Prospect Report: Alexis Gendron

Generally speaking, most NHL organizations including the Flyers prefer not to select in the NHL Entry Draft the sons of scouts who work for the teams. There's already substantial pressure on drafted players to justify their selections. The dads themselves would usually rather see their sons have a chance to develop on their own merits without any outside critics being able to cry "nepotism" over the selection.

Within the Flyers organization, the scenario has played out several times in recent years. Kjell Samuelsson saw his son, Mattias, get selected by the Buffalo Sabres with the first pick of the second round (32nd overall) in the 2018 Entry Draft. In 2020, Mark Greig's son, Ridly, went 28th overall to the Ottawa Senators. Mattias Samuelsson is now an established young NHL defenseman in Buffalo and 20-year-old Ridly Greig has split his rookie pro season between the AHL's Belleville Senators and the NHL's Ottawa Senators (11 games played).
As with his fellow Flyers scouting/development colleagues, Quebec-based scout Martin Gendron would have preferred if his son, Alexis, had been selected by a different organization in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. The former NHL player recused himself from assessing whether the Flyers should consider taking his son if he were available in the latter rounds of the Draft.
However, based on the recommendation of fellow QMJHL-based scout Todd Hearty and the observances of Flyers assistant general manager Brent Flahr, Philadelphia selected Alexis in the seventh round (220th overall) in the 2022 Draft. In terms of pre-Draft national rankings, the player was ranked No. 141 by Central Scouting among North American skaters, while McKeen's ranked Gendron 71st overall among all draft-eligible players.
"Alexis is a really competitive kid. He's grown a huge amount. The pick in that spot was a no-brainer for us," Flahr said after the completion of the 2022 Draft.
For his part, the younger Gendron was thrilled when the Flyers called his name. He went unselected in the Entry Draft in his first year of eligibility but took a big leap in his development in 2021-22.
"It's a great day,'' Alexis Gendron said. "Probably the greatest day of my life.''
Gendron has always been a finisher with a shoot-first mentality. He's added some strength to his 5-foot-10 frame, although there's always room for more muscle and more explosiveness. In addition to his ability to get to the scoring areas and put the puck in the net, Gendron is someone who plays bigger than his size. He will make a second or third effort on the puck and is not intimidated battling bigger opponents. It's his competitive drive as well as his hands that stand out the most at the major junior level.
Last season, Gendron posted 46 points (30g, 16a) in 66 games for Blainville-Boisbriand: tops on the team in goals and one point behind Oleksii Myklukha for the overall scoring lead on the club. In six games during the 2022 President's Cup (QMJHL championship) playoffs, Gendron scored four goals and added one assist for five points.
This season, after attending the Flyers' Rookie Camp in September, Gendron returned to play for the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. In 29 games, he posted 22 goals and 34 points. Subsequently, he was traded mid-season to the Gatineau Olympiques, where Gendron has caught fire offensively.
The 19-year-old forward has racked up 26 goals through 25 games to go along with 10 assists. Gendron's biggest single-game performance came in an 8-4 home win over the Cape Breton Eagles on February 18.
Skating on left wing with linemates Olivier Nadeau (Gatineau's team captain and an Anaheim Ducks prospect) and center Riley Kidney (Montreal Canadiens 2021 second-round pick), Gendron had a hat trick before the game was even halfway through and went on to tally five goals in total (four at even strength, one on the power play).
Currently, Gendron has a four-game goal-scoring streak going including hat tricks in two of his last three games and 10 points overall (9g, 1a) in that span. Combined between Blainville-Boisbriand and Gatineau, Gendron has tallied 48 goals, 22 assists and 70 points in 54 games.
Keep in mind that major junior production in the CHL -- any of the three leagues, but the Q in particular -- is far from a guarantee of similar offensive results in the American Hockey League or an NHL career. Gendron is an older prospect, who turned 19 back on Dec. 30.
However, Gendron rates highly in the areas of hockey intelligence and quickness. He's adept at using defenders as a screen. He has deceptive hands and ventures willingly into traffic. He also has a knack for anticipating where the puck is going; something that can't be taught. He has a quick stick and tracks the play well for a teenage player.
In short, while one should not get too excited over Gendron's QMJHL scoring stats at the more typical draft-plus-two prospect age, it's also not fair to pigeonhole him solely because he was a late-round pick. There's some upside here, and the youngster has shown this season that his family ties to the Flyers organization via his father were not what spurred his Draft selection by Philadelphia.