Phil Myers, bulked up and healthy, pledges this Flyers training camp will be different

technical details

is_video => true
alias => "philadelphia\/\/philadelphia-flyers\/phil-myers-bulked-and-healthy-pledges-flyers-training-camp-will-be-different"
nid => "539771"
title => "Phil Myers, bulked up and healthy, pledges this Flyers training camp will be different"
is_chrome_page => false
article_body => "VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Standing at his stall at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> Skate Zone during last weekend\u2019s development camp, defenseman Phil Myers towered over everyone else, but there was one noticeable difference.<\/p>\nMyers added about 10 pounds of muscle over the summer, and it shows. On the ice, he looked out of place. He belonged with the orange and black on his sweater. No doubt.<\/p>\nIt just didn\u2019t look as if he needed to be on the same sheet with his peers anymore. Perhaps it was the benefits of a full summer of training. Injuries derailed his training last summer.<\/p>\n\u201cI had the same surgery as (Shayne) Gostisbehere,\u201d Myers said. \u201cHe had one hip, and Sam Morin, all of those guys got the same thing I did.\u201d<\/p>\nThere was a sprained knee suffered at the 2016 Memorial Cup. There was a pubic plate detachment and a torn labrum in his left hip. He underwent hip surgery on June 22, 2016. The recovery wiped out Myers\u2019 summer training. On Sept. 26, 2016, he was medically cleared to return. The next night, he dove into the fray against the New York Islanders.<\/p>\nHow did it go? Myers finished as a plus-two with three hits and a blocked shot in 22:39.<\/p>\n\u201cI felt out of shape, obviously, last year,\u201d he said. \u201cThe day after I got cleared, I jumped into a preseason game. It jumped up pretty quick. \u2026 This summer is going to be different.\u201d<\/p>\nThe Flyers insist development camp is not for evaluation. That may be true. Its purpose is to teach prospects how to work and live as a professional hockey player. No matter how much Myers looked like a pro amid his peers, it will not impact his odds come September's training camp when spots are earned in a competitive environment.   Myers, 20, is graduating to the professional ranks this season, and where he plays will be up to him. The Flyers have two openings on their blue line, and general manager Ron Hextall is leaving them up for prospects to grab. Robert Hagg and Morin are the front runners.   Don\u2019t count Myers out just yet.   The Moncton, New Brunswick, native was among the Flyers\u2019 final cuts last October. He stuck around longer than many expected and that was without any summer training.   His training this summer has been broken down into phases. The first phase was bulking up and putting on muscle. Mission accomplished. The next phase, according to Myers, is \u201cheavier stuff,\u201d which he said is strength training. His plan is to stay in the Philadelphia area for two weeks after development camp to train and come back 10 days early to skate before the big camp begins in September.   \u201cYou get stronger and faster,\u201d Myers said. \u201cI\u2019m going to focus on what I can do and what I can control. That\u2019s what I did last year. I just took as much in as possible and tried to get ready as fast as I could because I didn\u2019t really have a lot of time. This year, I have much more time so I\u2019m taking things much more slowly and more controlled.\u201d   Last season was another in which Myers trended upward, though it was one mired with injuries; he suffered whiplash in October and a concussion against Team USA at the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships. Myers, the only undrafted player on Team Canada\u2019s roster, was arguably the team\u2019s best defenseman before the concussion. His play at the world juniors led to TSN\u2019s Bob McKenzie tweeting Myers \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TSNBobMcKenzie\/status\/819558090211094528\">looks NHL ready, or close to it<\/a>.\u201d   The smooth-skating 6-foot-5 blueliner registered double-digit goals (10) and 35 points in 34 regular-season games with Rouyn-Noranda of the QMJHL in 2016-17. He ended the regular season on a five-game point streak. He added nine points in 13 playoff games. He finished his QMJHL career with 29 goals and 92 points in 203 games. Like Carter Hart, Myers joined the Phantoms once his season ended but didn\u2019t play.   \u201cThe injury struggles that he, unfortunately, went through there, those are all opportunities to learn and grow,\u201d Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol said. \u201cYou can see the growth in Phil off-ice when you look at his stature. You just want to see him come into camp and come in and compete as hard as he did last year and improve on the results from last year.\u201d   Myers may be at a disadvantage come September. Because of last year's injury-ridden season and the fact that he's coming straight from junior, he may be a few legs behind Hagg, Morin and even Travis Sanheim, who was at his fourth development camp last weekend <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\/travis-sanheim-welcomes-competition-coming-make-flyers\">(see story)<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.    While every player\u2019s developmental path is different, Myers has to beat out at least two players with professional experience already and two \u2014 Hagg and Morin \u2014 who looked the part during their NHL debuts in April. It\u2019s a safe bet that Myers begins at Lehigh Valley.   \u201cIf he comes in and he\u2019s the best guy or we feel he\u2019s the best guy,\u201d Hextall said of Myers, \u201che\u2019s going to play. The other guys, whenever you played in the American League, you have a leg up. You expect those guys to come in and be a little more NHL ready than a kid coming right out of junior, but the players are going to dictate who\u2019s on our team.\u201d<\/p>\n"
author => "Tom Dougherty"
mps => {"author":"Tom Dougherty","league":"","sport":"","sponsor":""}
published => "1500291000"
created => "1500221167"
changed => "1501550565"
status => "1"
hero_image_credit => "AP Images"
tags => [{"tid":"6201","name":"Flyers development camp","url":"tags\/flyers-development-camp"},{"tid":"18276","name":"Homepage block","url":"tags\/homepage-block"},{"tid":"20171","name":"Phil Myers","url":"tags\/phil-myers"},{"tid":"466","name":"Philadelphia Flyers","url":"tags\/philadelphia-flyers"},{"tid":"3091","name":"Tom Dougherty","url":"tags\/tom-dougherty"}]
field_bean_single_col => {"bean":{"flyers-development-camp":{"#view_mode":"default","field_content_strategy":{"#theme":"field","#weight":8,"#title":"Content Strategy","#access":true,"#label_display":"above","#view_mode":"default","#language":"und","#field_name":"field_content_strategy","#field_type":"list_text","#field_translatable":"0","#entity_type":"bean","#bundle":"media_card","#object":{"label":"Flyers Development Camp","description":null,"title":"Flyers Development Camp","type":"media_card","data":{"view_mode":"1col_eight_pack_headlines"},"delta":"flyers-development-camp","view_mode":"1col_eight_pack_headlines","bid":"2456","vid":"12311","created":"1499751228","changed":"1501226779","log":"","uid":"156","default_revision":"1","revisions":[],"field_ad_hoc_group":[],"field_branded_header":[],"field_content_strategy":{"und":[{"value":"MANUAL_CONTENT_STRATEGY"}]},"field_content_type":{"und":[{"value":"article"},{"value":"headline"},{"value":"media_gallery"},{"value":"video_on_demand"}]},"field_dl_tabloid_headline":{"und":[{"value":""},{"value":""},{"value":""},{"value":""},{"value":""},{"value":""},{"value":""},{"value":""}]},"field_event":[],"field_genre_display":[],"field_league":[],"field_link":[],"field_links":[],"field_media_card_items":{"und":[{"target_id":"538021","entity":{"vid":"564531","uid":"266","title":"On his own time, Oskar Lindblom puts himself right there with Flyers","log":"","status":"1","comment":"0","promote":"0","sticky":"0","nid":"538021","type":"article","language":"und","created":"1499654903","changed":"1499791976","tnid":"0","translate":"0","published":"1499691600","revision_timestamp":"1499791976","revision_uid":"266","body":{"und":[{"value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Oskar Lindblom would take 10 minutes out of his own time and hit the ice early before practice. In Sweden, there was no high-level skating whiz to seek out on staff.   Actually, there was no skating coach period.   \"Do your own thing and try to be better every day,\" Lindblom said. \"That's the only thing you can do.   \"You have to put yourself into it.\"   And so he did.   It's what makes the fifth-round pick's ascension that more grandiose. Lindblom is no longer a raw wonder with skating deficiencies. Those 10 minutes have added up into a refined and rising prospect, attracting <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> fans in bunches last weekend.   Everyone knows Lindblom now.   \"We picked Oskar, he went back to Europe, nobody even talks about him,\" Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said Friday at development camp. \"What does he do? He just gets better and better and better.\"   Lindblom's climb has nearly reached the Flyers. The 6-foot-2, 192-pound winger signed his entry-level contract in May and turns 21 in August. He earned 2016-17 Swedish Hockey League Forward of the Year honors playing for Bryn\u00e4s IF. Over 52 regular-season games, Lindblom accumulated 47 points on 22 goals and 25 assists, then added 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in 20 playoff games.   How in the world did all that slip to the fifth round of the 2014 draft?   \"Oskar going into his draft year, he was thought to be a first-round pick, maybe top-15 pick that year,\" Hextall said. \"He didn't have a great year, some things didn't go his way, whatever, you look back and these kids are really young.   \"Some of these kids make a lot of progress in a couple years and I think Oskar is one of those guys. His skating, you look at certain players, they don't have a great stride and their skating can certainly get better, but there's a bit of ceiling there. With Oskar, it was more of a strength issue and that's what's come on with him. It's been a couple of years, he's gotten a lot stronger and you can just tell when you see him out on the ice there.\"   Not many would have predicted this, though. Lindblom, a humbled youngster from Sweden with long blonde hair, even surprised himself last season.   \"A little bit,\" he said. \"I just wanted to be a leading guy on our team, but I didn't think I was going to score that much or have that many points. The longer the season got, I got more confident in my play. It felt good.\"   So how did Lindblom develop so vastly? For one, it's come from his own motivation. He knew he had to become stronger, and he has. He knew his skating had to improve, so he worked on it. His hands had to be better, and now they are.   A lot of the credit goes to Lindblom.   \"Take the hat off to the kid, too, because he put a lot of work in,\" Hextall said. \"When you improve that much, he put a lot of work in.\"   Secondly, Lindblom embodies the importance of development camp. He valued the instruction from NHL coaches and implemented what he learned moving forward.   A significant influence in Lindblom's development has been Flyers skating coach Slava Kouznetsov.   \"We've got some drills over here from Slava,\" Lindblom said. \"Try to do small stuff like in the gym. Just the small stuff to do to get better \u2014 that's what you need to do.   \"My legs are much stronger now and my technique has been a little better. Those two things I think have been most important.