Philadelphia Flyers 25 Under 25: Joel Farabee hopes to keep the momentum rolling

We made it! We’ve hit the top ten! The upper echelon of the kids! Wow!

And, hey, it’s a new kid, too. The second on our list. We’re kicking off this brand new week by checking in with one of our brand new draftees. It’s Joel Farabee time, friends!

No. 10: Joel Farabee

Position: LW
Age: 18 (2/25/2000)
Size: 6’0”, 164 (via)
Acquired Via: 2018 NHL Draft — Round 1, Pick 14 (Pick acquired from St. Louis along with Pick No. 27 in 2017 and Jori Lehtera in exchange for Brayden Schenn on June 23, 2017)
2017-18 League/Team/Statistics: US National Team Development Program (USHL) – 33 G, 43 A in 62 GP
Nationality: American
Ranking in BSH Winter 2018 25 Under 25: Unranked (not in system)

So, do you remember when the Flyers traded Brayden Schenn for Jori Lehtera at the 2017 draft? You know, that one for one trade? Where the Flyers got nothing else. Not a first round draft pick, and certainly not two. So we’ve got nothing else to talk about here, right? End of story. Wow this was a super easy article.

Wait wait wait. That’s not right. The Flyers DID get two first round picks out of that trade. The first of which they used to draft Morgan Frost that same night, and the second of which would turn into the 14th overall pick in this past draft. Which would turn into Joel Farabee. Okay. Now that we’ve got that straight, we can talk about the player they got with that pick. Because he seems pretty good.

To recap, in his draft year, Farabee put up 33 goals and 76 points in 62 games with the US National Development Program, playing alongside noted good and exciting player Jack Hughes. Now, this isn’t a knock on Farabee, not by any means. It would be easy to get a little nervous, to worry that his results were purely a product of playing alongside next years consensus first overall pick. I hear that. So it’s a good thing that Farabee gave us a lot to like about his play in his showings this summer.

In the face of our worries, he came into development camp and really flashed. His skating, and edge work in particular, are plus, making him elusive with and without the puck. His shot, too stood out—an absolute laser that he used to beat Carter Hart top shelf twice in the 3v3 tournament. I think we’ve dropped that bit of information a few times by now, but we just can’t seen to let that go. It seems pretty good.

And then he took another step forward just over a month later, when we got to see him in actual, full game situations in the World Junior Summer Showcase tournament. Reunited with Jack Hughes, he played five games and recorded three goals and two assists, reaffirming his offensive prowess, and giving us a chance to see it in real time.

On the flip side, we also got a taste of his defensive game, of his strength on the forecheck. But, hey, you don’t even have to listen to me describe it for you. You can take a little break from me. Just take a look at this this clip.

Farabee disrupts Sweden’s breakout attempt. pic.twitter.com/VuIfXj3mcP

— Brad Keffer (@brad_keffer) August 2, 2018

In short, it was a brief showing in a summer hockey tournament, sure, but Farabee showed us a well rounded game, and gave us a lot to like.

So, to wrap up, let’s look forward. What do we need to see from him this season? What are we expecting?

He’s off to Boston University this season, and seems the perfect setting for him to just take the next step. The Hockey East is a big step up from the National Development Program, and that’s just what he needs.

One of our big, and perhaps nitpicky critiques of Farabee has been that he’s skinny. The numbers change a bit, depending on where you look, but he’s listed at somewhere around 6’0”, 163 pounds—a slight boy. And, yes, he’s just 18 so we’re not going to be getting too bent out of shape about it, but we do still need him to bulk up. We don’t anticipate it being a problem, and while he may never end up earning the coveted Hextall “thick” designation, getting into a college training program should help push him in the right direction.

But beyond that, we just need to see that he can keep up the offensive production as he moves up and faces tougher competition. The WJSS was, if nothing else, a hint at his ability to do this, as he racked up points against some of the best competition in his age group. And we just need to see more of that. More offense. One of the areas of the Flyers’ prospect pool that’s on the thinner side is that of the scoring winger, and, right now, that’s exactly what Farabee presents as. He may still be a ways away from NHL readiness, but he’s poised to fill a pretty direct need, and the openings aren’t too far away. The raw skill is readily apparent, and if he can take these necessary steps forward and prove to be a consistent scorer, it may not be long before we see him pushing for one of these spots.

How We Voted For Joel Farabee

How We Voted At No. 10

How The Community Voted For Joel Farabee

Previously in Philadelphia Flyers Summer 2018 Top 25 Under 25:

• Intro & Honorable Mentions
• No. 25: Noah Cates
• No. 24: Mark Friedman
• No. 23: Danick Martel
• No. 22: Matthew Strome
• No. 21: Taylor Leier
• No. 20: Nicolas Aube-Kubel
• No. 19: Felix Sandstrom
• No. 18: Tanner Laczynski
• No. 17: Jay O’Brien
• No. 16: Samuel Morin
• No. 15: Isaac Ratcliffe
• No. 14: German Rubtsov
• No. 13: Mikhail Vorobyev
• No. 12: Wade Allison
• No. 11: Robert Hagg/