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QUICK HITS: JANUARY 6, 2017
Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol shook up the lines at the Flyers' practice at the Skate Zone in Voorhees on Friday, one game after the team took a complete off-day (not as a reward, but as a mental respite) following a disastrous third period in a 5-2 home loss to the Rangers on Wednesday night.
The forward lines were as follows:
12 Michael Raffl - 28 Claude Giroux - 24 Matt Read
11 Travis Konecny - 14 Sean Couturier - 93 Jakub Voracek
25 Nick Cousins - 10 Brayden Schenn - 17 Wayne Simmonds
76 Chris VandeVelde - 78 P-E Bellemare - 27 Boyd Gordon
Dale Weise was mixed and matched. Keep in mind that these combinations are likely to change again for game time on Saturday. With defenseman Mark Alt not clearing waivers until noon, Roman Lyubimov's on-paper demotion to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms prevented him from being eligible to practice with the Flyers on Friday morning.
When Lyubimov is recalled, he is likely to play against Tampa on Saturday with Gordon sitting as a healthy scratch. As for the other lines, Hakstol is unlikely to tip his hand ahead of time as to whether the large-scale changes featured on Friday will hold through the opening shifts on Saturday afternoon's tilt.
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There was a lot of overreaction among Flyers fans about Hakstol's blunt critique of rookie forward Travis Konecny after Wednesday's game. A reporter specifically asked about Konecny's play and his sparing ice time. Hakstol replied that Konecny needs to "go better" in all aspects of his game and that he was "just being honest" in expressing that view. However, Hakstol then hastened to add that he was not trying to single out Konecny alone and that the same assessment applied to many players on the team.
To his credit, Konecny himself understood where Hakstol was coming from even before the coach was asked about it in his subsequent press conference (which is conducted after the players' postgame media availability).
Asked abut what he could do to gain more ice time, Konecny gave an unusually mature, balanced and self-effacing reply.
"It takes time. It depends on the game, too. Anaheim, depending on how they were playing, the ice just kind of opened up for me and they used me a lot. In a game like tonight, no matter what the score is, they’re going to be flipping pucks and just creating offense constantly. We may feel safer putting somebody out there like, for example, Coots played in my spot a couple of times. He’s a reliable guy and it’s just something I’ve got to work on," Konecny said.
The Flyers rookie has, quite simply, hit the dreaded "rookie wall" that many teenage players -- including guys who go on to stardom -- experience as the games pile up and the campaign nears midseason. That's all it is. Nothing more and nothing less.
The skill is there. The work ethic is there. As long as Konecny keeps plugging, he'll work through it. It was not just the fact that Hakstol sat him out a game (last week in San Jose), it was the timing of it that was questionable. He was coming off a seeming breakthrough game in St. Louis after a five-day break in the schedule and facing a bigger opponent the Flyers were going to have to try to counter with speed and creativity.
However, just as Konecny earning an opening night roster spot was not going to be judged against a baseline of what veteran players like Weise, Chris VandeVelde, Matt Read or Pierre-Edouard Bellemare did in their respective roles so, too, is Konecny being monitored on a different basis. It just is what it is.
The way Konencny is handling the bumps in the road after his strong start this season is actually a very encouraging sign if one looks past the short-term growing pains. Making the team and having quick success were just half the battle. The other half is his ongoing development.
There will come a time when Konecny is always out there in close games and is a fixture in 3-on-3s and shootouts. He's not permanently in Hakstol's doghouse nor is the coach handling the teenager differently from how most NHL coaches would. Yes, that includes, ice time allotment for offensive vs. more checking oriented players.
That is not to say that Hakstol himself has been beyond reproach and scrutiny in everything he's done in his second NHL head coaching season. There have been decisions at times that have been questionable (such as the aforementioned timing of sitting Konecny for a game).
In terms of the coach's commentary when asked specifically about the rookie, though, there was nothing wrong with his straightforward response and then broader restatement that the same could be said of many players. I will take candor over platitude-laden coach speak anytime, and that is actually an area where Hakstol has gotten better from year one to year two.
