brelic

Can't argue with any of that. We seem to lack any game-breaking talent among the kids. Now, they may grow into that over months and years, but no one has shown that right now. Who are the locks among forwards? G, Coots, TK, JVR, Hayes, Lindblom, Raffl, Laughton, Patrick. Nine guys. So that means there are three spots with legitimate competition. There are probably 8 guys with a real opportunity - Pitlick, Stewart, Andreoff, Rubtsov, Farabee, Frost, Vorobyev, NAK. Who's it gonna be? Who's gonna step up their game and EARN those spots?

Not a great game by any stretch last night. Flyers got outworked and outscored by the Providence Bruins. - Frost was very noticeable and had several grade A scoring chances. Made some great plays on offense and defense, and reminded me of Giroux the way he controls play in the offensive zone. - Farabee was ok. Seemed to be chasing the game at times. Had one nice scoring opportunity. - Myers I thought looked great, which is apparently the opposite of the consensus I've been reading this morning. What I liked about Myers' game is that he was involved in everything. Sure, maybe he tried to do too much, but I like him exactly for that reason. He's not afraid to really get involved in the play in both zones, he got a bit nasty, made some big time hits, tried to make some sneaky plays in the offensive zone. So, he's still raw, and there is an excellent base to work with. Once he refines those tools and learns when to use them, watch out! - The rest of the young guys looked good too. Rubtsov, Bunnaman, Twarynski in particular were noticeable at least a few times. - As for the vets, I thought Couturier had a really strong game. Man, can that dude shield the puck or what? I think he was our best forward tonight. Giroux looked fine, though not a fan of the RW spot on PP1. Voracek was Voracek. - On defense, Provorov/Niskanen looked fine together, Braun saved a sure goal with some smart stickwork, Ghost was ok - but I sure hope Therrien finds a way to unlock Ghost's PP skills again because it was absent all of last year and it looks like the same pattern so far. - Team-wise, it's disappointing that the Flyers had to chase the game and Boston had a strong territorial edge - which really was their B squad. - Same issues from past years still there - slow starts to games and periods, ineffective PP, getting stuck in the defensive zone for long stretches. This is not surprising as there were a lot of changes in the offseason including an entirely new coaching staff. Charlie O said he asked Voracek yesterday about the changes and learning new systems - Voracek said it takes a while, usually about half a season before it moves from "thinking" to just "doing". That's how long it took under Hak before the Flyers started actually showing success on the ice. Combine all the changes with starting overseas, then heading 9 time zones in the other direction with a quick pitstop in Philly and the recipe is there for another slow start. We'll see how AV and the staff prepare the team.

That Frost kid is gonna be good. Real good.

I think Andreoff and Stewart are there to create a situation where the young guys have to earn their spot. They are also insurance if the young guys collectively look not ready IMO. In other words, if either Andreoff or Stewart (or *gasp* both) are on the opening night roster, it means the young bucks didn’t convince coaches and management that they are ready.

The real problem with the trade scenario is that I just don't see what we would give up front that makes sense. Say you trade Ghost and JVR for Laine. Salary works, but that's definitely overpayment IMO. Ghost and Voracek? Also overpayment. Myers and Voracek? Ok, probably a reasonable package, but I still think it's an overpayment and I'm not sure it makes us better. Farabee, Lindblom, and Patrick don't make enough money to be included (since we would need to clear space), TK just signed and unless Homer is pulling the strings, he ain't moving. I don't readily see how we could make a trade that a) makes sense salary-wise and b) makes us better.

And no, they don't want Hagg if we don't even want him. Bottom line is that if anything were to actually materialize, we need to send out about $8M in salary. Is there a package you would sent to the Peg for Laine or Connor? Even if we did, say, Ghost and Patrick, that's not nearly enough salary.

Maybe he makes the squad, I don't know... don't really care honestly. I've never seen anything remotely remarkable about his game, so if the organization does, then so be it. I'll cheer him on. But unless that happens, he's just not a player I'm concerned with. Although I will say that I think he'd clear waivers. Don't think teams are lining up to scoop up a 23 year-old AHLer who has shown marginal NHL potential.

At least he's not paying tax.... otherwise, he'd be living paycheque to paycheque!

