a pick until what we have now very late third round, you can probably think these guys are going to be gone. So we still know where the line is. It doesnt change our thought process.
CSNPhilly: You look at your pro staff and say, we got a lot of hits this season, more hits than misses from what you did over the summer?
Pryor: I agree with that. Weve done a good job. Especially over the last couple weeks picking up Versteeg and Nick Boynton. They both add a dimension to our team. You look at guys we signed over last summer, yeah, I think weve done a really good job.
CSNPhilly: If I had to pick one guy who really surprised a lot of people, and we get asked this a lot, I would say it was Andrej Meszaros.
Pryor: I think people forgot Andrej down in Tampa. He kind of got lost there the last couple years. In the south there, you dont get the notoriety you get in Ottawa. He was a good player who got off-track down there for whatever reason.John Paddock had a real good feeling for him. We liked him as a kid. Hes got his game back where it was. Hes an effective player.
CSNPhilly: Did you project him as someone who could lead the NHL in plusminus off the third pair?
Pryor: To say that, I dont know we could say that. We thought if we put him in our environment, with the group we had, his game would get back to where he was. He has probably exceeded those expectations. And good for him. He works extremely hard and is a good fit for us.
CSNPhilly: One player I would say has been a miss was Nikolay Zherdev. Do you think this would happen where there would be inconsistency in his play and coach would get angry and bench him?
Pryor: I dont know, look at his numbers. Theyve been pretty good. Theres been some ups and downs and maybe you can make the argument he doesnt fit in. Hes come in and done a good job for the situation hes been given. Hes come into a team where hes had to make some adjustments. He probably hasnt gotten the ice time, for whatever reason, he probably thought he was going to get. Hes worked hard and hes figured it out. The numbers hes got, hes done pretty well. ... Theres a lot of hockey left. Hes a valuable guy who brings an element a lot of guys dont have.
CSNPhilly: In your assessment, what position would you say the Flyers are deepest at within the organization?
Pryor: I would probably say up front were deepest and got some kids coming
CSNPhilly: Defense perhaps?
Pryor: Yeah, we are from an organizational standpoint from NHL on down to kids. Were also deep at top. I dont know if any one position were deeper than any other. We have some good forwards and juniors coming in.Tough question right now.
CSNPhilly: What needs upgrading?
Pryor: You can never be too deep on defense. Thats the strength as Paul has formed his team from the back end. You can never be too deep at defense as a lot of teams will tell you, injuries happen. Look at Vancouver. Thats a tough situation when you lose your guys. Youd like to be deepest at defense for injuries and that is the strength of our team.
CSNPhilly.com: Whos the best prospect right now?
Pryor: The kid we brought up over the weekend, Erik Gustafsson. We have kids we like, but if you prioritize, its Gustafsson. His recent showing, hes done quite well. He handled himself real well in Ottawa. He didnt just try to do the safe plays, he tried to make plays and make things happen. I thought he did real well.
CSNPhilly.com: Which one player would you say you had reservations about and are now pleasantly surprised at?
Pryor: I think Eric Wellwood has done a real nice job here. From being where we picked him (172nd overall in 2009 Draft) to where he is now, hes done nice. Tye McGinn (119th, 2010 Draft) has made nice progress, too. We have a junior kid out West, Brendan Ranford (209th, 2010 Draft).
CSNPhilly.com: With the problems down on the Phantoms, how much of that is a reflection on the scouts in terms of accurately assessing their potential? Do you think you misjudged?
Pryor: Look at the Phantoms right now and where they were in mid-December. Theyve come on. Theres a good correlation there that maybe our goaltending wasnt where it needed to be earlier in the year. Im not being critical of the kids, but we put two kids Brian Stewart and Nicola Riopel who were finding their game. Suddenly, you get Michael Leighton down there and then Johan Backlund and its a little bit different situation now. Theyve given them some stability and consistency back there and their record now reflects that. Thats a good hockey league and those kids had some ups and downs which comes with that position. And now Michael and Johan gave them stability and that makes some difference.
CSNPhilly.com: You are deep in goaltenders, but how many of them can you project to the NHL?
Pryor: Well, thats the question. Can anybody do that? Who knows with goaltending. Whats the answer there? Look at last year and the situation we had and guys stepped up and played extremely well. Its a tough answer and I dont know if anyone knows the answer who can come up and play.
CSNPhilly.com: Do you feel the only real crack Sergei Bobrovsky has shown is his puck handling? Your own defensemen say it is something that needs to get ironed out and has affected the breakup.
Pryor: Its something he continues to work on. Something that everybody needs to improve on. He continues to work on it and gets better. I dont think its as much his handling the puck as communication, which continues to get better. Over time, thats going to improve.
CSNPhilly.com: Tell us something about Tom Sestito that people dont know.
Pryor: Hes one of those bigger guys who continues to develop. It takes time. He brings an element. He is a tough kid. Hes got better hands than people give him credit for. Its unfortunate we had to give up Michael Chaput, but you have to give to get. Youre going to be happy with this guy.
Loose pucks
Dan Carcillo (illness) missed practice again and is not expected to play Thursday against Toronto, said general manager Paul Holmgren. James van Riemsdyk is likely out with a lower muscle issue. JVR split time on the fourth line at Wednesdays practice.Chris Pronger (bruised right hand) is expected to play as is Blair Betts (lacerated left finger). Darroll Powe may take faceoff draws for Betts.To a man, the Flyers say the three days of hard practice and skating has gotten them ready after Saturdays hideous loss in Ottawa. Some of the players said this wasnt punishment and coaches had this planned well in advance, Holmgren said. They looked at the schedule and recognized this was a good time to give them a shot of fitness.Theyve had three hard days of practice where they cranked up the speed and cranked up the intensity. Hopefully, it will pay dividends over the last 20 games.Lines for the Leafs: Claude Giroux centering Nikolay Zherdev and Jeff Carter; The Briere Line (Scott Hartnell-Danny Briere-Ville Leino); Mike Richards centering Andreas Nodl and Kris Versteeg; Betts with Powe and Jody Shelley.
E-mail Tim Panaccio at tpanotch@comcast.net
Related: Flyers' power play still struggling to produceBuy Flyers gear