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A thrilling 2016-17 IIHF Under-20 World Championship (AKA World Junior Championships) tournament came a conclusion on Thursday with an overtime Russia vs Sweden bronze medal game and a superlative USA vs. Canada gold medal match that, unfortunately, was decided by a shootout after 80 minutes of hockey. Ultimately, Russia defeated Sweden, 2-1, and a 1-for-5 skills competition for Team USA decided the gold medal in the Americans' favor.
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An ultimately heartbroken Carter Hart (no pun intended) stopped 32 of 36 shots in regulation and overtime and denied each American shooter except Troy Terry -- who was also the shootout standout in the semis against Russia --- in the skills competition. Several of the American goals were scored on wicked deflections and another was a pure snipe by Kieffer Bellows. Terry, who scored three straight five-hole goals in the Russia shootout also found the five-hole on Hart. Otherwise, Hart stopped three glove-side attempts and a second five-hole try with authority.
On Wednesday, it was Hart's heroics in stopping all 28 shots he faced in relief of a shaky Connor Ingram that factored heavily in propelling the Canadian side into the gold medal game after trailing 1-0 and 2-1 before the goalie switch.
For the medal round -- the only games that truly matter, as the preliminaries are mostly tuneups and "statement games" for the medal contenders -- Hart had a .938 save percentage. Overall, he had a .906 save percentage in three starts and one relief outing. His opening game against Russia was the type that goalies dread -- long stretches with no shots, and one stoppable one getting past him. But he got better and better when given the chance to play.
The one knock on Hart, who is considered one of the most technically sound goalies in any of the CHL-affiliated leagues, is that he is an average-sized netminder (by current-day standards) and plays in a deep crouch, which can make him look small. Perhaps that was why the Americans kept trying to go high on him. His quick glove said otherwise.
Keep this in mind, too: Hart is still only 18. He has another year of WJC eligibility left.
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Despite Sweden's 5-2 loss to Canada in the semifinals and 2-1 overtime loss to Russia in the bronze medal game, Felix Sandström collected all-tournament Best Goaltender honors from the tournament directorate. He was a deserving winner, too, as he was magnificent for Sweden in all but a cakewalk quarterfinals win over Slovakia where he didn't have to be at his peak form. In WJC hockey, there tends to be more goals scored in the marquee games and some of the more uneven matchup can be a tough mental challenge for the goalies on both sides.
The 19-year-old Sandström has been playing professionally in the SHL for two-plus seasons. He took valuable learning experiences away from last year's tournament, especially the disastrous bronze medal game for Sweden against Team USA and returned stronger and more confident this year. Statistically, he finished with a 2.17 GAA and a .915 save percentage, but it was his command in the net more than the raw numbers that impressed. With the exception of one play against Canada where he was perhaps a little too passive in a play around the net, Sandström had very few miscues. Most every opposition goal was scored for reasons that had little to do with the netminder himself.
With the depth of fine goaltending prospects in the Flyers' farm system -- Anthony Stolarz, Alex Lyon, Hart, Sandström and even Matej Tomek and Merrick Madsen -- a lot of Philly fans are simultaneously giddy with excitement and worried about the organization getting burned by choosing the wrong one as the long-term goalie of the future.
Patience is in order. Things have a way of sorting themselves out when patient, even-keeled development is prioritized. Depth isn't just enviable, though, it's vital because goalie development is the trickiest, least linear and longest process of any position.
Once upon a time, the Flyers simultaneously had four excellent goalie prospects in the farm system -- Maxime Ouellet, Jean-Marc Pelletier, Brian Boucher and Antero Niittymäki -- and there was similar excitement. The herd soon thinned. None ended up becoming NHL franchise goalies although Boucher had a decent career and Niittymäki (initially considered the biggest dark horse of the four) played brilliantly at all levels but the NHL. In the NHL, he was inconsistent but had his share of highlights before a degenerate hip condition prematurely ended his career and necessitated hip replacement surgery.
That is a good cautionary tale. There are no guarantees of a home run or even a long-term NHL starter from the current batch of prospects but there's a lot of tools with which to work and more enlightened and patient approach to the nuances of goalie development than there was in the past.
