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Philadelphia Flyers Blogger • NHL.com •
For the first time in quite a few years, the Philadelphia Flyers find themselves in the position of being able to place multiple legitimate NHL prospects on their AHL affiliate. The team has the luxury of bringing the players along at a conservative pace.
Last year, of course, injuries and the disastrous play of the big club forced the Flyers to call up several players before they were ready.
In previous seasons -- with the key exception of the Phantoms Calder Cup run during the 2004-05 NHL lockout -- the Flyers organization didn't really have the type of young depth needed to funnel higher-quality prospects to the farm team. That's why the Phantoms were typically a veteran-dominated squad (think Peter White, Mark Greig, Shawn McCosh, John Slaney, Jamie Heward, etc).
In 2007-08, the Flyers have four young defensemen on the Phantoms with a shot at having good NHL careers, plus three forwards (not including the recently demoted Denis Tolpeko). While each of the players still has room for improvement in certain areas, each also has bonafide NHL-caliber abilities in at least one area of his game. Goaltending is currently an organizational trouble spot in terms of talent in the system below the NHL level.
In today's Farm Report, we will focus on defensemen Ryan Parent, Alexandre Picard Senators Jersey in the HockeyBuzz Store' href='http://shop.hockeybuzz.com/ottawa-senators.php'>Alexandre Picard, Oskars Bartulis and Nate Guenin. Phantoms forwards Ryan Potulny, Stefan Ruzicka and Jonathan Matsumoto are up next week.
Ryan Parent (D): The most important long-term cog in last year's Peter Forsberg trade with Nashville has coming along very nicely in his first AHL season. I would argue that he's NHL-ready right now, but the organizational depth at defense enables the club to give him some minor-league seasoning. That's not a bad thing: There's no such thing as a player being too well-prepared for the NHL.
Parent has a host of excellent traits that teams covet in an NHL defenseman: He's big, he's a very good skater, he's strong on coverages, he doesn't get flustered after making a mistake and he's poised under pressure. The rookie's plus-12 defensive rating is an accurate reflection of his defensive capabilitites.
So why isn't Parent in the NHL right now? Three reasons.
First of all, there's no need to rush the 20-year-old, with seven capable NHL defensemen on the current Flyers roster.
Secondly, Parent is strictly a defensive defenseman. With an overload of defensive D on the big club right now (especially veterans Derian Hatcher Jason Smith), the more experienced Jim Vandermeer starting every game and Lasse Kukkonen relegated to the seventh defenseman role, there's a glut of players assigned to perform essentially the same function as Parent.
He's better off pushing for a job next season when, presumably, a couple roster spots will be opened up. Smith and Vandermeer are unrestricted free agents after the season and Kukkonen does not appear to be in John Stevens' plans.
Lastly, the Flyers aren't ready to concede to the notion that Parent has no offensive upside at all.
Recently, Flyers GM Paul Holmgren said of Parent, “Ideally, we'd like for Ryan would be to play the full year with the Phantoms. Certain parts of his game need work, but he's a very solid defender. He's good behind the net in puck battles, and very alert in front of the net. There are things in the offensive side that can still improve.”
Parent has never shown much offense at any level of hockey, although the raw skills seem to be there to at least be a good puck mover and passer. He has one goal and seven points for the Phantoms this season in 46 games, which is a typical pro equivalent for a player who put up exceptionally modest junior point totals.
The Flyers believe that Parent could develop a little more of an offensive game if he is encouraged to work on it and gains some confidence. We'll see. As long as he plays solid defense and moves around well, the points won't be a big deal.
Alexandre Picard Senators Jersey in the HockeyBuzz Store' href='http://shop.hockeybuzz.com/ottawa-senators.php'>Alexandre Picard (D): Picard has NHL-caliber skating, passing and shooting skills. But he turns the puck over too frequently and blows too many coverages to be reliable as an NHL starter at this point. He'd have to produce a lot of points to compensate for this weaknesses, but is not ready to do so on a consistent basis in the NHL.
Picard got off to a tremendous all-around start to this season for the Phantoms, particularly in the offensive end. But he has been inconsistent ever since being sent back down after a short stint with the big club where he still didn't quite look ready for prime time.
For the AHL season, Picard now has six goals, 21 assists and a minus-six rating in 42 games. Although he earned a spot in the AHL All-Star game, the honor was largely the product of his excellent first two months of the season. He needs to get back on track.
