This... oh god, this.
- Tomahawk

Hanifin did OK playing 17-ish minutes per game in Carolina as an 18 year old.

I have a hard time seeing why Provorov can't do it at as a 19 year old.

Yeah I think in regards to Konecny...I see it shaking down a lot like Dylan Larkin (probably not as good though).

I think Larkin was obviously too good for the CHL. His game was NHL ready but his body wasnt. His production dwindled as the season carried on.
- YuenglingJagr

Learn the facts or don't post on this forum. Ty.

Hanifin did OK playing 17-ish minutes per game in Carolina as an 18 year old.

I have a hard time seeing why Provorov can't do it at as a 19 year old.
- Feanor

Because those are 19 years metric.

mood?

the pk was brutal, maybe they grab grabner on a low cost deal..

I would like to think there will be some changes. The main issue I have is the defence wasn't very good...and hasn't been for a while. Yes d take time to develop but leaving Provorov in junior may be more harming to his over all development. When you've out grown a league like that you tend to get lackadaisical and do things out of character..you pick up bad habits because quite frankly you feel you can do no wrong.
Hopefully Hextall learned from last years mistake....Ghost deserved to be on the team from game 1.... He proved it by all most winning the Calder and by being their best D man....pretty sure those 14 games in the minors did squat for his development.
- landros 2

I'm going to disagree here. The 14 games with the Phantoms helped him because 1) he was coming off the ACL injury and still needed time to get back up to 100%, 2) people were talking about the goals he scored in the preseason but overlooking the fact that he had a subpar defensive preseason. He didn't even start out all that well with the Phantoms. He ramped up near the end and carried it right through his callup. If he'd started the year in the NHL, it might have been a whole different story.

Also, while his rookie pro year was something of a lost season because of the ACL, he went through the development camps, went through training camp, had Terry Murray and Kjell Samuelsson in his ear reiterating the things (which he already knew because he has a good head on his shoulders) the things he needed to work on.

I talked with Gostisbehere about those very things back when he was already getting sick of being asked daily by everyone else about his point streak and he went on in detail about just how much development he'd been through between the time of leaving Union and his second NHL callup. Even his ACL rehab and putting on 10 pounds of muscle were couched by him in a development framework.

He bought into that process, very much to his credit.

So, no, the 14 AHL games alone were not a magical thing that turned him into a Calder finalist but it was part of what got him to the point he's at now.

Come to think of it, I should blog about it

Hanifin did OK playing 17-ish minutes per game in Carolina as an 18 year old.

I have a hard time seeing why Provorov can't do it at as a 19 year old.
- Feanor

What does Hanifin have to do w/ Provorov again?

I'm going to disagree here. The 14 games with the Phantoms helped him because 1) he was coming off the ACL injury and still needed time to get back up to 100%, 2) people were talking about the goals he scored in the preseason but overlooking the fact that he had a subpar defensive preseason. He didn't even start out all that well with the Phantoms. He ramped up near the end and carried it right through his callup. If he'd started the year in the NHL, it might have been a whole different story.

Also, while his rookie pro year was something of a lost season because of the ACL, he went through the development camps, went through training camp, had Terry Murray and Kjell Samuelsson in his ear reiterating the things (which he already knew because he has a good head on his shoulders) the things he needed to work on.

I talked with Gostisbehere about those very things back when he was already getting sick of being asked daily by everyone else about his point streak and he went on in detail about just how much development he'd been through between the time of leaving Union and his second NHL callup. Even his ACL rehab and putting on 10 pounds of muscle were couched by him in a development framework.

He bought into that process, very much to his credit.

So, no, the 14 AHL games alone were not a magical thing that turned him into a Calder finalist but it was part of what got him to the point he's at now.

Come to think of it, I should blog about it


- bmeltzer

if you blog it, they will come

Learn the facts or don't post on this forum. Ty.
- Mononoke

yeah, yeah NCAA

Hanifin did OK playing 17-ish minutes per game in Carolina as an 18 year old.

I have a hard time seeing why Provorov can't do it at as a 19 year old.
- Feanor

There is a difference between too good for CHL and good enough for NHL, but usually when you're the first and not the second, it means you're too good offensively but need to work defensively and need to physically develop. Which exactly does Provorov have to do?

They're all great character guys and give awesome effort, but they were 3/15 worst possession players in the league all on a line. They were "reliable," but more aptly put, reliably bad. Even if you don't think possession tells the whole story and care about results, when they were on the ice 62% of the goals scored were AGAINST. They were even sheltered too. They are poor even as a 4th line. And yet they were never broken up, not even once.

