A weekend review on a Monday? Madness!
The Phantoms are on fire of late. The went undefeated over the weekend and are on a four game winning streak. More impressive, they've only allowed one goal in each of the last four games. Lets get into how some of the players performed.
Tye McGinn scored two goals for the Phantoms Friday before getting called up to the Flyers Saturday. It was pointed out during the game that McGinn now has as many goals (3) in the AHL as he does in the NHL. McGinn has 3 points in 6 games in the AHL.
Petr Straka had his best weekend to date, picking up his first two goals on Saturday night. Straka has a great shot so it was only a matter of time before started scoring, and hopefully now he can start scoring consistently. He is right now second on the team in point per game average (.777 PPG) behind Kris Newbury, 2nd in total points, and he leads forwards in +/- and is second on the team behind Oliver Lauridsen.
Nick Cousins also had a great weekend picking up three assists in two games. Both of Cousins' assists Saturday nights game on goals by Straka, I speculated before the season that a Cousins/Straka combination could help both of them reach the next level. Hopefully we see them paired together for a good bit longer. Cousins has 8 points (2 G, 6 A) in 11 games.
Jason Akeson picked up an assist on Saturday, he's tied with Straka for 2nd on the team in points with 7.
Mark Alt also picked up an assist on Saturday after picking up an assist for the Phantoms Wednesday. Alt, who was pushed further down the line up because of Bruno Gervais, now has 4 points (1 G, 3 A) in 10 games so far this season. Many equally sized star defensemen score between .4 and .55 PPG in their first AHL season. If Alt can do that the Flyers could have a monster on their hands.
Cal Heeter has been arguably the most impressive Phantom in their recent stretch. He's started 3 of their last four and has stopped 99 of the last 102 shots he's seen.
Scott Laughton was back on point coming off a bit of a down weekend at the end of October. Laughton picked up a goal Saturday night and hit the score sheet on all five of Oshawa's goals Sunday. Laughton ended with 3 goals and 3 assists on the weekend and has 25 points (14 G, 11 A) in 13 games in the OHL this season.
Anthony Stolarz also saw a return to form after being pulled in games twice last weekend. He stopped 60 of the 63 shots he saw over the weekend raising his season save percentage to .930 which leads the OHL.
Samuel Morin picked up a goal and an assist in three games over the weekend, but he was a -2 for the weekend and his team continued to struggle. Morin now has 8 points (3 G, 8 A) and a -5 in 13 games.
Taylor Leier had another strong weekend with the Portland Winterhawks. He had two goals and an assist in his two games over the weekend and he's tied for 15th in scoring in the WHL. The WHL has yet to name their team for the Subway Super Series, but Leier's recent offensive outburst will hopefully be enough to help him make the cut for team WHL.
Tyrell Goulbourne picked up another fight in his game Friday night but was held out of Kelowna's game Saturday. It is unknown if this is because of injury or whether he was a healthy scratch.
Robert Hagg skated for 14:42 Friday but was held to less than ten minutes of ice time in his game Sunday. I have noticed that he usually picks up more hits in games that he plays less than 10 minutes, so he is willing to take a more physical defensive role if need be. European leagues are taking a short break, Hagg will probably play with Sweden's junior team during this time.
Valeri Vasiliev, after playing less than 10 minutes in two consecutive games, played a game in the MHL (the Russian junior league) Thursday. He didn't hit the score sheet with Spartak's junior team, but he did when he returned to the big club Friday. Vasiliev picked up his second assist in 19 games and skated for just over 16 minutes. Vasiliev will likely be named to the Russian Subway Super Series team this week.
Jakub Kovar stopped 27 of 31 in a shoot out victory on Friday. Kovar was playing at an unreal pace leading up to this small step back. Kovar will likely play a least a game or two for the Czech Republic in the Karjala Tournament during the KHL break.
Shayne Gostisbehere picked up 3 assists in his game on Friday and now has 7 points (1 G, 6 A) in 7 games. Gostisbehere probably can't keep up this pace (he hasn't really been able to do it this season, he's had two 3 points games this season) but if he can stay at a Shattenkirkian pace of .76 PPG he can be ready to make an NHL impact sooner rather than later.
Reece Willcox picked up an assist and was a +1 in two games this weekend. Willcox is more of a defensive defesemen so I don't think he'll pick up tons of points this year. One cool thing that Willcox's Cornell team does is track blocked shots, at least at home games. Willcox picked up 5 blocks in his two games this weeknd.
Michael Parks picked up an assist in 2 games over the weekend. Parks has 5 points (1 G, 4 A) in 6 games. Nick Luukko didn't impact the score sheet but he did help his Vermont team split with #2 Notre Dame over the weekend. Petr Placek has yet to play for Harvard this season.
In the American Junior leagues, Terrance Amorosa picked up 2 assists over the weekend, he has 5 points (all assists) and a +7 in 10 games so far this season. Fredric Larsson was a -1 on Friday but considering his team gave up 5 even strength goals that's not so bad. Larsson didn't play in the team's second game of the weekend. David Drake ended up a -1 on the weekend. Merrick Madsen stopped 21 of 23 in a shoot out victory. He has raised his save percentage to .900 on the season.
Monday, November 4, 2013
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Flyers Prospects Weekend Review: October 25th-27th
Another late report, I'll get this thing right eventually. It was a good weekend for the Flyers but a bad weekend for their prospects.
The Phantoms were shut out Friday night, but bounced back with their second win of the season Saturday. Multiple people including coach Terry Murray and commentator Bob Rotruck thought the team play significantly better in the game they were shut out in than the game they one.
Cal Heeter was the big reason they won Saturday night. He stopped 35 of 36 in what was his second best statistical game as a pro. I don't think he'll overtake Yann Danis as the starter but it was a great game.
Jason Akeson picked up an assist on Sunday and took four shots. He in his normal position as the team leader in points with a goal and 5 assists on the season.
Kyle Flanagan picked up a goal and assist in only his 3rd game of the season. Flanagan is a really skilled player that has been bumped a little bit because he is playing behind similar players like Akeson and Nick Cousins. Maybe he can get himself in some more games after this performance.
Marcel Noebels picked up 2 assist and was a +2 in what has been his best game of the season so far. He has 3 points (all assists) in 7 games.
Nick Cousins was originally given an assist but it was later given to Noebels. Petr Straka sat out the win Saturday, with McGinn and Newbury returning to the line up and the coaches decision to play Kyle Flanagan bumped Straka from the line up. He'll be back soon, the only player currently on the Phantoms to have a higher point per game average than Straka is Akeson.
Scott Laughton finally came back to Earth a little bit after his hot start. He only picked up a goal, an assist, and a fight in his three games this weekend. He wore the 'C' over the weekend while regular captain Josh Brown was out with a suspension. He is still averaging over 1.70 PPG and is still on a goal a game pace. Today he was named to the OHL team for the Subway Super Series.
Anthony Stolarz had a great game on Thursday picking up a 35 shot shut out. Then he was pulled in the next two games giving up 6 goals in 53 games. He was pulled before the 10 minute mark in his last game of the weekend. This has kind of been the book on Stolarz so far in his junior career. He can reach soaring heights yet can still have these bad stretches. Is is something to worry about? I don't think so, most young goalies go through similar spells, that's why it takes much longer for goalies to develop into NHL goalies.
Sam Morin picked up an assist and took 9 shots over two games this past weekend in the QMJHL. He was a -1 on the weekend and his team still doesn't have a good record when he's in the line up. Morin, like Laughton, will battle the Russians in the Subway Super Series for Team QMJHL.
Tyrell Goulbourne had what was probably his best weekend of the year so far. He picked up a goal and an assist Friday night then dropped the gloves for the third time this season on Saturday. So far this season Goulbourne has 8 points (3 G, 5 A) and 3 fights in 13 games.
Taylor Leier picked up 2 goals and an assist in his two games over the weekend. He was also +2 on the weekend raising him to a +8 on the season. Remember that he was even just 6 games ago. Leier has 18 points (8 G, 11 A) in 15 games. The WHL has yet to name their Super Series team, and I'm really interested to see if he will be named to the team. He's right now 18th in scoring among eligible forwards, but his defensive abilities may make him an essentially part of the team.
Robert Hagg has had a solid run of games, averaging over 14 minutes a game in his last three games. He's also picked up 4 shots in that 3 game span.
Valeri Vasiliev played his most minutes of the season last thursday, skating well over 16 minutes in a regulation game. He was boosted by his team only skating 6 defenseman (they usually dress 8). He played just under 15 minutes on Saturday but played less than minutes on Monday and reportedly left the game in the second period today, skating less than 6 minutes. I want to know how this injury could affect if he is on the Russian Super Series team. Vasiliev is a shoo in for both that team and the Russian World Junior team, especially if Nikita Zadorov sticks with the Sabres.
Jakub Kovar is red hot an propelling his Avtomobilist club back into relevancy. He picked up a 28 shot shut out earlier today and in his last 7 games he has a .950 Sv%, a 1.67 GAA, and a 4-2-1-0 record (since the KHL has a 3 point system OT or shoot out wins are worth 2 points, basically he has 4 wins, 2 shoot out wins, a shoot out loss, and 0 regulation losses). Avtomobilist is currently in a playoff position because of Kovar, outside of this stretch Avto is 3-2-1-10. That means they have more points in this stretch of games than they had in rest of the season combined.
Shayne Gostisbehere and Union only had one game over the weekend. He didn't pick up any points and was a -2. He did take another 7 shots, giving him a total of 32 shots in 5 games. Wow.
Nick Luukko picked up his first goal of the season in the College Hockey Face-Off Saturday Night at the Wells Fargo Center.
Reece Willcox had a bit of a rough opening night ending with a -2. But Willcox, who compares best with the Flyers Nick Grossmann, was and will be likely playing against the other teams top competition.
Petr Placek was held out of both of Harvard's first games.
Terrance Amorosa picked up an assist Friday night and was a +3 on the weekend. David Drake and Fredric Larsson didn't hit the score sheet and both were -1 on the weekend. Merrick Madsen stopped 31 of 34 in a 3-1 loss in his only action of the weekend.
The Phantoms were shut out Friday night, but bounced back with their second win of the season Saturday. Multiple people including coach Terry Murray and commentator Bob Rotruck thought the team play significantly better in the game they were shut out in than the game they one.
Cal Heeter was the big reason they won Saturday night. He stopped 35 of 36 in what was his second best statistical game as a pro. I don't think he'll overtake Yann Danis as the starter but it was a great game.
Jason Akeson picked up an assist on Sunday and took four shots. He in his normal position as the team leader in points with a goal and 5 assists on the season.
Kyle Flanagan picked up a goal and assist in only his 3rd game of the season. Flanagan is a really skilled player that has been bumped a little bit because he is playing behind similar players like Akeson and Nick Cousins. Maybe he can get himself in some more games after this performance.
Marcel Noebels picked up 2 assist and was a +2 in what has been his best game of the season so far. He has 3 points (all assists) in 7 games.
Nick Cousins was originally given an assist but it was later given to Noebels. Petr Straka sat out the win Saturday, with McGinn and Newbury returning to the line up and the coaches decision to play Kyle Flanagan bumped Straka from the line up. He'll be back soon, the only player currently on the Phantoms to have a higher point per game average than Straka is Akeson.
Scott Laughton finally came back to Earth a little bit after his hot start. He only picked up a goal, an assist, and a fight in his three games this weekend. He wore the 'C' over the weekend while regular captain Josh Brown was out with a suspension. He is still averaging over 1.70 PPG and is still on a goal a game pace. Today he was named to the OHL team for the Subway Super Series.
Anthony Stolarz had a great game on Thursday picking up a 35 shot shut out. Then he was pulled in the next two games giving up 6 goals in 53 games. He was pulled before the 10 minute mark in his last game of the weekend. This has kind of been the book on Stolarz so far in his junior career. He can reach soaring heights yet can still have these bad stretches. Is is something to worry about? I don't think so, most young goalies go through similar spells, that's why it takes much longer for goalies to develop into NHL goalies.
Sam Morin picked up an assist and took 9 shots over two games this past weekend in the QMJHL. He was a -1 on the weekend and his team still doesn't have a good record when he's in the line up. Morin, like Laughton, will battle the Russians in the Subway Super Series for Team QMJHL.
Tyrell Goulbourne had what was probably his best weekend of the year so far. He picked up a goal and an assist Friday night then dropped the gloves for the third time this season on Saturday. So far this season Goulbourne has 8 points (3 G, 5 A) and 3 fights in 13 games.
Taylor Leier picked up 2 goals and an assist in his two games over the weekend. He was also +2 on the weekend raising him to a +8 on the season. Remember that he was even just 6 games ago. Leier has 18 points (8 G, 11 A) in 15 games. The WHL has yet to name their Super Series team, and I'm really interested to see if he will be named to the team. He's right now 18th in scoring among eligible forwards, but his defensive abilities may make him an essentially part of the team.
Robert Hagg has had a solid run of games, averaging over 14 minutes a game in his last three games. He's also picked up 4 shots in that 3 game span.
Valeri Vasiliev played his most minutes of the season last thursday, skating well over 16 minutes in a regulation game. He was boosted by his team only skating 6 defenseman (they usually dress 8). He played just under 15 minutes on Saturday but played less than minutes on Monday and reportedly left the game in the second period today, skating less than 6 minutes. I want to know how this injury could affect if he is on the Russian Super Series team. Vasiliev is a shoo in for both that team and the Russian World Junior team, especially if Nikita Zadorov sticks with the Sabres.
Jakub Kovar is red hot an propelling his Avtomobilist club back into relevancy. He picked up a 28 shot shut out earlier today and in his last 7 games he has a .950 Sv%, a 1.67 GAA, and a 4-2-1-0 record (since the KHL has a 3 point system OT or shoot out wins are worth 2 points, basically he has 4 wins, 2 shoot out wins, a shoot out loss, and 0 regulation losses). Avtomobilist is currently in a playoff position because of Kovar, outside of this stretch Avto is 3-2-1-10. That means they have more points in this stretch of games than they had in rest of the season combined.
Shayne Gostisbehere and Union only had one game over the weekend. He didn't pick up any points and was a -2. He did take another 7 shots, giving him a total of 32 shots in 5 games. Wow.
Nick Luukko picked up his first goal of the season in the College Hockey Face-Off Saturday Night at the Wells Fargo Center.
Reece Willcox had a bit of a rough opening night ending with a -2. But Willcox, who compares best with the Flyers Nick Grossmann, was and will be likely playing against the other teams top competition.
Petr Placek was held out of both of Harvard's first games.
Terrance Amorosa picked up an assist Friday night and was a +3 on the weekend. David Drake and Fredric Larsson didn't hit the score sheet and both were -1 on the weekend. Merrick Madsen stopped 31 of 34 in a 3-1 loss in his only action of the weekend.
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Flyers Prospects Weekend Review: October 18th-20th
Another late report, but lets get into.
The Phantoms had a bad weekend and are off to a slow start but luckily for them and the Flyers a bunch of their top prospects are performing well.
Nick Cousins had the best weekend on the team. He picked up his first two goals of the season and added another assist to his point total, giving him five points (2 G, 3 A) in 6 games. There are a lot of great junior players that struggle in their rookie season in the OHL, but Cousins' scoring pace is making it look like he could be ready for NHL action at some point this season.
Jason Akeson and Petr Straka each picked up an assist over the weekend giving them both a total 5 points (all assists). Akeson had a rough outing Friday going a -4 in a 6-3 lost, but he is still tied for the team lead in points with Straka, Cousins, and AHL regulars Ben Holmstrom, Rob Bordson, and Flyers cast off Bruno Gervais.
Marcel Noebels picked up his first assist of the season. I wouldn't be surprised if he saw more points come his way after Tye McGinn got called up.
Brandon Aldeson picked up an assist on one of Cousins goals. He was skating with Cousins and Straka at the time.
Scott Laughton is keeping up his incredibly hot start. He picked up a hat trick Friday night (scoring his second short handed game winner of the season) and picked up another pair of goals Sunday (another one being short handed). Laughton has 17 points (10 G, 7 A) in only 8 games. Provided Sean Monahan or Nathan MacKinnon don't get sent back to junior, Laughton is probably the favorite to be the 1st line center on the Canadian Junior team.
Anthony Stolarz had a weekend to forget. After getting benched Friday night against Laughton and the Oshawa Generals he gave up 4 goals on 19 shots and got pulled after 45 minutes in his game Saturday. He dropped to 5th in GAA in the OHL, though he is still tied for 3rd in the OHL in Save %. We know that a terrible game doesn't mean the end of the world, it is probably just an example of a young goalie getting roughed up a bit. I'm confident we will see the Anthony Stolarz earlier in the season next weekend.
Sam Morin had another 2 point weekend, picking up both his points in the middle game of a three game weekend. He has 5 points in 8 games and is a -2 so far on the season. My big question with Sam Morin is why his team doesn't play as well when he's in the line up. His Rimouski Oceanic were projected to be one of the best teams in the CHL this season and have been consistently ranked in the top 10 of Canadian junior teams. Without Morin Rimouski has a record of 6-1; with Morin they are 2-4-2. Their two wins came against Sherbrooke who is second to last in the QMJHL and Shawinigan who are not only last in the Q but probably the worst team in the whole CHL (they actually lost to Shawinigan in OT on Friday, giving them their only win so far this season).
Taylor Leier had his best weekend since the first of the season. He picked up 4 points (1 G, 3 A) including a his first 3 point game of the season. After hitting a cold stretch Leier is back into the offensive form we've become accustomed to so far this season. Leier has 14 points (5 G, 9 A) in 11 games. Portland plays again Tuesday.
Tyrell Goulbourne picked up his first goal of the season last Wednesday and scored again this weekend. Goulbourne scored 14 goals last season. Goulbourne picked up another fight Wednesday, but he still only has two fights on the season. He is playing a more expanded role and has 6 points (2 G, 4 A) in 10 games. Kelowna plays again Tuesday night.
Shayne Gostisbehere had an impressive weekend even though Union got swept in back to back games by Lake Superior State. Ghost scored a game tying goal in 4 of 4 play late in their game Friday night. Gostisbehere didn't get on the score sheet Saturday but it's not for a lack of trying, Ghost did his best Spinal Tap impression and turned it up to 11 Saturday night, putting a total of 11 shots on net. He has 1 goal, 3 assists, and 25 shots in four games. Nobody on the Flyers has that many shots, the highest shooting defenseman is Mark Streit who has 12 shots, in twice as many games.
Michael Parks picked up a a goal and three assists over the weekend, finally getting back to the level he was on at the end of his Freshaman season. He now has 4 points in 4 games after this weekend.
Nick Luukko's Vermont Catamonts were off this weekend. Reece Willcox's Cornell Big Red and Petr Placek's Harvard Crimson were in pre-season action but they I can't find the stats anywhere so I don't know how they did. Cornell and Harvard start regular season play this upcoming weekend.
Robert Hagg picked up an assist in his game Saturday, skating just 10:27. Hagg played again earlier today with Modo's Junior team picking up an assist on their first goal. Don't look at this as Hagg being sent down he's just getting some extra ice time. Modo is in a bit of a lull period and Hagg has been seeing the ice less than the organization probably wants. Expect him to be in the line up Thursday for Modo's next game. Bill Meltzer is speculating that Hagg could see some more ice time with Modo losing one of their top 4 defensemen. Hagg has 4 points (all assists) in 14 games in the SHL.
Valeri Vasiliev skated just under 15 minutes Saturday and just over 13 minutes Monday in a close game. Vasiliev has moved down the depth chart a little bit to the 5th defenseman role, but he is still playing a role and usually gets a shift or two in OT. He has an assist and is +1 in 14 games. He is averaging 14:38 of ice time not including the game he left early due to injury. Vasiliev will likely be named to the Subway Super Series team later this week.
Jakub Kovar and Avtomobilist Yekaterinberg went 0-1-1 over the weekend including a game Monday, but Kovar stopped 65 of 70 shots over the two games. Over his last three starts Kovar has a .944 Save percentage and a 1.89 GAA, though Avtomobilist hasn't one any of those three games in regulation.
David Drake was back in the line up, he picked up his first assist of the season on Friday and was a +1 Saturday. Terrance Amorosa was a +1 over two games for the Souix City Muskateers. Fredric Larsson picked up an assist on the Youngstown Phantoms only goal in their game Saturday. Merrick Madsen was on the bench for both of the Minot Minotaros games this weekend.
The Phantoms had a bad weekend and are off to a slow start but luckily for them and the Flyers a bunch of their top prospects are performing well.
Nick Cousins had the best weekend on the team. He picked up his first two goals of the season and added another assist to his point total, giving him five points (2 G, 3 A) in 6 games. There are a lot of great junior players that struggle in their rookie season in the OHL, but Cousins' scoring pace is making it look like he could be ready for NHL action at some point this season.
