When Mark Friedman was recalled on January 8, 2020, the Flyers were hoping he would be able to solidify the bottom Defense pairing until one of Justin Braun or Shayne Gostisbehere returned from injury. What did Friedman establish in his recall? Well, he impressed enough for the Flyers to extend him for another two years in the offseason.
Friedman has been a healthy scratch for the past month or so, but he is getting a shot in the Lake Tahoe outdoor game to impress, “He’s been working really hard,” Head Coach Alain Vigneault said yesterday after practice. “He will also play Right-Wing tomorrow as we will go with 11 Forwards and Seven Defensemen. He will play Right-Wing and give us options on defense too.”
The defensive pairings for today are:
Ivan Provorov-Philippe Myers
Travis Sanheim-Shayne Gostisbehere
Robert Hägg-Gustafsson
Mark Friedman
The young 25-year-old in Friedman, a Right-Handed defenceman, finally got a shot to make an imprint with the orange and black, and boy did he deliver. Drafted by the Flyers in 2014 at 86th overall. Friedman was one of the Phantoms best defencemen last season, after a really strong training camp with the big club. For the Phantoms, he registered three goals, to go along with 18 apples in 45 games played. Moreover, Friedman may have received an earlier call-up, but seven, at times eight defensemen, blocked him from seeing time with the big club. For his efforts, the Flyers re-signed Friedman on the first day of training camp to a two-year one-way contract with an annual cap hit of $725,000, “It’s definitely a relief,” Friedman said at camp. “In four months of me thinking about it, sitting in quarantine and not knowing what was going to happen next season, it’s definitely nice to get this out of the way.”
Friedman tallied first career NHL point on Connor Bunnaman’s first NHL goal during his first recall. He also finished that recall with averaging 13:01 in ice time, 4 hits, 4 blocks, and 1 Takeaway with 0 Giveaways. Simply put, the young man didn’t make mistakes.
A 5’10, 192 pound native of Toronto in Friedman turned pro in 2017. Friedman came into this unusual training camp on the outside looking in. This season has been a rough one for Friedman with playing in two games, as he got hurt in one if them. He is not the flashiest Defenceman, but this is his time to shine. Friedman knows he can be better, and that’s why he has worked very hard. This move to Right-Wing affords him flexibility, and he can get under the skin of his opponents as he chirps them. Tony Androckitis, a writer for insideahlhockey.com said to me that he is a talker on the ice, and he can get under the skin of his opponents. Obviously, the Flyers are high on him to negotiate a contract before training camp expired.
Flyers fans Friedman’s chance is now in the Lake Tahoe game. Hopefully, Friedman can provide a much needed spark to this club if he gets another chance to impress, as he can kill penalties, as well. All in all, Friedman could be part of the future makeup of the back end for the Flyers, “I’m just going out there and playing hockey, trying 150 percent every time I’m on the ice,” Friedman said at camp, “If I play, I play. If I don’t, I don’t. Just got to sit there and learn. Take everything in and soak it up like a sponge.”
