Quick Hits: February 8, 2022
1) The Flyers reconvene in Voorhees this morning to practice in preparation for hosting the Detroit Red Wings at the Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday. Barring a setback, Derick Brassard may be ready to return to game action per Mike Yeo's pre-break comments. Yeo also indicated last week that Patrick Brown could be close to returning. Today's practice at the Flyers Training Center is slated for 11 a.m. ET.
2) AHL: The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (15-16-8) return to action tonight, as they kick off a six-game homestand by hosting the Belleville Senators (17-18-0) at the PPL Center. Game time is 7:05 p.m. ET. The game will be streamed live on AHLTV (subscription required).
3) Over the NHL All-Star break, the Flyers sent Cam York, Morgan Frost and Isaac Ratcliffe to the Phantoms. All three players dressed and performed well in Friday's 5-1 home win over the Providence Bruins. Saturday was a little different story.
Of the three, only Ratcliffe followed it up with another consistently solid game in Saturday's 6-4 road loss in Hartford. Frost did make a couple nice plays with the puck over the latter portion of the game but did not play overall with the same pace and level of engagement he did in his previous five games with the Flyers or in Friday's game. York had a couple of hiccups in Saturday's game.
The Phantoms led 2-0 after the first period in Saturday's game but were strafed for five unanswered goals in the middle stanza and went on to lose, 6-4. Hartford is one of the better teams in the AHL, sitting in first place in the Atlantic Division. It also did not help that Phantoms goaltender Garrett Metcalf struggled in Saturday's game.
It was also 5 p.m. game in Hartford after an evening game in Allentown the previous night but that cannot be used as an excuse for the extent to which things fell apart in Saturday's game. Especially galling was how non-competitive the Phantoms were on two Hartford shorthanded goals.
4) Boston University and Northeastern have advanced to the 2022 Beanpot championship game. Last night at TD Garden in Boston, BU held off Harvard by a 4-3 score while Northeastern toppled Boston College by a 3-1 count.
Jay O'Brien was a force for BU in Monday's game. He used his speed effectively, tenaciously hounding the puck, scored a nice snap-shot power play goal after skating from the right point to the circle and also picked up an assist as a result of a strong forechecking and cycling shift by his entire line.
BU seemed comfortably ahead, 4-1, late in the second period until Harvard scored twice within 22 seconds to slice the gap to a single goal heading into the third period. O'Brien had another scoring chance in the third period on a tip attempt going to the net. He blocked a shot in the defensive zone in the waning minutes. O'Brien also took several late-game defensive zone faceoffs, although only won one of three.
In the later game on Monday evening, Northeastern grabbed an early 1-0 lead over Boston College and rode an excellent game in goal from T.J. Semptimphelter (Northeastern's No. 1 goalie, Devon Levi, is at the Olympics with Team Canada). A latter second period tally made it 2-0. BC sliced the deficit back to one goal with 14:45 left in the third period but drew no closer. An empty-net goal in the final 14 seconds sealed the win for Northeastern.
Flyers prospect defenseman Jack St. Ivany was robbed by Northeastern's Semptimphelter on a prime scoring chance in the first period.
4) Over on the Flyers' official website, I wrote a prospect roundup article on all of the Flyers' draftees playing NCAA hockey this season.
Side note: It was not coincidental that, when Chuck Fletcher gave his state-of-the-organization midseason press conference two weeks ago, he dropped in Ronnie Attard's name while discussing the organization's expansion of player development resources. The organization very much wants to get Attard signed after his season with Western Michigan.
As with Wyatt Kalynuk (who opted to become a free agent and signed with the Chicago Blackhawks), Attard was a 20-year-old freshman when he first matriculated at Western Michigan. As such, Attard has the option of turning pro after this season (his junior campaign) and becoming a free agent 30 days later if the Flyers cannot sign him. Philadelphia seems determined to make sure they get Attard under contract.