Jason Akeson and Petr Straka each picked up an assist over the weekend giving them both a total 5 points (all assists). Akeson had a rough outing Friday going a -4 in a 6-3 lost, but he is still tied for the team lead in points with Straka, Cousins, and AHL regulars Ben Holmstrom, Rob Bordson, and Flyers cast off Bruno Gervais.
Marcel Noebels picked up his first assist of the season. I wouldn't be surprised if he saw more points come his way after Tye McGinn got called up.
Brandon Aldeson picked up an assist on one of Cousins goals. He was skating with Cousins and Straka at the time.
Scott Laughton is keeping up his incredibly hot start. He picked up a hat trick Friday night (scoring his second short handed game winner of the season) and picked up another pair of goals Sunday (another one being short handed). Laughton has 17 points (10 G, 7 A) in only 8 games. Provided Sean Monahan or Nathan MacKinnon don't get sent back to junior, Laughton is probably the favorite to be the 1st line center on the Canadian Junior team.
Anthony Stolarz had a weekend to forget. After getting benched Friday night against Laughton and the Oshawa Generals he gave up 4 goals on 19 shots and got pulled after 45 minutes in his game Saturday. He dropped to 5th in GAA in the OHL, though he is still tied for 3rd in the OHL in Save %. We know that a terrible game doesn't mean the end of the world, it is probably just an example of a young goalie getting roughed up a bit. I'm confident we will see the Anthony Stolarz earlier in the season next weekend.
Sam Morin had another 2 point weekend, picking up both his points in the middle game of a three game weekend. He has 5 points in 8 games and is a -2 so far on the season. My big question with Sam Morin is why his team doesn't play as well when he's in the line up. His Rimouski Oceanic were projected to be one of the best teams in the CHL this season and have been consistently ranked in the top 10 of Canadian junior teams. Without Morin Rimouski has a record of 6-1; with Morin they are 2-4-2. Their two wins came against Sherbrooke who is second to last in the QMJHL and Shawinigan who are not only last in the Q but probably the worst team in the whole CHL (they actually lost to Shawinigan in OT on Friday, giving them their only win so far this season).
Taylor Leier had his best weekend since the first of the season. He picked up 4 points (1 G, 3 A) including a his first 3 point game of the season. After hitting a cold stretch Leier is back into the offensive form we've become accustomed to so far this season. Leier has 14 points (5 G, 9 A) in 11 games. Portland plays again Tuesday.
Tyrell Goulbourne picked up his first goal of the season last Wednesday and scored again this weekend. Goulbourne scored 14 goals last season. Goulbourne picked up another fight Wednesday, but he still only has two fights on the season. He is playing a more expanded role and has 6 points (2 G, 4 A) in 10 games. Kelowna plays again Tuesday night.
Shayne Gostisbehere had an impressive weekend even though Union got swept in back to back games by Lake Superior State. Ghost scored a game tying goal in 4 of 4 play late in their game Friday night. Gostisbehere didn't get on the score sheet Saturday but it's not for a lack of trying, Ghost did his best Spinal Tap impression and turned it up to 11 Saturday night, putting a total of 11 shots on net. He has 1 goal, 3 assists, and 25 shots in four games. Nobody on the Flyers has that many shots, the highest shooting defenseman is Mark Streit who has 12 shots, in twice as many games.
Michael Parks picked up a a goal and three assists over the weekend, finally getting back to the level he was on at the end of his Freshaman season. He now has 4 points in 4 games after this weekend.
Nick Luukko's Vermont Catamonts were off this weekend. Reece Willcox's Cornell Big Red and Petr Placek's Harvard Crimson were in pre-season action but they I can't find the stats anywhere so I don't know how they did. Cornell and Harvard start regular season play this upcoming weekend.
Robert Hagg picked up an assist in his game Saturday, skating just 10:27. Hagg played again earlier today with Modo's Junior team picking up an assist on their first goal. Don't look at this as Hagg being sent down he's just getting some extra ice time. Modo is in a bit of a lull period and Hagg has been seeing the ice less than the organization probably wants. Expect him to be in the line up Thursday for Modo's next game. Bill Meltzer is speculating that Hagg could see some more ice time with Modo losing one of their top 4 defensemen. Hagg has 4 points (all assists) in 14 games in the SHL.
Valeri Vasiliev skated just under 15 minutes Saturday and just over 13 minutes Monday in a close game. Vasiliev has moved down the depth chart a little bit to the 5th defenseman role, but he is still playing a role and usually gets a shift or two in OT. He has an assist and is +1 in 14 games. He is averaging 14:38 of ice time not including the game he left early due to injury. Vasiliev will likely be named to the Subway Super Series team later this week.
Jakub Kovar and Avtomobilist Yekaterinberg went 0-1-1 over the weekend including a game Monday, but Kovar stopped 65 of 70 shots over the two games. Over his last three starts Kovar has a .944 Save percentage and a 1.89 GAA, though Avtomobilist hasn't one any of those three games in regulation.
David Drake was back in the line up, he picked up his first assist of the season on Friday and was a +1 Saturday. Terrance Amorosa was a +1 over two games for the Souix City Muskateers. Fredric Larsson picked up an assist on the Youngstown Phantoms only goal in their game Saturday. Merrick Madsen was on the bench for both of the Minot Minotaros games this weekend.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Flyers Prospects Weekend Recap: October 11th-14th
A little late this week. I wanted to wait until after the Flyers prospect games on Columbus Day and than things just got away from me, but here we go:
The two most notable prospects this week were Tye McGinn and Michael Raffl who were both called up by the Flyers in time for Saturday's game. McGinn was easily the more impressive of the two with the Flyers. I don't want to go into too much because I'm doing a big McGinn post later. Raffl has played well and has created opportunities for the team. He picked up a goal and an assist with Adirondack Friday night before getting called up.
The Phantoms had a heart breaking weekend. After taking a lead early in their home and home with the Hartford Wolf Pack they ended up losing both games. They fell behind early in their Columbus Day matinee and didn't even get on the board until the middle of the third period. Though the Phantoms struggled, many prospects played well.
Petr Straka picked up three assist over the weekend giving him a total of 4 points in 4 games. He's tied for the team lead in points with Jason Akeson who also picked up two assists over the weekend (one Friday, one Saturday). Mark Alt picked up a power play goal Saturday, Nick Cousins got an assist on the play. Oliver Lauridsen picked up his first point of the season on Monday and he leads the team in plus/minus. Ben Holmstrom, Phantoms Captain and NHL long shot, has had a good start. He's picked up a goal and an assist over the weekend and he has 3 points on the season. Brandon Alderson sat out Monday's game after not picking up a point over the weekend. This opened the door for Kyle Flanagan to play his first game of the season. Marcel Noebels hasn't gotten on the score sheet yet (that may change with Tye McGinn out of the line up) but he does lead forwards in +/- with a +2. Derek Mathers, who the Flyers' drafted to fight, dropped the gloves with 2010 10th Overall pick Dylan McIllrath twice over the weekend. You can check out the fights over at hockeyfights.com but it looks like they drew the first fight with Mathers taking the second. Mathers has 3 fights in 4 games this season. If Jay Rosehill continues to struggle (which he will, let's face it) and continues to not fight he may see Mathers sooner rather than later.
Scott Laughton had another strong weekend. He picked up the game winning short handed goal on Friday and scored a goal and an assist; picking up points on both of Oshawa's only goals that game. He went pointless for the first time this season Monday in a 2-1 shoot out loss. He has 5 goals and 7 assists in 6 games so far this season.
Anthony Stolarz stopped 21 of 22 shots in a win on Thursday and reigned as the top statistical goalie in the OHL until late in his game Monday. Kitchner scored in the final three minutes of the game to tie and 15 seconds into the OT period to take the game, handing Stolarz his first loss of the season (even though he still hasn't lost in regulation). Stolarz stopped 36 of 39 and he played well during the game. The worst news for Stolarz over the weekend was how well Jon Gillies, Stolarz toughest competition for the starting job on the US world junior team, stopped 63 of 64 shots over two games in his season debut.
Laughton's Oshawa Generals battle Stolarz and the London Knights Thursday.
Sam Morin returned from injury for Rimouski's game on Saturday. He picked up a goal and an assist picking up his first points of the season. And though he didn't score in Rimouski's game Sunday he did pick up his first win with the team of the season. All around good return to the line up for Morin. Rimouski plays Wednesday.
Tyrell Goulbourne picked up his first fight of the season and a separate 10 minute misconduct in his only game of the weekend. Goulbourne was drafted as a fighter and a bit of a best, so I consider this a solid weekend. Kelowna plays Wednesday.
Taylor Leier scored an assist (that wasn't awarded to him until after the game) in a 7-4 victory for his Winterhawks. He finished a -1 and is a -2 on the season a far cry from his +41 last season. He does have 10 points (4 goals, 6 assists) in 8 games.
Shayne Gostisbehere and the Dutchmen of Union College opened there season with a pair of games against Bowling Green. Ghost didn't pick up a point in the season opener (but he was a +1 with 5 shots) but he nabbed 3 assists in the second game of the weekend. A good target for Ghost, PPG-wise, is .76 points per game. That's what Kevin Shattenkirk's PPG average was in his third year in the NCAA.
Nick Luukko didn't have a big impact with Vermont in their first game and then was out for their second game, unknown if this was because of injury or whether he was a healthy scratch. Michael Parks didn't factor in scoring and was even (+1/-1) on the weekend. Reece Willcox and Cornell don't play until Friday October 25th, Petr Placek and Harvard don't start their regular season until Saturday October 26th.
Robert Hagg had his lowest impact game last Thursday, skating for less than 10 minutes. He did register two hits in the game. Saturday he was back skating over 15 minutes and was a +1 for the game. Hagg has 3 points in 12 games and plays again Thursday.
Valeri Vasiliev played just over 12 minutes on Friday and then skated over 15 minutes in his game Sunday. He took a penalty in overtime which meant he only played 39 seconds in the over time period. He is floating between the 4th and 5th defenseman spot.
Jakub Kovar had a rough start to the weekend giving up 4 goals for only the second time this season. He stopped 28 of 32 against the reigning champs Dynamo Moscow. He bounced back later in the weekend stopping 37 of 38 in a shut out victory. He has a .909 Sv% and a 2.72 GAA for the season but if you remove that catastrophic game against Barys he would have a 2.36 GAA and a .920 Sv%. Kovar plays again Thursday.
Jakub's younger brother Jan is currently 3rd in the KHL in points with 21 and 1st in the league in assists with 15. He's behind his line mates Danis Zaripov and KHL legend Sergei Mozyakin who each have 23. If the Flyers want to bring over Jakub they may want to give a look to his stand out 23 year old brother.
Fredric Larsson had easily his best weekend to date in the USHL. He picked up an assist on the power play on Friday and scored his first goal of the season on Saturday. Larsson could be getting a more expanded role so we could be seeing a little more point production out of him soon. Larsson has 3 points (1 G, 2 A) in 8 games.
Terrance Amorosa picked up an assist in his only game of the weekend. Amorosa, who missed the early part of the season because of an injury, has 2 assists in 3 games. A strong offensive season would be great and would put the Providence College commit firmly in the minds of the Flyers front office.
David Drake had no impact in his first game of the weekend and didn't play in his team's second game of the weekend. It is unknown whether this is because of injury or not, but most players on the team have been sat for at least one game so it was probably just Drake's turn to sit.
Merrick Madsen stopped 18 of 21 shots in a 3-0 loss in his only start of the weekend. The Harvard commit has an .890 Sv% and a 2.68 GAA.
The two most notable prospects this week were Tye McGinn and Michael Raffl who were both called up by the Flyers in time for Saturday's game. McGinn was easily the more impressive of the two with the Flyers. I don't want to go into too much because I'm doing a big McGinn post later. Raffl has played well and has created opportunities for the team. He picked up a goal and an assist with Adirondack Friday night before getting called up.
The Phantoms had a heart breaking weekend. After taking a lead early in their home and home with the Hartford Wolf Pack they ended up losing both games. They fell behind early in their Columbus Day matinee and didn't even get on the board until the middle of the third period. Though the Phantoms struggled, many prospects played well.
Petr Straka picked up three assist over the weekend giving him a total of 4 points in 4 games. He's tied for the team lead in points with Jason Akeson who also picked up two assists over the weekend (one Friday, one Saturday). Mark Alt picked up a power play goal Saturday, Nick Cousins got an assist on the play. Oliver Lauridsen picked up his first point of the season on Monday and he leads the team in plus/minus. Ben Holmstrom, Phantoms Captain and NHL long shot, has had a good start. He's picked up a goal and an assist over the weekend and he has 3 points on the season. Brandon Alderson sat out Monday's game after not picking up a point over the weekend. This opened the door for Kyle Flanagan to play his first game of the season. Marcel Noebels hasn't gotten on the score sheet yet (that may change with Tye McGinn out of the line up) but he does lead forwards in +/- with a +2. Derek Mathers, who the Flyers' drafted to fight, dropped the gloves with 2010 10th Overall pick Dylan McIllrath twice over the weekend. You can check out the fights over at hockeyfights.com but it looks like they drew the first fight with Mathers taking the second. Mathers has 3 fights in 4 games this season. If Jay Rosehill continues to struggle (which he will, let's face it) and continues to not fight he may see Mathers sooner rather than later.
Scott Laughton had another strong weekend. He picked up the game winning short handed goal on Friday and scored a goal and an assist; picking up points on both of Oshawa's only goals that game. He went pointless for the first time this season Monday in a 2-1 shoot out loss. He has 5 goals and 7 assists in 6 games so far this season.
Anthony Stolarz stopped 21 of 22 shots in a win on Thursday and reigned as the top statistical goalie in the OHL until late in his game Monday. Kitchner scored in the final three minutes of the game to tie and 15 seconds into the OT period to take the game, handing Stolarz his first loss of the season (even though he still hasn't lost in regulation). Stolarz stopped 36 of 39 and he played well during the game. The worst news for Stolarz over the weekend was how well Jon Gillies, Stolarz toughest competition for the starting job on the US world junior team, stopped 63 of 64 shots over two games in his season debut.
Laughton's Oshawa Generals battle Stolarz and the London Knights Thursday.
Sam Morin returned from injury for Rimouski's game on Saturday. He picked up a goal and an assist picking up his first points of the season. And though he didn't score in Rimouski's game Sunday he did pick up his first win with the team of the season. All around good return to the line up for Morin. Rimouski plays Wednesday.
Tyrell Goulbourne picked up his first fight of the season and a separate 10 minute misconduct in his only game of the weekend. Goulbourne was drafted as a fighter and a bit of a best, so I consider this a solid weekend. Kelowna plays Wednesday.
Taylor Leier scored an assist (that wasn't awarded to him until after the game) in a 7-4 victory for his Winterhawks. He finished a -1 and is a -2 on the season a far cry from his +41 last season. He does have 10 points (4 goals, 6 assists) in 8 games.
Shayne Gostisbehere and the Dutchmen of Union College opened there season with a pair of games against Bowling Green. Ghost didn't pick up a point in the season opener (but he was a +1 with 5 shots) but he nabbed 3 assists in the second game of the weekend. A good target for Ghost, PPG-wise, is .76 points per game. That's what Kevin Shattenkirk's PPG average was in his third year in the NCAA.
Nick Luukko didn't have a big impact with Vermont in their first game and then was out for their second game, unknown if this was because of injury or whether he was a healthy scratch. Michael Parks didn't factor in scoring and was even (+1/-1) on the weekend. Reece Willcox and Cornell don't play until Friday October 25th, Petr Placek and Harvard don't start their regular season until Saturday October 26th.
Robert Hagg had his lowest impact game last Thursday, skating for less than 10 minutes. He did register two hits in the game. Saturday he was back skating over 15 minutes and was a +1 for the game. Hagg has 3 points in 12 games and plays again Thursday.
Valeri Vasiliev played just over 12 minutes on Friday and then skated over 15 minutes in his game Sunday. He took a penalty in overtime which meant he only played 39 seconds in the over time period. He is floating between the 4th and 5th defenseman spot.
Jakub Kovar had a rough start to the weekend giving up 4 goals for only the second time this season. He stopped 28 of 32 against the reigning champs Dynamo Moscow. He bounced back later in the weekend stopping 37 of 38 in a shut out victory. He has a .909 Sv% and a 2.72 GAA for the season but if you remove that catastrophic game against Barys he would have a 2.36 GAA and a .920 Sv%. Kovar plays again Thursday.
Jakub's younger brother Jan is currently 3rd in the KHL in points with 21 and 1st in the league in assists with 15. He's behind his line mates Danis Zaripov and KHL legend Sergei Mozyakin who each have 23. If the Flyers want to bring over Jakub they may want to give a look to his stand out 23 year old brother.
Fredric Larsson had easily his best weekend to date in the USHL. He picked up an assist on the power play on Friday and scored his first goal of the season on Saturday. Larsson could be getting a more expanded role so we could be seeing a little more point production out of him soon. Larsson has 3 points (1 G, 2 A) in 8 games.
Terrance Amorosa picked up an assist in his only game of the weekend. Amorosa, who missed the early part of the season because of an injury, has 2 assists in 3 games. A strong offensive season would be great and would put the Providence College commit firmly in the minds of the Flyers front office.
David Drake had no impact in his first game of the weekend and didn't play in his team's second game of the weekend. It is unknown whether this is because of injury or not, but most players on the team have been sat for at least one game so it was probably just Drake's turn to sit.
Merrick Madsen stopped 18 of 21 shots in a 3-0 loss in his only start of the weekend. The Harvard commit has an .890 Sv% and a 2.68 GAA.
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Flyers Prospects Weekend Recap: Oct. 4th-6th
The Flyers may have had a depressing start to the season but their prospects had another great weekend.
The Adirondack Phantoms opened their season this weekend with a game against the Hershey Bears Saturday night.
Brandon Alderson had a great game. He picked up an assist on the opening goal of the season scored by Phantoms captain Ben Holmstrom and then scored the game tying goal in the third period. Alderson is a bit of a surprise, a kind of the under the radar signing over the off-season, but I was really impressed with his play at prospect camp, in the rookie game, and with the Phantoms tonight.
Jason Akeson, coming off a strong pre-season with both the Flyers and Phantoms, picked up two assists including one on the over time game winner. If the Flyers continue to struggle with scoring we could see the Akeson join the Flyers sooner rather than later.
Tye McGinn tipped in a Nick Cousins shot for the Phantoms second goal. Cousins got bumped up to the first line with McGinn and Akeson after Newbury was recalled by the Flyers. Michael Raffl, Mark Alt, Matt Konan, and Petr Straka all picked up assists, Straka getting the primary on Brandon Manning's over time game winner.
The Phantoms had a strong performance on the penalty kill; shutting the Bears out on all 5 of their power play opportunities. This is great considering the Flyers are using the Phantoms to develop their prospects into stronger defensive players. Struggling somewhat was the Phantoms power play. Though they did convert on one of their four PP chances they gave up two short handed goals. That's something they can tighten up in the Future.
Scott Laughton was sent back to junior Thursday and is off to an explosive start. Laughton picked up two goals and two assists in his first game back, then picked up two assists in his game Friday night with the Oshawa Generals. He continued Sunday picking up a goal and two assists. For those keeping track at home Laughton has 9 points (3 G, 6 A) in three games. I know a lot of people consider Laughton as a depth forward, but this season in the OHL could change that. 1.70-1.80 PPG is the magic number (or more appropriately magic range) for Laughton. That is what top tier prospects Mark Scheifele and Ryan Strome averaged in their second OHL season after being drafted. Both of them are considered top line prospects. If Laughton could put up a similar average he could find himself on a track to stardom.
Now, don't think the Flyers should recall Laughton to help address their offensive woes. He was sent back to junior to develop. He had a great weekend but you can't develop over a weekend. This isn't like when Brayden Schenn was sent down to the AHL for a handful of games at the start of the 11-12 season, that was more of a wake up call/punishment. The Flyers want Laughton to develop at the junior level and development takes time.
Taylor Leier and Tyrell Goulbourne faced off against each other with their respective WHL clubs for a pair of games over the weekend. Leier picked up 2 goals (including one short handed Saturday night) and an assist over the weekend. Leier has 9 points (4 G, 5 A) in 7 games this season. while Goulbourne picked up 2 assists Friday night. Goulbourne also picked up 2 assists Wednesday night giving him 4 points (all assists) on the season. Goulbourne who was drafted partly (if not entirely) for his pugilism has yet to drop the gloves this season. Kelowna actually didn't have any fights until this weekend. Goulbourne had 36 fights over the last two seasons in the WHL, and so far this season only has a minor penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. I would really like to know how the Flyers feel about his lack of fisticuffs.
Anthony Stolarz had a rougher weekend compared to his red hot start this season with the London Knights. After giving up 4 goals on 33 shots Friday nights Stolarz bounced back with a 26 save performance Saturday night. Stolarz won both games over the weekend and is undefeated with a .934 Save% and a 2.20 GAA. I speculated over the summer that there may be a bit of a battle between Stolarz and his back up in London Jake Patterson due to Stolarz's struggles and Patterson's success at the end of last season. This weekend showed me Stolarz is firmly planted as the Knights starter. Even if he struggles one night the coaches have the confidence to send him out the very next night to get the job done.
