The Flyers are looked to redeem themselves in a big way this season. A young 21-year-old in Joel Farabee is a young budding star in Philly. Philly Joel has been on a tear all season long, and now he leads the Flyers in goals with 14. Farabee has had such a strong season that he is starting to remind me of a former Flyer sniper in Simon Gagne.
At the age of 21, Gagne recorded 33 goals and registered 33 assists for a total of 66 points in 79 games played. Farabee at the age of 21, has 14 goals and 12 assists in 30 games played. In shortened 56 game season it becomes that much harder to eclipse Gagne’s scoring totals, however, Philly Joel will get close if he keeps up this pace.
Whatever the case maybe, Farabee has proven to the fans Philadelphia that he will not enter into a sophomore slump, and that he is the next budding star in Philadelphia in terms of athletes. Drafted by the Flyers in 2018 at 14th overall, Farabee has seen action with the AHL Lehigh Valley Phantoms and the big club, where he torched his opponents. For the Phantoms last season, 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 is a crucial attribute to have, and Farabee does it well.
“He’s a smart player,” Assistant Michel Therrien said of Farabee last season, “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, and his confidence is showing this season. Farabee can skate at top speed to push the play up the ice. He’s proven time and time again he 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.
Just imagine where the Flyers would be standings wise without Farabee excelling this season. He has really opened some eyes throughout the NHL, and is turning into a reliable ace for Head Coach Alain Vigneault.
