Do The Philadelphia Flyers Have A Player Development Issue?

Photo Courtesy of Yong Kim, The Philadelphia Inquirer

When dissecting drafting in the NHL there are varying viewpoints that can assess an organization’s success. One particular perspective would be to look at how many players have made the NHL in relation to the team’s overall pool of draft talent. Along with this, having a 1st round pick that’s contributed at the NHL level annually should be considered a drafting success.

For argument’s sake I decided to take a look at how many Flyers draft choices since 2014 have played in the NHL for more than 10 games. In order to accurately gauge the franchises recent draft success. 

Since 2014 the Philadelphia Flyers have in total drafted 60 players and 17 of those 60 draft choices have played in 10 or more NHL games. In comparison one of the most highly regarded drafting franchises in the current NHL the Tampa Bay Lightning have drafted a total of 62 players in that same time frame since 2014. Of those 62 draft choices 13 of them have played 10 or more games in the NHL currently. A team that has also been considered one of the best drafting franchises in the NHL the past handful of years has been the Colorado Avalanche. From 2014 onwards, the Avs have drafted a total of 52 players and 13 of them have played 10 or more games in the NHL. 

The above data demonstrates, the Philadelphia Flyers have drafted more prospects that have established themselves as NHL level players in the last 8 drafts than two of the most successful teams in the league in that same time period. Evidently, it’s clear that the Flyers have no issue identifying NHL level talent relative to some of the most successful teams in the NHL in the last 8 seasons. Considering this, why are the Flyers not having the same level of success at the moment as teams in the same stratosphere talent level wise such as, the Avalanche or Lightning?

The question posed above may be attributed to the team’s lack of ability to develop some of these NHL level talents to their highest potential. As a result, some of these players’ stagnation in terms of their development may be due to the Flyers not focusing on these players’ strengths but instead their weaknesses. 

In most cases building up what a player does well and ensuring they can excel in an area of their game is an important part of player development. Doing this instead of solely focusing on the negative habits and the improvements that can be made in the play of a prospect is something it seems the Flyers have not been doing much of, development wise.

Pointing out flaws in a player’s game still needs to be done to help a player improve. Though there are ways of doing this that are more conducive to player success and limiting regression and stagnation than the Flyers actively implement with their prospects and young players. Focusing on a players strengths and putting them in the position to succeed first and then bringing up an aspect of a players game that may need improvement should be the strategy being put in place. 

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Some examples from the surface level where it seems the Flyers have not done this are with their young talented players Morgan Frost and Ivan Provorov. 

Morgan Frost

In Frost’s case the Flyers have not put the player on a line with established NHL players for more than a 10 game period. Additionally, the team started the forward at center, which can be a tough position for a younger player to find their way and hold their own defensively game to game. Obviously injuries this season have played a factor in Frost’s deployment. However, giving the forward some talented NHL players to play with for a sustained period likely would have seen the player succeed at a greater length than he has so far in his young NHL career. 

With this season not going to plan in terms of the initial expectations and the trade deadline nearing, the Flyers should be giving Frost the opportunity to gain offensive confidence at the NHL level playing with talented NHL forwards. Instead, Frost is currently in the AHL. At this point, for Frost to take the next step at the NHL level he needs to be given NHL in-game opportunities with talented players to see what the player ultimately projects to be. His management from a player development standpoint seems to have set the player’s offensive ability and confidence back at the NHL level. 

This is one example of where the Flyers should be actively doing a better job getting more out of their young talent than they currently are. With several forwards likely on their way to other teams as the Trade Deadline nears closer the Flyers will once again have another opportunity to place Frost in a position in their lineup with other talented forwards.  Doing so should help bring out the best in the young forwards game in relation to his playmaking ability and vision on the ice. We’ll see how the Flyers plan to address this though. 

Ivan Provorov

Another player that seemed to be negatively impacted by the Flyers development methods and on ice deployment has been Ivan Provorov. Aside from one season where the defenseman consistently was partnered with veteran defender Matt Niskanen, Provorov has had a different defensive partner every single NHL season since his rookie season. In some of those seasons he’s also had multiple different defensive partners. 

Overall, here is the list of Provorov’s defensive partners since the 2015-2016 season: Andrew MacDonald, Mark Streit, Shayne Gostisbehere, Travis Sanheim, Robert Hagg, Phillippe Myers, Matt Niskanen, Justin Braun, Rasmus Ristolainen and Ryan Ellis. There’s only been 1 full season while being paired with Matt Niskanen since his rookie year that Provorov has played with one constant defensive partner. 

It’s obvious Provorov has skill and is a talented defenseman. Despite this, the lack of consistency regarding having a different defensive partner every single season has had a negative effect on Provorov’s play. As it can be difficult for a player to have to constantly adjust to playing with a new defensive partner from season to season and even within the same season. In addition, a vast majority of these defensive partners aside from Ryan Ellis and Matt Niskanen have not been top pairing NHL defenseman. Essentially, this has over burdened Provorov. 

The young defenders on ice responsibilities and usage have been increased due to who he’s being paired with. Provorov is also matching up against the opposing team’s top talent on a nightly basis. This has typically occurred without a defensive partner that can handle 1st pair usage and the talent level they are defending consistently. As a result, this has not been the best environment in terms of facilitating consistent growth from Provorov as a player.

Having a steady, consistent and reliable defensive partner such as a Niskanen or Ellis is something needed to help a young defensive player. When Provorov had the opportunity to play with these veterans you could see him excel at his strengths and not feel overburdened with crucial on ice defensive responsibilities. This is another example of the Flyers not placing a talented player in the optimal position for success to reach their full potential as an NHLer. 

Final Thoughts

Taking the above into consideration, it’s apparent the Flyers are not putting some of their talented young players in the most appropriate positions to achieve success and reach their full potential. Though in certain circumstances players like Joel Farabee have been put in positions to have success early on in their career. The Flyers need to be more adaptable to the needs of the player when trying to get the most out of them and their play. It’s always better to focus on the strengths of a player and what they do well instead of placing them in positions where their weaknesses are magnified. Moving forward, the Flyers development staff, coaching staff and organization need to become more flexible in their approach to getting the most out of their players. Identifying a player’s strengths and how to get that player to develop their skills in order to use them to the best of their ability should be an approach that is actively welcomed by the Philadelphia Flyers organization.