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Philadelphia Flyers: Can Evgeny Medvedev Be X-Factor?

By Wes Herrmann |

One of the Philadelphia Flyers’ biggest weaknesses last season, if not the biggest, was the defense.

In a season that saw 12 different defensemen suit up on the blue line, the Flyers allowed the 10th most goals last year and had the fourth worst penalty kill.

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However, little was done to change the personnel in Philly. Nicklas Grossmann was sent packing, and Radko Gudas, who was dealt for at the 2015 trade deadline but was injured, will be a new face on the ice. The biggest move was the addition of 33-year-old Russian defenseman Evgeny Medvedev, who has never played a single game in the NHL.

Mevedev has played his entire career in the former Russian Super League and the KHL, but decided to head to North America this past summer. The left-handed blueliner was also an international veteran, who played in four World Championships and in the 2014 Olympics for Russia.

Medvedev has been described as a smooth skater and mobile with the ability to make a strong first pass. But the most he’s scored in his career is 26 points in 49 games. Last season he had 16 in 43 for Ak Bars Kazan.

According to Elite Prospects, Medvedev could also play a more physical game.

But that’s not entirely what Philly needs anyway. Gudas and Luke Schenn already take care of the physical game for the Flyers’ defense. Philadelphia needed smarter, faster d-men.

With training camp four days in and one preseason game under his belt, Medvedev is already turning heads:

In his first preseason game, Medvedev recorded an assist after a powerplay point shot created a rebound that Vincent Lecavalier scored off of giving the Flyers a 3-2 lead.

Sam Carchidi also had some promising words from head coach Dave Hakstol in a story he wrote on Monday:

“He’s obviously an intelligent person. He’s done a real good job picking things up. . . He’s got a natural hockey sense and I can see that in his game. He’s working through some of the language barrier, and he’s working on that and I think that’s improving every day. But on the ice, his natural sense comes through and he’ll probably become more relaxed as he becomes more comfortable with the language.”-Dave Hakstol, Sam Carchidi

The most important thing for Medvedev to learn right now is the American game. The ice is smaller, the speed quicker and the game more physical, but Michael Del Zotto, who is paired with Medvedev in camp doesn’t think that will be an issue (also from Carchidi’s story at philly.com)

“Meddy’s a really smart player who makes great plays. I think skill-wise, we’re going to feed off each other and hopefully generate a lot of offense.”-Michael Del Zotto, Sam Carchidi

So how important does Medvedev come to the Flyers?

Very.

He’s going to be inserted into the top four probably right away. He may see some time on both the power play and penalty kill. It wasn’t strange for Del Zotto to play 25 minutes a night last year, so you can expect the same from Medvedev if they stay paired together.

Then the question becomes if Medvedev can do all that and become an x-factor in the Flyers’ playoff hopes.

Michael Del Zotto figures to be Yevgeni Medvedev’s defensive partner when the Philadelphia Flyers regular season starts on Oct. 8. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports

Right now, it seems like he has a lot on his side. Writers, coaches and players are impressed with his skill. Plus he has a ton of experience and hopefully some veteran swagger that seemed to be missing from last year’s team.

The Flyers will be asking a lot from a player who has never played in the NHL, but given Medvedev’s salary ($3 million), it seems like a reasonable request.

Given his background, skill and salary, Medvedev should be able to play a big role in the Flyers’ playoff chances in the coming months.

Next: Game Notes from Preseason Game #1

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