Mikhail Vorobyev found himself on the outside looking in at Flyers training camp this year. Once primed to be at the very least a bottom 6 Center in the NHL within the Flyers organization. Vorobyev had a rough start to his NHL career last year, where he really made little impact. Following a great pre-season in 2018-19, where he tallied 2 goals and 4 assists, Vorobyev, AKA “Misha” could not find that groove at the NHL level. With an organization that is rich in prospects like the orange and black, there may not be many chances to impress the Flyers top brass.
Vorobyev is trying to write a new script to his NHL career with his most recent call-up. Last year, he only averaged just 9:20 in ATOI, to go along with 1 goal and 1 assist in 15 games played for the Flyers. Vorobyev just appeared to be a tad behind at the NHL level last season. Moreover, he looked out of shape at training camp this year, and for Vorobyev, this could have been his last training camp with the orange and black with the stockpiles of youth the Flyers have within the system. However, Vorobyev found his groove in the AHL, and was terrific with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms by tallying 2 goals, and 2 assists in 5 games played. His vision of the ice was great, and his skating seemed to be where it was last pre-season. Vorobyev was also a force on the Power Play, as well, as he tallied 1 goal with the man advantage this season for the Phantoms.
It’s never easy to write off a prospect, however, with so many Flyers prospects that are nearing NHL ready, chances can become far and few between. However, there is one thing that Vorobyev has over some of the other prospects…NHL experience. The Flyers could have called up German Rubtsov, but Vorobyev stood out with Phantoms this season. Moreover, to combine that with NHL experience, this call-up was a no brainer for Flyers General Manager Chuck Fletcher. Vorobyev is highly accurate with crisp passing, tape to tape. The Flyers need help with accurate stretch passes, well, Vorobyev can assist in this area to try to bring the stagnant offense back to life.
The young 22-year-old in Vorobyev just has to keep his game simple, and the rest will fall into place. He has looked good thus far for the Phantoms, so hopefully his AHL success can correlate to NHL success this go around.
The Farabee effect
It’s about time this young stud in Farabee gets 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, and he torched his opponents. For the Phantoms, he registered 3 goals, to go along with 1 apple in 4 professional games played. Not too shabby I must say. Moreover, Farabee is producing at a high level, and he is just so darn good at killing penalties. Farabee does the little things well, like draw penalties, and plays solid defense. For Farabee, the time is now.
Photo taken by Jamey Baskow