Samuel Morin sat out both of Rimouski's games of the weekend with an injury but he is expected to play in their next game.
Robert Hagg, after picking up his 3rd point of the season (all assists) during the week, found himself back on the first defensive pairing in MODO's game Saturday and skated just over 15 and a half minutes.
Valeri Vasiliev again finished 4th amongst defensemen on his team, Spartak Moscow, in TOI and shifts in their game Saturday. On the season he has 1 point and is a +1 (tied for team lead) and, excluding his first game when he left early, is averaging over 15 minutes of ice time a game.
Jakub Kovar stopped 27 of 30 shots in his game Sunday against HC Donbass (featuring former Flyers Michael Leighton, Ruslan Fedotenko, and Oskars Bartulis). He took the 3-0 loss. Kovar on the season has a .913 Save % and a 2.53 GAA, but if you take out his one rough game he has .927 Save% and a 2.06 GAA. Kovar's team Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg remains at the bottom of the KHL, but Kovar has been in net for every win.
Terrance Amorosa returned from injury over the weekend and picked up an assist in his first game back. He was a -1 in the Sioux City Musketeers second game of the weekend.
Fredric Larsson picked up his first point in his game Saturday with the Youngstown Phantoms.
David Drake was a -1 Friday night and recorded a shot Saturday night. Other than that he didn't factor in the score sheet for the Des Moines Buccaneers. Drake has yet to record a point.
Merrick Madsen had an average weekend with the Minot Minotauros in the NAHL. After sitting on the bench for Minot's game Friday night Madsen gave up 3 goals on 32 shots in a 3-2 loss Saturday night. Since moving down to the NAHL Madsen is 1-1 with a .904 Save% and a 2.53 GAA.
Earlier in the week Darren Dreger reported that the Anaheim Ducks are looking for a defenseman and that they were talking to a few NHL teams, including the Flyers. Dreger also reported that the Ducks would be willing to move one of their young forwards to make a deal. Who could the Flyers get if they deal a defenseman to Anaheim? Well that depends on who they send. If they were to deal Andrej Meszaros, as a lot of people have speculated, there are a number of forwards that the Flyers could get in return. I don't think the Duck would be willing to send one of their top five forward prospects (Jakob Silfverberg, Emerson Etem, Rickard Rakell, Peter Holland, and Nicolas Kerdiles) in a deal for Mesz. Also I think that Stefan Noesen, Antoine Laganiere, and Charles Sarault who have all been recently acquired via trade and free agency are also off limits. The Flyers may be interested in young NHL regulars like Nick Bonino and Matt Beleskey but they are both important parts to that Anaheim team so I don't know if they are going to be willing to part with them.
I know, I said I list a few names that the Ducks might deal and then only listed guys who I don't think they would trade. Well here is who I think they could deal. My list starts with Devante Smith-Pelly and Patrick Maroon. Smith-Pelly made the Ducks as a 19 year old in 2011-12, he played 49 games but found a reduced role with the team in the lockout shortened season. He had an alright season in the AHL last year and perhaps could benefit from a change of scenery. Maroon was actually drafted by the Flyers in 2007 and he's been a solid AHLer since turning pro. He was almost point per game in 2011-12 in the AHL. He isn't afraid to drop the gloves and is generally a pretty feisty player. He played 13 games with the Ducks last year and started the season with the team this year. These two guys are probably the only NHL ready players who the Ducks would be willing to move. Prospect wise I think the best forwards the Flyers could get are William Karlsson, Nick Sorensen, Chris Wagner, Kevin Roy, or Max Friberg. Karlsson, drafted 53rd Overall in 2011, is under contract with the Ducks but he was loaned back to his team in the SHL for this season. He was one of the top scorers in Sweden's second league in 2011-12; putting up 45 points (12 G, 33 A) in 46 games as a 18/19 year old. He adjusted well to the SHL last season and is off to another solid start. He is considered a speedy, skilled, top six player. Sorensen was drafted 45th overall in this last draft may also be an option for the Flyers. He was just over point per game for the Quebec Ramparts of the QMJHL last year and has 3 points (all assists) in 2 games so far this season. Some have speculated Sorensen is destined for a depth role, but I think he is comparable to Matt Read. He will also likely be a teammate of Robert Hagg on the Swedish World Junior team. Wagner was a 5th round pick in 2010 and he had a monster sophomore season at Colgate University scoring 51 points in 38 games in 2011-12. He had a bit of a rough adjustment to the AHL but he's a tough defensive player with some offensive pop. Kevin Roy was drafted as a 19 year old in 2012 after leading the USHL in points. He started his NCAA career with a bang scoring 34 points (17 G, 17 A) in 29 games with Northeastern University. Finally, Max Friberg caught everybody's attention following a stellar World Junior performance in 2012. He was the top scorer on his team (2nd leading scorer in the tournament), won the Gold Medal, and was named to the tournament All-Star team along with top prospects Evgeny Kuznetsov and Mikael Granlund. He had a rough transition to the SHL after averaging 1.17 PPG in Sweden's third league as an 18 year old. He has made the jump to North America this season and has so far picked up a goal in 2 AHL games.
Probably the best thing we could get from the Ducks is goaltending prospect Frederik Andersen. The Danish goalie was the best goalie in Sweden during 2011-12 and was arguably the best starter in the AHL last season. He's 23 years old, but with the Ducks bringing over Viktor Fasth last year, top goaltending prospect John Gibson waiting in the wings, and solid prospect Igor Bobkov in the organization Andersen may be expendable.
I think Andersen is probably the best thing we could get from the Ducks. If they are only trying to move a forward for a defenseman I think Karlsson or Sorensen would be the best options. But I think the Flyers are more likely to go after Patrick Maroon. He is already an NHLer and he fits the Flyers style. That's why they drafted him years ago, and they have a history of bring back players who were once in their organization.
The Adirondack Phantoms opened their season this weekend with a game against the Hershey Bears Saturday night.
Brandon Alderson had a great game. He picked up an assist on the opening goal of the season scored by Phantoms captain Ben Holmstrom and then scored the game tying goal in the third period. Alderson is a bit of a surprise, a kind of the under the radar signing over the off-season, but I was really impressed with his play at prospect camp, in the rookie game, and with the Phantoms tonight.
Jason Akeson, coming off a strong pre-season with both the Flyers and Phantoms, picked up two assists including one on the over time game winner. If the Flyers continue to struggle with scoring we could see the Akeson join the Flyers sooner rather than later.
Tye McGinn tipped in a Nick Cousins shot for the Phantoms second goal. Cousins got bumped up to the first line with McGinn and Akeson after Newbury was recalled by the Flyers. Michael Raffl, Mark Alt, Matt Konan, and Petr Straka all picked up assists, Straka getting the primary on Brandon Manning's over time game winner.
The Phantoms had a strong performance on the penalty kill; shutting the Bears out on all 5 of their power play opportunities. This is great considering the Flyers are using the Phantoms to develop their prospects into stronger defensive players. Struggling somewhat was the Phantoms power play. Though they did convert on one of their four PP chances they gave up two short handed goals. That's something they can tighten up in the Future.
Scott Laughton was sent back to junior Thursday and is off to an explosive start. Laughton picked up two goals and two assists in his first game back, then picked up two assists in his game Friday night with the Oshawa Generals. He continued Sunday picking up a goal and two assists. For those keeping track at home Laughton has 9 points (3 G, 6 A) in three games. I know a lot of people consider Laughton as a depth forward, but this season in the OHL could change that. 1.70-1.80 PPG is the magic number (or more appropriately magic range) for Laughton. That is what top tier prospects Mark Scheifele and Ryan Strome averaged in their second OHL season after being drafted. Both of them are considered top line prospects. If Laughton could put up a similar average he could find himself on a track to stardom.
Now, don't think the Flyers should recall Laughton to help address their offensive woes. He was sent back to junior to develop. He had a great weekend but you can't develop over a weekend. This isn't like when Brayden Schenn was sent down to the AHL for a handful of games at the start of the 11-12 season, that was more of a wake up call/punishment. The Flyers want Laughton to develop at the junior level and development takes time.
Taylor Leier and Tyrell Goulbourne faced off against each other with their respective WHL clubs for a pair of games over the weekend. Leier picked up 2 goals (including one short handed Saturday night) and an assist over the weekend. Leier has 9 points (4 G, 5 A) in 7 games this season. while Goulbourne picked up 2 assists Friday night. Goulbourne also picked up 2 assists Wednesday night giving him 4 points (all assists) on the season. Goulbourne who was drafted partly (if not entirely) for his pugilism has yet to drop the gloves this season. Kelowna actually didn't have any fights until this weekend. Goulbourne had 36 fights over the last two seasons in the WHL, and so far this season only has a minor penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. I would really like to know how the Flyers feel about his lack of fisticuffs.
Anthony Stolarz had a rougher weekend compared to his red hot start this season with the London Knights. After giving up 4 goals on 33 shots Friday nights Stolarz bounced back with a 26 save performance Saturday night. Stolarz won both games over the weekend and is undefeated with a .934 Save% and a 2.20 GAA. I speculated over the summer that there may be a bit of a battle between Stolarz and his back up in London Jake Patterson due to Stolarz's struggles and Patterson's success at the end of last season. This weekend showed me Stolarz is firmly planted as the Knights starter. Even if he struggles one night the coaches have the confidence to send him out the very next night to get the job done.
Samuel Morin sat out both of Rimouski's games of the weekend with an injury but he is expected to play in their next game.
Robert Hagg, after picking up his 3rd point of the season (all assists) during the week, found himself back on the first defensive pairing in MODO's game Saturday and skated just over 15 and a half minutes.
Valeri Vasiliev again finished 4th amongst defensemen on his team, Spartak Moscow, in TOI and shifts in their game Saturday. On the season he has 1 point and is a +1 (tied for team lead) and, excluding his first game when he left early, is averaging over 15 minutes of ice time a game.
Jakub Kovar stopped 27 of 30 shots in his game Sunday against HC Donbass (featuring former Flyers Michael Leighton, Ruslan Fedotenko, and Oskars Bartulis). He took the 3-0 loss. Kovar on the season has a .913 Save % and a 2.53 GAA, but if you take out his one rough game he has .927 Save% and a 2.06 GAA. Kovar's team Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg remains at the bottom of the KHL, but Kovar has been in net for every win.
Terrance Amorosa returned from injury over the weekend and picked up an assist in his first game back. He was a -1 in the Sioux City Musketeers second game of the weekend.
Fredric Larsson picked up his first point in his game Saturday with the Youngstown Phantoms.
David Drake was a -1 Friday night and recorded a shot Saturday night. Other than that he didn't factor in the score sheet for the Des Moines Buccaneers. Drake has yet to record a point.
Merrick Madsen had an average weekend with the Minot Minotauros in the NAHL. After sitting on the bench for Minot's game Friday night Madsen gave up 3 goals on 32 shots in a 3-2 loss Saturday night. Since moving down to the NAHL Madsen is 1-1 with a .904 Save% and a 2.53 GAA.
Earlier in the week Darren Dreger reported that the Anaheim Ducks are looking for a defenseman and that they were talking to a few NHL teams, including the Flyers. Dreger also reported that the Ducks would be willing to move one of their young forwards to make a deal. Who could the Flyers get if they deal a defenseman to Anaheim? Well that depends on who they send. If they were to deal Andrej Meszaros, as a lot of people have speculated, there are a number of forwards that the Flyers could get in return. I don't think the Duck would be willing to send one of their top five forward prospects (Jakob Silfverberg, Emerson Etem, Rickard Rakell, Peter Holland, and Nicolas Kerdiles) in a deal for Mesz. Also I think that Stefan Noesen, Antoine Laganiere, and Charles Sarault who have all been recently acquired via trade and free agency are also off limits. The Flyers may be interested in young NHL regulars like Nick Bonino and Matt Beleskey but they are both important parts to that Anaheim team so I don't know if they are going to be willing to part with them.
I know, I said I list a few names that the Ducks might deal and then only listed guys who I don't think they would trade. Well here is who I think they could deal. My list starts with Devante Smith-Pelly and Patrick Maroon. Smith-Pelly made the Ducks as a 19 year old in 2011-12, he played 49 games but found a reduced role with the team in the lockout shortened season. He had an alright season in the AHL last year and perhaps could benefit from a change of scenery. Maroon was actually drafted by the Flyers in 2007 and he's been a solid AHLer since turning pro. He was almost point per game in 2011-12 in the AHL. He isn't afraid to drop the gloves and is generally a pretty feisty player. He played 13 games with the Ducks last year and started the season with the team this year. These two guys are probably the only NHL ready players who the Ducks would be willing to move. Prospect wise I think the best forwards the Flyers could get are William Karlsson, Nick Sorensen, Chris Wagner, Kevin Roy, or Max Friberg. Karlsson, drafted 53rd Overall in 2011, is under contract with the Ducks but he was loaned back to his team in the SHL for this season. He was one of the top scorers in Sweden's second league in 2011-12; putting up 45 points (12 G, 33 A) in 46 games as a 18/19 year old. He adjusted well to the SHL last season and is off to another solid start. He is considered a speedy, skilled, top six player. Sorensen was drafted 45th overall in this last draft may also be an option for the Flyers. He was just over point per game for the Quebec Ramparts of the QMJHL last year and has 3 points (all assists) in 2 games so far this season. Some have speculated Sorensen is destined for a depth role, but I think he is comparable to Matt Read. He will also likely be a teammate of Robert Hagg on the Swedish World Junior team. Wagner was a 5th round pick in 2010 and he had a monster sophomore season at Colgate University scoring 51 points in 38 games in 2011-12. He had a bit of a rough adjustment to the AHL but he's a tough defensive player with some offensive pop. Kevin Roy was drafted as a 19 year old in 2012 after leading the USHL in points. He started his NCAA career with a bang scoring 34 points (17 G, 17 A) in 29 games with Northeastern University. Finally, Max Friberg caught everybody's attention following a stellar World Junior performance in 2012. He was the top scorer on his team (2nd leading scorer in the tournament), won the Gold Medal, and was named to the tournament All-Star team along with top prospects Evgeny Kuznetsov and Mikael Granlund. He had a rough transition to the SHL after averaging 1.17 PPG in Sweden's third league as an 18 year old. He has made the jump to North America this season and has so far picked up a goal in 2 AHL games.
Probably the best thing we could get from the Ducks is goaltending prospect Frederik Andersen. The Danish goalie was the best goalie in Sweden during 2011-12 and was arguably the best starter in the AHL last season. He's 23 years old, but with the Ducks bringing over Viktor Fasth last year, top goaltending prospect John Gibson waiting in the wings, and solid prospect Igor Bobkov in the organization Andersen may be expendable.
I think Andersen is probably the best thing we could get from the Ducks. If they are only trying to move a forward for a defenseman I think Karlsson or Sorensen would be the best options. But I think the Flyers are more likely to go after Patrick Maroon. He is already an NHLer and he fits the Flyers style. That's why they drafted him years ago, and they have a history of bring back players who were once in their organization.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Flyers Prospect Weekend Recap: 27th-29th
FLYERS HOCKEY IS ONLY A COUPLE DAYS AWAY!!!
Lets take a look at what the Flyers prospects were up to this weekend.
Michael Raffl was sent down to the Phantoms on Friday and was forced to miss Adirondack's first pre-season game. He made up for that in their second pre-season game of the weekend scoring the Phantoms only two goals of the game.
Petr Straka picked up the primary assist on both of Raffl's goals. On the first one Straka forced a turnover and then found an open Raffl. The assist was more of, I think, a text book Straka play where he entered the zone took a shot with Raffl cleaning up the rebound.The faster Straka makes an impact in the AHL the better shot he has at making it up to the Flyers.
Jason Akeson also had great weekend. He picked up a goal and an assist in the Phantoms first pre-season game skating on a line with Kris Newbury and Tye McGinn. Though he didn't get on the score sheet in the second game Sunday he apparently played very well.
How Raffl and Akeson have preformed in the pre-season could be a big deal. A lot of people think the Flyers are looking for another winger. There is still a chance that Scott Laughton only plays 9 games before being sent back to juniors. The Flyers have a short period at the start of the season where things are kind of in limbo. This opens the door for guys like Raffl and Akeson to play there way into the NHL with a few games in the AHL. Akeson has played this game before, starting last years lockout season in the ECHL.
Taylor Leier had another strong weekend with the Portland Winterhawks in the WHL, After scoring a goal in a game tuesday, he picked up another goal in the Winterhawks game Saturday night. Possibly more important than the goal was the fact that before the game Leier was named Captain of the Winterhawks. Leadership is clearly something the Flyers look for in a player. The fact that he has been named captain of such a powerhouse team is a big deal. Leier has 6 points (2 goals, 4 assists) in 4 games. Portland plays again Wednesday.
Anthony Stolarz had another strong game for the London Knights Friday night. He stopped 36 of 39 shots in a 6-3 win. Stolarz is starting to make a case for himself being the starter for the US World Junior team, but its still early and his main competition Jon Gillies hasn't even begun play this year. He didn't play in London's 6-3 loss Sunday. He currently leads all OHL goalies with a 1.50 GAA and a .957% Save percentage. London plays again Wednesday.
Tyrell Goulbourne had a minor weekend. He was a -1 in one game played and didn't drop the mitts. He did start the game, but he didn't factor in the scoring. Goulbourne, who I thought could take a step forward season, has yet to impact the score sheet or fight (what he was drafted to do). He and his Kelowna Rockets play again Wednesday.
Samuel Morin missed both of Rimouski's games this weekend and another game and their game Tuesday night with an injury. The injury, suffered in last Sunday's game against Quebec, isn't serious and he could be back in time for Rimouski's games next weekend.
In the USHL Fredric Larsson was a -2 with no points in two games for Youngstown. David Drake was even in a 4-0 loss for Des Moines. Terrance Amorosa is apparently being held out due to injury and has not yet played this season.
Merrick Madsen who was slated to to play with David Drake and the Des Moines Buccaneers but has since been demoted to the Minot Minotauros of the NAHL. It's a lower league, but it was the same league Anthony Stolarz was playing when he was drafted. I also don't know how long he'll stay in the NAHL considering how poor Des Moines goaltending has been so far this season. In his first game he gave up 2 goals on 20 shots.
Robert Hagg has had a slightly reduced role in his last two games with MODO. He has seen his ice time drop, but not significantly considering a handful of games his TOI has been boosted by playing in overtime. He didn't score over the weekend and remains with 2 points (2 assists) in 6 games. MODO plays again Tuesday.
Valeri Vasiliev is starting to get increased responsibility with Spartak Moscow. He picked up his first point of the season (an assist) in a game against Jakub Kovar and Avtomobilist Yekanterinburg. In his two games over the weekend he played over 16 minutes including multiple shirts in overtime in both games. That does mean he could see a drop in TOI when Spartak doesn't go into OT, but it also means he has more responsibility with the team. TOI may be hard to come by, Spartak usually dresses 7 or 8 defenseman with Deron Quint, arguably the best Defenseman in the KHL right now, gobbling up 25 to 30 minutes a night. Vasiliev is still regularly finishing 4th on his team in ice time and shifts. Vasiliev is currently playing HC Yugra and Vasiliev has skated just under 13 minutes, his minutes were probably reduced because of his Spartak trailing in one goal game. Spartak Moscow plays again Wednesday.
Jakub Kovar has gotten back to form after suffering a punishing loss to Barys Astana. In the two games since his 7 goal drubbing Kovar has allowed 3 goals in 50 shots. So far this season he has a .927 Save % and a 2.21 GAA. If you take out that one Barys game he has a .949 Save % and a 1.49 GAA. Kovar and Avtomobilist play later today and again Wednesday.
Lets take a look at what the Flyers prospects were up to this weekend.
Michael Raffl was sent down to the Phantoms on Friday and was forced to miss Adirondack's first pre-season game. He made up for that in their second pre-season game of the weekend scoring the Phantoms only two goals of the game.
Petr Straka picked up the primary assist on both of Raffl's goals. On the first one Straka forced a turnover and then found an open Raffl. The assist was more of, I think, a text book Straka play where he entered the zone took a shot with Raffl cleaning up the rebound.The faster Straka makes an impact in the AHL the better shot he has at making it up to the Flyers.
Jason Akeson also had great weekend. He picked up a goal and an assist in the Phantoms first pre-season game skating on a line with Kris Newbury and Tye McGinn. Though he didn't get on the score sheet in the second game Sunday he apparently played very well.
