Ivan Provorov Is Bouncing Back In A Big Way For The Flyers

The Philadelphia Flyers defenseman has played well for the team in their first handful of games in 2019-20.

There’s really no sugar coating it, Ivan Provorov was terrible for the Philadelphia Flyers in 2018-19. The 2015 First Round selection wasn’t himself when covering the defensive zone, struggled with turnovers his in own end, and posted the lowest point-total of his young career with 26 in 82 games. This season from hell led some people to speculate if maybe we had overrated the Russian defenseman as a fanbase and if was the bonafide Number One d-man we thought he was. Now, about a quarter of the way into the year, Provorov has quickly put that speculation to rest with a tremendous start to the 2019-20 campaign.

Provi’s netted 14 points (5 Goals, 9 Assists) in 22 games so far, leading all Flyers defensemen in that category by at least a five-point margin. That puts him on-pace for just under 56 points if he plays in all 82 contests, which would smash his career-high of 41 by a significant amount. Not only is Provorov on track for his best offensive season yet, but his underlying numbers have also been the best he’s posted since entering the NHL in 2016-17.

According to Natural Stat Trick, Provorov ranks Top-10 on the entire team in Corsi (53.26%), Fenwick (52.64%), Shots (54.14%), Expected Goals (53.45%), Scoring Chances (54.61%), High Danger Chances (55.79%), and High Danger Goals For percentages (65.76%) at 5-on-5 with Score and Venue Adjusted while sitting no lower than third among all Flyers blueliners, as well. Even if these numbers end up dipping by a percentage or two when the year comes to a close, they’d all be the highest of his NHL tenure, which goes to show how good Provorov’s been on offense.

Defensively, the former Brandon Wheat King has been able to keep the opposition out of the dangerous areas of the ice. Per Hockey Viz, teams are generating less than league average rate of shots in the low-to-middle slot for a total threat level of -12% when Provorov’s is on the ice at 5-on-5 compared to allowing a higher amount of shot rates in front of the net when he’s on the bench. The only other Flyers defenseman who possesses a lower threat level is Justin Braun, who’s been a notoriously good stay-at-home defender for most of his time at the NHL level. Provorov is also doing all of this while facing the best talent the opposition has to offer, as he possesses the largest amount of Time on Ice against Elite Competition among all Philadelphia players, per PuckIQ.

While he still commits a turnover here and there, which will always happen to a guy who has the puck on his stick as often as he does, Provorov has undoubtedly performed at a top-pair defenseman level so far this year. Whether he’ll be able to continue to play to this degree remains to be seen, but if he does and keeps it up for years to come, that six-year, 40.5 million dollar deal he signed this past offseason could be an absolute steal for the Flyers down the line.