Couturier on the Flyers Roster Doesn’t Come Without Risks

As the days wind down before the opening night roster for the Flyers must be finalized, many in the mainstream media have pegged prospect Sean Couturier as a guarantee to be on the ice when the team travels to Boston on October 6. This follows a decent preseason where the 18 year-old center tallied one goal and three assists.

Call it pessimism, call it lack of foresight, call it what you will, but I think this will turn out to be a mistake in the long run.

For starters, Couturier on the roster means somebody else has to go. An established player will have to be placed on waivers, unless Couturier somehow leapfrogs Brayden Schenn on the depth chart. Should that player be Andreas Nodl (as has been speculated), there is a reasonable chance he does not clear waivers.

Nodl is not a flashy player. He isn’t going to regularly make the highlight reel. His strengths, however, are effective penalty killing and playing a defensively responsible third-line shutdown role. The Flyers moved two of their best defensive forwards in the offseason in Mike Richards and Jeff Carter as well as a very good penalty killer in Darroll Powe.

Expecting Matt Read, Schenn and Couturier to be just as defensively responsible in a third line role in their rookie seasons as Nodl is wishful thinking. In Read and Schenn’s case, they at least have age and additional playing experience to call upon.

It’s worth noting that keeping “Cooter” off the roster this week doesn’t mean he can’t or won’t see any playing time with the big club this season either. The Flyers can always recall him in the event of an injury with no concern of losing his rights. Any player on the waiver wire, whether they’ve been sent down or recalled, is at risk of being grabbed by another team.

Looking at the top ten draft picks of 2010, five were sent back to their respective junior teams. Of the five players who made it to the NHL, three finished with more than 40 points. Those three played on teams that finished horribly the season before and were very quickly given top six opportunities.

Couturier will not get top six minutes.

Tyler Seguin, drafted #2 overall by the Boston Bruins, was in a similar position and finished the season with 11 goals and 22 points (in fact, the same offensive output as Nodl in more games played). Despite having just an average regular season, Seguin shined in the playoffs and provided the Bruins with additional depth after Nathan Horton’s face was steamrolled by Aaron Rome’s elbow.

Simply put, there is no reason to risk losing depth now when the return is unlikely to provide much more production than what you’ve risked.

Depth wins championships. Just ask Tyler Seguin.