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.