Q&A: Danny Brière on Trevor Zegras’ future, Jett Luchanko, and the idea of being stuck in hockey purgatory
The Flyers general manager talked to The Inquirer about a wide range of topics, including the team's center prospects and pending restricted free agents.
In Part 2 of our two-part interview with Danny Brière on Saturday, we talked to the Flyers general manager about the team’s pending restricted free agents including Trevor Zegras, the development of prospects like Jett Luchanko and Jack Nesbitt, the idea that the Flyers are stuck in “hockey purgatory,” and more.
Brière said he doesn’t anticipate “any issues” in retaining Zegras and Jamie Drysdale, who also is a pending restricted free agent.
While Christian Dvorak’s contract extension has been polarizing among fans, Brière called it a “no-brainer” for the center-starved Flyers.
While many are worried about Luchanko’s development, Brière believes the adversity will serve him well and pointed to last year’s impressive American Hockey League spell as a reason for optimism.
» READ MORE: Q&A: Flyers GM Danny Brière on newcomer David Jiříček, Matvei Michkov’s progress, and the search for a 1C
In Part 2 of our two-part interview with Danny Brière on Saturday, we talked to the Flyers general manager about the team’s pending restricted free agents including Trevor Zegras, the development of prospects like Jett Luchanko and Jack Nesbitt, the idea that the Flyers are stuck in “hockey purgatory,” and more.
Q: You mentioned Friday that Zegras has been better on the wing this year. Big picture, long term, how do you see this working out? And where do things stand with the restricted free agent?
A: Kind of like Travis Sanheim, it’s a nice luxury to have a winger that can also play center. ... We just felt he’s been a little better on the wing this year with, especially, the chemistry that he’s developed with [Travis Konecny] and Christian Dvorak. So that’s been exciting to see, and that’s why he’s been mostly on the wing. I never ... discuss negotiations publicly, but I don’t see any issues there. I expect Trevor to be with the Flyers for a long time.
Q: What about fellow RFA Jamie Drysdale?
A: I don’t expect too many issues.
Q: The decision to extend Christian Dvorak for five years has been polarizing for fans. After saying you wanted to keep flexibility this summer, what changed?
A: If we don’t re-sign Christian Dvorak, where does it leave us? It leaves a huge hole in the center position. I think that was a no-brainer to us, and the way he’s played, the chemistry that he’s developed with some of our young guys, and we’ve asked him to play a number-one role here for most of the season. So to get a player like that at such a friendly cap hit, it made too much sense for us.
» READ MORE: Q&A: Flyers GM Danny Brière on newcomer David Jiříček, Matvei Michkov’s progress, and the search for a 1C
Q: You do have two young centers in the system in Jett Luchanko and Jack Nesbitt. What have you seen from them this year in the OHL? And do you still envision them being guys who can develop into maybe 2Cs?
A: Absolutely, both of them. ... Jett is having an up-and-down season; it’s been challenging, and the part that I love about this is he’s learning to go through adversity, the ups and downs. ... So, it’s a good thing. ... Patience is important. Let them develop. Jett Luchanko, less than a year ago, was our best player in the playoffs in the American Hockey League at 18 years old. That was really impressive. ... So we still believe in Jett Luchanko.
Nesbitt is continuing to develop. We knew drafting him, that he would take a little longer. His body, a little bit more like a Tyson Foerster, he’s going to need time. He needs to build himself up strength-wise, but high character, mean, big and lanky, strong, and the reports from our scouts that go see him regularly [rave about] ... how much he protects his teammates. And I don’t mean just like fighting, physically, I mean by his defensive play, being good all over the ice in all three zones. I’m really excited about Jack Nesbitt as well. I think it’s going to take a little longer with him, but his game is tailored perfectly for, we hope, a 2C, maybe a 3C, but he’s going to be a solid center in the NHL for a long time.
Q: And what about Jack Berglund, and will he be coming over soon?
A: We hope so. We’ll be working with his representative to try to get him after the season. But we don’t know; there’s a lot in the air. But Jack Berglund is probably the one who has made the biggest jump for us development-wise. I thought he was the best player at the World Junior Championship. ... He was the captain of [Sweden, which won gold]; he was their No. 1 center; he was on the first power play in front of the net; he was the first PK. ...
» READ MORE: Flyers top 20 prospects: Porter Martone is No. 1, but where do Alex Bump and Jett Luchanko rank?