The question is whether or not he has a future with this organization. I'd say Rubtsov and Vorobyev are ahead of him in terms of 4th line / bottom 6 depth. He has to outplay those two guys to even have a shot.

I don't know how he managed, really.

The timeline actually bodes well for our up and comers... Niskanen and Braun will be gone within 2 years leaving us with Provorov/Sanheim Ghost/Myers as a top 4. So we can add two of Zamula, York, Ginning, Millman...

I think Zamula will be a really good one in a few years. He was very impressive.

Extremely early guess, but I would say Rubtsov will make the team, and possibly Farabee. Frost has the odds stacked against him because he is small and plays center. He's only played against 15-19 year old boys, so he would really benefit from AHL time. He also won't be 4th line C on the Flyers. The rest will be released / in LHV. G/Coots/TK JVR/Hayes/Voracek Farabee/Patrick/Lindblom Raffl/Rubtsov/Laughton Pitlick Defense will be interesting. Top 6 is a no brainer, I'd say. Provorov/Niskanen Ghost/Braun Sanheim/Myers The 7th will be Hagg or Morin. We might roll with 8 while overseas - which is what Fletcher hinted at - but once they're back in North America, they will waive/move one of those two for futures. My guess is Morin gets moved, maybe to Montreal. They love French Canadian players.

Only 9 forwards?

@MaineFlyFan @ruxpin Um, I think @Digityman was being sarcastic, hence the /s sign off.

I watched 2.5 periods before the power went out. Kind of a random time to lose power - must be those darn squirrels again (or so they tell me... and I wish I were kidding). A few observations... - Kevin Hayes was probably the best player on the ice for either team. Very impressed with his game. - Zamula, Myers, Rubtsov had strong games and stood out. Of the three, Zamula was the most impressive. - Farabee had a few decent opportunities, but his line was mostly ineffective. Ratcliffe was a non-factor. - Ghost looked lost, Braun looked pretty decent. - PP was not good; PK was excellent, Hayes in particular. It will get more interesting once the roster gets a healthy trim.

Nice! So happy to see TK AND Provy will be sticking around for the long term. Now, if it were Homer, he'd trade them before the contracts actually kick in, but I think we're in the clear.

Ok I'm officially excited for the season!

I have my Chrome home page set to a random wikipedia article (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random) so I have that feeling every morning lol. Honestly, I end up down some pretty interesting rabbit holes.

@AJgoal @mojo1917 Thanks guys! 10:30am here and I've already learned something new My day is successful.

Laughton/Patrick/Farabee could be a thing, assuming TK is out. G/C/V JVR/KH/OL

I understand in the case of Marner and guys like him that produce at elite levels. TK is not that.

Agree that he doesn't seem like the 'greedy' type, but he does seem like the kind of guy that doesn't back down very easily. Love that about his on-ice game. Kind of a double edged sword though! EDIT: Is double-edged sword redundant? Can't we just say "it's like a sword"? Have you ever seen a single-edged sword? Wouldn't that just be a knife?

Agreed... but we all know how temporary line combinations are haha. I would at least give him a shot there *if* he makes the team out of camp. If TK decides he'd rather try his hand at ice fishing in northern Ontario this winter, 1RW would be a fun spot to see Farabee

With Morin, it might simply be a case of the organization having better options. Not a knock on him, but a testament to strong drafting and development. Morin simply might not fit, and that's ok. This is the year to find out, though you'd think AV would give him a better slotting than 3rd pairing D with a surefire scrub in the first exhibition game. Zamula is with Myers. With Patrick, this injury will force him to miss the entire training camp with new coaches, new systems, new teammates. It's a built-in excuse for starting slow - which he's done anyway in both seasons so far. This sounds like an injury that required/requires MONTHS from which to recover. Fletch said he's known about it 'for quite some time,' and announced he's week-to-week and might not be ready for the opener. So what in tf did he do this summer to injure himself so seriously? Hernias, concussions, facial rashes, and now this months-long mysterious injury... dude can't catch a break. It's hard to say what to do with him - though I doubt trading him right now would be smart. I'm not particularly enamoured by his game, but I can't imagine he'll be any worse than a solid 2C when he hits his stride.