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Meltzer's Musings: October Breakdown, Prospect Updates and More |
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FLYERS OCTOBER-IN-REVIEW
Coming off a miserable week of hockey that not only saw the team go 0-2-1 in three games against the Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils but play worse with each passing game, the Philadelphia finished the month of October with a 4-4-2 record. Last season, the team had an identical 4-4-2 record in the first month of the season but closed it out with three wins in four games.
New Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol could not fairly be expected to work miracles with most of the same personnel that former head Craig Berube had a year ago. Even so, following the team beating the likes of the Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers, playing well in an opening night overtime road loss against the Tampa Bay Lightning and falling just short of claiming at least one point against the red-hot Dallas Stars despite gettting outplayed, it would been nice to see the team at least compete better than it did this week against Buffalo and New Jersey.
With the team playing three times in four nights, there was a need for the team to manage energy wisely. Nevertheless, given Hakstol's propensity for emphasizing "strong work days" leading up to games, the day-before-the-game practices this week were not inspiring ramp-ups to ensuing game nights in terms of showing the team was ready to come out and set the tone for the pacing and execution levels it needed for three periods.
The injury absences of Sean Couturier and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare are not a good excuse nor is fatigue. The Sabres were in the same boat as the Flyers this past week, playing in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh on back-to-back nights then hosting the Flyers on Friday night. Meanwhile, the team was missing numerous key players with injuries. It did not stop Buffalo from beating the Flyers twice or from outshooting Pittsburgh by a 53-29 margin despite a hard-fought 4-3 regulation loss to the Penguins.
The Flyers have another three-in-four (and four-in-set) upcoming this week, except this time they are on the road for the duration. The team arrived early in Vancouver to get in a full practice day on Sunday before game nights against the Canucks on Monday and Edmonton on Tuesday. Thereafter, the team is in Calgary on Thursday before wrapping up the western Canada portion of the trip in Winnipeg on Saturday.
If there is a bright spot to the month of October, it's that the Flyers did not bury themselves in the first 10 games despite the fact that numerous key players are capable of producing much better on an individual basis. Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek, Wayne Simmonds, Nick Schultz, Michael Del Zotto, and Steve Mason all had uneven opening months.
Number one Mason gets a partial pass because he went through a hellish personal month and he did mix in several strong starts, but he let in four or five goals that he probably would have stopped last season. He managed to finish the month with an even 90 percent save percentage despite a four-goal-in-eight-shot debacle in the season's second game and yielding a pair of overtime breakaway goals.
It should also be noted that Mason's October this year was actuallly better than his October numbers from last year (0-3-1, 3.83 GAA, .878 SV%), which did not have any ill-effects on him playing a strong overall season. Nevertheless, it is fair to say that Michal Neuvirth had a better opening month of the season, at least over the games the Czech netminder started.
On a team-wide basis -- keeping in mind that the club generally played well in five of its games and deserved to lose the other five -- the numbers very much reflect the Flyers' inconsistency and the significant room for improvement in November and beyond. While they are generating a lot of shots on goal, there aren't enough quality ones on a consistent basis, and even most of the quality chances are not being converted into goals. On the defensive end, they are yielding too many shots and playing without the puck more than they have possession.
October by the numbers
Goals per game: 2.00 (tied for 28th)
Goals against average: 2.90 (tied for 21st, two shutout wins)
Power play efficiency: 4-for-32, 12.5 percent (24th), 1 SHGA
Penalty kill efficency: 32-for-42, 76.2 percent (23rd), 0 SHG
Even strength GF/GA ratio: 16/18
1st pd GF/GA: 5/11
2nd pd GF/GA: 7/9
3rd pd GF/GA: 7/7
Overtime GF/GA: 1/2
Shots per game: 33.5 (2nd)
Shots against per game: 33.3 (30th)
Team SAT/USAT: -15/-19
Situational SAT/USAT: -3/+1 (tie), -15/-10 (leading), +3/10 (trailing), -13/-12 (close)
Shot miss analysis: 1 crossbar, 1 post, 16 over net (5th most), 99 wide (tied 18th most)
Faceoff percentage: 48.7 percent (22nd)
Situational faceoff%: 48.1% even strength, 65.7% power play, 38.0% penalty kill
Scoring first: 5 (4-1-0)
Trailing first: 5 (0-3-2)
Lead after 1st period: 1/10 (1-0-0)
Lead after 2nd period: 2/10 (2-0-0)
Trail after 1st period: 4/10 (0-3-1)
Trail after 2nd period: 5/10 (1-3-1)
Tied after 1st period: 5/10 (3-1-1)
Tied after 2nd period: 3/10 (1-1-1)
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FLYERS PROSPECT UPDATES
AHL: The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (3-5-0-0) return to action on Sunday, taking on the host Hershey Bears (4-3-0-1) at the Giant Center in Hershey. The teams will rematch on Friday at the PPL Center in Allentown.
Third-year pro Nick Cousins leads the team in scoring (three goals, six assists, nine points) through eight games. His status for Sunday's game is unclear but he had to leave the Phantoms' most recent game in the third period after being felled by a huge hit from St. John's IceCaps defenseman Dalton Thrower.
