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2017 Rookie Game Preview: Flyers vs. Islanders, Quick Hits |
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UPDATE 11 AM
Based upon the roster for tonight and the line rushes at the morning skate, here is the projected lineup (subject to change) for the Flyers Rookies:
Line combos:
82 Connor Bunnaman - 64 Nolan Patrick - 90 Maksim Sushko
54 Oskar Lindblom - 63 German Rubtsov - 63 Pascal Laberge
71 Isaac Ratcliffe - 68 Morgan Frost- 78 Matthew Strome / 86 Anthony Salinitri
81 Carsen Twarynski - 46 Mikhail Vorobyev - 90 Ivan Kosorenkov
50 Sam Morin - 59 Mark Friedman
57 Travis Sanheim - 61 Philippe Myers
85 James de Haas - 77 Frank Hora
49 Alex Lyon / 79 Carter Hart
Top power play unit:
Lindblom- Patrick - Laberge
Vorobyev - Sanheim
Scratched: Mike Vecchione, Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Radel Fazleev, Reece Willcox.
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ROOKIE GAME PREVIEW: FLYERS VS. ISLANDERS
One year ago, the Philadelphia Flyers prospects blanked their New York Islanders counterparts, 4-0, in the 2016 Rookies Game in East Meadow, NY. This year, the scene shifts to the Wells Fargo Center. The game starts at 7 p.m. EDT and will be streamed live on the Flyers' official website. Brian Smith will handle play-by-play duties and I will be doing color commentary.
Last year, Flyers goaltending prospects Alex Lyon and Carter Hart combined on the shutout. The same duo will share goaltending duties again this year.
The Flyers Rookies have actually posted three straight shutouts. In the 2013 Rookie Game, the Flyers nipped the Washington Capitals, 1-0, in Arlington, VA. The next year, the Flyers did it again with a 3-0 win over the Capitals in Voorhees. There was no Rookie Game held in 2014.
Overall, the Flyers have typically fared well in the Rookie Game. The Flyers’ side has won six of the eight games played to date since 2007. Here are four things to watch as the Flyers look to continue their winning ways:
1. Combined nine first-round picks on the ice. The Flyers roster for the Rookie Game includes five recent first round picks: Samuel Morin (2013, NHL debut late last season), Travis Sanheim (2014), German Rubtsov (2016), Nolan Patrick (2017) and Morgan Frost (2017).
Additional players on the Philly roster include highly touted defense prospect Philippe Myers, 2016-17 Swedish Hockey League Forward of the Year Oskar Lindblom, goaltenders Alex Lyon and Carter Hart, 2016-17 World Junior Championships standout Mikhail Vorobyev, talented young first-year pro defenseman Mark Friedman, 2017 second-round pick Isaac Ratcliffe, and 2016-17 Hobey Baker Award finalist Mike Vecchione (two games in NHL). Also keep an eye on Russian forward Ivan Kosorenkov; a camp tryout player who is trying to earn an entry-level contract with the Flyers after going unselected in the 2016 and 2017 NHL Drafts.
The Islanders side has four first-rounders: Michael Dal Colle (2014), Joshua Ho-Sang (2014, 14 games of NHL experience), Mathew Barzal (2015, two NHL games last season) and Kieffer Bellows (2016). Other skill-player names of note include undersized offensive minded defensemen Sebastian Aho and Mitchell Vande Sompel.
Players of local interest on the Islanders side include goalie Eamon McAdam (a native of Doylestown, PA), right winger Matt Gaudreau (younger brother of NHL star and Carneys Pt. Township, NJ native Johnny Gaudreau) and John Stevens Jr. (a native of Sea Isle City, NJ, a 2012 Flyers Development Camp attendee and the son of former Flyers defenseman and head coach John Stevens).
2. Seeking instant chemistry. When the Flyers prospects take the ice for the Rookie Game, they will have had two practice days and a morning skate to prepare for the contest. That is not much time, but there is already a reasonable amount of familiarity among the players.
Part of the benefit of Development Camp each July is the opportunity to forge camaraderie both on and off the ice. Additionally, some of the players on the Flyers roster have either been junior teammates or rivals from the same leagues. It is not uncommon for familiarity, as well as age and experience, to at least partially figure into the lineup combinations used in the game.
On the first two days of Rookie Camp in Voorhees, the Flyers’ used similar line combinations at forward. It is likely the game night lines will follow along a similar pattern, although some tweaks may be made before or during the game. The rotation of the seven blueliners at Rookie Camp was more mix-and-match over the first two days.
Tuesday's forward line combos were as follows (starting lineups will be posted later today on the Flyers' official website):
Connor Bunnaman - Nolan Patrick - Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Oskar Lindblom - German Rubtsov - Pascal Laberge
Isaac Ratcliffe - Morgan Frost - Matthew Strome/ Maksim Sushko
Anthony Salinitri - Mikhail Vorobyev - Ivan Kosorenkov
Carsen Twarynski - Mike Vecchione - Radel Fazleev
The defensemen slated to play are Samuel Morin, Travis Sanheim, Philippe Myers, Mark Friedman, Reece Willcox, James de Haas, Frank Hora. As noted atop the preview, Alex Lyon and Carter Hart will once again split goaltending duties, switching roughly midgame.
3. Phantoms vs. Sound Tigers hostilities renewed. The Flyers and Islanders’ respective top farm teams, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and Bridgeport Sound Tigers, play in the American Hockey League’s tough Atlantic Division. They play each other often, and the familiarity breeds tension on the ice. The Flyers’ Rookie Game participants with AHL experience with the Phantoms already have played against the Isles roster players who spent significant time with Bridgeport.
For example, Flyers defense prospect Morin and aggressive Islanders left wing prospect Ross Johnston frequently have gotten under each other’s skin on the ice. They have dropped the gloves in the past in the AHL and also waged some fierce battles during their junior days in the Quebec League. Both players have played one NHL game to date. Although nearly 6-foot-7 Morin’s main focus is on earning an NHL spot with the Flyers come opening night, he is not one to turn down a challenge from the 6-foot-5, 231-pound Johnston.
4. Channeling adrenaline. The energy level of the players on both sides of the Rookie Game would be amped up even if the game was played in a small venue with few onlookers except for the coaches and Hockey Operations braintrusts of their respective organizations. Add into the mix the fact the game will be played at the Wells Fargo Center (for the first time since 2011) and there will be a large and vocal crowd of Flyers partisans on hand and the adrenaline level will be cranked even higher.
While high energy and emotion make for spirited hockey, the young players will also have channel it positively and stay within the team concept. In Rookie Game settings, there is sometimes a heightened risk of players making low-percentage plays with the puck, getting caught up ice or taking undisciplined penalties.
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QUICK HITS: SEPTEMBER 13, 2017
1) Congratulations go out to Flyers goaltender Michal Neuvirth on the birth of daughter, Emily, on Monday. Mom and baby are both doing well.
2) For those planning to buy single-game tickets from the Flyers, today is the day to do it. All ticketing fees are waived today only for games in October and November.
3) Congratulations also go out to my colleague and friend Dave Isaac, who has been appointed the new chapter chair of the Philadelphia branch of the Professional Hockey Writers Association. He has big shoes to fill, replacing the now semi-retired Wayne Fish, who covered the Flyers beat from 1977-78 (Fred Shero's final season as Flyers coach) to 2016-17.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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