The Flyers are looking to redeem themselves in a big way this playoff season. Well, they are off to a good start as they are 2-0 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. Of course, with some highs, a team encounters some adversity with the injury to Michael Raffl. However, do not panic Flyers fans another man down, next man up has become a common theme for the Flyers before the pause, and they fought through that finishing in second place in the Metropolitan Division with 89 points.
A young 20-year-old in Joel Farabee now gets to make his imprint in the 2020 playoffs. It’s a day he’s been waiting for his entire life, however, he will be ready, ” Personally, just trying to stay ready,” Farabee said at Training Camp, “Doing whatever role I’m given that day, that’s what I try to do. Just trying to stay ready. If they need me, I’ll be ready.” Well, Farabee now is your time to shine.
Farabee gets another shot to make an imprint with the orange and black. Drafted by the Flyers in 2018 at 14th overall. Farabee has seen action with the AHL Lehigh Valley Phantoms, where he torched his opponents. For the Phantoms, he registered three goals, to go along with one apple in five games played. Not too shabby I must say. Moreover, Farabee plays a 200 foot game, and is just so darn good at killing penalties. It becomes very attractive to stay up with the big club for good, based off those reasons alone. Killing penalties will be crucial, as Raffl was an excellent Penalty Killer so Farabee could fill his void nicely, “From my perspective, you always know what you’re going to get from me in terms of work ethic and stuff like that,” Farabee said, “Personally, I’ve been pretty happy with how I’ve prepared for this camp and how well I’ve done. It’s the coaches’ decision to put the best roster out there for the game. I just got to stay ready. If my name is called and I get the opportunity, then I’ll do it to the best of my ability.”
“He’s a smart player,” Assistant Michel Therrien said of Farabee, “We all like him. There’s going to be some experience during those four games that we’re going to play. Joel’s a smart player even if he’s young. His hockey IQ is right there. He needs some experience, obviously. He’s such a young player, but as a coaching staff, we really like the way he’s thinking about the game, his positioning, way he sees the game. Definitely, he’s going to have a really good chance.”
What Farabee brings is skating. Farabee can skate at top speed to push the play up the ice. Moreover, Farabee is an excellent skater, with the agility and edge work to get by defenders in one-on-one situations, and he has a great first step. Farabee is an outstanding playmaker off the wing, who possesses great vision of the ice. He is also a good defender. He remains focused and poised at killing penalties, and has a keen good hockey sense.
Sean Couturier says, “He’s looked great. He’s another young guy who’s developed all year, went through some up and downs, but he stayed with it, learned from his struggles, and it just made him a better player. The league is getting younger and younger so you see their improvement every year. Right now, you see him and it feels like he took another step forward. It’s good for our team. He’s another player that’s a big part of the future of our team and he can already have an impact right now. We’re definitely counting on him.”
This young man can fill the void nicely until Raffl is able to return to the lineup. For Farabee, this is the moment he’s been waiting for his whole life, and now he gets his time to shine.