Second season defenseman Robert Hägg has been skating in a non-contact jersey at the team's practices over the past week, but isn't ready to return to the lineup. Also missing from the lineup are the likes of veteran forward Colin McDonald and rookie AHL-contracted forward Michael Parks.
OHL: Flyers 2015 first-round pick Travis Konecny is day-to-day with an upper-body injury sustained in the Ottawa 67's 3-2 overtime loss to the North Bay Battallion on Thursday. Konecny entered the weekend tied for the Ontario Hockey League scoring lead with 23 points (five goals, 18 assists) in 14 games. Ottawa has a road game on Sunday afternoon against the Sudbury Wolves.
QMJHL: Flyers 2014 second-round pick Nicolas Aube-Kubel missed the Val-d'Or Foreurs' 6-2 loss to the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles on Saturday. The player is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Despite a recent offensive slump, Aube-Kubel has posted nine goals and 16 points in 14 games. He is plus-10 and has received 20 penalty minutes.
Flyers 2015 fourth-round pick Samuel Dove-McFalls will be out of the lineup until mid-to-late December after undergoing knee surgery in mid-October. The player missed a few games with the injury but then attempted to return and reaggravated it. In five games this season, Dove-McFalls has posted three points (one goal and two assists) while serving as his team's shutdown defensive center. The St. John SeaDogs announced on Oct. 16 that Dove-McFalls would miss approximately 12 weeks.
Rouyn-Noranda Huskies defenseman Philippe Myers, whom the Flyers signed to an entry-level contract after an impressive rookie camp showing in September, is enjoying a strong two-way season thus far. A plus-14 at even strength in 17 games, the mobile 6-foot-5 Myers has already surpassed his combined offensive output from his first two QMJHL seasons. After posting a combined two goals and 12 points through his first 106 Quebec League games, the 18-year-old Myers has taken on bigger offensive duties and chipped in six goals and 13 points to date. He had two helpers in the Huskies' 5-2 road win on Friday against St. John.
WHL: Flyers 2015 first round pick Ivan Provorov contributed an assist and a plus-one evening to the Brandon Wheat Kings' 3-2 overtime road win over the Kootenay Ice on Friday. The Wheaties return to road action on Sunday, taking on the Moose Jaw Warriors.
For the season to date, Provorov has 15 points (two goals, 13 assists) and a plus-18 rating in 15 games for his league powerhouse club. He is tied for fourth in scoring among defensemen in the league.
The Calgary Hitmen, featuring Flyers 2014 first-round pick Travis Sanheim and sixth-round selection Radel Fazleev, have had a bumpy ride the last few weeks. The team returns to action on Sunday, hosting the Seattle Thunderbirds.
Sanheim still leads all WHL defensemen in scoring (five goals, 14 assists, 19 points) through his first 15 games but endured a couple of recent tough weeks at both ends of the ice for a Hitmen club that is thin up front and relies heavily on Sanheim and fellow defenseman Jake Bean (a top prospect for the 2016 NHL Draft) to generate offense from the back end.
In looking to heavily push the offensive side of his game, Sanheim wound up seeing his season plus-minus at even strength fall from a high-water mark of plus-seven through the first seven games (to go along with three goals and nine assists) to a current minus-three. He is minus-10 over the last eight games but did have two goals and five assists in that span.
On a junior team with a deeper forward corps, Fazleev would more likely be cast in the third-line two-way player role he played for Calgary in past seasons. Now, however, he is being heavily relied upon to be an offensive contributor. He's responded. Fazleev has produced 17 points (seven goals, 10 points) through his first 15 games. A plus-23 at even strength last season for a better overall version of the Hitmen club, he's minus-four to date this season.
Canada-Russia Series: All three of the Flyers' WHL-affiliated players are slated to play in the upcoming Canada-Russia Series (formerly called the Subway Super Series) between the Russian junior national team and teams representing North American players from each of the three CHL circuits. Provorov and Fazleev have been selected for Team Russia. Sanheim is on Team WHL. Konecy will play for Team OHL in the Nov. 12 game in Owen Sound. Aube-Kubel will play for Team QMJHL.
The schedule of games is follows: On Nov. 9 (Kelowna, BC) and 10 (Kamloops, BC), Team WHL will play the Russian team. One group of Team OHL players will be featured against the Russians on Nov. 12 (Owen Sound, ON) and a separate group will suit up on Nov. 16 (Windsor, ON). The series concludes with Team QMJHL taking its turn on Nov. 17 (Rouyn-Noranda, QC) and Nov. 19
(Halifax, NS).
SHL: Flyers 2014 fifth-round pick Oskar Lindblom continues to skate on the left wing of the top even-strength line as well as the second power unit for fourth-place Brynäs IF Gävle. To date, Lindblom has produced three goals and 12 points in 16 games to top all players under the age of 20 in the league in overall scoring. He is also a plus-11 (+18,-7) at even strength to date while skating on a line with Greg Scott and Anton Rödin. Lindblom is a shoo-in for a return to the World Junior Championships.
