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Philadelphia Flyers: Travis Sanheim is Pretty Good, eh?

By Benjamin Gabrych

PHILADELPHIA, PA - FEBRUARY 23: Travis Sanheim #6 of the Philadelphia Flyers looks on against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the 2019 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series on February 23, 2019 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Len Redkoles/NHLI via Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - FEBRUARY 23: Travis Sanheim #6 of the Philadelphia Flyers looks on against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the 2019 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series on February 23, 2019 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Len Redkoles/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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The second year Philadelphia Flyers defenseman has looked good in his top pair role as of late.

Starting the season stapled to the Philadelphia Flyers third defensive pairing, Travis Sanheim played a very solid game with Radko Gudas but couldn’t consistently find the score sheet due to low ice time in a few of those contests. Since Dave Hakstol’s firing on December 17th, Sanheim’s never received lower than 17 minutes of Time on Ice from Interim Head Coach Scott Gordon and has fully taken advantage of the opportunity.

The soon to be 23 year-old blue-liner now leads all Flyers defensemen in scoring with 29 points (9 Goals, 20 Assists) so far on the season. 19 of them have come in his last 32 games and he’s riding a five game point streak heading into Wednesday’s matchup with the Metropolitan Division leading Washington Capitals.

Sanheim also sits fourth in Scoring Chances-For percentage, fifth in High Danger Chances-For percentage, and ninth in total Goals-For percentage among Philadelphia players who have seen more than 250 minutes of ice-time at even-strength, according to NaturalStatTrick.com. His performance on both sides of the ice are just of glimpse of what he could bring in years to come as continues to develop in the NHL.

Another aspect I’ve liked about Sanheim’s game is some of the physical edge he can bring after a play. The 2015 first round pick will not, and I repeat not, let an opposing player get a shot in on whomever’s in-net for the Flyers. He doesn’t go too far in his actions, either, having a measly 12 Penalties in Minutes this year. This just goes to show how disciplined he plays while defending on the ice, and how loyal he is to his fellow teammates too.

I still don’t think Sanheim has a higher ceiling than an Ivan Provorov, but he’s definitely made somewhat of an argument given how both have faired throughout the season. Even if his emergence this year doesn’t bring the Flyers an unlikely playoff berth, it still bodes well for the team in the future. Fans shouldn’t expect Provorov or Shayne Gostisbehere to struggle like they have. Pair a rising Sanheim and a developing Phillippe Myers with bounce back seasons from two of their defensive leaders, and this squad will really start cooking with some gas.

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We’ll have to see if Sanheim can extend his point streak to six against the Capitals. Washington is the only Metro team he’s yet to score against in his career, but has a good chance in doing so provided their woes on defense.

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