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Quick Hits: WJSS Wrapup, Farabee, Hart, TIFH

August 4, 2019, 5:53 AM ET [65 Comments]
Bill Meltzer
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Quick Hits: August 4, 2019

1) The 2019 World Junior Summer Showcase in Plymouth, Mich., came to its conclusion on Saturday as Team USA defeated Canada, 5-3, and Sweden defeated Finland, 6-3. The two biggest standouts in the tournament among the four participating Flyers prospects were their 2018 and 2019 first-round draft picks, Joel Farabee and Cam York.

In the finale against Canada, Farabee scored the game-winning goal early in the third period to add to an earlier assist. York created a 5-on-3 power play for Team USA in the first period and earned the primary assist on an Oliver Wahlstrom goal during the subsequent two-man advantage.

Flyers 2019 second-round pick Bobby Brink played fourth-line left wing at even strength in the finale against Canada and also received some secondary power play ice time. His best moment came on a one-timer that required a fine save to deny Brink on his bid for his first goal of the tournament. Flyers 2018 second-round pick Adam Ginning picked up an assist and six penalty minutes in Sweden's finale against the Finns.

A full tournament wrapup focused on the Flyers' prospects will be published later today on the Flyers' official website.

2) What are the chances that Farabee, 2017 first-round pick Morgan Frost or 2017 second-round pick Isaac Ratcliffe open the 2019-20 season in the NHL rather than in the AHL with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms?

This question was posed to Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher on four separate occasions -- on Exit Day right after the end of the 2018-19 season, again shortly prior to the 2019 Draft, a third time at the end of Development Camp in late June and yet again after the start of free agency season on July 1. Each and every time, Fletcher delivered a similar message.

While he didn't want to say during the offseason that "there's no chance" for any of these three players to win an opening night job, he stated repeatedly that his preference will likely be AHL assignments first for all three prospects.

Fletcher on April 8 said the following: "Obviously, of course somebody can come in and make the team, but they’re going to have to earn it. We’re not looking to just put players on the team. I think the American League is a great developmental league. I think it’s important place for most players to spend some time there. Having said that, I don’t like cutting players in April. There’s some talented kids coming out of junior, coming out of college. We’ll let their play determine how they do, but I guess what I’m saying is I hope we’re a little deeper up front and on the blue line and it will be a little tougher to make the team. That will be ideal. Your depth is obviously better and you allow players time to full develop before they come in."

On June 26, after expressing satisfaction at what he saw during Development Camp, Fletcher again pumped the brakes on raising expectations that any of the top forward prospects in the organization would bypass the AHL and arrive directly on the Flyers' opening night roster.

"Ideally they all get some time in the American League, but there’s a lot of high-end talent here," Fletcher said. "In most situations, a young player ideally goes to the American League, and plays a lot of minutes before they come up here. When they do, they are hopefully ready for the demands of this level. But training camp exists for a reason. If someone comes in and shows they're ready [now], we won't hold them back."

On July 1, Fletcher said that part of his offseason thought process has been to avoid new long-term contracts in most cases (Kevin Hayes being the big exception) because of the upsides of the players in the farm system.

"Over the next 24 months, we’ll have several young forwards knocking on the door of the NHL. I don’t think it’s a very smart thing to box these kids out and take on additional cap responsibilities when we’re going to have a lot of really good pieces that could mature and grow through the system," the GM said.

When asked about the big three forward prospects, Fletcher also mentioned that there are some other young potential NHL candidates in camp, including 2016 first-rounder German Rubtsov, third-year pro Mikhail Vorobyev (who opened last season with the Flyers) and fourth-year pro Nicolas Aube-Kubel.

Specific to Farabee turning pro after one collegiate season, Fletcher said that it does not necessarily expedite his NHL arrival but that it's a new and exciting challenge for the player.

"First of all, that was his family’s decision. BU is a great program, and if they had decided to stay for another season, we would have fully supported it. Joel made the decision that he felt he was ready to turn pro in consultation with the people around him, and that’s a personal decision. He’s a hockey player. He’s still a young man that has to get stronger and probably put on a little more weight to fully handle the rigors of an 82-game NHL season, but in terms of hockey sense, skill, skating, passion to play the game, he has all those elements already and it’s just going to be a question of time, and really, maturity. Watching him out here, his talent stands out. It wouldn’t take you many drills to pick him out as one of the better players on the ice," Fletcher said on June 26.

Assistant general manager Brent Flahr echoed the same sentiment.

"You watch the way [Farabee] thinks the game, especially the small area hockey games out there. He’s a guy that I can imagine you put him with NHL players, he can play. Whether he’s physically ready or mentally ready to handle the grind of an NHL season, I’m not sure. I’m not sure that’s realistic," Flahr said on June 26.

"Morgan Frost’s another player. You can see the way he thinks the game and sees the ice. He can make plays. Again, whether he’s ready physically to handle the rigors of the NHL, we'll see. Training camp will dictate that. There’s a lot of guys. Rubtsov’s a guy that you watch him in certain drills, defensively. Our coaches, they like a lot of things he can bring. Maybe won’t watch first glance, but he’s always above the puck. He’s always responsible. He’s always in position."