How Raffl and Akeson have preformed in the pre-season could be a big deal. A lot of people think the Flyers are looking for another winger. There is still a chance that Scott Laughton only plays 9 games before being sent back to juniors. The Flyers have a short period at the start of the season where things are kind of in limbo. This opens the door for guys like Raffl and Akeson to play there way into the NHL with a few games in the AHL. Akeson has played this game before, starting last years lockout season in the ECHL.
Taylor Leier had another strong weekend with the Portland Winterhawks in the WHL, After scoring a goal in a game tuesday, he picked up another goal in the Winterhawks game Saturday night. Possibly more important than the goal was the fact that before the game Leier was named Captain of the Winterhawks. Leadership is clearly something the Flyers look for in a player. The fact that he has been named captain of such a powerhouse team is a big deal. Leier has 6 points (2 goals, 4 assists) in 4 games. Portland plays again Wednesday.
Anthony Stolarz had another strong game for the London Knights Friday night. He stopped 36 of 39 shots in a 6-3 win. Stolarz is starting to make a case for himself being the starter for the US World Junior team, but its still early and his main competition Jon Gillies hasn't even begun play this year. He didn't play in London's 6-3 loss Sunday. He currently leads all OHL goalies with a 1.50 GAA and a .957% Save percentage. London plays again Wednesday.
Tyrell Goulbourne had a minor weekend. He was a -1 in one game played and didn't drop the mitts. He did start the game, but he didn't factor in the scoring. Goulbourne, who I thought could take a step forward season, has yet to impact the score sheet or fight (what he was drafted to do). He and his Kelowna Rockets play again Wednesday.
Samuel Morin missed both of Rimouski's games this weekend and another game and their game Tuesday night with an injury. The injury, suffered in last Sunday's game against Quebec, isn't serious and he could be back in time for Rimouski's games next weekend.
In the USHL Fredric Larsson was a -2 with no points in two games for Youngstown. David Drake was even in a 4-0 loss for Des Moines. Terrance Amorosa is apparently being held out due to injury and has not yet played this season.
Merrick Madsen who was slated to to play with David Drake and the Des Moines Buccaneers but has since been demoted to the Minot Minotauros of the NAHL. It's a lower league, but it was the same league Anthony Stolarz was playing when he was drafted. I also don't know how long he'll stay in the NAHL considering how poor Des Moines goaltending has been so far this season. In his first game he gave up 2 goals on 20 shots.
Robert Hagg has had a slightly reduced role in his last two games with MODO. He has seen his ice time drop, but not significantly considering a handful of games his TOI has been boosted by playing in overtime. He didn't score over the weekend and remains with 2 points (2 assists) in 6 games. MODO plays again Tuesday.
Valeri Vasiliev is starting to get increased responsibility with Spartak Moscow. He picked up his first point of the season (an assist) in a game against Jakub Kovar and Avtomobilist Yekanterinburg. In his two games over the weekend he played over 16 minutes including multiple shirts in overtime in both games. That does mean he could see a drop in TOI when Spartak doesn't go into OT, but it also means he has more responsibility with the team. TOI may be hard to come by, Spartak usually dresses 7 or 8 defenseman with Deron Quint, arguably the best Defenseman in the KHL right now, gobbling up 25 to 30 minutes a night. Vasiliev is still regularly finishing 4th on his team in ice time and shifts. Vasiliev is currently playing HC Yugra and Vasiliev has skated just under 13 minutes, his minutes were probably reduced because of his Spartak trailing in one goal game. Spartak Moscow plays again Wednesday.
Jakub Kovar has gotten back to form after suffering a punishing loss to Barys Astana. In the two games since his 7 goal drubbing Kovar has allowed 3 goals in 50 shots. So far this season he has a .927 Save % and a 2.21 GAA. If you take out that one Barys game he has a .949 Save % and a 1.49 GAA. Kovar and Avtomobilist play later today and again Wednesday.
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Flyers Prospect Weekend Recap: September 23rd-25th
With most AHL, Junior, and College games happening over the weekend, I thought it would be a good idea to do a Flyers prospect weekend recap. So here is the first weekend recap of the season.
Taylor Leier is off to a hot start with the Portland Winterhawks in the WHL. Skating with familiar linemates Oliver Bjorkstrand and Chase De Leo; Leier has posted four points (all assists) in his first two games. Leier is also wearing an 'A' for the Winterhawks this season. Leier and the Winterhawks are back in action Tuesday.
Anthony Stolarz is also off to a good start with his Junior squad in London. After skating on his home rink with the Flyers earlier in the week his started in the Knights opener on Friday. Stolarz posted a 30 shot shut out, which is especially impressive considering the Knights were without most of their stars (namely First round pick defensemen Olli Maatta and Nikita Zadorov, as well as lottery picks Bo Horvat and Max Domi).
Tyrell Goulbourne didn't pick up a point in either of the Kelowna Rockets' games this weekend. Goulbourne, who was drafted for his pugilism, didn't get in a fight either. He was, however, a +2 for the weekend.
Sam Morin probably had the worst weekend out of the Flyers prospects currently playing in the CHL. He didn't score and was a -2 in a weekend where his Rimouski Oceanic went 0-2. He registered 6 shots on goal (5 in his first game back) and recorded 1 hit.
Robert Hagg was in action Saturday for MODO. He picked up an assist and skated for just over 18 minutes. In four games this season MODO has seen three go into extra time and two make it all the way to a shoot out. Hagg plays again Tuesday.
Valeri Vasiliev played his second and third game after returning from a shoulder injury. He skated for just over 13 minutes in a game against SKA St. Petersberg on Friday (I was watching that game and I don't think he saw any ice time against SKA's Ilya Kovalchuk) and he skated 16:29 in a game Sunday against Severstal Cherepovets. The game against Severstal was second time he saw the ice in OT after returning from his injury. Vasiliev is taking a decidedly defensive role so far, he has only recorded one shot all season (he recorded 17 in 16 games last season with Spartak's top club) but he is still seeing a good amount of ice time, usually finishing 4th on his team in shifts and TOI.
Jakub Kovar, after having a monster debut, came back to Earth Sunday following a 7 goal shelling at the hands of Barys Astana. His numbers for the season are still good, a .919 Save % and a 2.50 GAA, but I think we'll see a little more of this throughout the season. Kovar is playing behind a weak team.
David Drake didn't put up a point and was even in his season opener with the Des Moines Buccaneers in the USHL. Des Moines lost that opener 6-4.
Fredric Larsson skated in both games for the Youngstown Phantoms this weekend. The Phantoms dropped both games to the US National Development Team by a combined score of 16-9 (starting to get the impression this really isn't a goalie friendly league) and registered a -2. That's not bad considering only one of the US goals on the power play while a third of Youngstown's goals were scored with the man advantage.
Both defenseman Terrance Amorosa and goalie Merrick Madsen sat in the press box (or whatever the USHL equivalent to the press box is) for the openers for their respective teams. Both played high school hockey in New Hampshire last season. Both were considered reach picks even though they were taken later in the draft (Amorosa, like David Drake, wasn't even ranked by NHL Central Scouting). This probably isn't what the Flyers wanted. Remember Anthony Stolarz started last year riding the pine in the NCAA with Nebraska-Omaha and bailed to go to London in the OHL. Stolarz was being heavily courted by a power house team in the CHL, I don't think such offers will come along for Amorosa or Madsen. Madsen will probably see game action a little sooner than Amorosa, his goalie partners struggled in the season opener. Amorosa only skated in one of his Souix City Muskateers pre-season games. Either way both already have NCAA commitments. Amorosa to Providence College and Madsen to Harvard. Madsen I thought looked good at Flyers camp this summer.
The Adirondack Phantoms announced their training camp rosters Sunday. All the names you expect are on the list outside of players like Oliver Lauridsen and Michael Raffl who are still with the Flyers. A couple interesting names on the Phantoms camp roster are undersized wing Guillaume Asselin, a once top prospect (considered a first round pick early in his draft year who went undrafted) who averaged more than a point per game in each of his last seasons in the QMJHL, and big defenseman Mark Nemec, who played last season with the University of Maine and was rather impressive in the Flyers fall rookie camp and prospect game.
NCAA teams don't start playing until October 4th and even then it is essentially a pre-season with most teams playing exhibition games against Canadian colleges. Flyers draft picks Michael Parks (North Dakota) and Nick Luukko (Vermont) start playing at this time. Shayne Gostisbehere and Union College start play October 11th, while Ivy Leaguers Reece Willcox (Cornell) and Petr Placek (Harvard) don't start play until the weekend of October 25th.
Taylor Leier is off to a hot start with the Portland Winterhawks in the WHL. Skating with familiar linemates Oliver Bjorkstrand and Chase De Leo; Leier has posted four points (all assists) in his first two games. Leier is also wearing an 'A' for the Winterhawks this season. Leier and the Winterhawks are back in action Tuesday.
Anthony Stolarz is also off to a good start with his Junior squad in London. After skating on his home rink with the Flyers earlier in the week his started in the Knights opener on Friday. Stolarz posted a 30 shot shut out, which is especially impressive considering the Knights were without most of their stars (namely First round pick defensemen Olli Maatta and Nikita Zadorov, as well as lottery picks Bo Horvat and Max Domi).
Tyrell Goulbourne didn't pick up a point in either of the Kelowna Rockets' games this weekend. Goulbourne, who was drafted for his pugilism, didn't get in a fight either. He was, however, a +2 for the weekend.
Sam Morin probably had the worst weekend out of the Flyers prospects currently playing in the CHL. He didn't score and was a -2 in a weekend where his Rimouski Oceanic went 0-2. He registered 6 shots on goal (5 in his first game back) and recorded 1 hit.
Robert Hagg was in action Saturday for MODO. He picked up an assist and skated for just over 18 minutes. In four games this season MODO has seen three go into extra time and two make it all the way to a shoot out. Hagg plays again Tuesday.
Valeri Vasiliev played his second and third game after returning from a shoulder injury. He skated for just over 13 minutes in a game against SKA St. Petersberg on Friday (I was watching that game and I don't think he saw any ice time against SKA's Ilya Kovalchuk) and he skated 16:29 in a game Sunday against Severstal Cherepovets. The game against Severstal was second time he saw the ice in OT after returning from his injury. Vasiliev is taking a decidedly defensive role so far, he has only recorded one shot all season (he recorded 17 in 16 games last season with Spartak's top club) but he is still seeing a good amount of ice time, usually finishing 4th on his team in shifts and TOI.
Jakub Kovar, after having a monster debut, came back to Earth Sunday following a 7 goal shelling at the hands of Barys Astana. His numbers for the season are still good, a .919 Save % and a 2.50 GAA, but I think we'll see a little more of this throughout the season. Kovar is playing behind a weak team.
David Drake didn't put up a point and was even in his season opener with the Des Moines Buccaneers in the USHL. Des Moines lost that opener 6-4.
Fredric Larsson skated in both games for the Youngstown Phantoms this weekend. The Phantoms dropped both games to the US National Development Team by a combined score of 16-9 (starting to get the impression this really isn't a goalie friendly league) and registered a -2. That's not bad considering only one of the US goals on the power play while a third of Youngstown's goals were scored with the man advantage.
Both defenseman Terrance Amorosa and goalie Merrick Madsen sat in the press box (or whatever the USHL equivalent to the press box is) for the openers for their respective teams. Both played high school hockey in New Hampshire last season. Both were considered reach picks even though they were taken later in the draft (Amorosa, like David Drake, wasn't even ranked by NHL Central Scouting). This probably isn't what the Flyers wanted. Remember Anthony Stolarz started last year riding the pine in the NCAA with Nebraska-Omaha and bailed to go to London in the OHL. Stolarz was being heavily courted by a power house team in the CHL, I don't think such offers will come along for Amorosa or Madsen. Madsen will probably see game action a little sooner than Amorosa, his goalie partners struggled in the season opener. Amorosa only skated in one of his Souix City Muskateers pre-season games. Either way both already have NCAA commitments. Amorosa to Providence College and Madsen to Harvard. Madsen I thought looked good at Flyers camp this summer.
The Adirondack Phantoms announced their training camp rosters Sunday. All the names you expect are on the list outside of players like Oliver Lauridsen and Michael Raffl who are still with the Flyers. A couple interesting names on the Phantoms camp roster are undersized wing Guillaume Asselin, a once top prospect (considered a first round pick early in his draft year who went undrafted) who averaged more than a point per game in each of his last seasons in the QMJHL, and big defenseman Mark Nemec, who played last season with the University of Maine and was rather impressive in the Flyers fall rookie camp and prospect game.
NCAA teams don't start playing until October 4th and even then it is essentially a pre-season with most teams playing exhibition games against Canadian colleges. Flyers draft picks Michael Parks (North Dakota) and Nick Luukko (Vermont) start playing at this time. Shayne Gostisbehere and Union College start play October 11th, while Ivy Leaguers Reece Willcox (Cornell) and Petr Placek (Harvard) don't start play until the weekend of October 25th.
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Flyers Prospect Review: Pre-season
We saw the Flyers make their first round of cuts today, I think it would be a good time to re-cap how the Flyers prospects performed in camp.
Out front Michael Raffl and Scott Laughton are the only two forward prospects to stay with the Flyers. Erik Gustafsson and Oliver Lauridsen are the only D who have stuck with the team so far. Raffl I think was more impressive than Laughton so far in the pre-season, but I wouldn't be surprised if Raffl is sent to the AHL to start out the season while Laughton gets his free nine games (he can play 9 games before it counts as a year off his ELC). Laughton did a good job getting open and getting shots off but was unable to score. But he did have a nifty move in the shoot out in the Flyers second pre-season game against Toronto. Raffl did a great job pushing the tempo and creating chances in the Flyers two games in Philly.
Players who were very impressive for the Flyers during the pre-season.
Sam Morin had a couple very impressive games in Philadelphia. He still made some mistakes, and wasn't really playing against the toughest competition, but he played well. He signed his ELC and was sent back to junior. All talk of him sticking with the team was really insane. They have two very similar, and bigger, players in Lauridsen and Gill who are all around better and have smaller cap hits.
Anthony Stolarz got to play half a game in London in the Flyers first pre-season game. He played very well and had to make a couple awkward saves, but he made the saves. The Flyers left him in London, where he plays junior, after the game.
Jason Akeson was probably the biggest surprise cut from today's roster trimming. Akeson played great in the first game and followed that up with a very impressive effort in his second. He did have a bit of a defensive lapse that partially led to the the Rangers 3rd goal in the Flyers second home pre-season game, but a lot went wrong on that play. Akeson, I think, has definitely earned his shot in the NHL and could get a prolonged look at some point this season.
Nick Cousins had a great outing in the Flyers first pre-season game in London; picking up a goal and an assist. I think he played well in the Flyers second even though he didn't end up on the score sheet. My biggest question about Cousins going into this year is whether his OHL production would transfer to the AHL. Lots of CHL players who put up great numbers in junior struggle to put up even decent numbers in the AHL. Cousins performance made me feel better about his chances of scoring at the AHL level (then again Rinaldo was a few inches away from putting up a goal and an assist aswell).
Taylor Leier played his role well on the 4th line in the Flyers first home pre-season game. Mark Alt did a good job paired with Hal Gill in the Flyers second home pre-season game (though he and Gill both contributed to that 3rd Rangers goal). Oliver Lauridsen played very well in his two games against Toronto. If the Flyers are seriously considering Hal Gill they should be seriously considering Lauridsen, who I think has easily out played him. Especially in that first pre-season game when they where both on the ice. Marcel Noebels I think played pretty well in camp and look pretty good against the Maple Leafs regulars in their second game up north. He probably should have had the shoot out winner in that game, but he just missed the net after making a good move on the Toronto goalie.
Other player news
Valeri Vasiliev made his return much sooner than expected as he made it back to the line-up against Lokomotiv Yaroslavl earlier today. Vasiliev was thought to miss at least three weeks after injuring his shoulder in the season opener a little less than 2 weeks ago. He only played 14 minutes, but he did get a shift in the over time period.
Robert Hagg picked up his first point in his second game of the SHL season. He got the secondary assist on a power play goal. Hagg who skated over 18 minutes in his first game only played 14 minutes in his second game (granted MODO's first game went into OT which inflated Hagg's minutes).
Jakub Kovar who the Flyers drafted back in 2006 and still have the rights to, is off to a great start with Avtomobilist Yekaterinberg (the worst team in the KHL last season). In his 3 starts he has a win, a shoot out win, and a shoot out loss. Better than that he has a .946 Save % and a 1.66 GAA.
The Flyers have 4 players in the USHL this season, a season that will start this weekend. The USHL pre-season is already over and it might not be what the Flyers wanted to hear. 2012 5th round pick Terrance Amorosa only got into one pre-season game, while 6th round pick Merrick Madsen has gotten into a few more but has struggled, especially compared to his goalie partners. Madsen's team, Flyers 7th Round pick David Drake has faired much better. He has been the only defensemen to play in all five pre-season games for the Des Moines Buccaneers and he picked up a point. I should point out that Drake was the only of the Flyers 2013 draft picks to actually play in the USHL last season so his coaches probably have a better idea of what he can do which might explain why he has had better opportunities so far. Drake who was listed at 6'4 170lbs at the draft has appeared to put on significant weight. The USHL website lists him at 185lbs while Elite Prospects lists him at 220 lbs. I don't know which is right, but it's probably closer to 185lbs since he probably didn't put on 50 lbs in less than a year. Fredric Larsson is also off to a strong start, with a point and 26 penalty minutes in 3 games, but as an older player I expect him to do slightly better than fellow 6'4 defenseman Drake.
Out front Michael Raffl and Scott Laughton are the only two forward prospects to stay with the Flyers. Erik Gustafsson and Oliver Lauridsen are the only D who have stuck with the team so far. Raffl I think was more impressive than Laughton so far in the pre-season, but I wouldn't be surprised if Raffl is sent to the AHL to start out the season while Laughton gets his free nine games (he can play 9 games before it counts as a year off his ELC). Laughton did a good job getting open and getting shots off but was unable to score. But he did have a nifty move in the shoot out in the Flyers second pre-season game against Toronto. Raffl did a great job pushing the tempo and creating chances in the Flyers two games in Philly.
Players who were very impressive for the Flyers during the pre-season.
Sam Morin had a couple very impressive games in Philadelphia. He still made some mistakes, and wasn't really playing against the toughest competition, but he played well. He signed his ELC and was sent back to junior. All talk of him sticking with the team was really insane. They have two very similar, and bigger, players in Lauridsen and Gill who are all around better and have smaller cap hits.
Anthony Stolarz got to play half a game in London in the Flyers first pre-season game. He played very well and had to make a couple awkward saves, but he made the saves. The Flyers left him in London, where he plays junior, after the game.
Jason Akeson was probably the biggest surprise cut from today's roster trimming. Akeson played great in the first game and followed that up with a very impressive effort in his second. He did have a bit of a defensive lapse that partially led to the the Rangers 3rd goal in the Flyers second home pre-season game, but a lot went wrong on that play. Akeson, I think, has definitely earned his shot in the NHL and could get a prolonged look at some point this season.
Nick Cousins had a great outing in the Flyers first pre-season game in London; picking up a goal and an assist. I think he played well in the Flyers second even though he didn't end up on the score sheet. My biggest question about Cousins going into this year is whether his OHL production would transfer to the AHL. Lots of CHL players who put up great numbers in junior struggle to put up even decent numbers in the AHL. Cousins performance made me feel better about his chances of scoring at the AHL level (then again Rinaldo was a few inches away from putting up a goal and an assist aswell).
Taylor Leier played his role well on the 4th line in the Flyers first home pre-season game. Mark Alt did a good job paired with Hal Gill in the Flyers second home pre-season game (though he and Gill both contributed to that 3rd Rangers goal). Oliver Lauridsen played very well in his two games against Toronto. If the Flyers are seriously considering Hal Gill they should be seriously considering Lauridsen, who I think has easily out played him. Especially in that first pre-season game when they where both on the ice. Marcel Noebels I think played pretty well in camp and look pretty good against the Maple Leafs regulars in their second game up north. He probably should have had the shoot out winner in that game, but he just missed the net after making a good move on the Toronto goalie.
Other player news
Valeri Vasiliev made his return much sooner than expected as he made it back to the line-up against Lokomotiv Yaroslavl earlier today. Vasiliev was thought to miss at least three weeks after injuring his shoulder in the season opener a little less than 2 weeks ago. He only played 14 minutes, but he did get a shift in the over time period.
Robert Hagg picked up his first point in his second game of the SHL season. He got the secondary assist on a power play goal. Hagg who skated over 18 minutes in his first game only played 14 minutes in his second game (granted MODO's first game went into OT which inflated Hagg's minutes).
Jakub Kovar who the Flyers drafted back in 2006 and still have the rights to, is off to a great start with Avtomobilist Yekaterinberg (the worst team in the KHL last season). In his 3 starts he has a win, a shoot out win, and a shoot out loss. Better than that he has a .946 Save % and a 1.66 GAA.