Attard is tied for the nationwide scoring lead among NCAA defensemen and is 17th among all position players. Add to the fact that he's right-handed, big-framed and willing to play physically, and it's clear that Attard would have no problem finding competing NHL contract opportunities if the Flyers were to be unable to sign him.
Meanwhile, Denver junior right winger Bobby Brink leads all NCAA players in points per game and assists while being tied for the nationwide overall points lead. With Brink, the 20-year-old player would not have unrestricted free agent rights if he leaves college after this season -- the Flyers would hold his rights until Aug. 15, 2023. So there's not as much immediate pressure to get the player signed. However, it would not be surprising if the Flyers get Brink under entry-level contract when his 2021-22 season ends at Denver.
Noah Cates, who is with Team USA at the Olympics, graduates Minnesota Duluth this spring. The Flyers have been keen on signing him for several years. The fact that his brother and former Minnesota Duluth linemate, Jackson Cates, is with the Phantoms/Flyers may help the chances of getting the younger Cates sibling under contract, too. Cates projects as a Swiss Army knife type of player, who can be plugged into different spots in the lineup as needed. He is unlikely to be a big scorer as a pro but he does lots of little things well and is a smart and competitive young player.
O'Brien is an interesting case. It often feels like he got written off by a lot of people after his injury-riddled, unhappy and disappointing year at Providence (after being an early commitment player for several years prior). He also got ridiculed for spending a season in the BCHL but this was due to being in NCAA transfer protocol, and his season with Penticton helped to restore his lost confidence.
For the last two seasons, O'Brien has been BU's best offensive player. The issue has been keeping him on the ice. Last season, the pandemic resulted in BU's schedule being shortened to a mere 16 games. This season, injuries caused O'Brien to miss a total of 11 games. It should also be noted that, while O'Brien has "only" 17 points in 17 games (7g, 10a), it is largely due to his early season injuries and a corresponding slow statistical start. Once he finally got healthy, he's been very effective.
Injury issues have affected O'Brien in three of the last four seasons including his season in the BCHL. The only fully healthy season he's had was the pandemic-affected 2020-21 campaign. Unfortunately, he's only played 33 collegiate games over the last two seasons (15g, 18a, 33 points). That's not much of a sample size to go on. I personally toss out his freshman year at Providence because he had shoulder issues, a concussion and all sorts of turmoil.
The player we saw at the 2018 World Junior Showcase, where O'Brien played every bit as well as fellow Flyers draftee Joel Farabee, was much closer to O'Brien's actual ability level than the one flopped at Providence and barely played at the World Junior Championships. O'Brien missed 16 games to injury that year, was stepping up significantly in caliber of competition and was struggling in general.
The BU version of O'Brien would likely be considered an intriguing Flyers prospect had there a) not been a rush to judgment by so many, and b) had he not been carrying around the pressure of having been a surprising 19th overall selection of his NHL Draft class, and been allowed to simply develop at his own pace without expectations of him following the same fast-track NHL pace that Joel Farabee had. Farabee proved to be further ahead in his development curve, but that was to Farabee's credit. It shouldn't be an indictment of O'Brien.
5) Today in Flyers History: Feb. 8, 1972
On February 2, 1972, the Philadelphia Flyers earned a 3-1 road win over the Vancouver Canucks. During the game, Flyers goaltender Bruce Gamble suffered a mild heart attack, unbeknownst to the player. He continued to play, finishing and winning the game as he stopped 30 of 31 shots.
The player did not complain of symptoms after well after the game. He was hospitalized. The player's heart condition would prematurely end his playing career. Gamble became a Flyers scout after his retirement. Gamble retired with a 10-14-4 record and 3.09 goals-against average in 35 games over two seasons with the Flyers (1970-71 and 1971-72).
Unfortunately, Gamble only lived 10 years beyond the initial heart attack. On. Dec 29, 1982, Gamble was to participate in a game with a hockey old-timers' team. He took part in an evening practice session, which he completed. However, later that night, he experienced sharp chest pains and went to a hospital in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Sadly, the heart attack proved fatal. Gamble was just 44 years old.