Philadelphia Flyers Calling Up Joel Farabee Is The Right Move

The Philadelphia Flyers are calling up a pair of their forward prospects.

Guys, General Manager and Team President Chuck Fletcher did the thing. The Philadelphia Flyers have announced that they’ve recalled forwards Joel Farabee and Mikhail Vorobyev from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms while loaning Carsen Twarynski back to the AHL. The two will likely be in the lineup on Monday night against the Vegas Golden Knights, but who they’ll come in for remains to be seen, but I’d expect it to be either Chris Stewart, or Tyler Pitlick. The Flyers had an open spot on the roster after loaning Connor Bunnaman to the Lehigh Valley a few days back and went ahead and gifted the slot to another young, promising forward in Farabee.

You can’t deny that Farabee has earned himself a call-up. The 2018 First Round Selection has been absolutely killing it in Lehigh Valley, posting four points (3 Goals, 1 Assist) in his first four games with the team. His point-total tied for second on the Phantoms in scoring, sitting just one point behind German Rubtsov for the lead. One could argue that Farabee shouldn’t have been sent down in the first place, but it’s clear that seeing a couple of games in the AHL didn’t hurt him in the slightest and may have even instilled some confidence into the young forward.

On the other side, the Flyers need somebody to put the puck into the back of the net, and Farabee’s flashed that skill with the Phantoms, averaging just under a goal per game. There’s no question that this offense can create chances and put shots on goal, but my goodness, can’t find twine to save their lives. It’s almost laughable at how snakebitten they’ve been to begin this season. The hope here is that Farabee’s finishing abilities will translate over to the NHL and provide Philadelphia with some sort of offensive spark.

All in all, I think this is the right move from Fletcher and company. As I previously mentioned, Farabee has done everything in his power to earn this promotion, and I can’t think of a better player who’s currently with the Phantoms that could help the Flyers with their goal-scoring woes. He may not receive as big of a role as was got in the AHL but will still get every chance to prove that he’s truly ready for the NHL.

We’ll soon see where Head Coach Alain Vigneault decides to put Farabee and Vorobyev in the lineup, but if I had to guess, it’d be on the third-line.