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NHL mock draft: Final projections for every first-round pick

By Derek Grochowski

BUFFALO, NY - JANUARY 5: Rasmus Dahlin #8 of Sweden in play against Canada during the Gold medal game of the IIHF World Junior Championship at KeyBank Center on January 5, 2018 in Buffalo, New York. Canada beat Sweden 3-1. (Photo by Kevin Hoffman/Getty Images)
BUFFALO, NY - JANUARY 5: Rasmus Dahlin #8 of Sweden in play against Canada during the Gold medal game of the IIHF World Junior Championship at KeyBank Center on January 5, 2018 in Buffalo, New York. Canada beat Sweden 3-1. (Photo by Kevin Hoffman/Getty Images) /
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PLYMOUTH, MI – FEBRUARY 16: Joel Farabee #28 of the USA Nationals skates to the bench after a goal against the Russian Nationals during the 2018 Under-18 Five Nations Tournament game at USA Hockey Arena on February 16, 2018 in Plymouth, Michigan. USA defeated Russia 5-4. (Photo by Dave Reginek/Getty Images)*** Local Caption *** Joel Farabee
PLYMOUTH, MI – FEBRUARY 16: Joel Farabee #28 of the USA Nationals skates to the bench after a goal against the Russian Nationals during the 2018 Under-18 Five Nations Tournament game at USA Hockey Arena on February 16, 2018 in Plymouth, Michigan. USA defeated Russia 5-4. (Photo by Dave Reginek/Getty Images)*** Local Caption *** Joel Farabee /

14. Philadelphia Flyers – LW Joel Farabee

The Philadelphia Flyers have a lot of talented young defensemen. Travis Sanheim, Ivan Provorov and Shayne Gostisbehere will be able to carry the Flyers’ blue line for a long time. The emergence of Sean Couturier and strong rookie season of Nolan Patrick leaves the Flyers with one major need outside of goaltending. The addition of talented wingers will help the Flyers in many ways. It will help them get more balanced on offense as well as help them get pressure off their top line. Couturier, Jakub Voracek and Claude Giroux carried their offense, more talent on other lines will take attention away for them and open them up more.

The talented left winger will be a welcome addition to the Flyers. It will give them a little bit of everything they are missing. Outside of Travis Konecny, the Flyers do not have a lot of speed on the wings. Farabee would inject instant speed and make their offense even more potent. He also has good puck handling skills. Combining that with his speed makes him hard to catch in the neutral and offensive zone. Because of his elite speed he is an extremely effective player in all three zones of the ice.

That is not all, Farabee as an extra intangible that makes him special. He is the captain of the USNTDP team. With all of the draft prospects on that team to be named captain is a big deal. Being a leader of the top players in your age group shows that you are mature and disciplined. This will give teams even more of a reason to consider drafting Farabee with their first-round pick. Captaincy should not be a deciding factor but it is definitely a variable that needs to be considered when picking a prospect. Farabee won’t be a captain right away where ever he goes next. However if he can earn it that shows he is a true leader and a special player.

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