\"   If Hextall had a development camp manual, Lindblom would be in it.   \"We have Slava here \u2014 he's instructed to give things to take home,\" Hextall said. \"And if they work on those every day, even if it's only five minutes, I guarantee you over the course of the year, they'll get better. Oskar's a great example.\"   Lindblom said his plans are to head home following development camp and then return in mid-August \"just to get ready and get comfortable.\" With the Flyers in need of scoring, specifically production from the wing, Lindblom has become the organization's most anticipated prospect not named Nolan Patrick. He'll be in September's training camp with more than a fighter's chance to win a roster spot.   \"He had a real good year last year and he's certainly put himself on the map for everybody, but he still has to come in and get it done,\" Hextall said. \"He has to prove he makes us a better team.\"   Lindblom, of all people, doesn't expect anything handed to him.   \"It's going to be a big challenge for me,\" Lindblom said. \"It's going to be tough work to get to where I want to be.   \"Like everybody else, you have to earn the spot and battle for it.\"   A fifth-round pick is well aware.   \"I just think about it by myself, like fifth-rounder, I just felt like I can play and I can be on this level,\" Lindblom said. \"So I'm just trying to push myself every day and be better. Now I've signed here and just have to do my best now to get there. That's what I want \u2014 play in the NHL, of course.\"   Putting in 10 extra minutes by himself has him right there.<\/p>","summary":"Knocking on the NHL's door, Oskar Lindblom's ascension into one of the Flyers' most anticipated prospects is a large part of his own. By Jordan Hall<\/p>","format":"filtered_html","safe_value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Oskar Lindblom would take 10 minutes out of his own time and hit the ice early before practice. In Sweden, there was no high-level skating whiz to seek out on staff.   Actually, there was no skating coach period.   \"Do your own thing and try to be better every day,\" Lindblom said. \"That's the only thing you can do.   \"You have to put yourself into it.\"   And so he did.   It's what makes the fifth-round pick's ascension that more grandiose. Lindblom is no longer a raw wonder with skating deficiencies. Those 10 minutes have added up into a refined and rising prospect, attracting <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> fans in bunches last weekend.   Everyone knows Lindblom now.   \"We picked Oskar, he went back to Europe, nobody even talks about him,\" Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said Friday at development camp. \"What does he do? He just gets better and better and better.\"   Lindblom's climb has nearly reached the Flyers. The 6-foot-2, 192-pound winger signed his entry-level contract in May and turns 21 in August. He earned 2016-17 Swedish Hockey League Forward of the Year honors playing for Bryn\u00e4s IF. Over 52 regular-season games, Lindblom accumulated 47 points on 22 goals and 25 assists, then added 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in 20 playoff games.   How in the world did all that slip to the fifth round of the 2014 draft?   \"Oskar going into his draft year, he was thought to be a first-round pick, maybe top-15 pick that year,\" Hextall said. \"He didn't have a great year, some things didn't go his way, whatever, you look back and these kids are really young.   \"Some of these kids make a lot of progress in a couple years and I think Oskar is one of those guys. His skating, you look at certain players, they don't have a great stride and their skating can certainly get better, but there's a bit of ceiling there. With Oskar, it was more of a strength issue and that's what's come on with him. It's been a couple of years, he's gotten a lot stronger and you can just tell when you see him out on the ice there.\"   Not many would have predicted this, though. Lindblom, a humbled youngster from Sweden with long blonde hair, even surprised himself last season.   \"A little bit,\" he said. \"I just wanted to be a leading guy on our team, but I didn't think I was going to score that much or have that many points. The longer the season got, I got more confident in my play. It felt good.\"   So how did Lindblom develop so vastly? For one, it's come from his own motivation. He knew he had to become stronger, and he has. He knew his skating had to improve, so he worked on it. His hands had to be better, and now they are.   A lot of the credit goes to Lindblom.   \"Take the hat off to the kid, too, because he put a lot of work in,\" Hextall said. \"When you improve that much, he put a lot of work in.\"   Secondly, Lindblom embodies the importance of development camp. He valued the instruction from NHL coaches and implemented what he learned moving forward.   A significant influence in Lindblom's development has been Flyers skating coach Slava Kouznetsov.   \"We've got some drills over here from Slava,\" Lindblom said. \"Try to do small stuff like in the gym. Just the small stuff to do to get better \u2014 that's what you need to do.   \"My legs are much stronger now and my technique has been a little better. Those two things I think have been most important.\"   If Hextall had a development camp manual, Lindblom would be in it.   \"We have Slava here \u2014 he's instructed to give things to take home,\" Hextall said. \"And if they work on those every day, even if it's only five minutes, I guarantee you over the course of the year, they'll get better. Oskar's a great example.\"   Lindblom said his plans are to head home following development camp and then return in mid-August \"just to get ready and get comfortable.\" With the Flyers in need of scoring, specifically production from the wing, Lindblom has become the organization's most anticipated prospect not named Nolan Patrick. He'll be in September's training camp with more than a fighter's chance to win a roster spot.   \"He had a real good year last year and he's certainly put himself on the map for everybody, but he still has to come in and get it done,\" Hextall said. \"He has to prove he makes us a better team.\"   Lindblom, of all people, doesn't expect anything handed to him.   \"It's going to be a big challenge for me,\" Lindblom said. \"It's going to be tough work to get to where I want to be.   \"Like everybody else, you have to earn the spot and battle for it.\"   A fifth-round pick is well aware.   \"I just think about it by myself, like fifth-rounder, I just felt like I can play and I can be on this level,\" Lindblom said. \"So I'm just trying to push myself every day and be better. Now I've signed here and just have to do my best now to get there. That's what I want \u2014 play in the NHL, of course.\"   Putting in 10 extra minutes by himself has him right there.<\/p>\n","safe_summary":"Knocking on the NHL's door, Oskar Lindblom's ascension into one of the Flyers' most anticipated prospects is a large part of his own. By Jordan Hall<\/p>\n"}]},"field_author_reference":{"und":[{"tid":"1056"}]},"field_bean_single_col":{"und":[{"target_id":"2456"}]},"field_chrome_page":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_date_published":{"und":[{"value":"2017-07-10 13:00:00","timezone":"America\/New_York","timezone_db":"UTC","date_type":"datetime"}]},"field_hero_image_credit":{"und":[{"value":"Photo credit: Zack Hill\/Flyers","format":null,"safe_value":"Photo credit: Zack Hill\/Flyers"}]},"field_image":{"und":[{"fid":"472556","uid":"266","filename":"zack-hill-flyers-oskar-lindblom.jpg","uri":"public:\/\/2017\/07\/09\/zack-hill-flyers-oskar-lindblom.jpg","filemime":"image\/jpeg","filesize":"206840","status":"1","timestamp":"1499654903","origname":"zack-hill-flyers-oskar-lindblom.jpg","type":"image","field_file_image_alt_text":[],"field_file_image_title_text":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]","default":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]"},"description":{"value":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!","default":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!"},"abstract":{"value":""},"keywords":{"value":""},"robots":{"value":{"index":0,"follow":0,"noindex":0,"nofollow":0,"noarchive":0,"nosnippet":0,"noodp":0,"noydir":0,"noimageindex":0,"notranslate":0}},"news_keywords":{"value":""},"standout":{"value":""},"rating":{"value":""},"referrer":{"value":""},"rights":{"value":""},"image_src":{"value":""},"canonical":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"shortlink":{"value":"[current-page:url:unaliased]","default":"[current-page:url:unaliased]"},"original-source":{"value":""},"prev":{"value":""},"next":{"value":""},"content-language":{"value":""},"geo.position":{"value":""},"geo.placename":{"value":""},"geo.region":{"value":""},"icbm":{"value":""},"refresh":{"value":""},"revisit-after":{"value":"","period":""},"pragma":{"value":""},"cache-control":{"value":""},"expires":{"value":""},"og:type":{"value":"article","default":"article"},"og:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"og:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"og:determiner":{"value":""},"og:description":{"value":""},"og:updated_time":{"value":""},"og:see_also":{"value":""},"og:image":{"value":""},"og:image:url":{"value":""},"og:image:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:image:type":{"value":""},"og:image:width":{"value":""},"og:image:height":{"value":""},"og:latitude":{"value":""},"og:longitude":{"value":""},"og:street_address":{"value":""},"og:locality":{"value":""},"og:region":{"value":""},"og:postal_code":{"value":""},"og:country_name":{"value":""},"og:email":{"value":""},"og:phone_number":{"value":""},"og:fax_number":{"value":""},"og:locale":{"value":""},"og:locale:alternate":{"value":""},"article:author":{"value":""},"article:publisher":{"value":""},"article:section":{"value":""},"article:tag":{"value":""},"article:published_time":{"value":""},"article:modified_time":{"value":""},"article:expiration_time":{"value":""},"profile:first_name":{"value":""},"profile:last_name":{"value":""},"profile:username":{"value":""},"profile:gender":{"value":""},"og:audio":{"value":""},"og:audio:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:audio:type":{"value":""},"book:author":{"value":""},"book:isbn":{"value":""},"book:release_date":{"value":""},"book:tag":{"value":""},"og:video:url":{"value":""},"og:video:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:video:width":{"value":""},"og:video:height":{"value":""},"og:video:type":{"value":""},"video:actor":{"value":""},"video:actor:role":{"value":""},"video:director":{"value":""},"video:writer":{"value":""},"video:duration":{"value":""},"video:release_date":{"value":""},"video:tag":{"value":""},"video:series":{"value":""},"twitter:card":{"value":"summary","default":"summary"},"twitter:creator":{"value":""},"twitter:creator:id":{"value":""},"twitter:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"twitter:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"twitter:description":{"value":""},"twitter:image":{"value":""},"twitter:image:width":{"value":""},"twitter:image:height":{"value":""},"twitter:image:alt":{"value":""},"twitter:image0":{"value":""},"twitter:image1":{"value":""},"twitter:image2":{"value":""},"twitter:image3":{"value":""},"twitter:player":{"value":""},"twitter:player:width":{"value":""},"twitter:player:height":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream:content_type":{"value":""},"twitter:app:country":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:label1":{"value":""},"twitter:data1":{"value":""},"twitter:label2":{"value":""},"twitter:data2":{"value":""}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"metadata":{"height":360,"width":640},"height":"360","width":"640","alt":"","title":""}]},"field_league":{"und":[{"tid":"196"}]},"field_section":{"und":[{"tid":"201"}]},"field_short_title":{"und":[{"value":"On