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What we learned about Flyers prospects during 2015 development camp

After two straight acclaimed draft classes from Ron Hextall and Co., the Philadelphia Flyers‘ once-barren farm system is now chock full of talent.

Headlined by five blue-chip defensemen and a quickly-growing stable of skilled forwards, the organizational depth chart contains intriguing players from top-to-bottom. And with relatively few exceptions, the farm system descended upon South Jersey this past week for Flyers Development Camp.

We at Broad Street Hockey attended camp on Saturday and Sunday and witnessed a number of drills, from two-on-one and one-on-one rush drills, to three-on-two cycle drills, and finally a weekend-concluding 3v3 tournament. Aside from being the first look at 2015 first round picks Ivan Provorov and Travis Konecny in the orange and black, the camp allowed for older players to reaffirm their status within the organization, and to fine tune their games.

While all eyes were on the new draftees and the “Big Five” defense prospects, they were far from the only players to stand out over the weekend.

Travis Konecny

To my eyes, Konecny was the most impressive player at the camp on Saturday and Sunday. The Ottawa 67s forward received a significant amount of pre-draft praise for his skating ability, but his hands were the star attraction this weekend. Konecny’s wrist shots were lethal, complete with a quick release, pinpoint accuracy and high velocity. His passing was marked by similar crispness. He even showcased a knack for net front deflections, a telltale sign of fantastic hand/eye coordination.

Konecny was the most impressive player at the camp

In fact, the only nitpick of Konecny’s game was his tendency to show off his top-end skills a bit too much. In one-on-one drills, he tried some Datsyukian dangles only to be stymied repeatedly. Clearly these moves work wonders at the CHL level, but they weren’t fooling the defensemen at this camp. Konecny mentioned on Sunday that the coaches had warned him against trying to do too much with the puck, and he took that advice to heart during the tournament. He played a dynamic and basically mistake-free tourney, adding more than a few goals.

Ivan Provorov

The best word to describe Ivan Provorov’s game? Textbook.

He already possesses an intuitive grasp of defensive zone positioning and rush coverage, an incredible attribute for an 18-year old. His stickwork in game situations was top-notch as well, as he was adept at deflecting passes and shots out of harm’s way, and tying up forwards in front of the net. Provorov did such a perfect job at holding inside position on Konecny in a Saturday two-on-two drill that a coach actually pulled the forward aside to explain how to combat Provorov’s technique.

Provorov also had two of my favorite plays of the weekend. In a one-on-one drill, he basically threw 21-year old Pavel Padakin onto the ice, completely out-muscling a 6’3, 209 pound forward on a rush. And on Sunday, he fooled David Kase on a breakout with little more than a quick deke and head fake, sending the 2015 5th rounder sliding into the boards.

If this camp is any indication, Provorov is undoubtedly the real deal.

Travis Sanheim

USA Today Sports Images

The Flyers’ 2014 first round pick added 15 pounds over the past year, and it showed immediately in Sanheim’s improved physical game. Last year, Sanheim was content to primarily use his stick as his weapon of choice in puck battles, but this year, he was using his size and strength to muscle opponents off the puck in the corners.

He’ll likely never be a big hitter, but his increased willingness to mix it up down low (and successfully come away with the puck) reassured anyone who worried that Sanheim’s defensive game might be a bit soft. And he still retains the preternatural calm with the puck that made him such a standout in last year’s NHL preseason.

Shayne Gostisbehere

The Saturday and Sunday drills primarily saw the defensemen focusing upon one-on-one rush coverage and defensive zone positioning, and Gostisbehere’s performance was inconsistent. He’d make an aggressive stop one rep, and then immediately follow up with an overcommit. It’s clear that Ghost still could improve in those areas, which will likely be a main focus of his 2015-16 season.

But then the 3v3 tournament started, and everyone remembered why Shayne Gostisbehere is a top prospect. Ghost was electric every time he touched the puck. There was a five minute stretch when Ghost scored a mini-breakaway goal, ripped a slapshot for another tally, and then beat all three opposing players on a rush up the middle before clanging a wrister off the post. It’s safe to say that Gostisbehere’s mobility survived the ACL injury intact.

