Steve Hiscock / Saskatoon Blades
Eric Florchuk was taken with the very last pick in the 2018 NHL Draft by the Washington Capitals. Most of those picks turn out to be nothing for obvious reasons: if you are picked so late you probably aren’t that good. But even at the time of the pick it was seen as a great value. Many drafting boards had Eric going in the 4th round, some in the 3rd round. So to grab him with the last pick was a great gamble.
To start the 2018-2019 in the WHL for the Saskatoon Blades, Florchuk (#17) is proving he’s more than Mr. Irrelevant. Through the first six games the left winger/center has three goals and four assists, good for 1.16 points per game. Last year he averaged 0.69 points per game through 71 games. That’s a good bump in points.
What’s so great about Florchuk is he plays in all situations. Of his three goals one is shorthanded, the other on the powerplay, and the last at 5v5. Another improvement for Eric is he is averaging 3.16 shots per game, when last season it was firing the puck just 1.78 times per game. That is nearly double in shots on net. That’s a promising improvement.
Obviously, six games is way too small of sample to say one thing or another, but it’s a positive sign to see Florchuk getting off to a good start. Is this six game stretch a fluke? Is he not as good or is this what we’ll get? Or more interesting: can he be even better than this?