his own time, Oskar Lindblom puts himself right there with Flyers","format":null,"safe_value":"On his own time, Oskar Lindblom puts himself right there with Flyers"}]},"field_sponsor":[],"field_sport":{"und":[{"tid":"191"}]},"field_tags":{"und":[{"tid":"6201"},{"tid":"18276"},{"tid":"506"},{"tid":"10166"},{"tid":"466"},{"tid":"2966"}]},"field_team":{"und":[{"tid":"141"}]},"field_top_story":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_video_autoplay":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_videos":{"und":[{"target_id":"537346"}]},"field_tags_hide":{"und":[{"tid":"18276"}]},"field_video_automute":[],"field_editorial_category":[],"field_allow_lld_domains":[],"field_enable_stanza":[],"field_exclude_from_yahoo":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"Oskar Lindblom puts himself with Flyers on own time"},"news_keywords":{"value":"Oskar Lindblom, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers, Oskar Lindblom Flyers, Flyers sign Oskar Lindblom, Ron Hextall, Oskar Lindblom hockey"}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"name":"tdougherty","picture":"0","data":"b:0;"},"access":true},{"target_id":"539281","entity":{"vid":"565926","uid":"156","title":"Travis Sanheim welcomes competition, 'coming to make the Flyers'","log":"","status":"1","comment":"0","promote":"0","sticky":"0","nid":"539281","type":"article","language":"und","created":"1500056265","changed":"1500155401","tnid":"0","translate":"0","published":"1500056580","revision_timestamp":"1500155401","revision_uid":"266","body":{"und":[{"value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 At development camp, Travis Sanheim was almost too developed.<\/p>He would skate through drills so naturally and fluidly, he could have been an instructor.<\/p>Unintentionally, he was in a way.<\/p>\"It's definitely a teaching camp,\" Sanheim said last week. \"Even the development coaches have talked to me, making sure I slow stuff down and show the younger guys how to do it properly, not necessarily doing everything at full speed.\"<\/p>Sanheim understood the importance of leading by example at his fourth development camp, but there was no reason to feel sorry for appearing ahead of the curve.<\/p>That's where Sanheim is.<\/p>Which made for a slight paradox over the six-day course. Undoubtedly, the 21-year-old defenseman wanted to be among the organization's prospects, sharpening and sculpting his game just like the rest.<\/p>But there's no question Sanheim's yearning for a much different camp \u2014 September with the big boys, because he's now one of them.<\/p>\"I feel like I'm ready, I'm going to compete for a spot,\" Sanheim said. \"Until somebody tells me differently, that's my goal. I'm coming to make the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\" target=\"_blank\">Flyers<\/a>.\"<\/p>Under general manager Ron Hextall's philosophy of earn what you get, Sanheim will have his chance. But is there room? The Flyers are at a numbers crunch on the blue line. There is expected to be two spots open, presumably for Robert Hagg and Sam Morin, both of whom acquitted themselves well during their April NHL debuts.<\/p>Sanheim isn't conceding anything, though.<\/p>\"It's going to come down to camp,\" he said.<\/p>\"This year, obviously there's going to be some spots available, and we're going to be fighting for the job.\"<\/p>It's hard to deny his readiness. The 2014 first-round pick has done what has been necessary through his development path. He's added noticeable strength, going from around 172 pounds when drafted to a sturdy 200 currently.<\/p>\"I watched Travis Sanheim \u2014 you see him, his first development camp he looked like a young boy,\" Hextall said. \"And you look at him now, and he almost looks like a man. He's just more upright, you can tell his body is more linked up, he's got a stronger core, he's more upright when he skates.\"<\/p>The 6-foot-4 Sanheim weighed the same at 2016 development camp, a possible sign he's where he needs to be physically. Hextall believes weight must still be gained and Sanheim doesn't disagree, but did point out how he fared just fine last season in his first full year with AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley.<\/p>\"Obviously, I'm going to want to continue to keep gaining strength and add that to my game, but I played pro this year and it didn't faze me at all,\" he said. \"The strength, I think I was right there with everyone else, was able to compete and battle in 1-on-1s against pro players.\"<\/p>With the Phantoms, his defensive principles and two-way awareness took positive strides over time. Offense has always been Sanheim's game. In his final two junior seasons, he totaled 133 points in 119 regular-season games. That was against kids in the WHL.<\/p>In 2016-17, he saw the change against men in the AHL. He managed to collect 37 points (10 goals, 27 assists) in 76 games for a plus-7 rating and knows he can do more, but the AHL helped him focus on picking his spots.<\/p>\"I went over numerous video sessions with the coaches, watching clips of stuff that if I was to look at it now, it would just look silly,\" Sanheim said with a laugh. \"I'm standing on top of the goalie in the crease, there's just no need for that as a defenseman and especially at the pro level.<\/p>\"I wasn't able to do the same things that I was able to do in junior. I had to learn some valuable lessons in the first few months, but I think towards the end of the season, you could see that I had gained my confidence again and was starting to play the game that I wanted to play.<\/p>\"I know to play at this next level, I'm going to have to be just as good in my D-zone as I am in the offensive zone, so for me, if I'm not contributing offensively, I just want to make sure I'm bringing the full two-way game.\"<\/p>Hextall noticed Sanheim's adjustment period.<\/p>\"He did a really good job last year from start to finish \u2014 got a lot better,\" he said. \"The adjustment on the first month, month and a half, where he was going too much up ice, a little bit irresponsible and all of a sudden, a month, month and a half in, figured that part out. That was a huge step for him. He got better, he got better throughout the year and he needs to continue on that.\"<\/p>As pleased as Hextall has been with the development, it sounds like Sanheim's jump to the NHL will ultimately come down to the aforementioned size and opportunity.<\/p>\"You go from an American League level to trying to make the NHL team, there's a speed, a strength thing that wounds up another two notches,\" Hextall said. \"He just has to continue to do what he's doing and get better every day.<\/p>\"Your reaction time to closing on a guy, whether to close or not close, everything gets ramped up. It's the whole mind, the hockey sense, the strength, the being in the proper position, because if you're caught out of position at the NHL level and it's an elite player, you're in big trouble. In the American League, you can get away with it.<\/p>\"There's still some fine-tuning that he needs to do and all those young defensemen need to do, and we'll see where we're at in September.\"<\/p>Sanheim knows where he wants to be. And he's not just saying it \u2014 he believes it.<\/p>\"I'm going to obviously do what they tell me,\" he said, \"but I'm coming to camp to make the team.\"<\/p>","summary":"If there isn't a spot open on the Flyers' defense for Travis Sanheim in 2017-18, he's ready to make himself one. By Jordan Hall<\/p>","format":"filtered_html","safe_value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 At development camp, Travis Sanheim was almost too developed.<\/p>\nHe would skate through drills so naturally and fluidly, he could have been an instructor.<\/p>\nUnintentionally, he was in a way.<\/p>\n\"It's definitely a teaching camp,\" Sanheim said last week. \"Even the development coaches have talked to me, making sure I slow stuff down and show the younger guys how to do it properly, not necessarily doing everything at full speed.\"<\/p>\nSanheim understood the importance of leading by example at his fourth development camp, but there was no reason to feel sorry for appearing ahead of the curve.<\/p>\nThat's where Sanheim is.<\/p>\nWhich made for a slight paradox over the six-day course. Undoubtedly, the 21-year-old defenseman wanted to be among the organization's prospects, sharpening and sculpting his game just like the rest.<\/p>\nBut there's no question Sanheim's yearning for a much different camp \u2014 September with the big boys, because he's now one of them.<\/p>\n\"I feel like I'm ready, I'm going to compete for a spot,\" Sanheim said. \"Until somebody tells me differently, that's my goal. I'm coming to make the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\" target=\"_blank\">Flyers<\/a>.\"<\/p>\nUnder general manager Ron Hextall's philosophy of earn what you get, Sanheim will have his chance. But is there room? The Flyers are at a numbers crunch on the blue line. There is expected to be two spots open, presumably for Robert Hagg and Sam Morin, both of whom acquitted themselves well during their April NHL debuts.<\/p>\nSanheim isn't conceding anything, though.<\/p>\n\"It's going to come down to camp,\" he said.<\/p>\n\"This year, obviously there's going to be some spots available, and we're going to be fighting for the job.\"<\/p>\nIt's hard to deny his readiness. The 2014 first-round pick has done what has been necessary through his development path. He's added noticeable strength, going from around 172 pounds when drafted to a sturdy 200 currently.<\/p>\n\"I watched Travis Sanheim \u2014 you see him, his first development camp he looked like a young boy,\" Hextall said. \"And you look at him now, and he almost looks like a man. He's just more upright, you can tell his body is more linked up, he's got a stronger core, he's more upright when he skates.\"<\/p>\nThe 6-foot-4 Sanheim weighed the same at 2016 development camp, a possible sign he's where he needs to be physically. Hextall believes weight must still be gained and Sanheim doesn't disagree, but did point out how he fared just fine last season in his first full year with AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley.<\/p>\n\"Obviously, I'm going to want to continue to keep gaining strength and add that to my game, but I played pro this year and it didn't faze me at all,\" he said. \"The strength, I think I was right there with everyone else, was able to compete and battle in 1-on-1s against pro players.\"<\/p>\nWith the Phantoms, his defensive principles and two-way awareness took positive strides over time. Offense has always been Sanheim's game. In his final two junior seasons, he totaled 133 points in 119 regular-season games. That was against kids in the WHL.<\/p>\nIn 2016-17, he saw the change against men in the AHL. He managed to collect 37 points (10 goals, 27 assists) in 76 games for a plus-7 rating and knows he can do more, but the AHL helped him focus on picking his spots.<\/p>\n\"I went over numerous video sessions with the coaches, watching clips of stuff that if I was to look at it now, it would just look silly,\" Sanheim said with a laugh. \"I'm standing on top of the goalie in the crease, there's just no need for that as a defenseman and especially at the pro level.