Original pick: Ivan Provorov
Re-Draft pick: Roope Hintz
Ivan Provorov has been an OK defenseman in Philadelphia. He's produced points, but he's been somewhat of a liability with his defensive game. As a defenseman, that's a little bit of a problem. That's why hindsight providing the ability to see Roope Hintz would've been a game-changer up front as a forward makes looking back on this draft a little harder for Flyers fans.
Hintz was a late bloomer stats-wise, but he's developed into a dynamic scorer and set-up man for Jason Robertson. Having that kind of player up front in Philadelphia would've been a monstrous development to go along with Sean Couturier and Claude Giroux.
Yes, the Flyers needed defensemen -- they still do -- and, yes, Provorov was a very justifiable pick at the time, but looking back at how players have turned out and where their careers are headed, having Hintz would've really made times a lot easier for the Flyers. At 6'3", 219 pounds, Hintz is absolutely Philly-sized and his mix of size, grit and scoring would make him a hero among Flyers faithful the second he laid out an opponent to score a go-ahead goal.
It's such a painful no-brainer of a pick in retrospect it hurts. But hey, maybe Provorov will have the classic defenseman's path where it takes a little longer to break out in a big way. Then again...Hintz is the real deal already.
