Photo Credit: Zack Hill
Cam York is one of the Flyers top prospects for good reason, and he is typically as decisive as they come, “I still believe in myself,” Cam York said at training camp. “I think I can make a team still, but it’s a long year. It’s 82 games and the schedule is really tight. There’s going to be a lot of guys coming in and out of the lineup. If you block a shot wrong, you’re out eight games. That’s eight games that people need to fill. I didn’t look at it like ‘Dang, there goes my spot.’ I’m still confident. I still believe in myself.”
One thing that remains constant during this brief recall to the big club is that York appears to be NHL ready. If there is a silver lining for this dreadful season thus far, it’s the improved play of York. He really has showcased himself, and has taken advantage of the injury riddled Flyers to include players that were out in Covid Protocol.
Another reason and quite possibly the biggest reason he should stay up with the big club is to sell tickets, and to keep Flyers fans interested in this club. The Flyers are in the midst of another nine game losing streak, and the only bright spot to this Flyers team right now are the youth, like York seeing regular game action. People want to see York, possibly Egor Zamula, Wade Allison, Linus Sandin, German Rubtsov, maybe even Isaac Ratcliffe play during this free fall. If this is a lost season for the Flyers then all of these aforementioned players should get a shot to see what they have.
York is confident, skating well, and appears to be a confident blueliner following this recent call-up to the big club. One of the best qualities he possesses is on the offensive side of the puck is his shot accuracy. He hits the net nine times out of ten, and he showed that while quarterbacking the top Power Play unit at times last season. He was great with cycling the puck, and holding the pucks in at the blue line thus extending zone play for the Flyers.
To put more perspective in this area, York now has two power play assists in his seven games played with the Flyers this season. It appears he’s gaining confidence on the power play, and making the right adjustments in his limited time of working with the club.
“The games that we’ve put him in, these are tough opponents and they make the game hard on you. The way that he’s both defending and executing and doing it with confidence, you know he can have a shift that’s maybe not the greatest, but the way that he’s able to go back out there the next shift and get back to that level that he was at before, those are really good signs for us going forward.” – Mike Yeo said following the second consecutive loss to the New York Islanders
The best part of York’s game is his confidence. This leads to long strides skating wise, and he’ able to make quick decisive passes with the puck, which lead to clean zone exits. It just appears that when he was on the ice he settles things down, which is tough to do for a young player.
Getting back to his confidence, one could sense it as he is not afraid of joining the rush up the ice, and pinching when needed. York really has stood out in the good way, especially to those that didn’t think he was ready for the big show before this recall. He just shows so much poise and calmness that he doesn’t look lost on the ice, like some younger players do at this stage of their career.
York did provide some nice plays with the man advantage this past season. For instance, York used his good instincts to keep a pucks in Flyers zone and a game in particular against the Washington Capitals. York was able to extend the Power Play on the first man advantage, which lead to a prime scoring chance. He is as good as Shayne Gostisbehere it appears at holding pucks in at the blue line. With little practice time of knowing where the team’s personnel was going to be and when, he actually did quite well in this area.
He has been faster than I’ve personally seen him following this recent stint, and credit goes to the developmental and coaching staff in Lehigh for this. York will be a good player for years to come, and he is really shining in a good way.
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