The Philadelphia Flyers General Manager and Team President is giving prospects every chance to make the NHL squad.
One of the complaints fans had with now-former Philadelphia Flyers GM Ron Hextall was that he kept some of the team’s prospects in the system too long during his near three-year tenure in the club’s front office. While that didn’t hold true with players such as Ivan Provorov and Travis Konecny, Hextall still opted to keep veterans like Dale Weise and Jori Lehtera up with Philadelphia rather than providing prospects who possessed higher upsides with the opportunity to perform in the NHL. Now, with Hexy long gone and Chuck Fletcher in charge, youthful talents have been gifted with every possibility to play with and stick with the Flyers.
Fletcher first gave forwards Carsen Twarynski and Connor Bunnaman a shot at earning a roster spot to begin the year, keeping them on the opening night roster over guys like Andy Andreoff and Kurtis Gabriel, who have previous NHL experience. Twarynski showed flashes of skill during his initial stint with the Orange and Black, scoring a goal in six games, while Bunnaman struggled to keep with the fast-paced nature that the league is known for. The former Minnesota Wild GM responded to their less than stellar performances by calling up Joel Farabee and Mikhail Vorobyev to take their place, though sending Twarynski down in favor of Vorobyev was more due to Vorobyev being able to play the center position.
Farabee has capitalized on the opportunity ever since, scoring three points in eight games and moving his way up to the Flyers top-line alongside Claude Giroux and James van Riemsdyk. The 19-year-old proved why you give the youths a chance in the first place, as they can sometimes provide a spark to a team and show their worth while continuing to develop at the NHL level. Vorobyev, on the other hand, basically disappeared following an impressive first game and was eventually sent down in favor of German Rubtsov in another round of call-ups that included Philippe Myers and Twarynski making their return to the club.
Rubtsov didn’t do a whole lot in his fourth-line role with Philadelphia and is now back with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, returning to the squad in exchange for the aforementioned Vorobyev. Fletcher’s made it clear that if a player doesn’t meet his or Head Coach Alain Vigneault’s expectations, they’ll head over to the AHL to refine their game and somebody else who’s playing well with the Phantoms will instead slot into the lineup.
I’ve got to say that I like this refreshing approach from the franchise, as it keeps players on their toes and rewards those who continue to work hard at either level. It also removes a sense of security, which can cause a player to slack off a bit, knowing their spot in the NHL is completely safe. I hope Fletcher and company keep this up throughout the year and don’t stray away from it when the Flyers are fully healthy.
Fletcher didn’t lie when he said there were going to be a lot of roster moves to start the season, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see more in the near future, especially with Nolan Patrick and Scott Laughton still working their way back from injury and guys continuing to look good in the AHL.