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.