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Quick Hits: Prospect Preseasons, Alumni, Vesey & More |
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Quick Hits: August 18, 2016
1) The European preaseasons are already underway and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League preseason gets underway this week. As newsworthy games involving Flyers prospects take place, they will be discussed in upcoming blogs.
Perhaps the most notable item thus far is that Flyers 2016 first-round pick German Rubtsov has been looked at in various spots around the lineup for KHL team Vityaz. Although the 18-year-old is unlikely to start the season in his team's top six, he's got a shot at the top nine. At this early stage of his pro career, do not be surprised if his point totals are rather modest. His ice times are what will be more telling and important.
2) The Lehigh Valley Phantoms announced earlier today that the club has goaltender Mark Dekanich has been signed to an AHL contract. It is a depth signing in case of injury or NHL recall for Anthony Stolarz or Alex Lyon.
Otherwise, Dekanich will be ticketed to play in the ECHL with the Reading Royals. The 6-foot-2, 192-pound Dekanich spent most of last season with the ECHL's South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL (35 games, 20-9-4 record, 2.16 GAA, .925 save percentage).
3) Four Flyers Alumni share August 18 birthdays: Bruce Cowick (1951), Brian Dobbin (1966), Forbes Kennedy (1935) and Ossi Väänänen (1980).
4) The level of hype around Jimmy Vesey continues to get more ridiculous. Whatever NHL team source told Ek that Jimmy Vesey projects as a 30-goal, 80-point NHL player hopefully is not someone directly involved in the hockey operations side of his team. That sort of projection isn't even in the same universe of the reality of today's NHL, unless one is talking about the EA Sports version.
In the last two NHL seasons, just eight players have reached the 80-point mark. That is eight for the entire league: Patrick Kane, Jamie Benn (twice), Sidney Crosby (twice), John Tavares, Erik Karlsson, Joe Thornton, the Flyers' Jakub Voracek and Alex Ovechkin. Harvard education or not, if Vesey was remotely in the the range of an instant Art Ross Trophy candidate, he'd have been in the NHL three years ago.
Secondly, the 50-plus assist level is one that only the league's elite playmakers reach in today's NHL, even not even they manage it every year. Vesey did not have more assists than goals even once in his college career, nor did he do it while playing for the South Shore Kings and also not in his final season of high school hockey. He has been more finisher than playmaker. To expect the 23-year-old to come to the NHL and suddenly become an elite playmaker is not grounded in the reality of his development path.
Lastly, it's not exactly like 30-goal scorers are in great abundance in today's NHL, either. Scoring about 32 goals will get someone in the top 10-to-12 in the league. That's not to say Vesey has no chance to become a productive NHL offensive player, but to project the 30-goal, 50-assist, 80-point realm is to set him to disappoint when he comes nowhere close.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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