<\/p>\n\"I wasn't able to do the same things that I was able to do in junior. I had to learn some valuable lessons in the first few months, but I think towards the end of the season, you could see that I had gained my confidence again and was starting to play the game that I wanted to play.<\/p>\n\"I know to play at this next level, I'm going to have to be just as good in my D-zone as I am in the offensive zone, so for me, if I'm not contributing offensively, I just want to make sure I'm bringing the full two-way game.\"<\/p>\nHextall noticed Sanheim's adjustment period.<\/p>\n\"He did a really good job last year from start to finish \u2014 got a lot better,\" he said. \"The adjustment on the first month, month and a half, where he was going too much up ice, a little bit irresponsible and all of a sudden, a month, month and a half in, figured that part out. That was a huge step for him. He got better, he got better throughout the year and he needs to continue on that.\"<\/p>\nAs pleased as Hextall has been with the development, it sounds like Sanheim's jump to the NHL will ultimately come down to the aforementioned size and opportunity.<\/p>\n\"You go from an American League level to trying to make the NHL team, there's a speed, a strength thing that wounds up another two notches,\" Hextall said. \"He just has to continue to do what he's doing and get better every day.<\/p>\n\"Your reaction time to closing on a guy, whether to close or not close, everything gets ramped up. It's the whole mind, the hockey sense, the strength, the being in the proper position, because if you're caught out of position at the NHL level and it's an elite player, you're in big trouble. In the American League, you can get away with it.<\/p>\n\"There's still some fine-tuning that he needs to do and all those young defensemen need to do, and we'll see where we're at in September.\"<\/p>\nSanheim knows where he wants to be. And he's not just saying it \u2014 he believes it.<\/p>\n\"I'm going to obviously do what they tell me,\" he said, \"but I'm coming to camp to make the team.\"<\/p>\n","safe_summary":"If there isn't a spot open on the Flyers' defense for Travis Sanheim in 2017-18, he's ready to make himself one. By Jordan Hall<\/p>\n"}]},"field_author_reference":{"und":[{"tid":"1056"}]},"field_bean_single_col":{"und":[{"target_id":"2456"}]},"field_chrome_page":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_date_published":{"und":[{"value":"2017-07-14 18:23:00","timezone":"America\/New_York","timezone_db":"UTC","date_type":"datetime"}]},"field_hero_image_credit":{"und":[{"value":"Photo credit: Zack Hill\/Flyers","format":null,"safe_value":"Photo credit: Zack Hill\/Flyers"}]},"field_image":{"und":[{"fid":"474286","uid":"156","filename":"zack-hill-travis-sanheim.jpg","uri":"public:\/\/2017\/07\/14\/zack-hill-travis-sanheim.jpg","filemime":"image\/jpeg","filesize":"290788","status":"1","timestamp":"1500056265","origname":"zack-hill-travis-sanheim.jpg","type":"image","field_file_image_alt_text":[],"field_file_image_title_text":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]","default":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]"},"description":{"value":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!","default":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!"},"abstract":{"value":""},"keywords":{"value":""},"robots":{"value":{"index":0,"follow":0,"noindex":0,"nofollow":0,"noarchive":0,"nosnippet":0,"noodp":0,"noydir":0,"noimageindex":0,"notranslate":0}},"news_keywords":{"value":""},"standout":{"value":""},"rating":{"value":""},"referrer":{"value":""},"rights":{"value":""},"image_src":{"value":""},"canonical":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"shortlink":{"value":"[current-page:url:unaliased]","default":"[current-page:url:unaliased]"},"original-source":{"value":""},"prev":{"value":""},"next":{"value":""},"content-language":{"value":""},"geo.position":{"value":""},"geo.placename":{"value":""},"geo.region":{"value":""},"icbm":{"value":""},"refresh":{"value":""},"revisit-after":{"value":"","period":""},"pragma":{"value":""},"cache-control":{"value":""},"expires":{"value":""},"og:type":{"value":"article","default":"article"},"og:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"og:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"og:determiner":{"value":""},"og:description":{"value":""},"og:updated_time":{"value":""},"og:see_also":{"value":""},"og:image":{"value":""},"og:image:url":{"value":""},"og:image:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:image:type":{"value":""},"og:image:width":{"value":""},"og:image:height":{"value":""},"og:latitude":{"value":""},"og:longitude":{"value":""},"og:street_address":{"value":""},"og:locality":{"value":""},"og:region":{"value":""},"og:postal_code":{"value":""},"og:country_name":{"value":""},"og:email":{"value":""},"og:phone_number":{"value":""},"og:fax_number":{"value":""},"og:locale":{"value":""},"og:locale:alternate":{"value":""},"article:author":{"value":""},"article:publisher":{"value":""},"article:section":{"value":""},"article:tag":{"value":""},"article:published_time":{"value":""},"article:modified_time":{"value":""},"article:expiration_time":{"value":""},"profile:first_name":{"value":""},"profile:last_name":{"value":""},"profile:username":{"value":""},"profile:gender":{"value":""},"og:audio":{"value":""},"og:audio:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:audio:type":{"value":""},"book:author":{"value":""},"book:isbn":{"value":""},"book:release_date":{"value":""},"book:tag":{"value":""},"og:video:url":{"value":""},"og:video:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:video:width":{"value":""},"og:video:height":{"value":""},"og:video:type":{"value":""},"video:actor":{"value":""},"video:actor:role":{"value":""},"video:director":{"value":""},"video:writer":{"value":""},"video:duration":{"value":""},"video:release_date":{"value":""},"video:tag":{"value":""},"video:series":{"value":""},"twitter:card":{"value":"summary","default":"summary"},"twitter:creator":{"value":""},"twitter:creator:id":{"value":""},"twitter:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"twitter:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"twitter:description":{"value":""},"twitter:image":{"value":""},"twitter:image:width":{"value":""},"twitter:image:height":{"value":""},"twitter:image:alt":{"value":""},"twitter:image0":{"value":""},"twitter:image1":{"value":""},"twitter:image2":{"value":""},"twitter:image3":{"value":""},"twitter:player":{"value":""},"twitter:player:width":{"value":""},"twitter:player:height":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream:content_type":{"value":""},"twitter:app:country":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:label1":{"value":""},"twitter:data1":{"value":""},"twitter:label2":{"value":""},"twitter:data2":{"value":""}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"metadata":{"height":353,"width":640},"height":"353","width":"640","alt":"","title":""}]},"field_league":{"und":[{"tid":"196"}]},"field_section":{"und":[{"tid":"201"}]},"field_short_title":{"und":[{"value":"Travis Sanheim welcomes competition, 'coming to make the Flyers'","format":null,"safe_value":"Travis Sanheim welcomes competition, 'coming to make the Flyers'"}]},"field_sponsor":[],"field_sport":{"und":[{"tid":"191"}]},"field_tags":{"und":[{"tid":"6201"},{"tid":"18276"},{"tid":"506"},{"tid":"466"},{"tid":"2966"},{"tid":"6606"}]},"field_team":{"und":[{"tid":"141"}]},"field_top_story":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_video_autoplay":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_videos":{"und":[{"target_id":"537651"}]},"field_tags_hide":{"und":[{"tid":"18276"}]},"field_video_automute":[],"field_editorial_category":[],"field_allow_lld_domains":[],"field_enable_stanza":[],"field_exclude_from_yahoo":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"Travis Sanheim 'coming to make the Flyers'"},"news_keywords":{"value":"Travis Sanheim, Philadelphia Flyers, Jordan Hall, Flyers development camp, Flyers prospects"}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"name":"JHall","picture":"0","data":"b:0;"},"access":true},{"target_id":"539771","entity":{"vid":"566531","uid":"266","title":"Phil Myers, bulked up and healthy, pledges this Flyers training camp will be different","log":"","status":"1","comment":"0","promote":"0","sticky":"0","nid":"539771","type":"article","language":"und","created":"1500221167","changed":"1501550565","tnid":"0","translate":"0","published":"1500291000","revision_timestamp":"1501550565","revision_uid":"156","body":{"und":[{"value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Standing at his stall at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> Skate Zone during last weekend\u2019s development camp, defenseman Phil Myers towered over everyone else, but there was one noticeable difference.<\/p>Myers added about 10 pounds of muscle over the summer, and it shows. On the ice, he looked out of place. He belonged with the orange and black on his sweater. No doubt.<\/p>It just didn\u2019t look as if he needed to be on the same sheet with his peers anymore. Perhaps it was the benefits of a full summer of training. Injuries derailed his training last summer.<\/p>\u201cI had the same surgery as (Shayne) Gostisbehere,\u201d Myers said. \u201cHe had one hip, and Sam Morin, all of those guys got the same thing I did.\u201d<\/p>There was a sprained knee suffered at the 2016 Memorial Cup. There was a pubic plate detachment and a torn labrum in his left hip. He underwent hip surgery on June 22, 2016. The recovery wiped out Myers\u2019 summer training. On Sept. 26, 2016, he was medically cleared to return. The next night, he dove into the fray against the New York Islanders.<\/p>How did it go? Myers finished as a plus-two with three hits and a blocked shot in 22:39.<\/p>\u201cI felt out of shape, obviously, last year,\u201d he said. \u201cThe day after I got cleared, I jumped into a preseason game. It jumped up pretty quick. \u2026 This summer is going to be different.\u201d<\/p>The Flyers insist development camp is not for evaluation. That may be true. Its purpose is to teach prospects how to work and live as a professional hockey player. No matter how much Myers looked like a pro amid his peers, it will not impact his odds come September's training camp when spots are earned in a competitive environment.   Myers, 20, is graduating to the professional ranks this season, and where he plays will be up to him. The Flyers have two openings on their blue line, and general manager Ron Hextall is leaving them up for prospects to grab. Robert Hagg and Morin are the front runners.   Don\u2019t count Myers out just yet.   The Moncton, New Brunswick, native was among the Flyers\u2019 final cuts last October. He stuck around longer than many expected and that was without any summer training.   His training this summer has been broken down into phases. The first phase was bulking up and putting on muscle. Mission accomplished. The next phase, according to Myers, is \u201cheavier stuff,\u201d which he said is strength training. His plan is to stay in the Philadelphia area for two weeks after development camp to train and come back 10 days early to skate before the big camp begins in September.   \u201cYou get stronger and faster,\u201d Myers said. \u201cI\u2019m going to focus on what I can do and what I can control. That\u2019s what I did last year. I just took as much in as possible and tried to get ready as fast as I could because I didn\u2019t really have a lot of time. This year, I have much more time so I\u2019m taking things much more slowly and more controlled.