The Philadelphia Flyers lost the Rookie Game 4-3, but there were still plenty of good moments. Here’s a recap from the blackout region (i.e. everywhere besides Philly).
Blackouts are the worst.
That was going to be the entire article, but you, good reader, deserve better than that. Just like the Philadelphia Flyers rookies deserved better than their 4-3 overtime loss to the New York Islanders, according to the exhaustive and highly accurate accurate method of reading other people’s tweets.
Ignoring the NHL’s utterly senseless decision to black out the game for anyone outside the Philly area, it sounds like there was a lot of positives to take away from the Flyers’ performance despite the loss. Here are a few of them:
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Patrick’s debut was pretty great
Across the board, the consensus was that Nolan Patrick looked every bit the top-2 draft pick he is.
Gordon on Patrick: "When u see him make the plays he made, under pressure and on the tape, u can see why he was drafted as high as he was.”
— Sam Carchidi (@BroadStBull) September 14, 2017
Would have been neat to have Patrick end it in OT, and he had the goalie beat, too. Oh well. Still a good showing for him.
— Charlie O'Connor (@charlieo_conn) September 14, 2017
Patrick caught everyone’s attention with his sharp passing and decision-making. Somehow, it’s still not a foregone conclusion that Patrick will make the Flyers’ initial roster. A few more performances like the one he had last night, and perhaps even Ron Hextall will admit that Patrick is likely to start the year with the team.
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Really, all the great prospects played pretty great…
Praise showered down upon almost all of the Flyers’ most highly-touted prospects. Philippe Myers broke up a few rushes and kick-started some of the Flyers’ own. Oskar Lindblom and Samuel Morin imposed themselves physically on the less NHL-ready Islanders rooks. Travis Sanheim and Mark Friedman each tallied a goal. All in all, an excellent night across the board for the top Flyers prospects.
…except maybe Carter Hart?
Hart didn’t have his best night in net results-wise, giving up two goals in the game’s final seven minutes, then the game-winner in overtime. But we’re miles away from even the slightest tinge of concern about Hart’s long-term outlook. While he may not be an NHL goalie just yet, it’ll take a lot more than a few goals allowed in a Rookie Game to knock him off his pedestal as the organization’s best prospect in net.
Next: Three Flyers storylines to follow in training camp
Flyers hockey is finally back, you guys. We did it. Now we just have to wait for the games that won’t be blacked out for almost the entire country.