In terms of tools, Sandström is right out of current day central casting: big, athletic, fluid (including his skating) and solid positionally with above-average potential to adapt his game from the big rink to the small rink.
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Team Russia forward German Rubtsov, who played sparingly during the tournament and missed the final two games with a broken nose and possible concussion suffered on a high stick in the quarterfinals, will be leaving the KHL/MHL to join the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's Chicoutimi Saguenéens. Rumored for weeks and something the Flyers were said to be working on for months, the news was confirmed by various news outlets earlier today.
In terms of the WJC, a dose of perspective -- and, once again, patience -- is in order. Rubtsov played a limited bottom six role for Russia in the tourney this year, but that largely had to do with coach Valeri Bragin having more trust in his 19-year-old players than a very promising crop of 18-year-olds.
Keep in mind that, one year ago, the entire Team Russia contingent to the Under-18 World Championships -- including Rubtsov -- was banned from participating due to doping violations. Even under more normal circumstances, the Under-20s are a big jump up from the Under-18s in terms of the overall caliber of play and development level of opposition team talent. Rubtsov had to skip that step entirely, and held his own at least defensively.
A year from now, as a 19-year-old, Rubtsov figures to play a much larger role on the Russian team, and preferably as a center (his natural position). This year for him was all about gaining experience. He didn't look out of place, but does need to add considerable strength.
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Team Russia forward Mikhail Vorobyov was one of the big stars of the tourney for Russia, racking up a tournament leading 10 assists and scoring a goal (ultimately in a losing cause) in the shootout during the semifnals. He is a good example of a player making big strides from an 18-year-old to a 19-year-old, and much of it has to do with him starting to fill out his big frame and gaining strength.
Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said on Wednesday night that it was not just Vorobyov's playmaking creativity that stood out but also his two-way awareness. Additionally, the player has the potential to either play center or wing with equal comfort.
The biggest knock on Vorobyov, as it once was with Oskar Lindblom, is his skating. In both cases, the Flyers believed those issues would correct over time as they filled out. It has already with Lindblom and Vorobyov is also on his way in that regard. Neither will ever be speed demons but they can both get where they need to go and continue adding explosiveness (already a big difference in Lindblom now versus two years ago).
During the course of the World Juniors, there were a lot of "Vorobyov reminds me of (fill in the blank)" descriptors being tossed around; inevitably to good NHL players. Names such as Michal Handzus, Sean Couturier and a lesser-skating Keith Primeau were all put out there. The Flyers would certainly take a similar caliber player to any of the above, but such comparisons based on a small sample size of games are rather unfair to Vorobyov.
He will continue to develop at his own pace and set his own ceiling. What is fair to say is that the player the Flyers scouts came away raving about for the 2014 NHL Draft has been developing at the hoped-for pace thus far and now has to continue to build from that base.
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Team USA forward Tanner Laczynski, who missed the semifinal game against Russia due to illness, played sparingly in the gold medal game. He played well in the tournament in a bottom-six role when healthy.
A fine collegiate scorer as a freshman at Ohio State this season (six goals and 22 points 16 games), Laczynski showed some of his versatility and two-way awareness. He does not have the pedigree of a fast-tracker but the 19-year-old gets better and better each season. If there were a redraft of the 2016 NHL Draft, even just six months later, there would be no way he'd be there for the taking with the 169th overall pick.
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At least Laczynski got to participate in the gold medal game and take full part in the emotional celebration and medal ceremony. Team Canada defenseman Philippe Myers was robbed of that opportunity by a concussion needlessly inflicted by a high hit away from the puck by Team USA's Luke Kunin (the Minnesota Wild's 2016 first-round pick) int the final game of the preliminary round.
Kunin received a major penalty and game misconduct. Myers was sidelined for the entire medal round with his second concussion of the 2016-17 season. Prior to the injury, he had been enjoying an oustanding two-way tourney as half of a dynamic top-pairing with Thomas Chabot (Ottawa Senators 2015 first-round picK and a QMJHL rival with Saint John).