The Flyers have 4 players in the USHL this season, a season that will start this weekend. The USHL pre-season is already over and it might not be what the Flyers wanted to hear. 2012 5th round pick Terrance Amorosa only got into one pre-season game, while 6th round pick Merrick Madsen has gotten into a few more but has struggled, especially compared to his goalie partners. Madsen's team, Flyers 7th Round pick David Drake has faired much better. He has been the only defensemen to play in all five pre-season games for the Des Moines Buccaneers and he picked up a point. I should point out that Drake was the only of the Flyers 2013 draft picks to actually play in the USHL last season so his coaches probably have a better idea of what he can do which might explain why he has had better opportunities so far. Drake who was listed at 6'4 170lbs at the draft has appeared to put on significant weight. The USHL website lists him at 185lbs while Elite Prospects lists him at 220 lbs. I don't know which is right, but it's probably closer to 185lbs since he probably didn't put on 50 lbs in less than a year. Fredric Larsson is also off to a strong start, with a point and 26 penalty minutes in 3 games, but as an older player I expect him to do slightly better than fellow 6'4 defenseman Drake.
Friday, September 13, 2013
Robert Hagg on the Verge of a Special Season?
Flyers 2013 2nd round pick Robert Hagg and his teammates at MODO begin play in the Swedish Hockey League on Saturday against the Vaxjo Lakers HC. Hagg, who was originally projected to be a mid to late first round pick, has the chance to make himself one of the top defensive prospects in the NHL with the opportunities presented to him this season.
Hagg, who played half of last season on MODO's top team, has made a huge impact to the teams so far in the pre-season. In seven pre-season games Hagg picked up 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists) in 7 games. While some of those points came against weaker opponents (a goal against Timra of the lower tier Allsvenskan and an assist against last years Allsvenskan champion Leksand who are now without there top player Michael Raffl) some points came against some of the top teams in Europe (a goal against Finnish champs Assat and an assist against Swedish champions Skelleftea).
Hagg picked up most of those points on the power play. Which could mean great things for his production. Most young defensemen don't get this great chance to rack up points. On top of that Hagg has been, and likely will be, skating on MODO's top defensive pairing. Most young defensemen aren't put in these kind of pressure situations at such a young age. A good season could launch Hagg into the prospect stratosphere.
Recently top Swedish defensive prospects playing in the SHL get between 8 and 13 points in their post draft seasons. Tim Erixon got 13 points in 45 games, Jonas Brodin had 8 points in 49 games, David Rundblad had 13 points in 37 games, and Erik Karlsson only had 10 points in 45 games in his post draft year. Some more recent players 2011 1st Round pick Oscar Klefbom, a more defensive defenseman, had 2 points in 33 games and 2012 2nd Round pick (43rd Overall) Ludwig Bystrom had 6 points in 30 games. Lottery picks like Hampus Lindholm, Adam Larsson, and Victor Hedman jumped straight to North America. Oliver Ekman-Larsson was slightly older when we was drafted and played in the lower Allsvenskan which could explain why he racked up 33 points in 52 games in his post draft season.
Those stats are great but they aren't the be all end all. In 08-09 Victor Hedman had double the points that Erik Karlsson did (Hedman 21/Karlsson 10) in fewer games. In the NHL Hedman's best season is as good as Erik Karlsson worst season. so nothing is guaranteed.
Hagg may not be able to keep up his somewhat insane pre-season point per game average for the whole season, he could and probably should out produce his recent counterparts.
Hagg has been playing in the pro game for a long time. He made his pro debut when he was only 13 years old in Division-2 in Sweden. It's a low level league but Hagg was still competing against men twice his age. When he was 14 he averaged .5 points per game in Division 2. The next year he scored 11 points in Division-1 before getting snapped up by MODO and put in their junior system. He finally got back to the pro ranks with MODO at age 17. All tallied up Hagg has played more than 100 games against bigger, stronger, pro hockey players. This is probably why he has NHL ready size. His 203 lbs on his 6'2 frame is actually slightly above average height/weight ratio for similarly sized and skilled defensemen.
He will have the best chances to put up points. He wont get overwhelmed playing against pro players. He has already scored against some of the best competition on that continent. It's the perfect storm for big production numbers. Hopefully big numbers will get him a more offensive role with the Swedish world junior team. Hagg could have a great post draft season as a precursor to a great pro career. A high scoring season could be hard for the Flyers to pass up for the 13-14 season.
Other Notes
Mark Alt returned to the ice today at Flyers training camp after suffering a concussion Monday in the Prospect Game against Washington. He may not be ready for game play, so we might not see him in one of the Flyers early pre-season games, but I don't know. I think he will probably play on Monday when the Flyers will have a split squad day (because they have 2 games on the same night).
Most people know it takes goalies a longer time to develop into NHLers. It will usually take goalies 4-6 years post draft just to get a crack at the NHL. Something that really stood out watching Anthony Stolarz at Flyers training camp. Stolarz was almost unbeatable at both 2013 prospect camps but he was regularly picked apart by regular NHLers at pro training camp, including a guy like Sean Couturier who is pretty close to Stolarz's age. I still think Stolarz has a great chance at becoming an NHL goalie and a decent chance at becoming an above average NHL goalie. This time in pro camp will almost definitely help him when he returns to OHL after camp.
Michael Raffl seams to be in the lead for that final roster spot. Other serious contenders for that spot include Jason Akeson, Scott Laughton , Marcel Noebels and Tye McGinn. Akeson who I think is the most skilled and most NHL ready of that group will probably be pushed out by Raffl because of Raffl's speed and defensive abilities which is something they want on that 3rd line. I still think Akeson deserves a shot. Noebels probably needs more seasoning in the AHL and McGinn doesn't have the defensive (or really offensive skill) to be on that third line. His role will probably be on the 4th line, and if they think Talbot is the right guy for the 3rd line McGinn may get the call. Laughton is probably right behind Raffl for that final spot. I don't think that's right, not that Laughton can't play at that level, just that I think he can get better going back to junior for another season, but more on that later. I think Laughton will play some if not all of the 9 games allowed to junior eligible players before they burn a year of there ELC.
Hagg, who played half of last season on MODO's top team, has made a huge impact to the teams so far in the pre-season. In seven pre-season games Hagg picked up 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists) in 7 games. While some of those points came against weaker opponents (a goal against Timra of the lower tier Allsvenskan and an assist against last years Allsvenskan champion Leksand who are now without there top player Michael Raffl) some points came against some of the top teams in Europe (a goal against Finnish champs Assat and an assist against Swedish champions Skelleftea).
Hagg picked up most of those points on the power play. Which could mean great things for his production. Most young defensemen don't get this great chance to rack up points. On top of that Hagg has been, and likely will be, skating on MODO's top defensive pairing. Most young defensemen aren't put in these kind of pressure situations at such a young age. A good season could launch Hagg into the prospect stratosphere.
Recently top Swedish defensive prospects playing in the SHL get between 8 and 13 points in their post draft seasons. Tim Erixon got 13 points in 45 games, Jonas Brodin had 8 points in 49 games, David Rundblad had 13 points in 37 games, and Erik Karlsson only had 10 points in 45 games in his post draft year. Some more recent players 2011 1st Round pick Oscar Klefbom, a more defensive defenseman, had 2 points in 33 games and 2012 2nd Round pick (43rd Overall) Ludwig Bystrom had 6 points in 30 games. Lottery picks like Hampus Lindholm, Adam Larsson, and Victor Hedman jumped straight to North America. Oliver Ekman-Larsson was slightly older when we was drafted and played in the lower Allsvenskan which could explain why he racked up 33 points in 52 games in his post draft season.
Those stats are great but they aren't the be all end all. In 08-09 Victor Hedman had double the points that Erik Karlsson did (Hedman 21/Karlsson 10) in fewer games. In the NHL Hedman's best season is as good as Erik Karlsson worst season. so nothing is guaranteed.
Hagg may not be able to keep up his somewhat insane pre-season point per game average for the whole season, he could and probably should out produce his recent counterparts.
Hagg has been playing in the pro game for a long time. He made his pro debut when he was only 13 years old in Division-2 in Sweden. It's a low level league but Hagg was still competing against men twice his age. When he was 14 he averaged .5 points per game in Division 2. The next year he scored 11 points in Division-1 before getting snapped up by MODO and put in their junior system. He finally got back to the pro ranks with MODO at age 17. All tallied up Hagg has played more than 100 games against bigger, stronger, pro hockey players. This is probably why he has NHL ready size. His 203 lbs on his 6'2 frame is actually slightly above average height/weight ratio for similarly sized and skilled defensemen.
He will have the best chances to put up points. He wont get overwhelmed playing against pro players. He has already scored against some of the best competition on that continent. It's the perfect storm for big production numbers. Hopefully big numbers will get him a more offensive role with the Swedish world junior team. Hagg could have a great post draft season as a precursor to a great pro career. A high scoring season could be hard for the Flyers to pass up for the 13-14 season.
Other Notes
Mark Alt returned to the ice today at Flyers training camp after suffering a concussion Monday in the Prospect Game against Washington. He may not be ready for game play, so we might not see him in one of the Flyers early pre-season games, but I don't know. I think he will probably play on Monday when the Flyers will have a split squad day (because they have 2 games on the same night).
Most people know it takes goalies a longer time to develop into NHLers. It will usually take goalies 4-6 years post draft just to get a crack at the NHL. Something that really stood out watching Anthony Stolarz at Flyers training camp. Stolarz was almost unbeatable at both 2013 prospect camps but he was regularly picked apart by regular NHLers at pro training camp, including a guy like Sean Couturier who is pretty close to Stolarz's age. I still think Stolarz has a great chance at becoming an NHL goalie and a decent chance at becoming an above average NHL goalie. This time in pro camp will almost definitely help him when he returns to OHL after camp.
Michael Raffl seams to be in the lead for that final roster spot. Other serious contenders for that spot include Jason Akeson, Scott Laughton , Marcel Noebels and Tye McGinn. Akeson who I think is the most skilled and most NHL ready of that group will probably be pushed out by Raffl because of Raffl's speed and defensive abilities which is something they want on that 3rd line. I still think Akeson deserves a shot. Noebels probably needs more seasoning in the AHL and McGinn doesn't have the defensive (or really offensive skill) to be on that third line. His role will probably be on the 4th line, and if they think Talbot is the right guy for the 3rd line McGinn may get the call. Laughton is probably right behind Raffl for that final spot. I don't think that's right, not that Laughton can't play at that level, just that I think he can get better going back to junior for another season, but more on that later. I think Laughton will play some if not all of the 9 games allowed to junior eligible players before they burn a year of there ELC.
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Flyers Rookie Game/Camp review
Yesterday we saw the Flyers rookies take on the Capitals rookies in a game at the Capitals practice facility in Virginia. The game was the culmination of the Flyers four day pre-season rookie camp. While not all the Flyers prospects were present we got a good look at a good portion of the future Flyers.
The Flyers rookies beat the Caps prospects 1-0 in what was an an unusually brutal prospects game. The Flyers lone goal came of the stick of 2012 4th Round draft pick Taylor Leier (who actually signed his Entry Level Contract earlier in the day). It was a beautiful goal. Leier charged up the right wing then cut to the high slot and ripped a shot over the glove of the Capitals goalie and tapping the bottom of the cross bar. The Caps defense lapsed allowing Leier to skate so freely in the offensive zone, but Leier showed great vision exploiting there holes and taking one hell of a shot.
The Flyers goaltending was another huge part of the win. 2012 2nd Round pick Anthony Stolarz faced a ton of tough shots and swallowed them all up with ease. Carsen Chubak came in half way through the game and kept up the stellar play in net.
Another big story from the game is how rough it was. The game saw four fights (though two of them were kind of lack luster). First we saw Flyers heavy weight prospect 2011 7th Round pick Derek Mathers squared off against one of the Caps heavy weights Jaynen Rissling. Both the Caps announcers and I thought Mathers won the fight; seeing how Mathers came out relatively unscathed while Rissling came up bloody. Next we saw 2013 3rd Round Pick Tyrell Goulbourne take on the Caps top prospect Tom Wilson. The 6'4 Wilson has drawn a lot of comparisons to the Bruins Milan Lucic but it was the 5'10 Goulbourne who got the upper hand and took down the giant Wilson. Wilson showed his Lucic like play when he hit defensive prospect Mark Alt into the boards late in the 2nd period. I didn't get a good look at the hit, it happened slightly off screen on the live stream and there were no replays so I could get a good look at it. It resulted in Alt getting a concussion and the Flyers going after Wilson the rest of the game. Mathers was trying to get him to fight afterwards but couldn't get him to drop the mitts. Next we saw a fight (or more appropriately a hugging match) between 2012 UFA signing Matt Mangene and the Capitals Australian camp invitee Nathan Walker. It wasn't much of a fight, they basically grabbed each other, held on, and fell over. Then things took another nasty turn. Wilson had another big hit later in the game, this prompted Scott Laughton to return with an arguably cheap hit on a Caps player. He then briefly tangled with Wilson before he lost his footing and fell to the ice. All around it was a pretty nasty game.
A lot of players were impressive in both the game and in rookie camp.
Mark Alt was probably the most impressive skater on the ice yesterday before leaving with a concussion. He quarterbacked the first power play unit (something he might do in Adirondack this year) and played strong defensively paired with Sam Morin. He was equally as impressive in camp where he shined in all aspects of the game. Hopefully he recovers from his concussion quickly and can make an impact with the Phantoms.
Anthony Stolarz was the best player in the game yesterday. Following a very impressive camp Stolarz convincingly shut the door on the Caps yesterday. He seems to have changed up his stance a little bit, standing slightly shorter and slightly wider using more of his big frame.
Taylor Leier, I thought, had a great camp and a great game outside of scoring the only goal. I thought Leier kind of blended in at camp back in July but I definitely noticed his offensive abilities at camp this past weekend. His role will be as a 3rd/4th line depth grinder and he showcased that skill in the Caps game, back checking hard, getting in passing lanes, and forcing a couple turnovers.
Marcel Noebels stood out in both the game and camp. Playing on a line with Scott Laughton and Petr Straka Noebels made a bunch of really nice plays. He was able to create with his regular linemates as well as his power play line mates Kyle Flanagan and Andrew Johnston. I was surprised he wasn't used on the penalty kill as he is a good defensive player, but he had a great game coming off a very impressive camp.
Brandon Alderson was probably the most surprising player both at camp and during the game. Alderson probably created more scoring chances than any of the other Flyers. I thought Alderson played well on Sunday, playing on a line with his old partner Nick Cousins, but he continued to create playing on a regular line with Flanagan and Andrew Johnston in the game Monday. He's got an uphill battle this season, he's behind fellow power forwards Tye McGinn and Marcel Noebels but if he continues to play this well he could quickly move up the charts.
Carsen Chubak probably surprised people with his performance in the game yesterday. He has a much lower profile than somebody like Anthony Stolarz and Cal Heeter and he's only signed to a minor league contract, but Chubak had a great season in the NCAA and was one of the final ten candidates for the Hobey Baker Award (NCAA MVP) so his strong play against similar aged players probably shouldn't be that surprising.
Sam Morin. Some of you know I've been critical of Morin as both a pick and a player since he came into the organization. That said I think Morin played a pretty strong game yesterday. He was strong in front of the net and along the boards. He played great while paired with Alt and continued his strong play while skating with Maxim Lamarche who took the spot on the top D pairing after Alt went down. Morin did have some puck handling errors and he didn't overwhelm any players that we already knew he could dominate, but it's a step in the right direction.
Matt Konan had strong defensive game and an strong offensive camp. If Konan keeps getting stronger all around we might be seeing him in the NHL sooner rather than later.
While I don't think any players who played bad there were some players that were slightly disappointing.
Scott Laughton had another strong camp, but he didn't stand out much in the game. Paired with Straka and Noebels the Laughton line was easily the Flyers best line but they couldn't really get going against a younger, inexperienced, and weaker Capitals team. I've always thought it would be best for Laughton to go back to the OHL; this shows that while he could probably play in the NHL he wont have a huge impact, not enough of an impact to play over other players already at the pro level. I'm a big believer in Laughton's offensive upside and I think a season in the OHL will help him more than a season on the 4th line in the pros.
Petr Straka also had a pretty strong camp but didn't stand out as much in the game as maybe he should have. He shot well in camp but didn't shoot the lights out like he did in July. One positive thing I noticed in camp was his smart play making ability skating with Laughton and Noebels (not that he didn't do it the game, it just really stood out to me in camp). Hopefully he can get back to his scoring ways in the AHL.
Nick Cousins had kind of a sloppy game. He missed a wide open net in the first period and had a weak clear in third that led to a turn over. I've noticed before that Cousins can be slightly snake bitten or gun shy when he is first in a pressure situation (his first prospect camp, this game, why he only has 1 point in his 8 AHL games). He might not come out of the gate on fire in the AHL but he usually returns to form before long.
Stephen Harper didn't have a disappointing game against the Caps, he didn't even get an opportunity. Harper, who skated on a line with Cousins and Alderson in camp on Sunday, was in the line up for the Flyers Monday afternoon. This probably means that the Flyers aren't going to sign him, at least not this year. I thought Harper was impressive in camp this past weekend and thought he would get a great opportunity in the game against the Caps rookies but it wasn't to be. Hopefully the Flyers give some sort of try out contract and he plays with them in the pre-season. Harper can be an impact player in the NHL someday, hopefully the Flyers try to hold onto him.
Other Notes
Valeri Vasiliev will miss at least three weeks with a shoulder injury. Hopefully he wont miss more but this is the second time injuring his shoulder in three years so he might be out longer.
Robert Hagg has 3 points (2 G, 1 A) in 5 pre-season games for Modo. He is currently in a pre-season game against last years SHL champions Skelleftea AIK. AIK is leading 3-0 after the first period as I'm writing this. Hagg is once again on the top pair (as he has been pretty much all pre-season) and wasn't on the ice for any of the goals against.
Jakub Kovar, who the Flyers drafted in 2006 and still own the rights to, is off to a great start in the KHL. In his first two games with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg (the worst team in the KHL last season) Kovar has a shoot out win and a shoot out loss. He has a .930 Save percentage and a 1.91 GAA. I don't think his numbers will stay that stellar for the whole season, but if he plays well he could make the Czech Olympic team and could easily be on the Flyers radar for next season. Kovar's contract is up after this season.
The Dan Cleary situation could have major ramifications for Flyers prospects. Cleary has been offered a Try out contract with the Flyers and, so far, not the 3 year contract that was reported last night. Cleary is now in a competition with Scott Laughton, Jason Akeson, Michael Raffl, and possibly Tye McGinn for the final roster spot. Next year Akeson, Raffl, McGinn, and Kyle Flanagan are free agents (all RFA's). If Cleary makes the team or is signed for more than one year we could see more than one of them leave the organization. Raffl would likely have no problem finding an NHL offersheet or a European contract. Akeson and Flanagan, if they have good AHL season could be in the same boat. If they don't think they have a future with the Flyers I could easily see them leaving. I think they all have potential, especially Akeson and Raffl, and I'd hate to see them leave the organization.
The Flyers rookies beat the Caps prospects 1-0 in what was an an unusually brutal prospects game. The Flyers lone goal came of the stick of 2012 4th Round draft pick Taylor Leier (who actually signed his Entry Level Contract earlier in the day). It was a beautiful goal. Leier charged up the right wing then cut to the high slot and ripped a shot over the glove of the Capitals goalie and tapping the bottom of the cross bar. The Caps defense lapsed allowing Leier to skate so freely in the offensive zone, but Leier showed great vision exploiting there holes and taking one hell of a shot.
The Flyers goaltending was another huge part of the win. 2012 2nd Round pick Anthony Stolarz faced a ton of tough shots and swallowed them all up with ease. Carsen Chubak came in half way through the game and kept up the stellar play in net.
Another big story from the game is how rough it was. The game saw four fights (though two of them were kind of lack luster). First we saw Flyers heavy weight prospect 2011 7th Round pick Derek Mathers squared off against one of the Caps heavy weights Jaynen Rissling. Both the Caps announcers and I thought Mathers won the fight; seeing how Mathers came out relatively unscathed while Rissling came up bloody. Next we saw 2013 3rd Round Pick Tyrell Goulbourne take on the Caps top prospect Tom Wilson. The 6'4 Wilson has drawn a lot of comparisons to the Bruins Milan Lucic but it was the 5'10 Goulbourne who got the upper hand and took down the giant Wilson. Wilson showed his Lucic like play when he hit defensive prospect Mark Alt into the boards late in the 2nd period. I didn't get a good look at the hit, it happened slightly off screen on the live stream and there were no replays so I could get a good look at it. It resulted in Alt getting a concussion and the Flyers going after Wilson the rest of the game. Mathers was trying to get him to fight afterwards but couldn't get him to drop the mitts. Next we saw a fight (or more appropriately a hugging match) between 2012 UFA signing Matt Mangene and the Capitals Australian camp invitee Nathan Walker. It wasn't much of a fight, they basically grabbed each other, held on, and fell over. Then things took another nasty turn. Wilson had another big hit later in the game, this prompted Scott Laughton to return with an arguably cheap hit on a Caps player. He then briefly tangled with Wilson before he lost his footing and fell to the ice. All around it was a pretty nasty game.