\u201d   Last season was another in which Myers trended upward, though it was one mired with injuries; he suffered whiplash in October and a concussion against Team USA at the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships. Myers, the only undrafted player on Team Canada\u2019s roster, was arguably the team\u2019s best defenseman before the concussion. His play at the world juniors led to TSN\u2019s Bob McKenzie tweeting Myers \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TSNBobMcKenzie\/status\/819558090211094528\">looks NHL ready, or close to it<\/a>.\u201d   The smooth-skating 6-foot-5 blueliner registered double-digit goals (10) and 35 points in 34 regular-season games with Rouyn-Noranda of the QMJHL in 2016-17. He ended the regular season on a five-game point streak. He added nine points in 13 playoff games. He finished his QMJHL career with 29 goals and 92 points in 203 games. Like Carter Hart, Myers joined the Phantoms once his season ended but didn\u2019t play.   \u201cThe injury struggles that he, unfortunately, went through there, those are all opportunities to learn and grow,\u201d Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol said. \u201cYou can see the growth in Phil off-ice when you look at his stature. You just want to see him come into camp and come in and compete as hard as he did last year and improve on the results from last year.\u201d   Myers may be at a disadvantage come September. Because of last year's injury-ridden season and the fact that he's coming straight from junior, he may be a few legs behind Hagg, Morin and even Travis Sanheim, who was at his fourth development camp last weekend <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\/travis-sanheim-welcomes-competition-coming-make-flyers\">(see story)<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.    While every player\u2019s developmental path is different, Myers has to beat out at least two players with professional experience already and two \u2014 Hagg and Morin \u2014 who looked the part during their NHL debuts in April. It\u2019s a safe bet that Myers begins at Lehigh Valley.   \u201cIf he comes in and he\u2019s the best guy or we feel he\u2019s the best guy,\u201d Hextall said of Myers, \u201che\u2019s going to play. The other guys, whenever you played in the American League, you have a leg up. You expect those guys to come in and be a little more NHL ready than a kid coming right out of junior, but the players are going to dictate who\u2019s on our team.\u201d<\/p>","summary":"With a full summer of training behind him, Phil Myers said this September's training camp will be different than last year's. By Tom Dougherty<\/p>","format":"filtered_html","safe_value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Standing at his stall at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> Skate Zone during last weekend\u2019s development camp, defenseman Phil Myers towered over everyone else, but there was one noticeable difference.<\/p>\nMyers added about 10 pounds of muscle over the summer, and it shows. On the ice, he looked out of place. He belonged with the orange and black on his sweater. No doubt.<\/p>\nIt just didn\u2019t look as if he needed to be on the same sheet with his peers anymore. Perhaps it was the benefits of a full summer of training. Injuries derailed his training last summer.<\/p>\n\u201cI had the same surgery as (Shayne) Gostisbehere,\u201d Myers said. \u201cHe had one hip, and Sam Morin, all of those guys got the same thing I did.\u201d<\/p>\nThere was a sprained knee suffered at the 2016 Memorial Cup. There was a pubic plate detachment and a torn labrum in his left hip. He underwent hip surgery on June 22, 2016. The recovery wiped out Myers\u2019 summer training. On Sept. 26, 2016, he was medically cleared to return. The next night, he dove into the fray against the New York Islanders.<\/p>\nHow did it go? Myers finished as a plus-two with three hits and a blocked shot in 22:39.<\/p>\n\u201cI felt out of shape, obviously, last year,\u201d he said. \u201cThe day after I got cleared, I jumped into a preseason game. It jumped up pretty quick. \u2026 This summer is going to be different.\u201d<\/p>\nThe Flyers insist development camp is not for evaluation. That may be true. Its purpose is to teach prospects how to work and live as a professional hockey player. No matter how much Myers looked like a pro amid his peers, it will not impact his odds come September's training camp when spots are earned in a competitive environment.   Myers, 20, is graduating to the professional ranks this season, and where he plays will be up to him. The Flyers have two openings on their blue line, and general manager Ron Hextall is leaving them up for prospects to grab. Robert Hagg and Morin are the front runners.   Don\u2019t count Myers out just yet.   The Moncton, New Brunswick, native was among the Flyers\u2019 final cuts last October. He stuck around longer than many expected and that was without any summer training.   His training this summer has been broken down into phases. The first phase was bulking up and putting on muscle. Mission accomplished. The next phase, according to Myers, is \u201cheavier stuff,\u201d which he said is strength training. His plan is to stay in the Philadelphia area for two weeks after development camp to train and come back 10 days early to skate before the big camp begins in September.   \u201cYou get stronger and faster,\u201d Myers said. \u201cI\u2019m going to focus on what I can do and what I can control. That\u2019s what I did last year. I just took as much in as possible and tried to get ready as fast as I could because I didn\u2019t really have a lot of time. This year, I have much more time so I\u2019m taking things much more slowly and more controlled.\u201d   Last season was another in which Myers trended upward, though it was one mired with injuries; he suffered whiplash in October and a concussion against Team USA at the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships. Myers, the only undrafted player on Team Canada\u2019s roster, was arguably the team\u2019s best defenseman before the concussion. His play at the world juniors led to TSN\u2019s Bob McKenzie tweeting Myers \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TSNBobMcKenzie\/status\/819558090211094528\">looks NHL ready, or close to it<\/a>.\u201d   The smooth-skating 6-foot-5 blueliner registered double-digit goals (10) and 35 points in 34 regular-season games with Rouyn-Noranda of the QMJHL in 2016-17. He ended the regular season on a five-game point streak. He added nine points in 13 playoff games. He finished his QMJHL career with 29 goals and 92 points in 203 games. Like Carter Hart, Myers joined the Phantoms once his season ended but didn\u2019t play.   \u201cThe injury struggles that he, unfortunately, went through there, those are all opportunities to learn and grow,\u201d Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol said. \u201cYou can see the growth in Phil off-ice when you look at his stature. You just want to see him come into camp and come in and compete as hard as he did last year and improve on the results from last year.\u201d   Myers may be at a disadvantage come September. Because of last year's injury-ridden season and the fact that he's coming straight from junior, he may be a few legs behind Hagg, Morin and even Travis Sanheim, who was at his fourth development camp last weekend <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\/travis-sanheim-welcomes-competition-coming-make-flyers\">(see story)<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.    While every player\u2019s developmental path is different, Myers has to beat out at least two players with professional experience already and two \u2014 Hagg and Morin \u2014 who looked the part during their NHL debuts in April. It\u2019s a safe bet that Myers begins at Lehigh Valley.   \u201cIf he comes in and he\u2019s the best guy or we feel he\u2019s the best guy,\u201d Hextall said of Myers, \u201che\u2019s going to play. The other guys, whenever you played in the American League, you have a leg up. You expect those guys to come in and be a little more NHL ready than a kid coming right out of junior, but the players are going to dictate who\u2019s on our team.\u201d<\/p>\n","safe_summary":"With a full summer of training behind him, Phil Myers said this September's training camp will be different than last year's. By Tom Dougherty<\/p>\n"}]},"field_author_reference":{"und":[{"tid":"1321"}]},"field_bean_single_col":{"und":[{"target_id":"2456"}]},"field_chrome_page":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_date_published":{"und":[{"value":"2017-07-17 11:30:00","timezone":"America\/New_York","timezone_db":"UTC","date_type":"datetime"}]},"field_hero_image_credit":{"und":[{"value":"AP Images","format":null,"safe_value":"AP Images"}]},"field_image":{"und":[{"fid":"476841","uid":"266","filename":"ap-phil-myers-flyers-devils.jpg","uri":"public:\/\/2017\/07\/16\/ap-phil-myers-flyers-devils.jpg","filemime":"image\/jpeg","filesize":"209957","status":"1","timestamp":"1500221083","origname":"ap-phil-myers-flyers-devils.jpg","type":"image","field_file_image_alt_text":{"und":[{"value":"Phil Myers, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers, Phil Myers Flyers","format":null,"safe_value":"Phil Myers, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers, Phil Myers Flyers"}]},"field_file_image_title_text":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","alt":"Phil Myers, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers, Phil Myers Flyers","metadata":{"height":360,"width":640},"height":"360","width":"640","title":""}]},"field_league":{"und":[{"tid":"196"}]},"field_section":{"und":[{"tid":"201"}]},"field_short_title":{"und":[{"value":"Phil Myers, bulked up, pledges this Flyers training camp will be different","format":null,"safe_value":"Phil Myers, bulked up, pledges this Flyers training camp will be different"}]},"field_sponsor":[],"field_sport":{"und":[{"tid":"191"}]},"field_tags":{"und":[{"tid":"6201"},{"tid":"18276"},{"tid":"20171"},{"tid":"466"},{"tid":"3091"}]},"field_team":{"und":[{"tid":"141"}]},"field_top_story":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_video_autoplay":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_videos":{"und":[{"target_id":"539891"}]},"field_tags_hide":[],"field_video_automute":[],"field_editorial_category":[],"field_allow_lld_domains":[],"field_enable_stanza":[],"field_exclude_from_yahoo":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"Phil Myers pledges Flyers' training camp will be different"},"news_keywords":{"value":"Phil Myers, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers, Philippe Myers, Phil Myers Flyers, Philippe Myers Flyers, Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Ron Hextall, Flyers sign Philippe Myers, Phil Myers injuries, Philippe Myers injuries"}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"name":"tdougherty","picture":"0","data":"b:0;"},"access":true},{"target_id":"539011","entity":{"vid":"565616","uid":"266","title":"Finally with his age group, German Rubtsov now eyeing bigger things","log":"","status":"1","comment":"0","promote":"0","sticky":"0","nid":"539011","type":"article","language":"und","created":"1499959003","changed":"1501550692","tnid":"0","translate":"0","published":"1499962500","revision_timestamp":"1501550692","revision_uid":"156","body":{"und":[{"value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Ask any prospect at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> development camp what their goals come September\u2019s NHL training camp are and it\u2019s hard to find an offbeat answer.<\/p>\u201cIt\u2019s a trick question, right?\u201d German Rubtsov said last Friday through an interpreter, Flyers skating coach Slava Kouznetsov. \u201cEverybody wants to play in the NHL.