They need to go and it's important. Hexy has to decide if their character and hustle outweighs hurting the team. It's nothing personal, just business.
- Mononoke

Yeah, I pretty much agree with this, I just think that VDV's utter lack of any offensive skill whatsoever is what really pulls this line down. If they can find a more effective wing to complement PEB and White, be it Laughton, Leier or a UFA, I think they can still be an effective 4th line.

the pk was brutal, maybe they grab grabner on a low cost deal..
- rinaldo

Not a bad thought. One of the five fastest skaters in the NHL. Good for a few SHGs a year, too. Has struggled to finish chances all but that one year but still brings that speed element.

He is buddies with Raffl, too. Not just because they're both Austrian. They just click.

And in the coveted Team Superlatives given at the end of each season, he'd be the instant favorite in the Flyers most tattooed player category now that RJ is gone.

What does Hanifin have to do w/ Provorov again?
- Tomahawk

Very similar quality of LHD prospect.

Two questions. First: What do you think Vanek would cost now? Second: What would it take to get Dustin Brown and is that someone we could be interested in?

Pierre tweeted Sharks are in search for a dman who can play third pairing and as a 2nd PP unit puck mover. Give San Jose a call Hexy

There is a difference between too good for CHL and good enough for NHL, but usually when you're the first and not the second, it means you're too good offensively but need to work defensively and need to physically develop. Which exactly does Provorov have to do?
- Mononoke

It really sucks that a kid like Provorov is ineligible for the AHL. It would probably be the perfect place for him to start the season.

Hopefully Hextall learned from last years mistake....Ghost deserved to be on the team from game 1.... He proved it by all most winning the Calder and by being their best D man....pretty sure those 14 games in the minors did squat for his development.
- landros 2

What mistake was that?
He sent him down for 14 games coming off a major injury as an undersized dman.
Seems to me that it played out just fine and I dont view anything about sending him down at the start as a mistake.

For those fans banking on Provorov as a "shoo-in" for the NHL this season and Konecny as a "likely" NHL roster player this season, consider yourself forewarned: it's not a guarantee in any way, shape or form. If there is any doubt, the Flyers are going to err on the side of caution and send them back to their junior teams. It won't be popular if that happens, but it should not be surprising if one is paying attention.
- bmeltzer

He's talking to you, HBers.

Pierre tweeted Sharks are in search for a dman who can play third pairing and as a 2nd PP unit puck mover. Give San Jose a call Hexy
- arichardson22

Streit at 50% should be a fit.

Not a bad thought. One of the five fastest skaters in the NHL. Good for a few SHGs a year, too. Has struggled to finish chances all but that one year but still brings that speed element.

He is buddies with Raffl, too. Not just because they're both Austrian. They just click.

And in the coveted Team Superlatives given at the end of each season, he'd be the instant favorite in the Flyers most tattooed player category now that RJ is gone.
- bmeltzer

He's not too shabby in the shootout too right?

Two questions. First: What do you think Vanek would cost now? Second: What would it take to get Dustin Brown and is that someone we could be interested in?
- Flyers1218

Sounds like several teams willing to roll the dice that Vanek can still score for them, so perhaps more than the Flyers' would want to spend.

Brown's contract is an albatross to LA, so it wouldn't take much from a hockey trade standpoint.... but, I don't think Hexy wants to go down that road, even though he knows the intangibles firsthand.

Pierre tweeted Sharks are in search for a dman who can play third pairing and as a 2nd PP unit puck mover. Give San Jose a call Hexy
- arichardson22

Can they afford, and would they be willing to take, a 5.25 million cap hit for that player?

Not a bad thought. One of the five fastest skaters in the NHL. Good for a few SHGs a year, too. Has struggled to finish chances all but that one year but still brings that speed element.

He is buddies with Raffl, too. Not just because they're both Austrian. They just click.

And in the coveted Team Superlatives given at the end of each season, he'd be the instant favorite in the Flyers most tattooed player category now that RJ is gone.
- bmeltzer

what kind of market for him would there be deal wise do you think Bill?

I just want to see an entirely new 4th line. go in a diff direction. maybe be innovative and come up with something new!!

mood?
- aightwebang17

Not a bad thought. One of the five fastest skaters in the NHL. Good for a few SHGs a year, too. Has struggled to finish chances all but that one year but still brings that speed element.

He is buddies with Raffl, too. Not just because they're both Austrian. They just click.

And in the coveted Team Superlatives given at the end of each season, he'd be the instant favorite in the Flyers most tattooed player category now that RJ is gone.
- bmeltzer

I dont really like Grabner...he doesnt bring much besides a few shorthanded breakaways

that said he isnt the worst option available