Hextall reported on Wednesday that he'd spoken to Myers after the concussion and the player told him he was already feeling better. That's a hopeful sign.
When he returns to his defending QMJHL champion Rouyn-Noranda Huskies team, Myers will be a pivotal player in their quest to repeat. Myers, who will turn 20 in late January, is eligible to play in the American Hockey League next season.
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David Bernhardt entered the World Junior Championships with the reputation for being a fine puck-moving defenseman who also loved to shoot the puck and was good at getting his shots on net. He held his own defensively in the tournament, too, albeit in mostly secondary-line matchups but the bottom line (his plus-six rating at even strength) suggested his successful deployment in the tournament. Bernhardt had assists in three of four preliminary round games but did not get on the scoring sheet in the medal round.
The 19-year-old has mostly played for the senior Djurgården team in the SHL this year. He was too dominant at the Swedish under-20 level in some games for the J20 squad for that level of competition to be a suitable challenge anymore. There are still areas of his game that need refinement, primarily away from the puck, but he is a plus-four in 21 games for a mediocre SHL squad that is not very good at five-on-five.
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Waterbug forward David Kase had a nice tournament -- his third and final WJC -- for Team Czech Republic after being a late addition to the roster as he was cleared to return from a collapsed lung. A team leader and heart-and-soul type, Kase was the player of the game for the Czechs in their tournament opener, helped account for all of the Czechs' offensive output (one goal, one assist) in a 5-2 loss to Sweden and then provided an early lead with a goal against Canada off a lucky bounce that went right to him. For good reason, he was recognized as a team leader for the Czech junior national team even before this year.
Kase needs to get out of the Czech Extraliga -- not a very good circuit anymore, and one that still affords insufficient ice time to young players who've advanced beyond the challenge of the junior league but are still physically immature -- to further his development.
Kase is a skilled little player but not to the degree that he is likely to become a top-six forward in the NHL. However, he does have upside as a bottom six role player with a non-stop motor and the ability to chip in some timely offense. There are steps to take to get to that level but his work ethic is said to be beyond reproach and it has been obvious in his WJC career that he never quits on a play or on a game.
I am not a big proponent of tossing comparisons of prospects to current or past NHL players but, from strictly a playing style and disposition framework, there are some similarities between Kase and Sami Kapanen. I suspect Kase's future offensive upside is a bit lower (I don't see a string of 20-plus goal NHL seasons ala Kapanen in Hartford and Carolina as a likely outcome for Kase) but there seems to be a potential future in North America for him.
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Slovakia goalie Matej Tomek, a darkhorse in the Flyers' goaltendng pipeline because the sophomore University of North Dakota netminder still has yet to play in a collegiate game, was the better of the two goalies on his team in the preliminary round. On merit, he deserved the start in the medal round quarterfinals against Sweden.
Alas, it wasn't to be. Inflexible Slovakia head coach Ernest Bokros never deviated from his plan for Adam Huska to be the team's number one goalie, and Tomek didn't so much as get a relief appearance in the Slovaks' 8-3 quarterfinals shellacking by Sweden as they were outshot 50-18.
The Slovak team simply was outmatched all tourney except against the relegation-bound Latvians. Under siege in two preliminary round starts, Tomek went 0-2 with a 3.50 goals against average but his .913 save percentage was the better indicator of his actual play.
Also, in light of the fact that these were Tomek's first two games of any competitive significance since the 2014-15 season, he more than held his own.
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Once per season, I enjoy attending a Flyers or Phantoms game in the stands as a fan -- usually bringing my son, Benjamin -- rather than covering it from the pressbox. This season, my "civilian" game will be tomorrow afternoon's game against Tampa Bay.
There will be the usual gameday preview blog, but the postgame wrapup will be posted later and be briefer than normal, most likely as a brief recap with postgame quotes supplied by the Flyers' staff to the credentialed media members.
It will be fun to don a Flyers jersey, sit in the mezzanine crowd, and be able to openly root for the team I grew up loving.
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Last but most certainly not least, I would be remiss if I did not mention that today would be the 84th birthday of iconic Flyers co-founder and longtime chairman Ed Snider.
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