20 (Not So) Bold Flyers Predictions for 2021: Part Two
Looking at the Positives for the Flyers!
6. Nolan Patrick plays at least 55 games and scores 10 goals next season.
If I am deeply honest with myself, I had just about moved on from Nolan Patrick. I had gone from hope to annoyance to disdain, to dislike. Then I moved into ambivalence. That is not a good sign. I have gone from passionately wanting better for the player, to the point that it was truly frustrating, on to not caring at all. For those you who have experience in coaching and managing, you know not to worry when your coach gets on you, worry when he doesn’t.
But I have had a change of heart. Patrick’s problem I always thought was mental, attitudinal. But now, in light of his diagnosis, the migraine disorder was almost certainly affecting his play. Injuries are part of hockey, and players gut through them all the time. A combination of desire, toughness, adrenaline, and pain killers can get you through broken bones or damaged muscles. Players can get through the game and then can rest their broken bodies. However, migraines are a bit of a different animal.
Migraines are debilitating when they hit, they can cause vision issues, nausea, and pain that is likened to having your face cracked in half. But worse is that they linger and wear you down. At times, while you may not have the most acute symptoms, there is a low-grade pain/malaise that accompany them. This lower grade set of symptoms can last almost constantly and for months,
This kind of discomfort does not respond to adrenaline for long, and if you try to medicate it, the number of drugs required to make a difference will dull you so much it leaves you as a pile of goo.
I am not sure if migraines ever go away, but they can be managed, and I think Patrick does just that next season. In the last few seasons, my guess is we saw Patrick at somewhere between 60 and 70 percent of his capabilities. I think 2021 will see him closer to 90 percent and a jump in his play. I am back rooting for Patrick hard and I hope he really shines this season.
7. Flyers contend for the top spot in the division
The Flyers will contend for the top spot in the division this season because of the maturing of young players and Carter Hart in the net.
Coach Vigneault has done a lot of things to make me happy this season. His line up decisions, his lines and pairings, and his usage of players. It has allowed players to be spared hard minutes (look at G’s ice time) and allowed other players to grow. Because of that growth, I think the Flyers defense will take a big step forward in the coming season especially Travis Sanheim and Phil Myers. Provorov will be the team’s best defensemen but I expect Sanheim to be a solid second pair guy, (if he wasn’t already this year) with improvement in his own end and starting to pick his spots on offense. Myers will get better at both ends, but I think there will be a jump in his offensive play and point totals. By the end of 2021, the talk about Myers will be if he is a first pair guy (he will be).
8. Ivan Provorov Finishes top 10 for Norris
Provorov will get even better this season. He will start to really control play offensively, think Nick Lidstrom. If you heard the season-ending conference call, Provorov sounds like he is ready to take things a step further. I think his time with Niskanen, and the emergence of Hart gave him a chance to try to be more assertive. I think that carries over to next year.
Another factor is I expect he will have help from the rest of his defense corps. I can foresee the defense dictating match-ups. I think next year teams will be trying to shelter their scorers from some of the Flyers pairs. Because of this Provorov will get more chances against lesser competition. This is largely dependent on the continued maturity of Myers and Sanheim.
9. Travis Sanheim sets career-high in points
If Sanheim is healthy, he will set a new high in points. The ascension of Provorov and Myers will free him up for more chances. While Myers and Provorov are starting to excel in areas that may not have initially been seen as immediate strengths, Sanheim is getting better at using the strong parts of his game.
Sanheim may not be a dominating player, but he has a good offensive game and is getting better at choosing opportunities to join the rush. I expect he will be doing this more next season and I think he will be cashing in on more chances. Kudos to the Hextall front office for grabbing him and developing him.
By the way, did you catch Sanheim’s comments about his pairings play against the Islanders? I love the accountability, I love that he thinks that they needed to be better, and I love that he wants to get there. He is growing on me in a big way.
10. Nicolas Aube-Kubel scores 10 or more goals
This is a stretch, but I liked what I saw from NAK towards the end of the regular season and the playoffs. He has comfort and confidence in his game, and the scoring will come. He is a bottom-six guy today but the NAK has a knack for the net.
With little cap space, and an abundance of potential middle six prospects and players vying for the pro roster, the fourth line will take some time to get an identity, With the return of Nolan Patrick and Oskar Lindblom, we could have a fourth line of Patrick, NAK, and JVR. That is a pretty talented fourth line, atypical, but talented.
11. Joel Farabee collects at least 15 goals
I thought Farabee was a steal when we drafted him, however, I was lukewarm on his play this season. It is really an interesting phenomenon for me. When I noticed him, it was because of his great motor and his great smarts. He was doing things that made you really appreciate the effort or say “wow” with how well he anticipated something. The problem was that the occasions to notice him were not as frequent as I would have expected given the positive attributes I listed. Players who hustle and are smart do not disappear for entire games. It was a bit of a paradox.
Save your hate mail, I still like the kid and think he has a good chance to clear 15 goals….if he makes the team. As a testament to the Flyers’ young talent I see Farabee as somewhere between the 9th and 14th forward if Nolan Patrick and Oskar Lindblom are healthy.
If Farabee is an extra forward, I think he spends his time in the AHL and will not hit 15 goals for the Flyers. But instead, I think Farabee will take a larger role on special teams, on the PK in particular. That will cement him in on the bottom six, and he will get enough ice time to break 15 goals.
12. Philippe Myers sets career-high in points
This seems like a gimme to me. After watching Myers’ growth this season, I can easily see him besting his totals this year, given he will play in more games, COVID willing. In addition, I think in two years we will have a number one RHD. I see what he has done so far and I feel we are just scratching the surface.
Myers will have to improve on his decision making and intensity. The playoffs exposed some weakness in both these areas, and if I noticed it I am sure the pro scouts did as well. That said, I believe that Sanheim taking a step forward, as I expect, will make it possible for him to chip in more offensively, and to lessen scenarios where he may make bad decisions
Related Story. 2021 Flyers Predictions: Part One. light