Oskars Bartulis (D): The smooth-skating Latvian rookie has had a good first AHL season, but is not yet a finished product despite statistically respectable totals (15 points, plus-four).
The converted forward is only in his third year as a defenseman, and it has taken him the expected half-season to make some of the adjustments needed to play the pro game. He has above-average two-way defenseman potential but is still refining his game at both ends of the ice. He looks like he still needs to get a little stronger physically, for one thing.
The areas of Bartulis' game that jump out are his acceleration and his passing ability. He has an ability to catch his forwards in stride. On breakouts, he seems to hold his ground against oncoming forecheckers. I think Bartulis is capable of picking up on the goal scoring end of his pre-All Star Game offensive pace (one goal, 14 assists). His shot from the point is not as accurate as Picard's at this stage.
Nate Guenin (D): I think Guenin would make a perfectly respectable sixth or seventh NHL defenseman by next year. He's positionally solid, plays physically, blocks shots effectively and will stand up for teammates.
Guenin isn't the greatest puck handler you'll ever see. He seems to have average wheels and limited offensive upside, so he's the type of player who often gets bypassed on the depth chart. But he keeps his game simple and does no harm defensively, which are valuable traits.
***
A couple quick team-related updates:
* Flyers coach John Stevens revealed today that Antero Niittymäki will get the start in goal tomorrow, and Martin Biron will be back in goal on Saturday.
* One way or another, there will be significant Peter Forsberg news tomorrow. We will at least know whether or not he will play in Sweden this season.
The Elitserien deadline for signing players for the 2007-08 season will pass at midnight tomorrow (6 PM EST here). Forsberg said yesterday that he has not ruled out playing for Modo this season rather than in the NHL. A return to Modo seems unlikely, but he chose to keep that avenue open.
At practice earlier today, Forsberg gave an interview to his hometown paper, Allehanda. He pretty much reiterated the same theme, saying it would be a "tough decision" either way.
Modo has a game scheduled tomorrow-- a road match in Gävle against Brynäs.
Unless addressed earlier in the day, the situation could easily distract the team's focus from what is a pretty important game for Modo (the team could potentially jump up several spots in the standings with a win, as four teams are currently tied with 67 points).
Further update: TSN's Bob McKenzie posted posted that Forsberg has given agent Don Baizley the go-ahead to start formal negotiations with NHL teams.
Last year, of course, injuries and the disastrous play of the big club forced the Flyers to call up several players before they were ready.
In previous seasons -- with the key exception of the Phantoms Calder Cup run during the 2004-05 NHL lockout -- the Flyers organization didn't really have the type of young depth needed to funnel higher-quality prospects to the farm team. That's why the Phantoms were typically a veteran-dominated squad (think Peter White, Mark Greig, Shawn McCosh, John Slaney, Jamie Heward, etc).
In 2007-08, the Flyers have four young defensemen on the Phantoms with a shot at having good NHL careers, plus three forwards (not including the recently demoted Denis Tolpeko). While each of the players still has room for improvement in certain areas, each also has bonafide NHL-caliber abilities in at least one area of his game. Goaltending is currently an organizational trouble spot in terms of talent in the system below the NHL level.
In today's Farm Report, we will focus on defensemen Ryan Parent, Alexandre Picard Senators Jersey in the HockeyBuzz Store' href='http://shop.hockeybuzz.com/ottawa-senators.php'>Alexandre Picard, Oskars Bartulis and Nate Guenin. Phantoms forwards Ryan Potulny, Stefan Ruzicka and Jonathan Matsumoto are up next week.
Ryan Parent (D): The most important long-term cog in last year's Peter Forsberg trade with Nashville has coming along very nicely in his first AHL season. I would argue that he's NHL-ready right now, but the organizational depth at defense enables the club to give him some minor-league seasoning. That's not a bad thing: There's no such thing as a player being too well-prepared for the NHL.
Parent has a host of excellent traits that teams covet in an NHL defenseman: He's big, he's a very good skater, he's strong on coverages, he doesn't get flustered after making a mistake and he's poised under pressure. The rookie's plus-12 defensive rating is an accurate reflection of his defensive capabilitites.
So why isn't Parent in the NHL right now? Three reasons.
First of all, there's no need to rush the 20-year-old, with seven capable NHL defensemen on the current Flyers roster.
