Photo Credit: Len Redkoles/Getty Images
The youth infusion are propelling the Flyers at the moment, and it finally gives hope for Flyers fans in the future. These players are building blocks for next season and beyond, so giving them a winning pedigree or giving them experience at the pro level will only aid them in the future. There is a lot to play for in these last handful of games here, and the Flyers are remaining competitive while trying to gut out victories with full effort. That’s the Flyers way under first year Head Coach John Tortorella.
Coming into the season, Morgan Frost in particular had a huge amount of expectations. He looked stronger, faster, and more composed as a player. The start of Morgan’s 2022-23 campaign was one to forget. After scoring two goals in the opener against the Devils, Frost would register only muster five points in his first 25 games.
Now, in his last five games, he has registered three points (1g,2a), and really looks like a confident player out there. Not only is Frost able to score, his composure with the puck has grown. He seems to have much more confidence in the offensive zone. His play away from the puck or at the faceoff dot has been pretty consistent all season long.
Just like Frost, Owen Tippett’s production as of late has been excellent. He’s been a point per game player in his last two games amassing three goals and two assists for five points. He has built excellent chemistry with Scott Laughton and Noah Cates, and we all look forward to seeing it grow. For his efforts, Tippett has finally cracked the 20 goal mark for the first time in his career, and he also netted his first career hat trick this past weekend. If he hit the net more often, Tippett would at least have five or six more goals, but he does have one lethal wrist shot. He needs to take the puck to the net more often, but this will come in time. He has been “Reborn” here in Philadelphia, and it’s been really great to see.
Noah Cates
We can’t talk about success without talking about Noah Cates. To many fans, Cates has been an excellent shutdown defensive forward, but he has done much better at the faceoff dot here as of late, as well, and one has to wonder if Sean Couturier is working with him in this particular area with Couturier returning to practice last week.
Noah Cates says, “I think just getting bigger, faster, and a little quicker,” when asked what he needed to improve this offseason at exit interviews. He put in the work this Summer and it’s quite evident in his play. For his efforts, Cates looks like a mini Sean Couturier on the ice, as he netted one goal and one assist this past weekend.
“He’s a coach’s dream.” – Head Coach of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms Ian Laperrière said following a Flyers first pre-season tilt
“He does everything right,” Laperrière continued. “He doesn’t cheat. He plays the right way and coachable. How can you not like a guy like that? I don’t know Torts much but I know every coach likes players like that. His brother is playing great too. Jackson, I wouldn’t but him out of the race either. He came in camp in tip-top shape and came in camp to make the team. I’m sure they trained together. They’re tight. They’re always together and it’s fun to watch. Noah is a pleasure to just see what he does, the little things that you don’t see, a super goal by beating a guy one-on-one or score a great goal. He does the little things that coaches like.”
Tyson Foerster
Foerster netted his first NHL goal this past weekend, but he did register his first NHL point beforehand which was an assist. His skating has been shown on the big stage and it appears he can play with the big boys. For the most part, he has kept up the pace well, and it has not hindered his line of Joel Farabee and Kevin Hayes with his long strides, rather it has been one of the more consistent lines as of late for the orange and black. Yes his skating can still improve, but he can make it with the big boys.
“This league’s all about confidence. I feel like mine’s pretty high right now, but I’m just going to look for next game.” – Tyson Foerster said this past weekend
Joel Farabee
If one player needed some luck it was that of Joel Farabee. He didn’t net a goal for 26 straight games, and it was eating at him. Personally, I think his inconsistencies stem from a lack of proper training in the Summer, however, he did pot two goals this past weekend giving him goals in back to back games for the first time in a long time.
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This young man owned his bad play, and what fans have to keep in mind is he did not have an offseason to properly train with building muscle and condition himself for the rigors of an 82 game season with offseason back/neck surgery, “I’m not the biggest guy out there. I didn’t want to miss any time. I wanted to get back as soon as possible. I felt I was conditioned, not building up full weight over a full offseason hasn’t helped. No excuse, my play I have to be better,” Farabee stated about a month ago.
Fortunately, the success of the youngsters seem to have given fans some hope for the future. The players highlighted in this are just the tip of the iceberg. Players like Tyson Foerster, Ronnie Attard, Emil Andrae, Egor Zamula, and Samuel Ersson are all lined up to help this team succeed. Let’s hope their success continues to grow.