When I talked to Flahr and others in the organization a few weeks before Farabee signed his entry-level contract, they said their inclination on the player's physical readiness for the pro game was that he needed one additional year to be ready to compete against grown men for a full pro-length season; which is considerably lengthier than its collegiate counterpart. The assistant GM's post-Development Camp message was virtually identical to his previous assessment.

During Development Camp, Farabee self-reported being up about five pounds from where he was last summer.

"I think I’m always trying to add weight. I think I’m up to 175, so that is pretty good for me at least. I think the end of my career to be 185-190 that’s probably where I want to be," Farabee said.

On July 1, Fletcher said that the additions of several veteran AHL forwards and defensemen via free agency was partially geared toward providing lineup support for the youngsters who are likely bound for Lehigh Valley to start the season; the same thought process that was behind adding forwards Kevin Hayes and Tyler Pitlick as well as defensemen Matt Niskanen and Justin Braun to the Flyers.

"It’s how we'll develop the young players going forward and not just the first-year players down in Lehigh Valley, but also the young players we have now on the NHL roster. ...We have some high-end talent. We not only have to slot them properly but surround them properly and to create the best environment possible, not only to develop them but to win games," Fletcher said.

Something else to keep in mind with Farabee: He is slide-rule eligible in the AHL in 2019-20. That means if he plays nine or fewer NHL games this season and otherwise is on the Phantoms roster, the first year of his entry-level contract will not kick in until the 2020-21 season. That means Farabee will not come up on his first restricted free agent offseason until the summer of 2023 unless the first year of his ELC gets burned in 2019-20.

Lastly, there is a school of thought in player development than many -- not all, but many -- players do better in the NHL when called up mid-season after first hitting their stride in the AHL rather than trying not only to make an NHL roster out of camp but to sustain a high level through the season.

"Yeah, I think it's a good thing for a lot of players," Flyers development coach Kjell Samuelsson said in March. "I think the time (back) in the AHL helped [Travis] Sanheim last season. He was a better player when he got back up here. I think [Oskar] Lindblom benefited from his AHL time [in 2017-18]. [Phil] Myers needed the time in Lehigh before he came up here. Ghost [Shayne Gostisbehere] came up here because of injury [to veteran Mark Streit]; it wasn't the start of the season. So it's a lot of our of players."

3) Samuelsson's examples did not mention goaltender Carter Hart, but Scott Gordon noted several times both while in Lehigh Valley and during his stint as Flyers interim head coach that Hart did not seem NHL-ready at the start of last season. It took Hart about five or six weeks to adjust to the American Hockey League, both on and off the ice, before he started to get comfortable. Hart then went on a nice run for the Phantoms before his NHL recall to the Flyers.

Even then, Gordon wasn't entirely sure at first that Hart was fully NHL ready but the Flyers were in dire straights due to a slew of injuries and overall subpar play by their goaltenders in the first half of last season. Hart, however, took the ball and ran with it. Even when there were a few hiccups along the way, the youngster always bounced back.

Hart (who won't turn 21 until Aug. 13) slots into more of a tandem arrangement with veteran Brian Elliott entering camp next month, as opposed to being identified as the clear No. 1 goaltender. However, if one Flyers goalie is going to elevate the team to the next level in the near future, Hart is the prime candidate.

For his part, new head coach Alain Vigneault said recently that his plan as of now is to use a model similar to the one Boston had this past season. In, 2018-19, the Bruins rotated Tuukka Rask (2,635 MIN in 46 appearances) and Jaroslav Halak (2,308 MIN over 40 appearances) pretty evenly during the regular season and then went with one exclusive starter (Rask) in the playoffs. Vigneault said the plan could change, based on performance or injuries, but he does not anticipate a workload split in Philadelphia that is remotely similar to the discrepancies that Roberto Luongo and Henrik Lundqvist had with their respective backups in Vigneault-coached teams in Vancouver and New York.

Hart served as the backup goalie to Pittsburgh's Matt Murray at the 2019 IIHF World Championships and gave a very strong accounting for himself in three appearances, albeit in games against lesser-grade opponents.

4) Today in Flyers History: In order to make room under the newly created NHL salary cap to accommodate recently signed unrestricted free agent center Peter Forsberg, the Flyers had to move out veteran Jeremy Roenick. On Aug. 4, 2005, the Flyers traded Roenick and Nashville's previously acquired 2006 third-round draft pick to the LA Kings for future considerations.

5) Today in Flyers History: The Flyers made an ill-fated trade on Aug. 4, 2006, sending two-way center Michal Handzus to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for forward Kyle Calder. Calder was coming off a 25-goal, 59-point season for the Blackhawks the previous year but struggled both on and off the ice during a 59-game stint with the Flyers in 2006-07. On Feb. 26, 2007, the Flyers dealt Calder back to Chicago in exchange for defenseman Lasse Kukkonen and a 2007 third-round pick (Garrett Klotz). The Hawks then quickly flipped Calder to Detroit for Jason Williams to complete a three-team trade.
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