The Philadelphia Flyers are getting reinforcements early this season as Cam York is set to make his season debut sometime this week. The 24-year-old defenseman is coming off a lower-body injury that cost him most of the preseason and the first three games of the regular season. This is a significant addition for the Flyers, as last season he tallied four goals and 13 assists for 17 points in 66 games. While York will improve the Flyers' blue line, it will force Noah Juulsen up into the press box.
Juulsen has not been impressive in his brief time as a Flyer. In three games, he has yet to record a point, and his underlying metrics don't paint a much better picture. The only positive he brings is his physicality and ability to deliver a big hit. But this is not enough production to keep him in the lineup when York returns, and it will force him out of the lineup.
Noah Juulsen is the odd man out on the Flyers defensive core
When looking at the Flyers' defensemen, there are only two players who could find a way out of the lineup. Those being Juulsen and Emil Andrae. Andrae has shown much more promise than Juulsen has. In the one game he suited up for, Andrae put in a strong performance. He created several offensive chances and looks very comfortable setting up breakout passes. Although it's only one game, there is a lot of intrigue about where he can go from here.
There is also the fact that Andrae is only 23 years old. Him showing this kind of confidence at a young age is a very promising sign and looks great for his development. The only way he can grow is if he's on the ice as much as possible. Putting him in the press box will only stunt his growth and prevent him from reaching his full potential. Juulsen, on the other hand, is 28 years old, and we know the caliber of player he is.
The one thing that Juulsen has going for him is his physicality. Taking Juulsen out and replacing him with York will weaken the Flyers' defensemen's physical play. However, this can be masked by a shake-up of the defensive pairings. The Flyers will likely pair York with Travis Sanheim, due to how well the two played last year together. According to Moneypuck, that pairing had a 31.7 xGoals against and a xGoals against per 60 minutes of 2.19.
The Flyers could then move Nick Seeler down to the third pairing to play alongside Andrae. Similar to Juulsen, Seeler isn't afraid to deliver a big hit, so the identity of the third pairing won't change. He also plays a sound defensive game, which is perfect to pair with a more offensive-minded defenseman like Andrae.
If the Flyers want to continue to prioritize development, then Juulsen has to be the odd man out when York returns. Keeping him in the lineup would prevent young players from developing and make their defense worse.