\u201d<\/p>When training camp breaks in October, the Flyers have three options for Rubtsov:<\/p>The 2016 first-round pick can play in the NHL.<\/p>He can return to the Chicoutimi Saguen\u00e9ens of the QMJHL.<\/p>Or he can play in the AHL since the Flyers drafted him out of Russia.<\/p>\u201cPlaying in Chicoutimi, I felt comfortable,\u201d he said. \u201cEvery game was a point or point plus, thanks to my partners as well. Before that, I played KHL. I think I\u2019m ready to try the league.\u201d<\/p>Which league?<\/p>\u201cThe<\/em> league,\u201d Rubtsov said. \u201cBig.\u201d<\/p>The 19-year-old Rubtsov likely won't be donning the orange and black in the fall. That should not come to a surprise to anyone.<\/p>With the drafting Nolan Patrick last month and the arrival of Oskar Lindblom from Sweden, the forward competition is already as competitive as it\u2019s been in a while.<\/p>Even with the 51 combined games Rubtsov played in 2016-17 between the KHL, MHL, QMJHL and 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships, more minor league seasoning will be needed.<\/p>Whether that will be in Chicoutimi or Lehigh Valley remains unanswered for now.<\/p>\u201cI don\u2019t know the answer to that,\u201d Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said. \u201cTo me, it\u2019s not fair to make a decision predetermined right now, \u2018OK, he\u2019s going here, he\u2019s going there.\u2019<\/p>\u201cWe\u2019ll leave that door open in terms of NHL. I\u2019d probably say it\u2019s a long shot. But American League or junior, we\u2019ll see as we go along here where the best place for him to develop is.\u201d<\/p>Rubtsov attended his first development camp last weekend. He was unable to attend last summer\u2019s camp because of his contract obligations with the KHL\u2019s HC Vityaz.<\/p>There was some controversy surrounding Rubtsov and the Russian under-18 team prospects going into the 2016 NHL draft. Team Russia was banned from the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championships because of a meldonium doping scandal.<\/p>After being drafted, Rubtsov insisted that he and his teammates unknowingly took a banned substance. Hextall further investigated the situation and still felt comfortable selecting the center, who also<\/span> had two years left on his contract with Vityaz.<\/p>The original plan was for Rubtsov to stay in the KHL until his contract expired before coming to North America, but he struggled in the KHL and was too advanced for the MHL.<\/p>Eventually, Rubtsov\u2019s agent, Mark Gandler, negotiated a release from his contract with Vityaz on Jan. 9, and Rubtsov joined the Saguen\u00e9ens, who owned his CHL rights.<\/p>Rubtsov didn\u2019t debut with Chicoutimi until Jan. 19 because of a broken nose.<\/p>\u201cThe moving to the United States was the first thing,\u201d Rubtsov said. \u201cIn Chicoutimi, the first couple of games were not comfortable. Then everything came to normal.<\/p>\u201cI feel comfortable. Being in the United States before and playing in Canada helped, so I\u2019m feeling pretty comfortable [now] and everything is pretty much good.\u201d<\/p>The difference between the Rubtsov in the KHL and the Rubtsov in the QMJHL was noticable. He struggled to get minutes in the KHL, averaging 6:33 in 15 games and failed to register a point. He had just five shots and won 31.8 percent of his faceoffs.<\/p>He was a point-per-game player in the MHL, a Russian junior league, recording 15 points in 15 games with the Russkie Vityazi Chekhov. That was the player he resembled more in the Q.   Rubtsov made an immediate impact with the Saguen\u00e9ens. He picked up two assists and fired six shots on goal in his first game, and he picked up nine points in his first six games.   \u201cWhen you see a kid playing with his peers, it\u2019s a lot different than playing in the KHL,\u201d Hextall said. \u201cYou saw it a little bit with Ruby. Ruby goes from KHL and all of a sudden, he goes to Chicoutimi with his own age group and you\u2019re like, \u2018Woah.\u2019   \u201cWe certainly weren\u2019t surprised by that.\u201d   The Chekhov, Russia, native missed Chicoutimi\u2019s final six games of the regular season and then its postseason because of a fractured hand. He finished his brief QMJHL stint with racking up 22 points in 16 games \u2014 nine goals, five power-play markers, 13 assists with six multi-point games and was held scoreless just three times.   Last season, Rubtsov dealt with a broken nose and a fractured hand at the end of the campaign. He said he dealt with injuries in the KHL as well and played through them.   \u201cI played until I wasn\u2019t able to hold the stick,\u201d Rubtsov said. \u201cWhen the hand completely gave up that\u2019s when I came [to Philadelphia for surgery].\u201d   \u201cThat's kind of what you want,\" Hextall said. \"You want guys who will push themselves and do what they can to try to be the best they can and try to help the team win. It certainly comes into the mix in terms of the character of a player and person.\u201d   When the Flyers drafted Rubtsov last summer, their forward prospect group was not as deep as it is now. Hextall added seven forwards in 2016, including five of his first six picks. Last month, he added seven more, including three in the top 35.   So the question with Rubtsov, does he still project as a center with the Flyers? He played both center and wing last season in Chicoutimi. The versatility at his age is attractive.   \u201cThere are certain guys in the middle you want to move out of the middle because when they get to the NHL level, maybe their sense isn\u2019t quite high enough or their size or there\u2019s a blemish,\u201d Hextall said. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t have that blemish. He\u2019s a smart player, he skates well.   \u201cHe\u2019s going to be big and strong enough in a couple years. He\u2019s going to be one of those guys truly who\u2019s going to be really good in the middle and we may want to keep him there.\u201d<\/p>","summary":"German Rubtsov is eyeing bigger things entering his first full season in North America, but where will he be in 2017-18? By Tom Dougherty<\/p>","format":"filtered_html","safe_value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Ask any prospect at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> development camp what their goals come September\u2019s NHL training camp are and it\u2019s hard to find an offbeat answer.<\/p>\n\u201cIt\u2019s a trick question, right?\u201d German Rubtsov said last Friday through an interpreter, Flyers skating coach Slava Kouznetsov. \u201cEverybody wants to play in the NHL.\u201d<\/p>\nWhen training camp breaks in October, the Flyers have three options for Rubtsov:<\/p>\nThe 2016 first-round pick can play in the NHL.<\/p>\nHe can return to the Chicoutimi Saguen\u00e9ens of the QMJHL.<\/p>\nOr he can play in the AHL since the Flyers drafted him out of Russia.<\/p>\n\u201cPlaying in Chicoutimi, I felt comfortable,\u201d he said. \u201cEvery game was a point or point plus, thanks to my partners as well. Before that, I played KHL. I think I\u2019m ready to try the league.\u201d<\/p>\nWhich league?<\/p>\n\u201cThe<\/em> league,\u201d Rubtsov said. \u201cBig.\u201d<\/p>\nThe 19-year-old Rubtsov likely won't be donning the orange and black in the fall. That should not come to a surprise to anyone.<\/p>\nWith the drafting Nolan Patrick last month and the arrival of Oskar Lindblom from Sweden, the forward competition is already as competitive as it\u2019s been in a while.<\/p>\nEven with the 51 combined games Rubtsov played in 2016-17 between the KHL, MHL, QMJHL and 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships, more minor league seasoning will be needed.<\/p>\nWhether that will be in Chicoutimi or Lehigh Valley remains unanswered for now.<\/p>\n\u201cI don\u2019t know the answer to that,\u201d Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said. \u201cTo me, it\u2019s not fair to make a decision predetermined right now, \u2018OK, he\u2019s going here, he\u2019s going there.\u2019<\/p>\n\u201cWe\u2019ll leave that door open in terms of NHL. I\u2019d probably say it\u2019s a long shot. But American League or junior, we\u2019ll see as we go along here where the best place for him to develop is.\u201d<\/p>\nRubtsov attended his first development camp last weekend. He was unable to attend last summer\u2019s camp because of his contract obligations with the KHL\u2019s HC Vityaz.<\/p>\nThere was some controversy surrounding Rubtsov and the Russian under-18 team prospects going into the 2016 NHL draft. Team Russia was banned from the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championships because of a meldonium doping scandal.<\/p>\nAfter being drafted, Rubtsov insisted that he and his teammates unknowingly took a banned substance. Hextall further investigated the situation and still felt comfortable selecting the center, who also had two years left on his contract with Vityaz.<\/p>\nThe original plan was for Rubtsov to stay in the KHL until his contract expired before coming to North America, but he struggled in the KHL and was too advanced for the MHL.<\/p>\nEventually, Rubtsov\u2019s agent, Mark Gandler, negotiated a release from his contract with Vityaz on Jan. 9, and Rubtsov joined the Saguen\u00e9ens, who owned his CHL rights.<\/p>\nRubtsov didn\u2019t debut with Chicoutimi until Jan. 19 because of a broken nose.<\/p>\n\u201cThe moving to the United States was the first thing,\u201d Rubtsov said. \u201cIn Chicoutimi, the first couple of games were not comfortable. Then everything came to normal.<\/p>\n\u201cI feel comfortable. Being in the United States before and playing in Canada helped, so I\u2019m feeling pretty comfortable [now] and everything is pretty much good.\u201d<\/p>\nThe difference between the Rubtsov in the KHL and the Rubtsov in the QMJHL was noticable. He struggled to get minutes in the KHL, averaging 6:33 in 15 games and failed to register a point. He had just five shots and won 31.8 percent of his faceoffs.<\/p>\nHe was a point-per-game player in the MHL, a Russian junior league, recording 15 points in 15 games with the Russkie Vityazi Chekhov. That was the player he resembled more in the Q.   Rubtsov made an immediate impact with the Saguen\u00e9ens. He picked up two assists and fired six shots on goal in his first game, and he picked up nine points in his first six games.   \u201cWhen you see a kid playing with his peers, it\u2019s a lot different than playing in the KHL,\u201d Hextall said. \u201cYou saw it a little bit with Ruby. Ruby goes from KHL and all of a sudden, he goes to Chicoutimi with his own age group and you\u2019re like, \u2018Woah.\u2019   \u201cWe certainly weren\u2019t surprised by that.\u201d   The Chekhov, Russia, native missed Chicoutimi\u2019s final six games of the regular season and then its postseason because of a fractured hand. He finished his brief QMJHL stint with racking up 22 points in 16 games \u2014 nine goals, five power-play markers, 13 assists with six multi-point games and was held scoreless just three times.   Last season, Rubtsov dealt with a broken nose and a fractured hand at the end of the campaign. He said he dealt with injuries in the KHL as well and played through them.   \u201cI played until I wasn\u2019t able to hold the stick,\u201d Rubtsov said. \u201cWhen the hand completely gave up that\u2019s when I came [to Philadelphia for surgery].\u201d   \u201cThat's kind of what you want,\" Hextall said. \"You want guys who will push themselves and do what they can to try to be the best they can and try to help the team win. It certainly comes into the mix in terms of the character of a player and person.