A lot of players were impressive in both the game and in rookie camp.
Mark Alt was probably the most impressive skater on the ice yesterday before leaving with a concussion. He quarterbacked the first power play unit (something he might do in Adirondack this year) and played strong defensively paired with Sam Morin. He was equally as impressive in camp where he shined in all aspects of the game. Hopefully he recovers from his concussion quickly and can make an impact with the Phantoms.
Anthony Stolarz was the best player in the game yesterday. Following a very impressive camp Stolarz convincingly shut the door on the Caps yesterday. He seems to have changed up his stance a little bit, standing slightly shorter and slightly wider using more of his big frame.
Taylor Leier, I thought, had a great camp and a great game outside of scoring the only goal. I thought Leier kind of blended in at camp back in July but I definitely noticed his offensive abilities at camp this past weekend. His role will be as a 3rd/4th line depth grinder and he showcased that skill in the Caps game, back checking hard, getting in passing lanes, and forcing a couple turnovers.
Marcel Noebels stood out in both the game and camp. Playing on a line with Scott Laughton and Petr Straka Noebels made a bunch of really nice plays. He was able to create with his regular linemates as well as his power play line mates Kyle Flanagan and Andrew Johnston. I was surprised he wasn't used on the penalty kill as he is a good defensive player, but he had a great game coming off a very impressive camp.
Brandon Alderson was probably the most surprising player both at camp and during the game. Alderson probably created more scoring chances than any of the other Flyers. I thought Alderson played well on Sunday, playing on a line with his old partner Nick Cousins, but he continued to create playing on a regular line with Flanagan and Andrew Johnston in the game Monday. He's got an uphill battle this season, he's behind fellow power forwards Tye McGinn and Marcel Noebels but if he continues to play this well he could quickly move up the charts.
Carsen Chubak probably surprised people with his performance in the game yesterday. He has a much lower profile than somebody like Anthony Stolarz and Cal Heeter and he's only signed to a minor league contract, but Chubak had a great season in the NCAA and was one of the final ten candidates for the Hobey Baker Award (NCAA MVP) so his strong play against similar aged players probably shouldn't be that surprising.
Sam Morin. Some of you know I've been critical of Morin as both a pick and a player since he came into the organization. That said I think Morin played a pretty strong game yesterday. He was strong in front of the net and along the boards. He played great while paired with Alt and continued his strong play while skating with Maxim Lamarche who took the spot on the top D pairing after Alt went down. Morin did have some puck handling errors and he didn't overwhelm any players that we already knew he could dominate, but it's a step in the right direction.
Matt Konan had strong defensive game and an strong offensive camp. If Konan keeps getting stronger all around we might be seeing him in the NHL sooner rather than later.
While I don't think any players who played bad there were some players that were slightly disappointing.
Scott Laughton had another strong camp, but he didn't stand out much in the game. Paired with Straka and Noebels the Laughton line was easily the Flyers best line but they couldn't really get going against a younger, inexperienced, and weaker Capitals team. I've always thought it would be best for Laughton to go back to the OHL; this shows that while he could probably play in the NHL he wont have a huge impact, not enough of an impact to play over other players already at the pro level. I'm a big believer in Laughton's offensive upside and I think a season in the OHL will help him more than a season on the 4th line in the pros.
Petr Straka also had a pretty strong camp but didn't stand out as much in the game as maybe he should have. He shot well in camp but didn't shoot the lights out like he did in July. One positive thing I noticed in camp was his smart play making ability skating with Laughton and Noebels (not that he didn't do it the game, it just really stood out to me in camp). Hopefully he can get back to his scoring ways in the AHL.
Nick Cousins had kind of a sloppy game. He missed a wide open net in the first period and had a weak clear in third that led to a turn over. I've noticed before that Cousins can be slightly snake bitten or gun shy when he is first in a pressure situation (his first prospect camp, this game, why he only has 1 point in his 8 AHL games). He might not come out of the gate on fire in the AHL but he usually returns to form before long.
Stephen Harper didn't have a disappointing game against the Caps, he didn't even get an opportunity. Harper, who skated on a line with Cousins and Alderson in camp on Sunday, was in the line up for the Flyers Monday afternoon. This probably means that the Flyers aren't going to sign him, at least not this year. I thought Harper was impressive in camp this past weekend and thought he would get a great opportunity in the game against the Caps rookies but it wasn't to be. Hopefully the Flyers give some sort of try out contract and he plays with them in the pre-season. Harper can be an impact player in the NHL someday, hopefully the Flyers try to hold onto him.
Other Notes
Valeri Vasiliev will miss at least three weeks with a shoulder injury. Hopefully he wont miss more but this is the second time injuring his shoulder in three years so he might be out longer.
Robert Hagg has 3 points (2 G, 1 A) in 5 pre-season games for Modo. He is currently in a pre-season game against last years SHL champions Skelleftea AIK. AIK is leading 3-0 after the first period as I'm writing this. Hagg is once again on the top pair (as he has been pretty much all pre-season) and wasn't on the ice for any of the goals against.
Jakub Kovar, who the Flyers drafted in 2006 and still own the rights to, is off to a great start in the KHL. In his first two games with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg (the worst team in the KHL last season) Kovar has a shoot out win and a shoot out loss. He has a .930 Save percentage and a 1.91 GAA. I don't think his numbers will stay that stellar for the whole season, but if he plays well he could make the Czech Olympic team and could easily be on the Flyers radar for next season. Kovar's contract is up after this season.
The Dan Cleary situation could have major ramifications for Flyers prospects. Cleary has been offered a Try out contract with the Flyers and, so far, not the 3 year contract that was reported last night. Cleary is now in a competition with Scott Laughton, Jason Akeson, Michael Raffl, and possibly Tye McGinn for the final roster spot. Next year Akeson, Raffl, McGinn, and Kyle Flanagan are free agents (all RFA's). If Cleary makes the team or is signed for more than one year we could see more than one of them leave the organization. Raffl would likely have no problem finding an NHL offersheet or a European contract. Akeson and Flanagan, if they have good AHL season could be in the same boat. If they don't think they have a future with the Flyers I could easily see them leaving. I think they all have potential, especially Akeson and Raffl, and I'd hate to see them leave the organization.
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Flyers Pre-Season Rookie Camp set to Kick off September 6th
With the season right around the corner the Flyers rookies are set to take the ice September 6th as a part of there annual Rookie camp. The Flyers prospects will practice Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at the Skate Zone in Voorhees before heading down to play the Washington Capitals prospects Monday at 3:00 PM. The game will be played at the Capitals practice facility and will be streamed live on the Flyers website.
Players taking part in Rookie camp:
Forwards: Brandon Alderson, Tyler Brown, Nick Cousins, Kyle Flanagan, Tyrell Goulbourne, Stephen Harper, Tyler Johnston, Scott Laughton, Taylor Leier, Matt Mangene, Derek Mathers, Marcel Noebels, Andrew Ryan, Petr Straka.
Defensemen: Mark Alt, Jared Hauf, Tyler Hostetter, Matt Konan, Maxim Lamarche, Colin MacDonald, Samuel Morin, Mark Nemec.
Goalies: Carsen Chubak, Cal Heeter, Anthony Stolarz.
I assume there is a rule that prevents college and college bound players from attending this preseason camp. Hence why drafted players like Shayne Gostisbehere, Reece Willcox, Nick Luukko and college bound draft picks Merrick Madsen, Terrance Amorosa, and David Drake aren't attending.
Additionally most European teams have already begun pre-season play so Euro players like Robert Hagg and Valeri Vasiliev couldn't attend camp either.
A couple things too look out for at camp are the development of guys like Laughton, Morin, Cousins, and Mark Alt who all stayed and trained in the area over the summer. That included taking the ice with current Flyers in informal practices run by Claude Giroux. Training with the Flyers staff and working with the Flyers regulars might have done a lot for their game and I'm excited to see how they improved.
The Flyers actually brought in more camp invitees to there preseason camp than they're summer camp (usually it's the other way around). The most interesting name is again Stephen Harper. Harper was ranked the 30th best prospect in the 2013 Draft, but over the course of the season he slipped down the board and eventually out of the draft completely following a disappointing season with the Erie Otters in the OHL. Still, I think Harper performed very well at Flyers camp over the summer and I think he could earn himself a contract if he plays well this time around. Last year a lot of people thought camp invitee Chris Clapperton could have been offered a contract after the pre-season rookie camp if that camp wasn't canceled because of the lockout. Harper could be a great steal if he turns into the player that everyone thought he could be at the start of the season.
Other Flyers Notes
I mentioned earlier that the pre-season is already under way in Europe. Flyers prospect Robert Hagg is off to a great start, scoring 2 goals in his first 3 pre-season games. Check out Bill Meltzer's article from today where he talks about Hagg. Valeri Vasiliev has been taking a regular shift in the pre-season with Spartak Moscow and even scored a short handed goal in a game against Dinamo Minsk. He is skating solid minutes and playing in important situations. He also played with team Russia at the U20 4-Nations tournament and is currently playing for the Moscow Mayor's Cup with Spartak.
2012 4th round draft pick Fredric Larsson will be playing with the Youngstown Phantoms of the USHL next season.
Finally, something interesting that may be brewing. This isn't even a rumor, just speculating on my part. You may remember Tomas Hyka who played with Flyers during the pre-season in 2011-12. The Flyers were reportedly very interested in signing him but were prevented from doing so because of a rule that requires a European player under the age of 20 to enter the league through the draft. The Flyers weren't allowed to sign him and he went on to play in the QMJHL with Gatineau and was drafted by the Kings in 2012. He played great in Juniors and starred on the Czech world junior team with top prospects like Tomas Hertl, Radek Faksa, Dmitrij Jaskin, and Martin Frk.
After leaving the Q after the 12-13 season Hyka opted to sign a Try Out contract and go play with Farjestad in the Swedish Hockey League. That is where things get interesting. Why would Hyka not go to the Kings minor league team. Their team, the Manchester Monarchs, aren't flooded with new prospects, Hyka would have gotten the same or better opportunities, playing time wise, with Manchester as he would with Farjestad. The Kings also have recently had a great run of graduating players from the AHL to the NHL. So why would he go to Europe? It wasn't for money. If he wanted money he definitely wouldn't have gone to Sweden which has a massive tax on income. If he were to sign a $100,000 contract (which he probably wouldn't, the average salary in the SHL is around $250,000 he probably wouldn't get anywhere near that considering he's on a try out contract) he would still make less than money than he would make in the AHL rookie max salary is $70,000 but he would be able to keep it all because New Hampshire (where Manchester is) has no income tax. Also, if he really wanted money he could probably find a job in the KHL. The league expanded by 2 teams this season which would open up a bunch of spots in a higher paying, lesser taxed league. The only reason that I can think of is that he doesn't want to play for the LA Kings.
Come July 1st 2014 the Kings' rights to Hyka will run out and he will again be a UFA free to sign with anybody he chooses. I think the Flyers could go after him. The Flyers like him and the Flyers new Assistant GM and Director of Hockey Ops Ron Hextall was part of the team that drafted him in LA. Hyka has been playing well in the European tournament, right now he has 3 points in 4 games with Farjestad (the only 4-0 team so far in the tournament). His try out contract expires on September 30th and I expect him to play the full season with Farjestad. There is a chance that he lets his contract expires than re-signs with LA before the start of the AHL season but I don't think that's likely. If he becomes a UFA after the season I expect the Flyers to make a play for him.
Players taking part in Rookie camp:
Forwards: Brandon Alderson, Tyler Brown, Nick Cousins, Kyle Flanagan, Tyrell Goulbourne, Stephen Harper, Tyler Johnston, Scott Laughton, Taylor Leier, Matt Mangene, Derek Mathers, Marcel Noebels, Andrew Ryan, Petr Straka.
Defensemen: Mark Alt, Jared Hauf, Tyler Hostetter, Matt Konan, Maxim Lamarche, Colin MacDonald, Samuel Morin, Mark Nemec.
Goalies: Carsen Chubak, Cal Heeter, Anthony Stolarz.
I assume there is a rule that prevents college and college bound players from attending this preseason camp. Hence why drafted players like Shayne Gostisbehere, Reece Willcox, Nick Luukko and college bound draft picks Merrick Madsen, Terrance Amorosa, and David Drake aren't attending.
Additionally most European teams have already begun pre-season play so Euro players like Robert Hagg and Valeri Vasiliev couldn't attend camp either.
A couple things too look out for at camp are the development of guys like Laughton, Morin, Cousins, and Mark Alt who all stayed and trained in the area over the summer. That included taking the ice with current Flyers in informal practices run by Claude Giroux. Training with the Flyers staff and working with the Flyers regulars might have done a lot for their game and I'm excited to see how they improved.
The Flyers actually brought in more camp invitees to there preseason camp than they're summer camp (usually it's the other way around). The most interesting name is again Stephen Harper. Harper was ranked the 30th best prospect in the 2013 Draft, but over the course of the season he slipped down the board and eventually out of the draft completely following a disappointing season with the Erie Otters in the OHL. Still, I think Harper performed very well at Flyers camp over the summer and I think he could earn himself a contract if he plays well this time around. Last year a lot of people thought camp invitee Chris Clapperton could have been offered a contract after the pre-season rookie camp if that camp wasn't canceled because of the lockout. Harper could be a great steal if he turns into the player that everyone thought he could be at the start of the season.
Other Flyers Notes
I mentioned earlier that the pre-season is already under way in Europe. Flyers prospect Robert Hagg is off to a great start, scoring 2 goals in his first 3 pre-season games. Check out Bill Meltzer's article from today where he talks about Hagg. Valeri Vasiliev has been taking a regular shift in the pre-season with Spartak Moscow and even scored a short handed goal in a game against Dinamo Minsk. He is skating solid minutes and playing in important situations. He also played with team Russia at the U20 4-Nations tournament and is currently playing for the Moscow Mayor's Cup with Spartak.
2012 4th round draft pick Fredric Larsson will be playing with the Youngstown Phantoms of the USHL next season.
Finally, something interesting that may be brewing. This isn't even a rumor, just speculating on my part. You may remember Tomas Hyka who played with Flyers during the pre-season in 2011-12. The Flyers were reportedly very interested in signing him but were prevented from doing so because of a rule that requires a European player under the age of 20 to enter the league through the draft. The Flyers weren't allowed to sign him and he went on to play in the QMJHL with Gatineau and was drafted by the Kings in 2012. He played great in Juniors and starred on the Czech world junior team with top prospects like Tomas Hertl, Radek Faksa, Dmitrij Jaskin, and Martin Frk.
After leaving the Q after the 12-13 season Hyka opted to sign a Try Out contract and go play with Farjestad in the Swedish Hockey League. That is where things get interesting. Why would Hyka not go to the Kings minor league team. Their team, the Manchester Monarchs, aren't flooded with new prospects, Hyka would have gotten the same or better opportunities, playing time wise, with Manchester as he would with Farjestad. The Kings also have recently had a great run of graduating players from the AHL to the NHL. So why would he go to Europe? It wasn't for money. If he wanted money he definitely wouldn't have gone to Sweden which has a massive tax on income. If he were to sign a $100,000 contract (which he probably wouldn't, the average salary in the SHL is around $250,000 he probably wouldn't get anywhere near that considering he's on a try out contract) he would still make less than money than he would make in the AHL rookie max salary is $70,000 but he would be able to keep it all because New Hampshire (where Manchester is) has no income tax. Also, if he really wanted money he could probably find a job in the KHL. The league expanded by 2 teams this season which would open up a bunch of spots in a higher paying, lesser taxed league. The only reason that I can think of is that he doesn't want to play for the LA Kings.
Come July 1st 2014 the Kings' rights to Hyka will run out and he will again be a UFA free to sign with anybody he chooses. I think the Flyers could go after him. The Flyers like him and the Flyers new Assistant GM and Director of Hockey Ops Ron Hextall was part of the team that drafted him in LA. Hyka has been playing well in the European tournament, right now he has 3 points in 4 games with Farjestad (the only 4-0 team so far in the tournament). His try out contract expires on September 30th and I expect him to play the full season with Farjestad. There is a chance that he lets his contract expires than re-signs with LA before the start of the AHL season but I don't think that's likely. If he becomes a UFA after the season I expect the Flyers to make a play for him.
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Flyers Prospect Development Camp Recap: Tuesday
The Flyers prospects had a lot to show at Player Development Camp on Tuesday. After the forwards and defensemen were split up on Monday; the two corps intermingled and we got to see some intriguing match ups. A lot the drills were 1 v 1 which showed the strengths and exposed some weakness' of the prospects.
Here is a recap of some of the players performances Tuesday.
Petr Straka, who was the most impressive player I saw on Monday, was showing off his skills again Tuesday morning. Probably the part of this game most on display today was his speed. One drill required the forward to receive a pass from a defenseman, skate around obstacles through the neutral zone, turn around at the far blue line and the go in one on one against the defenseman. Straka was able to use his speed to get the defenseman back on their heels and was usually able to release a shot unincumbered. Straka did fumble the puck a couple times, but was overall strong on the puck. A left handed right wing, Straka has a great ability to cut to the middle from the right wing, something a Jakub Voracek just developed last year. He struggles mightily cutting from the left wing to the center; so I wouldn't count on him pulling the reverse Ovechkin anytime soon.
Nick Cousins probably put on his most impressive performance at a Flyers Prospect camp ever on Tuesday. He was able to show off some of the skills that made him one of the OHL's top players over the past two seasons. A two on one drill allowed him to show off his impressive passing skills. And he was able to show off his hands and was able to create space on multiple one on one drills.
Mark Alt was probably the most impressive defenseman at camp today. Alt's raw skill has been talked about a lot since the Flyers acquired him. Andreas Lilja called him "something special" (which might not sound like a lot, but he has played with some great defensemen in his time and more importantly some defenseman who would go on to become great). What impressed me most about Alt was his positioning. He always always between the shooter and the goalie, preventing the shooter from getting a quality shot. He used his big frame and considerable strengths to drive players outside. He was an all around defensive force. That is all on top of offensive skill. He can make a quick first past and has a very heavy wrist shot, probably the hardest amongst defensemen at camp.
I got a much better look at 2011 First Round pick Scott Laughton on Tuesday. I thought he looked good after seeing him briefly on Monday, but he is apparently at a whole other level. Laughton has showed off some impressive offensive skills. He has very good hands and showed no fear in using those hands against some of the Flyers top defensive prospects. His shot has always been impressive, but he seems to have become more accurate. His tenacity and willingness to initiate contact with defensemen allows him to drive defensemen back or catch them off guard and go right past them. We knew he was a smart player, we knew he was tough, we knew he was strong defensively, but he's become a much better offensive player than when we drafted him last season.
Shayne Gostisbehere was pretty tenacious in his own right. We all think of Gostisbehere as a small, puck moving, point producing forward; which he is. But if you've seen Gostisbehere, either at World Juniors or at Union, you'll know he has a physical side to him. Every time I watched play at Union I saw him step up and blow up a forward from the other team. He is an aggressive player. We didn't see him drop anybody at camp today, but we did see him use his speed to get into players faces and force them outside.
Robert Hagg had a strong Tuesday. His gap control and active stick made him a hard to play against one on one. Most of the time players couldn't even get a shot off. He has an impressive wrist shot but he isn't incredibly accurate. He did struggle in the two on one drills.
One player that I found surprisingly impressive as camp invitee Stephen Harper. Harper was ranked 38th Overall amongst North American skaters half way through the season. Craig Button had him as the 30th ranked prospect overall in October. But Harper struggled throughout the season, fell to be the 128th ranked North American skater by the end of the season, and fell completely off the board on draft day. Today I got my first look at Harper and you could see that first round potential he had at the start of the season. He's fast, aggressive, and has a quick release on his shot. Probably the most impressive part about Harper is how he plays away from the puck. In the two on one drill he would always put himself in the best position. I don't know why he struggled so much this past season. But he has tons of potential. He may be invited to the prospect camp in the fall, but I would love to see them sign him before another team sees his potential and snaps him up.
One of the most interesting drills was a one on one drill that pitted two players against each other for a long period of time (well a long period compared to the usual one on one drills). It was essentially a one on one battle until the forward scores, the defenseman clears the zone, or the goalie covered it. And since players were usually pitted up against the same player again and again we got a consistent look at how guys play. Here are some of the match ups.
STRAKA VS LUUKKO
I praised Luukko yesterday for becoming a strong defensive player. Today he was matched up against one of the best offensive players in camp. He did quite well. He didn't give Straka many open looks, but he also couldn't keep the puck away from Straka for very long. Whenever Luukko was able to knock the puck off Straka's stick Straka would win the race to the puck. That's a big plus for Straka; he wants the puck. The only way somebody would beat him to the puck is if he got lazy and that's not how he plays.