Again, it’s a 6-foot-5 center who is going to bring size and grit to our team down the road. So there’s a lot of possibilities, that’s the exciting part. And we haven’t talked about Heikki Ruohonen at Harvard, who’s developing nicely. ... I see more of a bottom-six role for him in the NHL, but it’s another big, strong center who can win faceoffs, kill penalties, and bring a little sandpaper to the game. Cole Knuble is another one who’s developing nicely.
Q: The power play is once again struggling. At this point, what can you do?
A: I think that the numbers are not that much better. The optics do look better than we’ve had. In the past, we barely could create any chances. At least this year I sensed ... it was more organized. It felt like we were creating more chances. So it seemed to me, this year, more than ever, that we were trending in the right direction. But you know, the numbers don’t lie. It is what it is, and it’s an area that we’ll focus on trying to find ways to improve.
Q: For fans who say the Flyers are kind of stuck in the middle and that it’s three more years before three more years, what do you say to them as they are maybe running out of patience a little bit?
A: Well, we were honest from the get-go that it would take time. We never lied about that. I don’t think last year we were stuck in the middle; it gave us the chance to get a guy like Porter Martone. But we also need to try to improve and get in the right direction. This year was a step in the right direction, and we hope to keep improving on that the following year.
In Part 2 of our two-part interview with Danny Brière on Saturday, we talked to the Flyers general manager about the team’s pending restricted free agents including Trevor Zegras, the development of prospects like Jett Luchanko and Jack Nesbitt, the idea that the Flyers are stuck in “hockey purgatory,” and more.
Q: You mentioned Friday that Zegras has been better on the wing this year. Big picture, long term, how do you see this working out? And where do things stand with the restricted free agent?
A: Kind of like Travis Sanheim, it’s a nice luxury to have a winger that can also play center. ... We just felt he’s been a little better on the wing this year with, especially, the chemistry that he’s developed with [Travis Konecny] and Christian Dvorak. So that’s been exciting to see, and that’s why he’s been mostly on the wing. I never ... discuss negotiations publicly, but I don’t see any issues there. I expect Trevor to be with the Flyers for a long time.
» READ MORE: Q&A: Flyers GM Danny Brière on newcomer David Jiříček, Matvei Michkov’s progress, and the search for a 1C
Q: What about fellow RFA Jamie Drysdale?
A: I don’t expect too many issues.
Q: How would you evaluate the development of Aleksei Kolosov and Carson Bjarnason in Lehigh Valley at the goaltender position?
A: We’ve been happy with our goaltending in the minors. They’ve been good at Lehigh, both of them. Are they ready for a full-time role as a backup? I think they’re trending in that direction. I’m not sure that they are quite there yet, but we’ve been happy with their development.
Q: The decision to extend Christian Dvorak for five years has been polarizing for fans. After saying you wanted to keep flexibility this summer, what changed?
A: Well, that’s the funny part, right? We talked about centers. We need centers. We don’t have centers. And that’s the reason; we found a good center who’s 29 years old. I look around the league, and I see Anaheim re-signing Ryan Poehling ... to a four-year deal. I see the Islanders resigning Jean-Gabriel Pageau to a three-year deal, who is already [33]. So I think that shows you the value that centers bring.
If we don’t re-sign Christian Dvorak, where does it leave us? It leaves a huge hole in the center position. I think that was a no-brainer to us, and the way he’s played, the chemistry that he’s developed with some of our young guys, and we’ve asked him to play a number one role here for most of the season. So to get a player like that at such a friendly cap hit, it made too much sense for us.
Q: You do have two young centers in the system in Jett Luchanko and Jack Nesbitt. What have you seen from them this year in the OHL? And do you still envision them being guys who can develop into maybe 2Cs?
A: Absolutely, both of them. We’ll start with Jett Luchanko. Jett is having an up-and-down season; it’s been challenging, and the part that I love about this is he’s learning to go through adversity, the ups and downs of the season, learning how to take care of himself. So, it’s a good thing. We talked about [David] Jiříček being drafted and then going through this. Jett getting drafted is going through this. Patience is important. Let them develop. Jett Luchanko, less than a year ago, was our best player in the playoffs in the American Hockey League at 18 years old. That was really impressive. It’s been a little bit more challenging. There’s nothing wrong with a little challenge and a little adversity. So, I still believe, we still believe in Jett Luchanko.
Nesbitt is continuing to develop. We knew drafting him that he would take a little longer. His body, a little bit more like a Tyson Foerster, he’s going to need time. He needs to build himself up strength-wise, but high character, mean, big and lanky, strong, and the reports that I get from our scouts that go see him regularly every night, is how much character he brings, how much he protects his teammates. And I don’t mean just like fighting, physically, I mean by his defensive play, being good all over the ice in all three zones. I’m really excited about Jack Nesbitt as well. I think it’s going to take a little longer with him, but his game is tailored perfectly for, we hope, a 2C, maybe a 3C, but he’s going to be a solid center in the NHL for a long time.