Secondly, Parent is strictly a defensive defenseman. With an overload of defensive D on the big club right now (especially veterans Derian Hatcher Jason Smith), the more experienced Jim Vandermeer starting every game and Lasse Kukkonen relegated to the seventh defenseman role, there's a glut of players assigned to perform essentially the same function as Parent.
He's better off pushing for a job next season when, presumably, a couple roster spots will be opened up. Smith and Vandermeer are unrestricted free agents after the season and Kukkonen does not appear to be in John Stevens' plans.
Lastly, the Flyers aren't ready to concede to the notion that Parent has no offensive upside at all.
Recently, Flyers GM Paul Holmgren said of Parent, “Ideally, we'd like for Ryan would be to play the full year with the Phantoms. Certain parts of his game need work, but he's a very solid defender. He's good behind the net in puck battles, and very alert in front of the net. There are things in the offensive side that can still improve.”
Parent has never shown much offense at any level of hockey, although the raw skills seem to be there to at least be a good puck mover and passer. He has one goal and seven points for the Phantoms this season in 46 games, which is a typical pro equivalent for a player who put up exceptionally modest junior point totals.
The Flyers believe that Parent could develop a little more of an offensive game if he is encouraged to work on it and gains some confidence. We'll see. As long as he plays solid defense and moves around well, the points won't be a big deal.
Alexandre Picard Senators Jersey in the HockeyBuzz Store' href='http://shop.hockeybuzz.com/ottawa-senators.php'>Alexandre Picard (D): Picard has NHL-caliber skating, passing and shooting skills. But he turns the puck over too frequently and blows too many coverages to be reliable as an NHL starter at this point. He'd have to produce a lot of points to compensate for this weaknesses, but is not ready to do so on a consistent basis in the NHL.
Picard got off to a tremendous all-around start to this season for the Phantoms, particularly in the offensive end. But he has been inconsistent ever since being sent back down after a short stint with the big club where he still didn't quite look ready for prime time.
For the AHL season, Picard now has six goals, 21 assists and a minus-six rating in 42 games. Although he earned a spot in the AHL All-Star game, the honor was largely the product of his excellent first two months of the season. He needs to get back on track.
Oskars Bartulis (D): The smooth-skating Latvian rookie has had a good first AHL season, but is not yet a finished product despite statistically respectable totals (15 points, plus-four).
The converted forward is only in his third year as a defenseman, and it has taken him the expected half-season to make some of the adjustments needed to play the pro game. He has above-average two-way defenseman potential but is still refining his game at both ends of the ice. He looks like he still needs to get a little stronger physically, for one thing.
The areas of Bartulis' game that jump out are his acceleration and his passing ability. He has an ability to catch his forwards in stride. On breakouts, he seems to hold his ground against oncoming forecheckers. I think Bartulis is capable of picking up on the goal scoring end of his pre-All Star Game offensive pace (one goal, 14 assists). His shot from the point is not as accurate as Picard's at this stage.
Nate Guenin (D): I think Guenin would make a perfectly respectable sixth or seventh NHL defenseman by next year. He's positionally solid, plays physically, blocks shots effectively and will stand up for teammates.
Guenin isn't the greatest puck handler you'll ever see. He seems to have average wheels and limited offensive upside, so he's the type of player who often gets bypassed on the depth chart. But he keeps his game simple and does no harm defensively, which are valuable traits.
***
A couple quick team-related updates:
* Flyers coach John Stevens revealed today that Antero Niittymäki will get the start in goal tomorrow, and Martin Biron will be back in goal on Saturday.
* One way or another, there will be significant Peter Forsberg news tomorrow. We will at least know whether or not he will play in Sweden this season.
The Elitserien deadline for signing players for the 2007-08 season will pass at midnight tomorrow (6 PM EST here). Forsberg said yesterday that he has not ruled out playing for Modo this season rather than in the NHL. A return to Modo seems unlikely, but he chose to keep that avenue open.
At practice earlier today, Forsberg gave an interview to his hometown paper, Allehanda. He pretty much reiterated the same theme, saying it would be a "tough decision" either way.
Modo has a game scheduled tomorrow-- a road match in Gävle against Brynäs.
Unless addressed earlier in the day, the situation could easily distract the team's focus from what is a pretty important game for Modo (the team could potentially jump up several spots in the standings with a win, as four teams are currently tied with 67 points).
Further update: TSN's Bob McKenzie posted posted that Forsberg has given agent Don Baizley the go-ahead to start formal negotiations with NHL teams.
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