The Lehigh Valley Phantoms return tonight from a team that was in Covid protocol for the past week or so. They faceoff tonight against the Hershey Bears, and it just so happens to be a special night for Cam York. York is set to make his professional debut tonight.
Cam York has established himself as one of the top Flyers prospects in the system in just a matter of a few years, and he will be in the Lehigh Valley Phantoms lineup tonight. Fans couldn’t be more ecstatic to see this young budding defenseman in the lineup, as they have been chomping at the bit to see him make his professional debut.
It’s hard to believe, but York elevated his game from last season with the Michigan Wolverines. This young budding prospect tallied four goals and 16 assists in 24 games played. He was precise with his shot from the point and the way he carried the puck from the neutral zone to the offensive zone.
York was so confident with the puck. He made some crazy crisp tape to tape passes, and stifled his opponents at the blueline. Even when York doesn’t have his best game he doesn’t appear to be the worst player on the ice, and that was evident in a game against Notre Dame earlier in the year. He still made plays with puck, he just wasn’t as crisp as he normally is.
For his efforts, York was named the Defensive Player of the Year for the Big Ten. He was very confident all season. The bread and butter to York’s game will come, and that is quarterbacking the Power Play. York has a hard a wrist shot and is able to get pucks through traffic at times. However, York does need to be more consistent with this particular aspect of his game. The good news is as the season wore on he was far better in this area.
This young prospect in York is like a human shield. He blocks shot after shot, and he reminds me of Flyers star Defenseman Ivan Provorov with his willingness to stand in front of blasts while sacrificing all parts of your body to help out the netminder.
York also won a Gold medal this past year, along with fellow Flyers prospect Bobby Brink at the World Juniors. York captained the team, and he stated last weekend in a zoom call with the media that it was a great experience and one that he will never forget.
He’s not the fastest skater, but he’s a solid skater. York is an intelligent hockey player, has a good hockey sense, and knows when to pinch at the right times. York makes his teammates better, and he sticks up for them. John Beecher was leveled in a game earlier in the season by Jacob Wilson of Arizona State University. He didn’t like the hit and went after Jacob Wilson. I did not know York was known for this type of feistiness, but Flyers fans love players like this.
Let’s hope York continues to mold himself into a solid NHL defenseman. One thing for certain is all eyes will be on him this weekend and beyond. Flyers and Phantoms fans are pumped at seeing what York can do.