NOEBELS VS ALT
Noebels was able to pull of a couple of nifty moves early; but this was the Mark Alt show. Noebels is big, strong, and offensively gifted. Those three things come together in Noebels better than they do in anybody else in camp. And Mark Alt dominated him. He was physical when he needed to be physical; he was smart when he needed to be smart.
COUSINS VS WILLCOX
Cousins has great hands, decent speed, and good escape ability. Maybe Willcox, who is 6 inches bigger than Cousins, was just too much for Cousins to handle but Willcox handled him pretty much every time they squared off. Willcox has become a strong defensive defenseman. He went from being lanky last camp to beefy at this camp. His combination of physicality and smarts reminds me a lot of Nicklas Grossmann. He may not get to the league as fast (Grossmann was a regular NHLer when he was 22/23) but I think he can be just as effective.
HARPER VS HAGG
This was the best battle between two players in this drill. One time Hagg would dominate and Harper wouldn't be able to get a shot off. Sometimes Harper's aggressiveness would be too much for Hagg to handle. This wasn't a battle between a 2nd round pick and a camp invitee, this was a battle between two very talent players imposing their will on one another. Both were very impressive.
LAUGHTON VS MORIN
It should have been the clash of the titans. Two first round picks going toe to toe. It wasn't. This was Scott Laughton taking Samuel Morin to school. Laughton's speed and escapablity would usually be too much to handle, but Laughton didn't rely on his strengths, he went right for Morin's strengths. He initiated contract, meaning he went right into Morin's strength and in the range of Morin's reach. He went right at what Morin does best and he beat him at it.
Samuel Morin was primed to have a great day in camp. In early drills Morin was playing well. He scored glove side three times (twice going short side on Penn State Goalie Matt Skoff, once going long side on 6th round pick Merrick Madsen). Then things started going down hill. Morin began fumbling the puck and missing guys on passes while still going through offensive drills. But when it turned to defensive drills is when things went bad. On the one on one fast break drill he retreated far too fast allowing most players to get shots of unencumbered. One time Stephen Harper came down the wing, initiated contact, and then blew right by Morin and tucked by the goalie far side. Morin went against Harper again, this time Morin was more aggressive and forced him into the corner. In the two on one drill Morin again retreated to fast allowing the two forwards to pass around him like a pylon. One time through the two on one drill Morin looked dominant, but as he was skating the puck out of the zone he was caught by (guess who) Stephen Harper, who stripped him of the puck. Morin then laid out to block a pass to Harper's partner (Andrew Johnston, I believe) and slid out of the zone allowing the two players to go back and forth a couple times before Morin got back in the zone.
Luckily for Morin, the things he did bad today can be easily fixed. One problem is that Morin might not be fixing those things until he gets to the Phantoms. Morin has had the same coach, Serge Beausoleil, for both his seasons at Rimouski. If Beausoleil hasn't fixed this yet he probably isn't going to while Morin is still in junior. I wish Morin could jump straight to the AHL. He's not ready for the NHL, not by a long shot, but he could learn and grow so much by playing in the AHL. Players like Morin can only learn so much by pushing around 16 year olds and undersized 20 year olds in the QMJHL. He needs to play against men as soon as possible. That's why you see a handful of great defensive defensemen coming out of Europe at a younger age (Grossmann was 22, Ladislav Smid started his first full season at 20) cause they play and practice against men. Unfortunately, because of a transfer agreement, Morin can't go to the AHL until he is 20.
In goalie news Anthony Stolarz was might impressive today. He even showed off a little bit of his prowess playing the puck. Stolarz has easily been the best goalie in camp so far, which is impressive considering Ryan McKay was dominant in the NCAA as a 20 year old freshman. Merrick Madsen had another impressive day; seeing a higher caliber of shots from guys like Laughton, Harper, and Taylor Leier (yesterday he only played against defensemen).
Trial on the Isle tomorrow and the Flyers prospects are back on the ice Thursday.
Here are my thoughts on the Flyers at Prospect Camp from Monday
Here is a recap of some of the players performances Tuesday.
Petr Straka, who was the most impressive player I saw on Monday, was showing off his skills again Tuesday morning. Probably the part of this game most on display today was his speed. One drill required the forward to receive a pass from a defenseman, skate around obstacles through the neutral zone, turn around at the far blue line and the go in one on one against the defenseman. Straka was able to use his speed to get the defenseman back on their heels and was usually able to release a shot unincumbered. Straka did fumble the puck a couple times, but was overall strong on the puck. A left handed right wing, Straka has a great ability to cut to the middle from the right wing, something a Jakub Voracek just developed last year. He struggles mightily cutting from the left wing to the center; so I wouldn't count on him pulling the reverse Ovechkin anytime soon.
Nick Cousins probably put on his most impressive performance at a Flyers Prospect camp ever on Tuesday. He was able to show off some of the skills that made him one of the OHL's top players over the past two seasons. A two on one drill allowed him to show off his impressive passing skills. And he was able to show off his hands and was able to create space on multiple one on one drills.
Mark Alt was probably the most impressive defenseman at camp today. Alt's raw skill has been talked about a lot since the Flyers acquired him. Andreas Lilja called him "something special" (which might not sound like a lot, but he has played with some great defensemen in his time and more importantly some defenseman who would go on to become great). What impressed me most about Alt was his positioning. He always always between the shooter and the goalie, preventing the shooter from getting a quality shot. He used his big frame and considerable strengths to drive players outside. He was an all around defensive force. That is all on top of offensive skill. He can make a quick first past and has a very heavy wrist shot, probably the hardest amongst defensemen at camp.
I got a much better look at 2011 First Round pick Scott Laughton on Tuesday. I thought he looked good after seeing him briefly on Monday, but he is apparently at a whole other level. Laughton has showed off some impressive offensive skills. He has very good hands and showed no fear in using those hands against some of the Flyers top defensive prospects. His shot has always been impressive, but he seems to have become more accurate. His tenacity and willingness to initiate contact with defensemen allows him to drive defensemen back or catch them off guard and go right past them. We knew he was a smart player, we knew he was tough, we knew he was strong defensively, but he's become a much better offensive player than when we drafted him last season.
Shayne Gostisbehere was pretty tenacious in his own right. We all think of Gostisbehere as a small, puck moving, point producing forward; which he is. But if you've seen Gostisbehere, either at World Juniors or at Union, you'll know he has a physical side to him. Every time I watched play at Union I saw him step up and blow up a forward from the other team. He is an aggressive player. We didn't see him drop anybody at camp today, but we did see him use his speed to get into players faces and force them outside.
Robert Hagg had a strong Tuesday. His gap control and active stick made him a hard to play against one on one. Most of the time players couldn't even get a shot off. He has an impressive wrist shot but he isn't incredibly accurate. He did struggle in the two on one drills.
One player that I found surprisingly impressive as camp invitee Stephen Harper. Harper was ranked 38th Overall amongst North American skaters half way through the season. Craig Button had him as the 30th ranked prospect overall in October. But Harper struggled throughout the season, fell to be the 128th ranked North American skater by the end of the season, and fell completely off the board on draft day. Today I got my first look at Harper and you could see that first round potential he had at the start of the season. He's fast, aggressive, and has a quick release on his shot. Probably the most impressive part about Harper is how he plays away from the puck. In the two on one drill he would always put himself in the best position. I don't know why he struggled so much this past season. But he has tons of potential. He may be invited to the prospect camp in the fall, but I would love to see them sign him before another team sees his potential and snaps him up.
One of the most interesting drills was a one on one drill that pitted two players against each other for a long period of time (well a long period compared to the usual one on one drills). It was essentially a one on one battle until the forward scores, the defenseman clears the zone, or the goalie covered it. And since players were usually pitted up against the same player again and again we got a consistent look at how guys play. Here are some of the match ups.
STRAKA VS LUUKKO
I praised Luukko yesterday for becoming a strong defensive player. Today he was matched up against one of the best offensive players in camp. He did quite well. He didn't give Straka many open looks, but he also couldn't keep the puck away from Straka for very long. Whenever Luukko was able to knock the puck off Straka's stick Straka would win the race to the puck. That's a big plus for Straka; he wants the puck. The only way somebody would beat him to the puck is if he got lazy and that's not how he plays.
NOEBELS VS ALT
Noebels was able to pull of a couple of nifty moves early; but this was the Mark Alt show. Noebels is big, strong, and offensively gifted. Those three things come together in Noebels better than they do in anybody else in camp. And Mark Alt dominated him. He was physical when he needed to be physical; he was smart when he needed to be smart.
COUSINS VS WILLCOX
Cousins has great hands, decent speed, and good escape ability. Maybe Willcox, who is 6 inches bigger than Cousins, was just too much for Cousins to handle but Willcox handled him pretty much every time they squared off. Willcox has become a strong defensive defenseman. He went from being lanky last camp to beefy at this camp. His combination of physicality and smarts reminds me a lot of Nicklas Grossmann. He may not get to the league as fast (Grossmann was a regular NHLer when he was 22/23) but I think he can be just as effective.
HARPER VS HAGG
This was the best battle between two players in this drill. One time Hagg would dominate and Harper wouldn't be able to get a shot off. Sometimes Harper's aggressiveness would be too much for Hagg to handle. This wasn't a battle between a 2nd round pick and a camp invitee, this was a battle between two very talent players imposing their will on one another. Both were very impressive.
LAUGHTON VS MORIN
It should have been the clash of the titans. Two first round picks going toe to toe. It wasn't. This was Scott Laughton taking Samuel Morin to school. Laughton's speed and escapablity would usually be too much to handle, but Laughton didn't rely on his strengths, he went right for Morin's strengths. He initiated contract, meaning he went right into Morin's strength and in the range of Morin's reach. He went right at what Morin does best and he beat him at it.
Samuel Morin was primed to have a great day in camp. In early drills Morin was playing well. He scored glove side three times (twice going short side on Penn State Goalie Matt Skoff, once going long side on 6th round pick Merrick Madsen). Then things started going down hill. Morin began fumbling the puck and missing guys on passes while still going through offensive drills. But when it turned to defensive drills is when things went bad. On the one on one fast break drill he retreated far too fast allowing most players to get shots of unencumbered. One time Stephen Harper came down the wing, initiated contact, and then blew right by Morin and tucked by the goalie far side. Morin went against Harper again, this time Morin was more aggressive and forced him into the corner. In the two on one drill Morin again retreated to fast allowing the two forwards to pass around him like a pylon. One time through the two on one drill Morin looked dominant, but as he was skating the puck out of the zone he was caught by (guess who) Stephen Harper, who stripped him of the puck. Morin then laid out to block a pass to Harper's partner (Andrew Johnston, I believe) and slid out of the zone allowing the two players to go back and forth a couple times before Morin got back in the zone.
Luckily for Morin, the things he did bad today can be easily fixed. One problem is that Morin might not be fixing those things until he gets to the Phantoms. Morin has had the same coach, Serge Beausoleil, for both his seasons at Rimouski. If Beausoleil hasn't fixed this yet he probably isn't going to while Morin is still in junior. I wish Morin could jump straight to the AHL. He's not ready for the NHL, not by a long shot, but he could learn and grow so much by playing in the AHL. Players like Morin can only learn so much by pushing around 16 year olds and undersized 20 year olds in the QMJHL. He needs to play against men as soon as possible. That's why you see a handful of great defensive defensemen coming out of Europe at a younger age (Grossmann was 22, Ladislav Smid started his first full season at 20) cause they play and practice against men. Unfortunately, because of a transfer agreement, Morin can't go to the AHL until he is 20.
In goalie news Anthony Stolarz was might impressive today. He even showed off a little bit of his prowess playing the puck. Stolarz has easily been the best goalie in camp so far, which is impressive considering Ryan McKay was dominant in the NCAA as a 20 year old freshman. Merrick Madsen had another impressive day; seeing a higher caliber of shots from guys like Laughton, Harper, and Taylor Leier (yesterday he only played against defensemen).
Trial on the Isle tomorrow and the Flyers prospects are back on the ice Thursday.
Here are my thoughts on the Flyers at Prospect Camp from Monday
Monday, July 8, 2013
Flyers Prospects Development Camp Recap: Monday
Though the Flyers started Player Development Camp Sunday night, I wasn't able to get out to get my first in-person look until Monday morning. There were quite a few players that jumped out at me in that first day.
2011 DRAFT CLASS
Only two players from the 2011 Draft Class were brought into camp this year. Nick Cousins and Marcel Noebels. This is Nick Cousins' third time being at prospect camp. I've seen him at least once every time he's been to camp and I've noticed one thing. Nick Cousins is not a training camp player. In his first camp Cousins was so snake bitten he couldn't have kept control of the puck if his stick was covered in Stickum, at least when I saw him. He went out that next season and finished 8th in the OHL in scoring on a bad team. Last year he wasn't overly impressive and followed that camp up by finishing 4th Overall in OHL scoring (likely would have finished 1st if he wasn't suspended for four games towards the end of the season). Today he wasn't bad but he didn't jump out as much as other players. Some players just don't play well in camp. There is not doubt that Cousins has tons of talent and brings a lot of intangibles (he plays a pesky style similar to Brad Marchand) that simply don't show up in camp.
Marcel Noebels is making his first appearance at Flyers prospect camp after getting drafted two years ago. Noebels has always been a strong defensive player and be a great utility player; being able to play Left, Right, and Center. He's developed a bit of a goal scoring touch with the Phantoms and he showed it off a bit in camp. Twice in a drill he was able to cut across the front of the net and back hand the puck above the goalies into the top of the net. It's not an easy shot to make and he made it twice while taking some soft pressure from Flyers coaches.
2012 DRAFT CLASS
Almost every member of the 2012 Draft Class was at prospect camp, the exception being Valeri Vasiliev who is training with his KHL club Spartak in Russia. Some of the 2012ers have made big jumps from last year.
Anthony Stolarz might have made the biggest jump from one year to the next. Stolarz came into last years camp as a big, raw prospect. This year he is much more refined and much stronger positionally. He seems to have a much better idea as how to use his size to his advantage. One of the biggest obstacles in Stolarz development is how well he handles adversity. He was pulled out of both the OHL Championship and Memorial Cup for back up Jake Patterson. Patterson will still be with London next season and Stolarz will like have to fight to get his spot back. But if he continues to develop at the rate he has he will regain his starting spot. Stolarz will be on minor hockey's brightest stages next season as he will like be on the US World Junior Team as well as playing in the Memorial Cup again (London is hosting, so they automatically qualify).
Shayne Gostisbehere has also taken a big step forward. We've been able to follow his development a little closer than most Flyers prospects. Playing with the Gold Medal winning US World Junior team and a strong Union College team he's been on national television quite a few times. Ghost comes in as one of the bigger names in camp and has preformed well in his first day. He stood out offensively amongst his fellow defensemen. His point shot has only gotten stronger and is likely the best in the Flyers organization right now.
Reece Willcox also stood out at me. Willcox was drafted in the fifth round last year and spent this past season at Cornell. Willcox was drafted as a defensive defenseman and he looks to be developing into just that. He looks much beefier than last year, and a lot bigger than the 194lbs he is listed at. There were not many drills that highlighted defensive attributes but when there were Willcox's ability to push other players (all of them big strong defensemen in their own right) was high lighted.
Because of how camp is set up its not easy to get a good look at all players. I barely got a glimpse at other 2012ers Taylor Leier and Fredrik Larsson. I hope to get a better look at them later in the week. I also only got to see Scott Laughton run a few drills. A couple things jumped out at me. First was his fluid skating. His skating never stood out to me before but his crisp, clean, foot movement jumped out at me. Second, he is definitely bigger than he was last year. He is noticeably bigger than he was in January when he spent time with the Flyers. During the Flyers pre-season camp in January Laughton was pushed around, not just by the Flyers big defenseman, but by Ruslan Fedotenko who Laughton was often matched up against. I don't think he will be getting pushed around like that again.
2013 DRAFT CLASS
Every member of the Flyers 2012 draft class was there. I mentioned how I don't think Samuel Morin well develop into a strong NHLer, but I don't think it is fair to judge him at this camp. Most of the drills today were offense oriented. Shooting, passing, skating, things Morin doesn't do well, but also not what he was drafted to do. He did do well in the one more defensive oriented drill where he often squared off against Robert Hagg.
Robert Hagg showed some glimpses of his great offensive potential. It has been said of Hagg that he doesn't do anything bad, but doesn't do any one thing great. That probably kept him out of the first round but will likely keep him in the NHL for many years. He still has time to develop stand out skill, but he may not make many jaws drop in camp.
Merrick Madsen, a goalie who the Flyers took in the 6th Round, really jumped out at me. He already uses his size to his advantage, but he uses it differently then somebody like Stolarz. Stolarz, like a lot of other big goalies, has a taller and tighter stance. He uses his height to intimidate players while relying on his positioning to make saves. Madsen is much different. He has a shorter, wider stance that covers more area side to side. His big 6'4 frame allows him to cover a lot of space and his athletic ability allows him to close up his holes and cover a lot of area. He reminds me a big of Columbus-Era Sergei Bobrovsky; plenty athletic, but using his big frame to take up a lot of space. I've only seen him once, but so far he looks pretty good.
I was especially interested in seeing Terrance Amorosa since, apparently, so few people have seen him (we wasn't even ranked by NHL Central Scouting). He has some very good offensive abilities, but he is not always consistent. One shot may be a rocket, his next may be a flutterer. He seemed to take his misfires hard, looking towards the ceiling when a couple of his shots drifted softly into the goalies logo, so he knows there is still work to be done. But he does have a fair bit of talent and you can see why the team would want to take a flyer on the under scouted player. Hopefully he can develop more an the University of New Hampshire next season.
David Drake reminded me a lot of Samuel Morin (which is great for Drake, but pretty bad for Morin). He doesn't have a strong shot but he can move the puck pretty well. He is really lean but that didn't stop him from pushing around other players that were much heavier than he is. He is headed to the hockey factory known as the University of North Dakota in the fall and I can't wait to see how he develops there.
OTHER PLAYERS
There were other players who have come to the Flyers in various ways that were very impressive.
Petr Straka was probably the most impressive player I saw. I knew Straka liked to shoot, he lead the QMJHL playoffs in shots and shots per game, and finished in the top 5 in the Q in shots per game. But I didn't know how he could shoot. Wow. This guy's shot is on another level. Very quick and very accurate. I was there at prospect camp to see guys like Brayden Schenn, Sean Couturier, and Matt Read shoot and none of them shot consistently as well as Straka. Every time he got a second to shoot it was off the bottom of the cross bar and into the net. When he missed, which wasn't often, he was missing by inches. He doesn't appear to have excellent hands, but if he gets a second to shoot he's shooting to score. The expectations for Straka, a former 2nd round pick, should be through the roof, but luckily for him he is flying a bit under the radar. He will be a big shot to the team and the league whenever he makes it into the line up.
Matt Konan stood out to me last year in camp. He was shooting better than everybody on the ice with the exception of Scott Laughton and was fighting through bigger players. He was standing out again in the same ways this camp. The Flyers run a drill that requires two players to stand players to stand face to face at about the hash marks in front of the goal. A puck is put behind the player closest to the net and player in front of him has to fight through him and get a shot off. Konan dominated in this drill last year and was back to dominating the drill this year. Now he is a force on both the offensive and defensive sides of the drill.
Kyle Flannigan looked good, but since his real talent is in playmaking I don't know if we will get a firm grasp of his abilities at camp. Nick Luukko, son of Comcast President and COO Peter Luukko, plays a lot like Reece Willcox. Big, strong, and defensively sound. Luukko played in all situations with Vermont last season. He may be slow developing, but he may be developing into a solid NHLer.
Fun time at Flyers Player Development Camp today, I can't wait to head back tomorrow!
2011 DRAFT CLASS
Only two players from the 2011 Draft Class were brought into camp this year. Nick Cousins and Marcel Noebels. This is Nick Cousins' third time being at prospect camp. I've seen him at least once every time he's been to camp and I've noticed one thing. Nick Cousins is not a training camp player. In his first camp Cousins was so snake bitten he couldn't have kept control of the puck if his stick was covered in Stickum, at least when I saw him. He went out that next season and finished 8th in the OHL in scoring on a bad team. Last year he wasn't overly impressive and followed that camp up by finishing 4th Overall in OHL scoring (likely would have finished 1st if he wasn't suspended for four games towards the end of the season). Today he wasn't bad but he didn't jump out as much as other players. Some players just don't play well in camp. There is not doubt that Cousins has tons of talent and brings a lot of intangibles (he plays a pesky style similar to Brad Marchand) that simply don't show up in camp.
Marcel Noebels is making his first appearance at Flyers prospect camp after getting drafted two years ago. Noebels has always been a strong defensive player and be a great utility player; being able to play Left, Right, and Center. He's developed a bit of a goal scoring touch with the Phantoms and he showed it off a bit in camp. Twice in a drill he was able to cut across the front of the net and back hand the puck above the goalies into the top of the net. It's not an easy shot to make and he made it twice while taking some soft pressure from Flyers coaches.
