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Philadelphia Flyers: Most likely Flyer selected in the Expansion Draft

By Tyler Monahan

Mar 2, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Flyers left wing Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (78) carries the puck behind Florida Panthers goalie James Reimer (34) during the second period at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 2, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Flyers left wing Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (78) carries the puck behind Florida Panthers goalie James Reimer (34) during the second period at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports /
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With the NHL Expansion Draft quickly approaching, the Philadelphia Flyers made a few surprising decisions on who to protect. Several serviceable NHL players are available to be chosen from this Flyers team, but seemingly the biggest name on the unprotected list is Pierre Edouard Bellemare.

Pierre Edouard Bellemare is the type of athlete Philadelphia fans fall in love with. Not the biggest, fastest, or strongest, Bellemare came over to the NHL after spending his entire career playing overseas and quickly played a big role for the Philadelphia Flyers. He isn’t someone that is going to score a ton of goals every year, but he is the type of player that will be a scrapper on the third or fourth line and can play valuable minutes on the power play and penalty kill.

The move to keep Bellemare unprotected seems out of left field as he was just named an assistant captain halfway through the last season. Whatever reason the front office may have for leaving him unprotected, the team will hurt if he is selected because Bellemare can flat out play. While he seems like a good fit on the Las Vegas Golden Knights there are some other options.

Dynamic winger Michael Raffl, grinder Matt Read, and goalie Michal Neuvirth are also available to be drafted. There haven’t been any whispers on who the Knights are thinking about taking from the Flyers, but in my opinion a player like Bellemare can help develop a team personality that I don’t think Read, Raffl, or Neuvirth can bring.

With the signing of Oscar Lindblom and the possible selection of either Nolan Patrick or Nico Hischier with the second pick in the NHL Draft the front office may believe that there are just too few minutes to give to these young players and veterans like Bellemare.

Next: A Look At The Philadelphia Flyers Protected List

Having scored a combined 17 goals in his three seasons with the Flyers isn’t a great stat for Bellemare. The great thing about his game is that he makes the plays off of the puck to help his team win, which is why I believe he could be the Flyer selected in the Expansion Draft.  Numbers don’t always tell the truth, and that may be the case with Bellemare. The Flyers might not see it now, but Bellemare is one of the reasons this team stays competitive. If drafted by the Knights he can help them win sooner rather than later.

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