Meet the Flyers’ Latest Undrafted UFA Steal

On Wednesday, the Flyers agreed to terms with 32 year old Russian defenseman Evgeny Medvedev. Medvedev represents a slight departure from Philly’s previous undrafted UFA signings, but if the past is any indication, he should be another diamond in the rough.

Success With Previous UFAs

In the past five years, the Flyers were notorious for trading away draft picks in trades, and routinely had a below average prospect pool compared to other teams as a result. They’ve consistently hit home runs with their first round picks, but haven’t produced much else because they’ve traded their lower picks.

To address this problem, the Flyers have been active in the undrafted UFA market to find hidden talent. They’ve had their fair share of misses (Luke Pither and Shane Harper are the first that come to mind), but have struck gold with a few others.

In each successful signing, the player was not a highly publicized or coveted target. The Flyers were reportedly in on all of the big undrafted UFAs like Justin Schultz, Danny DeKeyser, and Christian Folin, but didn’t land them. Instead, their lesser known signings have paid dividends.

Matt Read was signed out of Bemidji State, and has become a strong two-way middle six winger that had previously been a consistent 20 goal scorer. Michael Raffl is a similarly solid top nine winger that can fill in up and down the lineup. Pierre Edouard Bellemare has been a great 4th line center that brings energy, and plays dutifully on the penalty kill.

In the case of Raffl and Bellemare, their signings came shortly after their performances at the IIHF World Championships. Evgeny Medvedev is no different. It appears that there was competition for Medvedev, but it was not well publicized:

Reason Flyers paid so much to get Medvedev: competition. He told Russian media he had offers from 5 NHL clubs.

— Bill Meltzer (@billmeltzer) May 20, 2015

The Scoop on Evgeny Medvedev

Unlike Raffl and Bellemare, Medvedev is at the top, or more likely, the downswing of his prime. At 32 years old, he has been consistently regarded as one of the best defensemen in the KHL, won two championships, and has made the KHL All-Star game in three of the last four years.

In addition, he has been a consistent figure on the Russian national team at international competitions. He’s represented Russia in the last four World Championships (includes two gold medal wins), and won a silver medal with the Olympic team in 2014.

Evgeni Medvedev terminated contract with #AkBars of #KHL. Could mean he's going to #NHL. Best team Russia D in Sochi, 2 times world champ

— Igor Eronko (@IgorEronko) May 20, 2015

Medvedev has consistently been one of the six best Russian defensemen in the world, which means he should certainly be able to handle a middle pairing role in the NHL. At $3M/year, he’s being paid that way. There may be an adjustment process going to the smaller sheet of ice, but Medvedev’s skillset is one that should translate well to the NHL.

Elite Prospects said the following about his game:

A large, yet very mobile and smooth skating defenseman. Evgeny Medvedev sees the ice well and has good hockey sense. He can pass really well, but also possesses a hard shot. Could play a more physical and aggressive game given his size.

Medvedev is tall at 6’3″, but is relatively thin for his height at just 198 lbs. As a result, it shouldn’t come as any great surprise that he is not an overly physical player. That description sounds exactly like what the Flyers defense needs right now. His mobility will be a breath of fresh air for an otherwise slow group.

A Fit with Dave Hakstol’s Vision

When Hakstol was asked about the style of hockey his teams play, he offered the following insight:

Hakstol aptly summed up his coaching style in four words during his 20 minutes on the dais at the Wells Fargo Center on Monday.

Accountability. Speed. Structure. Transition.