2012 DRAFT CLASS
Almost every member of the 2012 Draft Class was at prospect camp, the exception being Valeri Vasiliev who is training with his KHL club Spartak in Russia. Some of the 2012ers have made big jumps from last year.
Anthony Stolarz might have made the biggest jump from one year to the next. Stolarz came into last years camp as a big, raw prospect. This year he is much more refined and much stronger positionally. He seems to have a much better idea as how to use his size to his advantage. One of the biggest obstacles in Stolarz development is how well he handles adversity. He was pulled out of both the OHL Championship and Memorial Cup for back up Jake Patterson. Patterson will still be with London next season and Stolarz will like have to fight to get his spot back. But if he continues to develop at the rate he has he will regain his starting spot. Stolarz will be on minor hockey's brightest stages next season as he will like be on the US World Junior Team as well as playing in the Memorial Cup again (London is hosting, so they automatically qualify).
Shayne Gostisbehere has also taken a big step forward. We've been able to follow his development a little closer than most Flyers prospects. Playing with the Gold Medal winning US World Junior team and a strong Union College team he's been on national television quite a few times. Ghost comes in as one of the bigger names in camp and has preformed well in his first day. He stood out offensively amongst his fellow defensemen. His point shot has only gotten stronger and is likely the best in the Flyers organization right now.
Reece Willcox also stood out at me. Willcox was drafted in the fifth round last year and spent this past season at Cornell. Willcox was drafted as a defensive defenseman and he looks to be developing into just that. He looks much beefier than last year, and a lot bigger than the 194lbs he is listed at. There were not many drills that highlighted defensive attributes but when there were Willcox's ability to push other players (all of them big strong defensemen in their own right) was high lighted.
Because of how camp is set up its not easy to get a good look at all players. I barely got a glimpse at other 2012ers Taylor Leier and Fredrik Larsson. I hope to get a better look at them later in the week. I also only got to see Scott Laughton run a few drills. A couple things jumped out at me. First was his fluid skating. His skating never stood out to me before but his crisp, clean, foot movement jumped out at me. Second, he is definitely bigger than he was last year. He is noticeably bigger than he was in January when he spent time with the Flyers. During the Flyers pre-season camp in January Laughton was pushed around, not just by the Flyers big defenseman, but by Ruslan Fedotenko who Laughton was often matched up against. I don't think he will be getting pushed around like that again.
2013 DRAFT CLASS
Every member of the Flyers 2012 draft class was there. I mentioned how I don't think Samuel Morin well develop into a strong NHLer, but I don't think it is fair to judge him at this camp. Most of the drills today were offense oriented. Shooting, passing, skating, things Morin doesn't do well, but also not what he was drafted to do. He did do well in the one more defensive oriented drill where he often squared off against Robert Hagg.
Robert Hagg showed some glimpses of his great offensive potential. It has been said of Hagg that he doesn't do anything bad, but doesn't do any one thing great. That probably kept him out of the first round but will likely keep him in the NHL for many years. He still has time to develop stand out skill, but he may not make many jaws drop in camp.
Merrick Madsen, a goalie who the Flyers took in the 6th Round, really jumped out at me. He already uses his size to his advantage, but he uses it differently then somebody like Stolarz. Stolarz, like a lot of other big goalies, has a taller and tighter stance. He uses his height to intimidate players while relying on his positioning to make saves. Madsen is much different. He has a shorter, wider stance that covers more area side to side. His big 6'4 frame allows him to cover a lot of space and his athletic ability allows him to close up his holes and cover a lot of area. He reminds me a big of Columbus-Era Sergei Bobrovsky; plenty athletic, but using his big frame to take up a lot of space. I've only seen him once, but so far he looks pretty good.
I was especially interested in seeing Terrance Amorosa since, apparently, so few people have seen him (we wasn't even ranked by NHL Central Scouting). He has some very good offensive abilities, but he is not always consistent. One shot may be a rocket, his next may be a flutterer. He seemed to take his misfires hard, looking towards the ceiling when a couple of his shots drifted softly into the goalies logo, so he knows there is still work to be done. But he does have a fair bit of talent and you can see why the team would want to take a flyer on the under scouted player. Hopefully he can develop more an the University of New Hampshire next season.
David Drake reminded me a lot of Samuel Morin (which is great for Drake, but pretty bad for Morin). He doesn't have a strong shot but he can move the puck pretty well. He is really lean but that didn't stop him from pushing around other players that were much heavier than he is. He is headed to the hockey factory known as the University of North Dakota in the fall and I can't wait to see how he develops there.
OTHER PLAYERS
There were other players who have come to the Flyers in various ways that were very impressive.
Petr Straka was probably the most impressive player I saw. I knew Straka liked to shoot, he lead the QMJHL playoffs in shots and shots per game, and finished in the top 5 in the Q in shots per game. But I didn't know how he could shoot. Wow. This guy's shot is on another level. Very quick and very accurate. I was there at prospect camp to see guys like Brayden Schenn, Sean Couturier, and Matt Read shoot and none of them shot consistently as well as Straka. Every time he got a second to shoot it was off the bottom of the cross bar and into the net. When he missed, which wasn't often, he was missing by inches. He doesn't appear to have excellent hands, but if he gets a second to shoot he's shooting to score. The expectations for Straka, a former 2nd round pick, should be through the roof, but luckily for him he is flying a bit under the radar. He will be a big shot to the team and the league whenever he makes it into the line up.
Matt Konan stood out to me last year in camp. He was shooting better than everybody on the ice with the exception of Scott Laughton and was fighting through bigger players. He was standing out again in the same ways this camp. The Flyers run a drill that requires two players to stand players to stand face to face at about the hash marks in front of the goal. A puck is put behind the player closest to the net and player in front of him has to fight through him and get a shot off. Konan dominated in this drill last year and was back to dominating the drill this year. Now he is a force on both the offensive and defensive sides of the drill.
Kyle Flannigan looked good, but since his real talent is in playmaking I don't know if we will get a firm grasp of his abilities at camp. Nick Luukko, son of Comcast President and COO Peter Luukko, plays a lot like Reece Willcox. Big, strong, and defensively sound. Luukko played in all situations with Vermont last season. He may be slow developing, but he may be developing into a solid NHLer.
Fun time at Flyers Player Development Camp today, I can't wait to head back tomorrow!
Monday, July 1, 2013
Flyers 2013 Draft Re-Cap
A day later and the dust is finally settling from the draft. There was a lot of talk about how they Flyers could move up but it turned out it wasn't to be. At the end of the day they had drafted four defensemen, one winger, and one goalie. Let's take a quick look at who they drafted.
11th Overall - Samuel Morin - Rimouski Oceanic (QMJHL) - Defense - 6'6, 203 lbs
41st Overall - Robert Hagg - MODO (Sweden) - Defense - 6'2 203 lbs
72st Overall - Tyrell Goulbourne - Regina Pats (WHL) - Left Wing - 5'10, 190 lbs
132nd Overall - Terrance Amorosa - Holderness School (High School - New Hampshire) - Defense - 6'2, 190 lbs
162nd Overall - Merrick Madsen - Proctor Academy (High School - New Hampshire) - Goalie - 6'4, 176 lbs
192nd Overall - David Drake - De Moines Buckaneers (USHL) - Defense - 6'4, 170 lbs
So let's start breaking these guys down.
Morin is a big, physical defenseman. I think a lot of people look at that and see the next great shut down defenseman. I think some foolish people look at him and see the next Chris Pronger. Drafting defenseman is always risky since great play in juniors doesn't translate to great play in the pros as easily for defenseman as it does for forwards. But the Morin pick is especially concerning. Here is an article (keep in the blogspot family, yo!) that shows that defenseman who don't score .4 points per game very rarely make it into the NHL. Morin, with 16 points in 46 games, averaged around .348 points per game. "But Morin is a defensive defenseman, he shouldn't be judged by his offensive production". I've heard this argument a number of times since we've drafted Morin less than 24 hours ago. What the article is saying is that if a player lacks the skill to put up points against the lesser quality of competition in junior he doesn't have the skill to make it to the NHL. .4 points per game isn't a really high amount. Michal Rozsival and Carl Gunnarsson averaged more than that this past NHL season. Luke Schenn averaged more than .4 PPG in his draft eligible year and he has always be considered a shut down defenseman. Per Hockey's Future, Morin has a great first pass out of the zone, a booming slap shot, and a powerful stride. If he has all those assets where are the points? Rimouski was a good team; they finished 4th in the league and 7th in the league in goals for. Morin got a lot of minutes all season. Where are his points? I'm not saying he should be a point per game player but shouldn't he be scoring at the same clip that Luke Schenn did? Especialy considering that Schenn was playing on a much weaker offensive team.
I like to keep this blog positive. But I fear the Flyers have drafted a dud. With other strong prospects like Ryan Pulock, Alex Wennberg, and Joshua Morrissey also available I think the Flyers will be kicking themselves on this one.
As much as I dislike the Flyers first pick I absolutely love their second pick. Robert Hagg has been on the Flyers radar since the World Juniors. He played most of the season in the top league in Sweden as a teenager. He's a tremendous two way defenseman who has good speed and can be quite a physical player. He was supposed to go in the mid to late first round but fell all the way to the 41st pick overall. He is a great two way defenseman with out any deficiencies. He reminds me of a bigger more physical version of Jonas Brodin, who was taken 11th overall by the Wild in 2011 and finished 4th in Calder voting this past season. He will most likely play in Sweden next season but could be ready to make the jump to the NHL as early as 2014-15.
Now we get to the Flyers most confusing pick from this years draft: Tyrell Goulbourne. Goulbourne is an undersized fighter. Think Zac Rinaldo. The thing is, Goulbourne wasn't picked in the late rounds where Zac Rinaldo and other fighters are drafted. No, he was taken in the 3rd round with the 71st Overall pick. He wasn't ranked in the top 150 prospects on any lists, a ranking consistent with his fighter status. Why did the Flyers take him so high up? Well, without a pick in the fourth round maybe they were afraid Goulbourne wouldn't make it to the fifth round for some reason. It's more than the fact they took a fighter so high, its the amount of talent they left on the board. This third round is as strong as the second round in the last few drafts. Guys like Mattias Janmark Nylen, Anton Slepyshev, Taylor Cammarata, Peter Cehlarik, Jimmy Lodge, John Hayden, Pavel Buchnevich, Anthony Duclair, Keaton Thompson, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Bogdan Yakimov, and even Sven Andrighetto. There is star quality there. All of those guys have a good chance at becoming serviceable NHLers. And they passed on them for a fighter that could be there in the later rounds. It's especially infuriating when you think that in the last two seasons the Flyers have had the steal of the 3rd round. Nick Cousins in 2011 and Shayne Gostisbehere in 2012. Just think if they got somebody like Peter Cehlarik, who averaged more points per game in the top Swedish league this season than Matt Duchene (who played there during the Lockout). Insane.
Without a pick in the 4th round the Flyers were left with 3 picks in the later rounds. The Flyers in recent years have used a lot of their late round picks on players who were bound for the NCAA. This is a smart strategy. The later rounds are gambles and if you can get more time to try and figure out if a player will turn into an NHL play all the better. Players going to the NCAA don't have to be signed for three years after they are drafted, a year more than players coming out of the CHL or most countries in Europe. A player going to a good school has a greater chance to develop because they will be thrown into a much more difficult environment. They will be exposed to better coaches, better training, better competition, and better players to play with while similar CHL players will continue at a level they are already at and playing against lesser and lesser competition as the better players age out or move on to the NHL.
The first NCAA bound player the Flyers drafted was Terrance Amorosa who was under the radar to say the least. He wasn't even ranked by NHL central scouting (who list 245 North American skaters alone) and until he was drafted he didn't have an Elite Prospects or Hockey DB profile. He put up pretty good numbers playing in high school and will be heading to the University of New Hampshire in the fall. There he will have to battle for minutes against some pretty tough competition, including JVR's brother Trevor (or TVR) who finished 2nd in scoring amongst all NCAA defensemen last year, 6'6 senior Eric Knodel, and 3rd round draft pick Brett Pesce.
After Amorosa the Flyers went for goaltender Merrick Madsen. Madsen has good size and is moving into one of the best conferences in college hockey, the ECAC. Already home to Flyers prospects Shayne Gostisbehere (Union), Reece Wilcox (Cornell), and Petr Placek who will be Madsen's teammate at Harvard. The league is also home to Quinnipiac and Yale who met in the NCAA final last season. Two of the best NCAA goalies in the past two seasons have come out of the ECAC, Troy Grosenick (Union) and Eric Hartzell (Quinnipiac). It will be interesting to see how he develops. It is not uncommon for goalies, even star goalies, to emerge from the late rounds of the draft.
(A quick aside, I don't know who the Flyers scout covering high school hockey in New Hampshire is, but look for him to move up in the organization in the near future. He clearly has Holmgren's ear considering they took two pretty off the board picks from the same area.)
The Flyers last pick in the draft is David Drake. The tall lanky defenseman will be headed to the University of North Dakota in the fall. UND is already home to Flyers pick Michael Parks who ended his 2011-12 freshman season with a promising 18 points in his final 22 games but spent this season marred by injury. North Dakota is a professional hockey factory, turning out great players at the same pace as schools like Boston College. Drake will need to put on weight but if he can turn into something in at UND he could be a real steal.
The big issue I had with this draft was there insistence on drafting the "best Flyer available" and not the "best player available". They consistently passed over skilled players to take tough, gritty, physical players who will at best be depth forwards in the NHL. This outdated idea of who the Flyers are/were has left the Flyers walking away from the best draft in a decade with one great prospect, a bust in the making, an undersized goon, and a handful of gambles.
11th Overall - Samuel Morin - Rimouski Oceanic (QMJHL) - Defense - 6'6, 203 lbs
41st Overall - Robert Hagg - MODO (Sweden) - Defense - 6'2 203 lbs
72st Overall - Tyrell Goulbourne - Regina Pats (WHL) - Left Wing - 5'10, 190 lbs
132nd Overall - Terrance Amorosa - Holderness School (High School - New Hampshire) - Defense - 6'2, 190 lbs
162nd Overall - Merrick Madsen - Proctor Academy (High School - New Hampshire) - Goalie - 6'4, 176 lbs
192nd Overall - David Drake - De Moines Buckaneers (USHL) - Defense - 6'4, 170 lbs
So let's start breaking these guys down.
Morin is a big, physical defenseman. I think a lot of people look at that and see the next great shut down defenseman. I think some foolish people look at him and see the next Chris Pronger. Drafting defenseman is always risky since great play in juniors doesn't translate to great play in the pros as easily for defenseman as it does for forwards. But the Morin pick is especially concerning. Here is an article (keep in the blogspot family, yo!) that shows that defenseman who don't score .4 points per game very rarely make it into the NHL. Morin, with 16 points in 46 games, averaged around .348 points per game. "But Morin is a defensive defenseman, he shouldn't be judged by his offensive production". I've heard this argument a number of times since we've drafted Morin less than 24 hours ago. What the article is saying is that if a player lacks the skill to put up points against the lesser quality of competition in junior he doesn't have the skill to make it to the NHL. .4 points per game isn't a really high amount. Michal Rozsival and Carl Gunnarsson averaged more than that this past NHL season. Luke Schenn averaged more than .4 PPG in his draft eligible year and he has always be considered a shut down defenseman. Per Hockey's Future, Morin has a great first pass out of the zone, a booming slap shot, and a powerful stride. If he has all those assets where are the points? Rimouski was a good team; they finished 4th in the league and 7th in the league in goals for. Morin got a lot of minutes all season. Where are his points? I'm not saying he should be a point per game player but shouldn't he be scoring at the same clip that Luke Schenn did? Especialy considering that Schenn was playing on a much weaker offensive team.
I like to keep this blog positive. But I fear the Flyers have drafted a dud. With other strong prospects like Ryan Pulock, Alex Wennberg, and Joshua Morrissey also available I think the Flyers will be kicking themselves on this one.
As much as I dislike the Flyers first pick I absolutely love their second pick. Robert Hagg has been on the Flyers radar since the World Juniors. He played most of the season in the top league in Sweden as a teenager. He's a tremendous two way defenseman who has good speed and can be quite a physical player. He was supposed to go in the mid to late first round but fell all the way to the 41st pick overall. He is a great two way defenseman with out any deficiencies. He reminds me of a bigger more physical version of Jonas Brodin, who was taken 11th overall by the Wild in 2011 and finished 4th in Calder voting this past season. He will most likely play in Sweden next season but could be ready to make the jump to the NHL as early as 2014-15.
Now we get to the Flyers most confusing pick from this years draft: Tyrell Goulbourne. Goulbourne is an undersized fighter. Think Zac Rinaldo. The thing is, Goulbourne wasn't picked in the late rounds where Zac Rinaldo and other fighters are drafted. No, he was taken in the 3rd round with the 71st Overall pick. He wasn't ranked in the top 150 prospects on any lists, a ranking consistent with his fighter status. Why did the Flyers take him so high up? Well, without a pick in the fourth round maybe they were afraid Goulbourne wouldn't make it to the fifth round for some reason. It's more than the fact they took a fighter so high, its the amount of talent they left on the board. This third round is as strong as the second round in the last few drafts. Guys like Mattias Janmark Nylen, Anton Slepyshev, Taylor Cammarata, Peter Cehlarik, Jimmy Lodge, John Hayden, Pavel Buchnevich, Anthony Duclair, Keaton Thompson, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Bogdan Yakimov, and even Sven Andrighetto. There is star quality there. All of those guys have a good chance at becoming serviceable NHLers. And they passed on them for a fighter that could be there in the later rounds. It's especially infuriating when you think that in the last two seasons the Flyers have had the steal of the 3rd round. Nick Cousins in 2011 and Shayne Gostisbehere in 2012. Just think if they got somebody like Peter Cehlarik, who averaged more points per game in the top Swedish league this season than Matt Duchene (who played there during the Lockout). Insane.
Without a pick in the 4th round the Flyers were left with 3 picks in the later rounds. The Flyers in recent years have used a lot of their late round picks on players who were bound for the NCAA. This is a smart strategy. The later rounds are gambles and if you can get more time to try and figure out if a player will turn into an NHL play all the better. Players going to the NCAA don't have to be signed for three years after they are drafted, a year more than players coming out of the CHL or most countries in Europe. A player going to a good school has a greater chance to develop because they will be thrown into a much more difficult environment. They will be exposed to better coaches, better training, better competition, and better players to play with while similar CHL players will continue at a level they are already at and playing against lesser and lesser competition as the better players age out or move on to the NHL.
The first NCAA bound player the Flyers drafted was Terrance Amorosa who was under the radar to say the least. He wasn't even ranked by NHL central scouting (who list 245 North American skaters alone) and until he was drafted he didn't have an Elite Prospects or Hockey DB profile. He put up pretty good numbers playing in high school and will be heading to the University of New Hampshire in the fall. There he will have to battle for minutes against some pretty tough competition, including JVR's brother Trevor (or TVR) who finished 2nd in scoring amongst all NCAA defensemen last year, 6'6 senior Eric Knodel, and 3rd round draft pick Brett Pesce.
After Amorosa the Flyers went for goaltender Merrick Madsen. Madsen has good size and is moving into one of the best conferences in college hockey, the ECAC. Already home to Flyers prospects Shayne Gostisbehere (Union), Reece Wilcox (Cornell), and Petr Placek who will be Madsen's teammate at Harvard. The league is also home to Quinnipiac and Yale who met in the NCAA final last season. Two of the best NCAA goalies in the past two seasons have come out of the ECAC, Troy Grosenick (Union) and Eric Hartzell (Quinnipiac). It will be interesting to see how he develops. It is not uncommon for goalies, even star goalies, to emerge from the late rounds of the draft.
(A quick aside, I don't know who the Flyers scout covering high school hockey in New Hampshire is, but look for him to move up in the organization in the near future. He clearly has Holmgren's ear considering they took two pretty off the board picks from the same area.)
The Flyers last pick in the draft is David Drake. The tall lanky defenseman will be headed to the University of North Dakota in the fall. UND is already home to Flyers pick Michael Parks who ended his 2011-12 freshman season with a promising 18 points in his final 22 games but spent this season marred by injury. North Dakota is a professional hockey factory, turning out great players at the same pace as schools like Boston College. Drake will need to put on weight but if he can turn into something in at UND he could be a real steal.
The big issue I had with this draft was there insistence on drafting the "best Flyer available" and not the "best player available". They consistently passed over skilled players to take tough, gritty, physical players who will at best be depth forwards in the NHL. This outdated idea of who the Flyers are/were has left the Flyers walking away from the best draft in a decade with one great prospect, a bust in the making, an undersized goon, and a handful of gambles.
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