The Flyers are looking to redeem themselves in a big way this playoff season. Well, they are off to a good start as they are 3-0 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. Of course, with some highs, a team encounters some adversity with the injury to Michael Raffl. However, do not panic Flyers fans another man down, next man up has become a common theme for the Flyers before the pause, and they fought through that finishing in second place in the Metropolitan Division with 89 points.
A young 20-year-old in Joel Farabee has made his imprint in the 2020 playoffs. It’s a day he was waiting for his entire life, and he has answered the bell in two games played, “You look at our lineup, we have such great depth,” Farabee said following the victory last night, “Ghost and I are sliding in. We have guys sliding out, coming back in. It just goes to show how good of a team we are and how deep we are. We are excited here. Obviously like Ghost said, it was three big wins. We’re ready to go dancing.”
Farabee got yet another shot to make an imprint with the orange and black. Drafted by the Flyers in 2018 at 14th overall. Farabee has seen action with the AHL Lehigh Valley Phantoms, where he torched his opponents. For the Phantoms, he registered three goals, to go along with one apple in five games played. Not too shabby I must say. Moreover, Farabee plays a 200 foot game, and is just so darn good at killing penalties. It becomes very attractive to stay up with the big club for good, based off those reasons alone. Killing penalties will be crucial, as Raffl was an excellent Penalty Killer so Farabee could fill his void nicely when given the chance, “I think my mentality going into each game is usually the same,” Farabee said, “Simple, simple game. Play the right way and good things happen. Obviously when you are playing with G and Coots, those are two world-class players. Just get the puck to them really and go to the net was my mentality going into this one. For me, I like being able to slide into many different spots and stuff like that. Hopefully keeps me in the lineup.”
“He’s a smart player,” Assistant Michel Therrien said of Farabee, “We all like him. There’s going to be some experience during those four games that we’re going to play. Joel’s a smart player even if he’s young. His hockey IQ is right there. He needs some experience, obviously. He’s such a young player, but as a coaching staff, we really like the way he’s thinking about the game, his positioning, way he sees the game. Definitely, he’s going to have a really good chance.”
What Farabee brings is skating. Farabee can skate at top speed to push the play up the ice. Moreover, Farabee is an excellent skater, with the agility and edge work to get by defenders in one-on-one situations, and he has a great first step. Farabee is an outstanding playmaker off the wing, who possesses great vision of the ice. He is also a good defender. He remains focused and poised at killing penalties, and has a keen good hockey sense.
Sean Couturier said of Farabee, “He’s looked great. He’s another young guy who’s developed all year, went through some up and downs, but he stayed with it, learned from his struggles, and it just made him a better player. The league is getting younger and younger so you see their improvement every year. Right now, you see him and it feels like he took another step forward. It’s good for our team. He’s another player that’s a big part of the future of our team and he can already have an impact right now. We’re definitely counting on him.”
Farabee, has a great work ethic and just wants to get better. This was the moment he’s been waiting for his whole life, and now he finally got his time to shine. The question remains where does he fit in the lineup when Jakub Voracek returns? He will tell you he just wants to play, and will do anything the coaching staff asks of him.
