QUICK HITS: JUNE 9, 2017
1) Although a local columnist opined that Flyers 2014 first-round pick Travis Sanheim "has been
slow to develop" and may soon qualify as a "swing and miss," the reality is that Sanheim has improved by leaps and bounds since his draft year and, in fact, could have the highest NHL upside of any defenseman in the Flyers' system not named Ivan Provorov.
In 2014-15, Sanheim led all Western Hockey League defensemen in scoring and was third among all defensemen in the three CHL-affiliated circuits. The next year, he topped all defensemen in the league in points-per-game average and also saw action for Team Canada at the World Junior Championships.
While playing for the Calgary Hitmen, which lacked much of anything in the way of high-skill forwards (especially in Sanheim's final season, when fellow Flyers prospect Radel Fazleev was a top-line player for Calgary almost by default), defensemen Sanheim and Jake Bean were heavily relied upon to drive the offense. As a result, Sanheim played a very high risk game.
Turning pro this season, Sanheim's primary mission as a Lehigh Valley Phantoms rookie was to improve his play without the puck and adapt a style more conducive to two-way success in the AHL and NHL. Veterans T.J. Brennan and Will O'Neill were brought in to handle power play duties and trigger offense. Sanheim made significant strides in his defensive play over the course of the season and, goalless heading into December, also came up offensively to rack up 10 goals and 37 points while narrowly missing out on AHL all-rookie team selection spot.
Back in April, Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said there was a "night and day" difference in Sanheim's all-around game from the start of the season to the end. There was never a doubt that Sanheim could create offense off the rush or score goals pinching down to the circles or slot. To see him starting to evolve a more reliable defensive game and eventually to add offense back into it was a very encouraging sign although the player (who turned 21 in March) did seem to tire a bit down the stretch.
Sanheim, who now stands 6-foot-4 and weighs in around the 200-pound mark, still has room to add more physical presence to his game, a little more strength and a bit more consistency. He may spend one additional season in the AHL. That is mostly a matter of Hextall's player development philosophy and the presence not only of Provorov but also Shayne Gostisbehere, impending third-year pro Samuel Morin and fourth-year pro Robert Hägg as well as the arrival of undrafted but now highly touted Philippe Myers (who seems likely to spend time in the American Hockey League as well).
There has been nothing wrong with Sanheim's development over the last three seasons. If anything, he's shown why the Flyers selected him 17th overall in the 2014 first round and is an above-average NHL prospect. Moreover, to compare a defenseman three seasons post-draft to a couple of forwards selected in the same range (Robby Fabbri and David Pastrnak) shows a lack of awareness of the typically broader learning curve for young defensemen compared to forwards.
Three seasons post-draft isn't enough time to fairly assess a draft class. After five years , there starts to be a more reliable picture of how players have developed.
As for the first pro season experienced by 2014 second-rounder Nicolas Aube-Kubel, I would liken it to Nick Cousins' roller coaster 2013-14 rookie year with the Phantoms except that the current Phantoms have more depth. Aube-Kubel got an education about the expectations of two-way play and pacing in the pro game. Year two will need accelerated improvement. In Cousins' case, he took his year one experiences, learned from them and then started to emerge into an eventual NHL player.
Cousins may not be an NHL impact player at age 23 but he's dressed in 96 NHL games over the last two seasons and his development cycle after the draft was a good example of why calling someone a "miss" after one pro year is very hasty and ill-advised. When the player (i.e., Sanheim) actually had a real solid first pro year all things considered, calling his development to date slow is either setting the bar too high or being unaware of the sets of challenges that have have been particular to that player as he entered the pro ranks.
2) Alleviating confusion: Flyers Alumni Association president and Flyers director of community development Brad Marsh is alive and well. On last night's Stanley Cup Final broadcast, Don Cherry referred to the passing last September of 81-year-old Kamloops, BC native Fred Marsh, the inventor of the flexible pegs on which all NHL nets are mounted.
Years ago, nets were secured with heavy spikes and did not move when players collided or slid into the net. This led to injuries, most notably a near fatal accident in which Hall of Famer Mark Howe (then playing for the Hartford Whalers) was impaled and nearly bled to death. Subsequently, nets were placed on magnets that came off too easily and frequently. The Marsh Peg, invented by Fred Marsh for use at rinks he managed in BC, enabled the nets to stay put on light to moderate contact but still have enough give to come off in instances of jarring contact.
3) June 9 marks the 50th Anniversary of the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft. The Flyers were very well-prepared, and had the best draft of any of the six new franchises in the league. Four players taken in the '67 Draft -- Bernie Parent, Joe Watson, Ed Van Impe and Gary Dornhoefer -- were later members of the Flyers' two Stanley Cup winning teams. Additionally, minor league forward Simon Nolet (acquired when the Flyers purchased the Quebec Aces to be their first American Hockey League affiliate) debuted for the Flyers during the 1967-68 season and remained with the team through their first Cup season. For more about the Draft preparation and foresight shown by the trio of Bud Poile, Keith Allen and Marcel Pelletier,
click here.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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