» READ MORE: Flyers top 20 prospects: Porter Martone is No. 1, but where do Alex Bump and Jett Luchanko rank?
Q: And what about Jack Berglund, and will he be coming over soon?
A: We hope so. We’ll be working with his representative to try to get him after the season. But, we don’t know; there’s a lot in the air. But Jack Berglund is probably the one who has made the biggest jump for us development-wise. I thought he was the best player at the World Junior Championship. I know he didn’t get voted as the best player, I think, because there were bigger names that were there, guys that were drafted much higher than him. But when you watched the game, night after night, he was the captain of that team; he was their No. 1 center; he was on the first power play in front of the net; he was the first PK.
I remember that game in the semifinals, against Finland, it went to overtime, and in overtime, there are two minutes left, and his team got a penalty. He was on the ice for two minutes, killing the four-on-three, not because he couldn’t get off the ice — there’s three face-offs, and they left him there. That’s how important and critical he was. And then he scored a clutch goal in the shootout, where he needed to score to extend the shootout. And that takes a lot of confidence to do that.
Usually when you have the score, just to extend, not to win, but to extend, there’s a lot of pressure on your shoulder, and it didn’t even faze him. So I was really excited to see those attributes come out.
Again, it’s a 6-foot-5 center who is going to bring size and grit to our team down the road. So there’s a lot of possibilities, that’s the exciting part. And we haven’t talked about Heikki Ruohonen at Harvard, who’s developing nicely. It’s another 6-foot-3 center who played in the top six for Finland at the World Championship. I see more of a bottom-six role for him in the NHL, but it’s another big, strong center who can win faceoffs, kill penalties, and bring a little sandpaper to the game.
Cole Knuble is another one who’s developing nicely. So, the center position you have to develop for the most part, or you have to pay through the roof to get them. And luckily, now, we got on a roll of drafting some good centers that should help us down the road. I’m really excited about that, but it’s the patience part that is tough to wait for them to develop. You draft them at 18, and you’ve got to wait four or five years before they’re here, unfortunately.
Q: With Dan Vladař, are you a little surprised just with how well he’s done? And do you foresee him being here more long-term than you originally thought?
A: Yeah, I’m pleasantly surprised. I have to give credit to our goaltending team, our coaches, the ones who scouted him and really wanted him, and kind of targeted him as the guy to chase. So a lot of credit goes to Kim Dillabaugh and his team on his staff, scouts. But yeah, it’s been pleasantly surprising. Such a great guy. I think he’s fit in, in the room, a quality person. So it’s exciting, and it’s the first time that he’s played as many games as he has this year. And so far, he’s stayed up to form. So, the way it’s looking now, yeah, we’d like to keep him here while our young guys are developing,
Q: The power play is once again struggling. At this point, what can you do?
A: I think that the numbers are not that much better. The optics do look better than we’ve had. I mean, in the past, we barely could create any chances. At least this time, this year, I sensed it felt like it was more organized. It felt like we were creating more chances. So it seemed to me, this year, more than ever, that we were trending in the right direction. But you know, the numbers don’t lie. It is what it is, and it’s an area that we’ll focus on trying to find ways to improve.
Q: Is there anyone in the system who has surprised you that was not mentioned?
A: I think a guy like Cole Knuble, who’s had an excellent year. I think Shane Vansaghi brings another element to our group of prospects that I’m excited about. I’m not sure when he will turn pro, but he has a pro game. He’s going to be an interesting prospect. But I think the player who has probably made the greatest leap would probably be Jack Berglund.
Q: For fans who say the Flyers are kind of stuck in the middle and that it’s three more years before three more years, what do you say to them as they are maybe running out of patience a little bit?
A: Well, we were honest from the get-go that it would take time. We never lied about that. I don’t think last year we were stuck in the middle; it gave us the chance to get a guy like Porter Martone. But we also need to try to improve and get in the right direction. This year was a step in the right direction, and we hope to keep improving on that the following year.
We’ve collected a really nice collection of assets, of players, but that’s the hard part, right? People want you to tank and get assets, but they also want you to win the next year, and that’s just not possible. So it’s nice, we’ve accumulated some nice assets, and there will come a time when we’re going to try to move that forward. And maybe we have to package some of them to find a premier player to come and take us over the hump. It just hasn’t come to the forefront to this day.
» READ MORE: Grading Danny Brière’s trade deadline moves and the one big one he didn’t make