The cup contending Philadelphia Flyers were just on a tear before the season was halted due to the Coronavirus. They finished the year with 89 points, which was good enough for second place in the Metropolitan Division, while most hockey analysts had them missing the playoffs for a second straight season. What are some reasons for the behind the success? Better coaching, team defense, goaltending, and the youth evolving into a force to be reckoned with.
There was one player on the Flyers roster that did not have a good season, rather he had a phenomenal season, and shares a large part of their success…Ivan Provorov. This young man has made his 6-year $6.75 million (AAV) look like a steal. Provorov is a number one defenseman that is now grooming the young Yegor Zamula, while they workout and skate together at the Skate Zone in Phase 2, according to Bill Meltzer. According to Bill Meltzer, Zamula will be present at training camp in Phase 3, and be a black ace for the Flyers. Zamula will be logging 20 minutes a night with Provy before you know it.
Provorov was born on January 13, 1997, in Yaroslavl, Russia. At age 13, Provorov left his parents, brother, and sister in Yaroslavl, Russia, for Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The smooth-skating defenseman had big dreams of playing in the NHL someday, as he began playing for a Wilkes-Barre youth hockey team.
“Provy,” was rated as a top prospect in 2014-15, and he was selected 7th overall in the 2015 NHL Draft by the Flyers. He finally fulfilled his lifelong dream of possibly playing in the NHL. After being drafted by the Flyers, he continued playing with the Brandon Wheat Kings for the 2015-16 season. Provorov won the WHL championship with the Brandon Wheat Kings in 2015-16 and was named WHL defenseman of the year. He signed an entry-level contract with the Flyers on July 3, 2015.
The former Brandon Wheat Kings product, Provorov wanted to make a good impression on the Flyers brass in training camp, in hopes of staying up with the big club, and that’s exactly what transpired. His hard work paid off in a big way, as Provorov was added to the Flyers roster for the 2016-17 season. He made his NHL debut on October 14, 2016, against the Los Angeles Kings. Provorov recorded his first NHL point, an assist, in the same game. He scored his first NHL goal on November 23, 2016, against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
After playing against the Chicago Blackhawks on October 18, 2016, Provorov had arguably the worst game of his young career. Dennis Rasmussen was one-on-one against Provorov in the Flyers zone, but the young defenseman fell down, allowing Rasmussen a chance alone on goaltender Michal Neuvirth. Rasmussen put the puck through Neuvirth’s legs for a 2-0 Blackhawks lead. The Blackhawks would go on to win the game 7-4.
At a young age of 20, Provorov looked to be the man on the blueline for the orange and black. Proof in the pudding came after the game on November 2, 2017, against the St. Louis Blues. The orange and black defeated the Blues 2-0, as Provorov played nearly half the game amassing 27:11 in ice time. This marked his fourth consecutive game above 27 minutes in ice time. Even more impressive, Provorov was a human shield by blocking a whopping 10 shots. His nine blocked shots through two periods were a franchise record, a record that has stood since 1997.
This young man tallied 17 goals, 24 assists, was a plus 17, managed to block 111 shots, and averaged 24:09 in ice time per game. Simply put, Provorov was amazing all season, and was a warrior in the playoffs as he played with one arm in game 6 against the Penguins.
Fast forward to the 2018-19 season, a season that Provorov was to be the leader the Flyers needed to stabilize a young blue line, at a young age of just 21. It was a season that Provorov would likely want to forget, as he was beaten to the puck at times, wasn’t good with his stick, made many turnovers, and unfortunately looked out of sorts. Many thought (and still think) that Provorov wasn’t healthy from a shoulder injury that occurred against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the playoffs of the previous season.
Provorov just didn’t look the same in 2018-19, but he told me in training camp that he was healthy, “I was able to train like I always do in the offseason. I was 100% by June.” Whether or not, Provorov was hurt, or just had an off-year in his contract season. He knew he needed to be better this coming season, as the Flyers don’t have another defenseman on their roster that is capable of playing 25:07 minutes per night, like Provorov, did for the orange and black last season.
This season Provorov was not good, he was phenomenal. The young man at the ripe age of just 23-years-old logged an average ice time of 24:51 a night, tallied 13 goals and registered 23 assists, has a Corsi (EV) 52.4% (Which was a career high), registered 111 blocks, and has issued out 84 hits. Simply put, this young man is doing it all, as the number one defencemen of the Flyers at the age of just 23-years-old. Provorov plays top line night after night, and sometimes logs over 28 minutes a night.
“Provy” is a workhorse, as he logs a ton of minutes. He has stabilized the back-end, and this helps alleviate the pressure for a young netminder in Carter Hart. Provorov and Matt Niskanen have worked well together, as well, and fortunately the Flyers finally have found a true number one pairing. While being paired with Matt Niskanen, it felt at times Provorov never came off the ice, but they had good chemistry all season long. Provorov told me back in December that this season was different, “Winning, winning, winning is the difference.”
Make no mistake about it, Provorov has rebounded nicely this season. Every young player is entitled to have a bad game or two, and Provorov is no different. He carries the weight of the blue line on his shoulders night in and night out, and with the amount of minutes he logs mistakes are going to happen.
Flyers Notes:
Confirmed players at the Flyers Skate Zone are Ivan Provorov, Sean Couturier, Joel Farabee, and Yegor Zamula. I do believe Samuel Morin is, as well, possibly Kevin Hayes too.
How in the Helen of Troy did Zamula get into the country seeing how the border is closed?
Athletes are considered “Essential” this making them accessible to travel.