Teammate Felix Sandström, selected by the Flyers in the third round of the 2015 NHL Draft, is the SHL's only teenaged goaltender to appear in a league game thus far in 2015-16 let alone the one one starting on a fairly regular basis. Sandström (eight games, 5-3-0 record, 490 mins, 2.81 GAA, .904 SV%) veteran goalie Bernhard Starkbaum (eight games, 5-3-0, 480 mins, 2.50 GAA, .904 SV%) have posted virtually identical stats to date.
The SHL is now currently on a schedule break for the annual Euro Hockey Tour series of international tournaments. The annual Karjala Cup will be played from Nov. 5 to 8. The SHL season resumes on Nov. 12 when, among six league games, Brynäs is on the road to take on ninth-place Rögle BK Ängelholm.
KHL/MHL: Flyers 2015 fourth-round pick Mikhail Vorobyov recently make his KHL debut for Salavat Yulaev Ufa, playing very sparingly in each of first four games at the senior level. He's averaged just 6:47 of ice time and 10.8 shifts per game to date and has not recorded a point. However, the 18-year-old center is 13-for-26 on faceoffs today. Prior to his callup, Vorobyov produced 16 points (four goals, 12 assists) in 12 games at the MHL level for Tolpar Ufa, which is the parent's club junior affiliate. Vorobyov was a healthy scratch for Salavat Yulaev in Friday's 5-1 win over Dinamo Minsk. The KHL team does not play again until a Nov. 10
road game against Ak Bars Kazan. Meanwhile, Tolpar is on a schedule hiatus until a Nov. 16 game against Chaika Nizhny Novgorod.
Flyers 2015 seventh-round pick Ivan Fedotov has settled in nicely for MHL club Reaktor Nizhnekamsk after a rough first two games of the season and a six-game stint dressing as a backup (without appearing in a game) for KHL parent club Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk. At the MHL level, the lanky 6-foot-6 teenager has improved his season totals to an 8-2-1 record, 2.17 GAA and .911 save percentage in 11 games. The numbers are still somewhat affected by Fedotov getting an early hook in the opener and stopping just 29 of 36 shots in his first two games. Since then, he's been one of the MHL's top goalies. The team returns to action from a current schedule hiatus on Nov. 11 when it hosts Kuznetskie Medvedi.
Flyers 2012 seventh-round pick Valeri Vasiliev has appeared in two KHL games this season for Avangard Omsk, and was a healthy scratch in another. The 21-year-old defenseman is back on loan to VHL (minor league) club Saryarka Karaganda.
Czech Extraliga: Flyers 2015 fourth-round pick David Kase has appeared in 13 games to date for Pirati Chomutov. Seeing mostly fourth-line duty with two games on the third line, Kase has one goal on the season. The 18-year-old forward scored his firsk senior level goal on Oct. 23, in a 7-5 win over Plzen. He also played one game on loan to minor league team SK Kadan, scoring a goal, and has suited up in seven games for the Czech Under-20 national team (zero goals, four assists).
NCAA: Harvard University sophomore goaltender Merrick Madsen recorded his first collegiate level win and shutout on Saturday night. The Flyers' 2013 sixth-round pick stopped all 24 shots he faced in Harvard's 7-0 romp over Dartmouth.
Flyers 2015 third-round pick Matej Tomek has missed the start of his freshman season due to a lower-body injury that has sidelined him all month. In the meantime, junior goalie Junior Matt Hrynkiw has posted two shutouts to date. UND is 6-0-2 under new head coach Brad Berry, following the departure of Dave Hakstol to coach the Flyers.
Flyers 2015 sixth-round pick Cooper Marody has had an auspicious start to his collegiate career at the University of Michigan. Centering the third line, the freshman forward has produced three goals and seven points through his first six games. Michigan got shut out by Robert Morris, 4-0, on Saturday night to drop to 4-1-1 on the season. However, Marody produced a goal and an assist in a 5-3 win over Robert Morris the previous night.
Flyers 2014 third-round pick Mark Friedman earned his first point (an even strength primary assist) of the season in Bowling Green's 4-2 loss at Alaska Anchorage on Saturday. Bowling Green dropped to 3-2-1 on the season. For the season to date, the sophomore defenseman is plus-five with 17 shots on goal through six games.
Flyers 2013 fifth-round pick Terrance Amorosa had an assist and was plus-one in Clarkson's 6-2 blowout win over Western Michigan on Saturday night. The sophomore defenseman has three assists in three games to date this season.
Flyers 2012 fifth-round pick Reece Willcox notched an assist and was plus-one with one shot on goal in Cornell's 4-0 win over Niagara on Saturday. Playing left defense on the Big Red's second pairing, senior defenseman Willcox was minus-two in Friday 3-2 overtime win against Niagara. The game was Cornell's regular season opener.
Flyers 2013 seventh-round pick David Drake has one assist, two shots on goal and a plus-two rating through his first six sophomore games for the University of Connecticut. UConn is 3-3-0 to date after a 2-1 loss to Notre Dame on Saturday.
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