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Hextall continues to preach patience with Nolan Patrick, other prospects

By Nick Som

PHILADELPHIA, PA - FEBRUARY 29: General Manager Ron Hextall of the Philadelphia Flyers speaks to the media in regards to the NHL trade deadline that had recently passed prior to a game against the Calgary Flames on February 29, 2016 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Len Redkoles/NHLI via Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - FEBRUARY 29: General Manager Ron Hextall of the Philadelphia Flyers speaks to the media in regards to the NHL trade deadline that had recently passed prior to a game against the Calgary Flames on February 29, 2016 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Len Redkoles/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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Hell will freeze over before Philadelphia Flyers GM Ron Hextall admits a young prospect is expected to make the team, as evidenced further by his comments regarding Nolan Patrick.

In recent years, Ron Hextall and the Philadelphia Flyers have quite vocally declared patience to be their modus operandi when dealing with prospects. If a young player isn’t clearly better than the veteran he’s replacing, in Hextall’s mind, he’s got more work to do in the minors. A recent interview with Sam Carchidi of philly.com saw Hextall double down on this philosophy when asked about #2 overall pick Nolan Patrick.

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"“He’s got to do the same thing as all the other kids. He’s got to come in and show us that he can help make us a better team and that it’s the right thing for us,” Hextall said. “It’s truly that simple. We’ve got numbers. We don’t have to have him. We’ve got other kids who can play and we have veterans, so we’re in a good position with him.”"

As talented and special a player as Nolan Patrick appears to be, it’s still not surprising that Hextall refused to budge from the company line. Waiting for Hextall’s answer to the question “What does [insert prospect] have to do to earn a spot with the Flyers?” is like waiting for Barney Stinson to complete his trademark “wait for it…” – you know exactly what’s about to be said next, but you wait to hear it anyway.

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And really, being patient with calling up prospects isn’t a bad thing, so long as it’s clear that those prospects aren’t ready for NHL hockey. To Hextall’s credit, that largely seems to be the case. Ivan Provorov and Travis Konecny caught everyone’s attention in last year’s training camp, and both made the Flyers roster accordingly.

Now, prospects like Anthony Stolarz and Jordan Weal who don’t come with quite the same pedigree as a Provorov have definitely lost out. Stolarz seems ready to be an NHL goalie, but the Flyers decided to pair Neuvirth with a proven commodity in Brian Elliott instead. Jordan Weal has blown the doors off the minors for a while now and looks primed for a breakout year, but you could argue that he deserved a shot much sooner considering the disappointing play of bottom-6 skaters like Dale Weise and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare last season.

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Fortunately for him, Patrick definitely seems to have a reputation more in line with the Provorovs and Konecnys of the system. History indicates that Patrick should be expected to make the Flyers roster despite Hextall’s comments, barring an injury or a truly dreadful training camp showing.

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