Samuel Morin

From a physical standpoint, Samuel Morin embodies the Chip Kelly axiom of “Bigger people beat up little people.” In drills, opposing forwards always seemed to make mistakes against Morin, whether it was bad turnovers or ill-advised shots. Morin’s formidable size obviously contributed, forcing skill players out of their comfort zones.

His defensive coverage was a bit passive, but it seemed like Morin desperately wanted to drill his man with a pulverizing check and simply had been directed to tone down the physical game to avoid injuries. However, Morin could stand to be a bit more aggressive while defending against the rush, as he rarely used his long reach to disrupt zone entries.

Robert Hagg

In three-on-two cycle drills, Hagg was the best player on the ice in terms of functional strength. Three seasons playing against men has obviously forced Hagg to bulk up or die, and most of the kids at this camp didn’t stand a chance in the corners against him.

The big question marks on Hagg are effort level and consistency. At times, Hagg’s skating did look a bit lethargic, but it struck me more like economy of movement than laziness, as he rarely lost positioning during rushes. The consistency issue did rear its head a few times, though. On occasion, Hagg would make a strong play and then abruptly lose focus, allowing for a cycle to needlessly continue. It’s easy to understand why he can frustrate coaches a bit.

Mark Friedman

Considering the number of blue chip defensive prospects in the organization, Mark Friedman risked fading into the background a bit, at least in comparison to his peers. However, if he plays as well this year at Bowling Green as he practiced on Saturday and Sunday, his stock should continue to rise.

Friedman’s aggressiveness stood out all weekend. While most of the defensemen focused on positioning during the rush drills, Friedman went right at each forward, trying to force turnovers immediately after the blue line was gained. And more often than not, he succeeded. Friedman plays like a defenseman who has great recovery speed and knows it, and that confidence fuels his risk-taking. He may not be as offensively dynamic as Shayne Gostisbehere, but he was a surprise standout on the other side of the puck.

Danick Martel

After Travis Konecny and Scott Laughton, Martel was the most impressive forward of the weekend. He is a shifty skater, with great burst and high top-end speed to match. Even more impressive was his ability to handle the puck at full speed, using an arsenal of dangles that rivaled even Konecny.

There is a little of Jason Akeson in his game, but Martel is significantly faster. Also, he showed a willingness to fight his way to highly-contested areas in the 3v3 tournament, a brave but necessary skill for an undersized forward to possess. He could rack up some serious points in the AHL this year.

Radel Fazleev

if he didn’t execute a drill perfectly, you could see him squirming, desperate for another chance to rectify his mistake

Fazleev takes practice very, very seriously. Only Mark Friedman was consistently matching Fazleev in terms of pure energy during drills, and it’s unsurprising that the two mixed it up a bit on Saturday at a result. Fazleev seemed like a real perfectionist — if he didn’t execute a drill perfectly, you could see him squirming, desperate for another chance to rectify his mistake. My guess is that coaches are going to love this guy.

Christian Marti

Marti was a standout in drills on Saturday, particularly when defending two-on-ones. His instincts and anticipation were top-notch. Which made it all the stranger when he looked terrible in drills on Sunday. His acceleration was horrific, which leads me to believe that he was either dealing with an injury or had an equipment issue. Just a odd, unexpected regression within 24 hours.

Nicolas Aube-Kubel

Aube-Kubel kept it simple throughout the weekend, playing a true north/south style in practice and in the 3v3 tournament. As a result, his drills were a bit uninspiring, but he made up for it with strong play in the Sunday 3v3 scrimmages. Considering his reputation as a high-skill player, I wonder if his more straightforward style this weekend was a specific direction from Flyers coaches.

David Kase

Kase absolutely turned some heads this weekend with his straight-line speed. Physically, he didn’t match up well against the developed defensemen at camp, but he already has one plus tool in his arsenal. He’ll have the next few years to develop a few more.

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