According to Clarke right from the beginning Hextall didn't make any friends, "He alienated everybody right away. He shut the door, locked the door, he was the boss and nobody else was apart of it. We get the second pick in the draft and we end up drafting Nolan Patrick."
"None of our scouts wanted Nolan Patrick. I don't know where Patrick should have gone, after his performances in Brandon, he's a pretty good player, but they wanted Makar. Now he's a superstar. But Hextall made that choice himself and there were other choices in our draft that we're paying for. We got two or three first round that are never going to play. That's why we're struggling, he made some huge mistakes."
Patrick has struggled with injuries his entire NHL career, missing games in every season. This year alone Patrick has only suited up for Vegas in 9 games since being acquired this past summer. Patrick has managed to netting 73 points in 206 career games. While not a complete bust, Patrick has fallen far from the levels expected of him when he was drafted.
Clarke states the organization would have preferred to draft Cale Makar who eventually went to the Avalanche 4th overall.
Could you imagine the Flyers defense with Cale Makar?