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.”
York appears to be NHL ready, and he may be recalled for good with the trade deadline looming on March 21st. He received this recall due to a two-game road trip, with Kevin Connauton just being cleared to play but quite not ready yet.
If there is a silver lining with this dreadful season thus far, it’s the improved play of York. He really has showcased himself with the big club, and has taken advantage of the injury riddled Flyers to include players that were out in Covid Protocol at times. Has he made his fair share of mistakes…yes, but that doesn’t overshadow all the good that he has done as well with his abilities with breakouts and driving the play up the ice. Mike Yeo indicated that York was recalled due to necessity, and to help the Flyers with breakouts as he felt that was a mess against the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night.
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 Free falling, even with this two-game winning streak. The youth, like York seeing regular game action might incline people to buy a ticket. People want to see York, possibly Egor Zamula, Wade Allison, Tanner Laczynski, Linus Sandin, and German Rubtsov play during this free fall. 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 in perspective, this quote below from Mike Yeo was York’s last game played with the orange and black, to which he was utilized on the power play:
“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’s 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 last season, and this appears to be a bread and butter part to his game in the future. He has the abilities to extend plays, and make smart decisions with the puck in highly tense situations. York is quick to think, and this aides his abilities with the man advantage, during high pressured situations.
He has been faster than I’ve personally seen him, 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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