\u201d   When the Flyers drafted Rubtsov last summer, their forward prospect group was not as deep as it is now. Hextall added seven forwards in 2016, including five of his first six picks. Last month, he added seven more, including three in the top 35.   So the question with Rubtsov, does he still project as a center with the Flyers? He played both center and wing last season in Chicoutimi. The versatility at his age is attractive.   \u201cThere are certain guys in the middle you want to move out of the middle because when they get to the NHL level, maybe their sense isn\u2019t quite high enough or their size or there\u2019s a blemish,\u201d Hextall said. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t have that blemish. He\u2019s a smart player, he skates well.   \u201cHe\u2019s going to be big and strong enough in a couple years. He\u2019s going to be one of those guys truly who\u2019s going to be really good in the middle and we may want to keep him there.\u201d<\/p>\n","safe_summary":"German Rubtsov is eyeing bigger things entering his first full season in North America, but where will he be in 2017-18? By Tom Dougherty<\/p>\n"}]},"field_author_reference":{"und":[{"tid":"1321"}]},"field_bean_single_col":{"und":[{"target_id":"2456"}]},"field_chrome_page":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_date_published":{"und":[{"value":"2017-07-13 16:15:00","timezone":"America\/New_York","timezone_db":"UTC","date_type":"datetime"}]},"field_hero_image_credit":{"und":[{"value":"Tom Dougherty\/CSNPhilly.com","format":null,"safe_value":"Tom Dougherty\/CSNPhilly.com"}]},"field_image":{"und":[{"fid":"475886","uid":"266","filename":"tom-dougherty-german-rubtsov.jpg","uri":"public:\/\/2017\/07\/13\/tom-dougherty-german-rubtsov.jpg","filemime":"image\/jpeg","filesize":"202712","status":"1","timestamp":"1499996289","origname":"tom-dougherty-german-rubtsov.jpg","type":"image","field_file_image_alt_text":[],"field_file_image_title_text":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]","default":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]"},"description":{"value":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!","default":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!"},"abstract":{"value":""},"keywords":{"value":""},"robots":{"value":{"index":0,"follow":0,"noindex":0,"nofollow":0,"noarchive":0,"nosnippet":0,"noodp":0,"noydir":0,"noimageindex":0,"notranslate":0}},"news_keywords":{"value":""},"standout":{"value":""},"rating":{"value":""},"referrer":{"value":""},"rights":{"value":""},"image_src":{"value":""},"canonical":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"shortlink":{"value":"[current-page:url:unaliased]","default":"[current-page:url:unaliased]"},"original-source":{"value":""},"prev":{"value":""},"next":{"value":""},"content-language":{"value":""},"geo.position":{"value":""},"geo.placename":{"value":""},"geo.region":{"value":""},"icbm":{"value":""},"refresh":{"value":""},"revisit-after":{"value":"","period":""},"pragma":{"value":""},"cache-control":{"value":""},"expires":{"value":""},"og:type":{"value":"article","default":"article"},"og:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"og:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"og:determiner":{"value":""},"og:description":{"value":""},"og:updated_time":{"value":""},"og:see_also":{"value":""},"og:image":{"value":""},"og:image:url":{"value":""},"og:image:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:image:type":{"value":""},"og:image:width":{"value":""},"og:image:height":{"value":""},"og:latitude":{"value":""},"og:longitude":{"value":""},"og:street_address":{"value":""},"og:locality":{"value":""},"og:region":{"value":""},"og:postal_code":{"value":""},"og:country_name":{"value":""},"og:email":{"value":""},"og:phone_number":{"value":""},"og:fax_number":{"value":""},"og:locale":{"value":""},"og:locale:alternate":{"value":""},"article:author":{"value":""},"article:publisher":{"value":""},"article:section":{"value":""},"article:tag":{"value":""},"article:published_time":{"value":""},"article:modified_time":{"value":""},"article:expiration_time":{"value":""},"profile:first_name":{"value":""},"profile:last_name":{"value":""},"profile:username":{"value":""},"profile:gender":{"value":""},"og:audio":{"value":""},"og:audio:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:audio:type":{"value":""},"book:author":{"value":""},"book:isbn":{"value":""},"book:release_date":{"value":""},"book:tag":{"value":""},"og:video:url":{"value":""},"og:video:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:video:width":{"value":""},"og:video:height":{"value":""},"og:video:type":{"value":""},"video:actor":{"value":""},"video:actor:role":{"value":""},"video:director":{"value":""},"video:writer":{"value":""},"video:duration":{"value":""},"video:release_date":{"value":""},"video:tag":{"value":""},"video:series":{"value":""},"twitter:card":{"value":"summary","default":"summary"},"twitter:creator":{"value":""},"twitter:creator:id":{"value":""},"twitter:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"twitter:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"twitter:description":{"value":""},"twitter:image":{"value":""},"twitter:image:width":{"value":""},"twitter:image:height":{"value":""},"twitter:image:alt":{"value":""},"twitter:image0":{"value":""},"twitter:image1":{"value":""},"twitter:image2":{"value":""},"twitter:image3":{"value":""},"twitter:player":{"value":""},"twitter:player:width":{"value":""},"twitter:player:height":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream:content_type":{"value":""},"twitter:app:country":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:label1":{"value":""},"twitter:data1":{"value":""},"twitter:label2":{"value":""},"twitter:data2":{"value":""}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"metadata":{"height":360,"width":640},"height":"360","width":"640","alt":"","title":""}]},"field_league":{"und":[{"tid":"196"}]},"field_section":{"und":[{"tid":"201"}]},"field_short_title":{"und":[{"value":"Finally with age group, Flyers prospect German Rubtsov eyeing bigger things","format":null,"safe_value":"Finally with age group, Flyers prospect German Rubtsov eyeing bigger things"}]},"field_sponsor":[],"field_sport":{"und":[{"tid":"191"}]},"field_tags":{"und":[{"tid":"6201"},{"tid":"5391"},{"tid":"18276"},{"tid":"466"},{"tid":"2966"},{"tid":"3091"}]},"field_team":{"und":[{"tid":"141"}]},"field_top_story":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_video_autoplay":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_videos":{"und":[{"target_id":"537641"}]},"field_tags_hide":[],"field_video_automute":[],"field_editorial_category":[],"field_allow_lld_domains":[],"field_enable_stanza":[],"field_exclude_from_yahoo":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"German Rubtsov still eyeing Flyers despite long odds"},"news_keywords":{"value":"German Rubtsov, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers, German Rubtsov Flyers, Flyers top prospects, Ron Hextall, Nolan Patrick, Flyers development camp, Flyers draft German Rubtsov, German Rubtsov NHL"}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"name":"tdougherty","picture":"0","data":"b:0;"},"access":true},{"target_id":"538336","entity":{"vid":"564891","uid":"156","title":"Just a teenager, Carter Hart already mentally fit for Flyers' future","log":"","status":"1","comment":"0","promote":"0","sticky":"0","nid":"538336","type":"article","language":"und","created":"1499750468","changed":"1531160805","tnid":"0","translate":"0","published":"1499778000","revision_timestamp":"1531160805","revision_uid":"156","body":{"und":[{"value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 The last time Carter Hart recalls becoming irritated on the ice, he was 10 years old. He was in his first year of playing goaltender after previously playing forward.<\/p>His dad, John Hart, was his coach and his current sports psychologist, John Stevenson, was then his goalie coach. What transpired may have resembled a more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=vbAEj8o1SY8\" target=\"_blank\">PG version of this<\/a>.<\/p>\u201cThis one kid kept crashing into my crease,\u201d Hart said, \u201cso my dad was on the bench coaching and he\u2019s just like, \u2018Just give it to this kid.\u2019 So I just started blockering him.<\/p>\u201cI actually didn\u2019t know to blocker a kid, they consider it a weapon [and it\u2019s] a five-game suspension. So I got a five-game suspension when I was 10 years old.\u201d<\/p>Eight years later, Hart finds himself as one of the most anticipated goaltending prospects the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\" target=\"_blank\">Flyers<\/a> have ever had, perhaps even more than the person who drafted him, Ron Hextall.<\/p>There was Pete Peeters in the late 1970s and Pelle Lindbergh in the \u201880s. Hextall, of course, in the late \u201880s. The Flyers\u2019 history of drafting goalies is an urban legend.<\/p>Not many swooned over the likes of Dominic Roussel and Neil Little.<\/p>Hart is a different breed of goaltender. The Flyers made him the first goalie drafted in 2016 when they selected him 48th overall. He won the CHL Goaltender of the Year his draft year.<\/p>Last season, he posted superior numbers but didn\u2019t recapture his crown. Owen Sound\u2019s Michael McNiven won the title. Politics was likely involved. No goalie has ever won it twice.<\/p>Still, Hart won the Del Wilson Memorial Trophy as the WHL\u2019s Goaltender of the Year for the second consecutive season and was twice named the Vaughn CHL Goaltender of the Week.<\/p>When sports psychologist and an 18-year-old come up in the same sentence, it may carry a negative connotation. Some may trigger the alarms. It shouldn\u2019t, especially for a goalie.<\/p>Mental toughness is as essential to goaltending as hand-eye coordination is to hitting a baseball. If any conclusion can be drawn from Hart having one, it should be positive. <\/p>Stevenson is a registered psychologist based in Edmonton, Alberta. He runs Zone Performance Psychology with his wife, Jaci Stevenson, and is a former scout for the Oilers.<\/p>The relationship between Hart and Stevenson goes back to when Hart was 10 when he was encouraged by his dad to blocker the kid crashing his crease. Stevenson was originally his goalie coach before transitioning into psychology full-time. Hart describes himself as laid-back whose \u201cenergy levels have dropped\u201d in the eight years since. On the ice, he carries a calm demeanor \u2014 he doesn\u2019t get mad and doesn\u2019t consider himself to be vocal.<\/p>Perhaps some tricks he\u2019s applicated from working with Stevenson, who also works with Washington Capitals goalie Braden Holtby, the 2016 Vezina Trophy winner. As a former goalie coach, Stevenson would try to get in Hart\u2019s head to mess with him, according to Hart, which taught the Sherwood Park, Alberta, native to control what he can control.<\/p>\u201cI talk to him on a regular basis,\u201d Hart said Friday of Stevenson. \u201cI\u2019ve learned a lot on the mental side of things. The mental game is huge. It\u2019s probably 90 percent of the position, really. If you believe you can do it, you can. That\u2019s the mindset you have to have, you have to believe in yourself. You really have to believe in yourself and trust everything that you do.\u201d<\/p>Holtby has been working with Stevenson since he was 15 years old. The Capitals\u2019 goaltender told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/sports\/capitals\/braden-holtby-at-peace-in-the-crease\/2015\/04\/24\/7cd9ad6a-e9b7-11e4-9a6a-c1ab95a0600b_story.html\" target=\"_blank\">The Washington Post<\/em><\/a> in 2015 that he didn\u2019t realize how important Stevenson has been to him in his professional life until his first year away from him.