Nolan Patrick is a talented player that has tallied 26 goals, and registered 35 assists for 61 points in 145 games played over a course of three seasons of hockey. A few days ago the Flyers, and most notably Flyers’ General Manager Chuck Fletcher believes in the skill that Patrick possesses, as Patrick has signed a one-year make it or break it deal worth $874,125. Claude Giroux said in the Summer that the coaching staff was very impressed with the talents of Patrick with his time of practicing with the club this past season.
“Nolan, I watched him skate today. He’s an amazingly talented young man. He looked great. Feels good. Again, we’ll wait for the doctors to meet with him for the pre-season physical. Life is unpredictable. We certainly saw that last year. I can’t make predictions on anybody. I think we’re in a good shape going into camp and we’re excited to get these two players back.”– Chuck Fletcher
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In what would be his third season of Professional hockey, unfortunately Patrick was unable to play a game due to a Migraine Disorder. It’s a darn shame he has to battle through this, and it’s also a darn shame that there are some people still calling him a BUST. A bust as defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is “A complete failure : Flop” and Patrick definitely does not fall into that category.
Patrick has averaged .42 points per game, he’s definitely far from a bust. As a matter of fact he is the best offseason addition Fletcher and the Flyers top brass could have made. According to Fletcher, he said if Patrick is given the all clear then he has a good shot of re-entering the lineup on a nightly basis:
“I guess we’ll have to wait and see how things going with Patty and how he feels. I don’t know that you take it slowly. If anything, everybody’s basically on the same page right now. Nobody’s in mid-season shape. In some ways, this might be the right time to re-introduce players back in. I know he hasn’t played in a while, but at the same time there’s seven teams that haven’t played games since last March. It’s going to be a different start for a lot of players and a lot of teams. Clearly, everybody will be in better form by mid-season than what they are at the beginning. It’s going to be relative even that way. It might be a good opportunity for everybody to get going on the same page.”– Flyers General Manager Chuck Fletcher
The fact of the matter is Patrick does a lot of things well on the ice. His ability to shut down top lines, as he thinks Defense first cannot be understated. Patrick played on the top line with JVR, and Giroux in his second season, and he was faced with facing top line after top line on some nights. He closes gaps on players, much like Sean Couturier does so well. Moreover, Patrick finished with career highs in Points (31), Hits (72), TK (40), and Blocks (26). Even with a crazy year with Ron Hextall being fired, Dave Hakstol being fired, Wayne Simmonds being traded, and a locker room that went through influx, Patrick still managed to post career highs in those categories mentioned.
The Former Brandon Wheat King product, Patrick has great vision, and gets into the open areas of the ice. One area of his game that needs improvement, however, is finishing. Yes, he was been snake bit at times with hitting posts, but Patrick has to finish the play more often. Sometimes he thinks pass first, as opposed to just shooting the biscuit at the net. This will come in time, and I’m confident that this will come over time. It took Sean Couturier time to develop his game the way it has, and the same will follow suit with Patrick.
Oskar Lindblom
Even with kicking Cancer’s ass. This young up-and-coming star in Lindblom is really starting to bud at the right time. The Flyers, and the young Swedish Forward are a match made in heaven. Lindblom was used as a Power Play specialist, was a good board battler, and was an effective forechecker for the Flyers before his season ended last year.
Lindblom is a solid skater, but has tools to school his opponents. He’s now 24-years-old, and ready to put last season behind him, and be an effective top six Forward like he once was.
Alain Vigneault really has done a great job with the youth, mainly Lindblom. Lindblom’s confidence was at an all-time high in North America, and the Flyers benefitted from his stellar play last season. This kid seemed to relish his role as a top-six forward for the orange and black.
The young Swedish Forward thrived in any situation the coaching staff placed him in, and he is a great tape to tape passer:
“Obviously we all know how much he loves to play and loves to be a hockey player,” James van Riemsdyk said. “He loves being out there with the guys and stuff. He is a huge part of our team. He was off to a great start to the season last year before he had to deal with the extra health stuff. I’m sure he is excited to kind of get into a season, starting with training camp and going on from there.”
“He’s doing really well,” Flyers’ General Manager Chuck Fletcher said, “Obviously, he was cleared to return to play in the bubble and he played two games in there. Since that time, he’s had a tremendous off-season. He’s been able to rebuild his body, if you will, and regain some of the muscle mass he lost during his treatments last spring and summer. He’s in really good shape physically. All of our players will get their pre-season physicals in early January and at that point, we’ll find out if there’s any issues. We’re anticipating no problems at this point. Oskar looks good.”
The future is bright for Lindblom as he becomes more trusted with the coaching staff. For his efforts, it is safe to say he really has become a 5th Round Draft stud for the orange and black. Patrick hopes to return following clearance at training camp, and Fletcher remains optimistic about that. Whatever the case may be if both return to full health as expected…watch out this Flyers team could take the leap into the Eastern Conference Finals or the Stanley Cup.
The writing is terrible. Doesn’t anybody edit anymore?