<\/p>\u201cThat\u2019s when I really found out how crucial that experience I had with him was,\u201d he told the Post. \u201cKind of take it for granted when it\u2019s right there at your fingertips, and once it\u2019s gone, you have to start doing it on your own. It makes it harder, but you learn it even more.\u201d<\/p>While Holtby and Hart share the same psychologist, Holtby isn\u2019t the goalie Hart admires most, though he did call Holtby \u201cone of the most mentally tough guys in the business.\u201d Hart said he\u2019s met Holtby a few times through Stevenson, and Holtby texted him after the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships. The goalie he models his game after is Carey Price.<\/p>\u201cHe\u2019s very efficient,\u201d Hart said of Price. \u201cHe\u2019s one of the best skaters in the game. He makes things simple and makes difficult saves look easy. I really admire the way he skates. That\u2019s one of the biggest things for me is being a good skater. If you can\u2019t skate, you can\u2019t play.<\/p>\u201cYou have to be an elite-level skater to play in the NHL. \u2026 I think Price is the most elite skater in the league.\u201d<\/p>Hart turns 19 on Aug. 13 and is not eligible for the AHL. It\u2019s either one more year in Everett or breaking training camp with the Flyers. \u201cObviously, it doesn\u2019t happen often for 19-year-old goalies,\u201d he said. That\u2019s his goal, but the numbers game dictates his October destination. Brian Elliott and Michal Neuvirth are the Flyers\u2019 goalies for the next two years.<\/p>In 2016-17, Hart posted a 32-11-6 record in 54 games last season with the Silvertips. He led the WHL in goals-against average (1.99), save percentage (.927) and shutouts (nine). He had a shutout streak of 193 minutes and 38 seconds during the record season.<\/p>After his season ended in Everett, Hart joined the Lehigh Valley Phantoms during AHL playoffs largely as a third goalie with Anthony Stolarz injured. Then Alex Lyon suffered an injury in Game 2 of their first-round series with the Hershey Bears. Hart found himself on the bench backing up Martin Ouellette for Game 3. The Phantoms rode Ouellette for Games 4 and 5 with Mark Dekanich backing up. Lehigh Valley lost in five games.<\/p>Hart never played.<\/p>\u201cI thought maybe against Hershey when I backed up, maybe see what happens,\u201d he said.<\/p>Hextall drafted his fifth goalie in his fourth draft last month as Flyers general manager, selecting Russian netminder Kirill Ustimenko in the third round. With Ustimenko in the fold, the Flyers now have nine goalies in the organization.<\/p>\u201cIt doesn\u2019t really matter. It\u2019s just goalie depth,\u201d Hart said. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing wrong with having goalie depth because you never know what happens. The position of goaltending can be tough and tough on the body. \u2026 It\u2019s a long year. Seventy-two games in the WHL, 76 games in the American League and obviously 82 in The Show.<\/p>\u201cIt doesn't bother me. Just got to worry about yourself.\u201d<\/p>","summary":"Is Carter Hart the Flyers' goalie of the future? The teenager is already mentally fit for the pressure of being in an NHL net. By Tom Dougherty<\/p>","format":"filtered_html","safe_value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 The last time Carter Hart recalls becoming irritated on the ice, he was 10 years old. He was in his first year of playing goaltender after previously playing forward.<\/p>\nHis dad, John Hart, was his coach and his current sports psychologist, John Stevenson, was then his goalie coach. What transpired may have resembled a more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=vbAEj8o1SY8\" target=\"_blank\">PG version of this<\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cThis one kid kept crashing into my crease,\u201d Hart said, \u201cso my dad was on the bench coaching and he\u2019s just like, \u2018Just give it to this kid.\u2019 So I just started blockering him.<\/p>\n\u201cI actually didn\u2019t know to blocker a kid, they consider it a weapon [and it\u2019s] a five-game suspension. So I got a five-game suspension when I was 10 years old.\u201d<\/p>\nEight years later, Hart finds himself as one of the most anticipated goaltending prospects the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\" target=\"_blank\">Flyers<\/a> have ever had, perhaps even more than the person who drafted him, Ron Hextall.<\/p>\nThere was Pete Peeters in the late 1970s and Pelle Lindbergh in the \u201880s. Hextall, of course, in the late \u201880s. The Flyers\u2019 history of drafting goalies is an urban legend.<\/p>\nNot many swooned over the likes of Dominic Roussel and Neil Little.<\/p>\nHart is a different breed of goaltender. The Flyers made him the first goalie drafted in 2016 when they selected him 48th overall. He won the CHL Goaltender of the Year his draft year.<\/p>\nLast season, he posted superior numbers but didn\u2019t recapture his crown. Owen Sound\u2019s Michael McNiven won the title. Politics was likely involved. No goalie has ever won it twice.<\/p>\nStill, Hart won the Del Wilson Memorial Trophy as the WHL\u2019s Goaltender of the Year for the second consecutive season and was twice named the Vaughn CHL Goaltender of the Week.<\/p>\nWhen sports psychologist and an 18-year-old come up in the same sentence, it may carry a negative connotation. Some may trigger the alarms. It shouldn\u2019t, especially for a goalie.<\/p>\nMental toughness is as essential to goaltending as hand-eye coordination is to hitting a baseball. If any conclusion can be drawn from Hart having one, it should be positive. <\/p>\nStevenson is a registered psychologist based in Edmonton, Alberta. He runs Zone Performance Psychology with his wife, Jaci Stevenson, and is a former scout for the Oilers.<\/p>\nThe relationship between Hart and Stevenson goes back to when Hart was 10 when he was encouraged by his dad to blocker the kid crashing his crease. Stevenson was originally his goalie coach before transitioning into psychology full-time. Hart describes himself as laid-back whose \u201cenergy levels have dropped\u201d in the eight years since. On the ice, he carries a calm demeanor \u2014 he doesn\u2019t get mad and doesn\u2019t consider himself to be vocal.<\/p>\nPerhaps some tricks he\u2019s applicated from working with Stevenson, who also works with Washington Capitals goalie Braden Holtby, the 2016 Vezina Trophy winner. As a former goalie coach, Stevenson would try to get in Hart\u2019s head to mess with him, according to Hart, which taught the Sherwood Park, Alberta, native to control what he can control.<\/p>\n\u201cI talk to him on a regular basis,\u201d Hart said Friday of Stevenson. \u201cI\u2019ve learned a lot on the mental side of things. The mental game is huge. It\u2019s probably 90 percent of the position, really. If you believe you can do it, you can. That\u2019s the mindset you have to have, you have to believe in yourself. You really have to believe in yourself and trust everything that you do.\u201d<\/p>\nHoltby has been working with Stevenson since he was 15 years old. The Capitals\u2019 goaltender told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/sports\/capitals\/braden-holtby-at-peace-in-the-crease\/2015\/04\/24\/7cd9ad6a-e9b7-11e4-9a6a-c1ab95a0600b_story.html\" target=\"_blank\">The Washington Post<\/em><\/a> in 2015 that he didn\u2019t realize how important Stevenson has been to him in his professional life until his first year away from him.<\/p>\n\u201cThat\u2019s when I really found out how crucial that experience I had with him was,\u201d he told the Post. \u201cKind of take it for granted when it\u2019s right there at your fingertips, and once it\u2019s gone, you have to start doing it on your own. It makes it harder, but you learn it even more.\u201d<\/p>\nWhile Holtby and Hart share the same psychologist, Holtby isn\u2019t the goalie Hart admires most, though he did call Holtby \u201cone of the most mentally tough guys in the business.\u201d Hart said he\u2019s met Holtby a few times through Stevenson, and Holtby texted him after the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships. The goalie he models his game after is Carey Price.<\/p>\n\u201cHe\u2019s very efficient,\u201d Hart said of Price. \u201cHe\u2019s one of the best skaters in the game. He makes things simple and makes difficult saves look easy. I really admire the way he skates. That\u2019s one of the biggest things for me is being a good skater. If you can\u2019t skate, you can\u2019t play.<\/p>\n\u201cYou have to be an elite-level skater to play in the NHL. \u2026 I think Price is the most elite skater in the league.\u201d<\/p>\nHart turns 19 on Aug. 13 and is not eligible for the AHL. It\u2019s either one more year in Everett or breaking training camp with the Flyers. \u201cObviously, it doesn\u2019t happen often for 19-year-old goalies,\u201d he said. That\u2019s his goal, but the numbers game dictates his October destination. Brian Elliott and Michal Neuvirth are the Flyers\u2019 goalies for the next two years.<\/p>\nIn 2016-17, Hart posted a 32-11-6 record in 54 games last season with the Silvertips. He led the WHL in goals-against average (1.99), save percentage (.927) and shutouts (nine). He had a shutout streak of 193 minutes and 38 seconds during the record season.<\/p>\nAfter his season ended in Everett, Hart joined the Lehigh Valley Phantoms during AHL playoffs largely as a third goalie with Anthony Stolarz injured. Then Alex Lyon suffered an injury in Game 2 of their first-round series with the Hershey Bears. Hart found himself on the bench backing up Martin Ouellette for Game 3. The Phantoms rode Ouellette for Games 4 and 5 with Mark Dekanich backing up. Lehigh Valley lost in five games.<\/p>\nHart never played.<\/p>\n\u201cI thought maybe against Hershey when I backed up, maybe see what happens,\u201d he said.<\/p>\nHextall drafted his fifth goalie in his fourth draft last month as Flyers general manager, selecting Russian netminder Kirill Ustimenko in the third round. With Ustimenko in the fold, the Flyers now have nine goalies in the organization.<\/p>\n\u201cIt doesn\u2019t really matter. It\u2019s just goalie depth,\u201d Hart said. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing wrong with having goalie depth because you never know what happens. The position of goaltending can be tough and tough on the body. \u2026 It\u2019s a long year. Seventy-two games in the WHL, 76 games in the American League and obviously 82 in The Show.<\/p>\n\u201cIt doesn't bother me. Just got to worry about yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n","safe_summary":"Is Carter Hart the Flyers' goalie of the future? The teenager is already mentally fit for the pressure of being in an NHL net. By Tom Dougherty<\/p>\n"}]},"field_author_reference":{"und":[{"tid":"1321"}]},"field_bean_single_col":{"und":[{"target_id":"2456"}]},"field_chrome_page":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_date_published":{"und":[{"value":"2017-07-11 13:00:00","timezone":"America\/New_York","timezone_db":"UTC","date_type":"datetime"}]},"field_hero_image_credit":{"und":[{"value":"Photo credit: Zack Hill\/Flyers","format":null,"safe_value":"Photo credit: Zack Hill\/Flyers"}]},"field_image":{"und":[{"fid":"472561","uid":"266","filename":"zack-hill-flyers-carter-hart.jpg","uri":"public:\/\/2018\/05\/02\/zack-hill-flyers-carter-hart.jpg","filemime":"image\/jpeg","filesize":"179409","status":"1","timestamp":"1525292288","origname":"zack-hill-flyers-carter-hart.jpg","type":"image","field_file_image_alt_text":{"und":[{"value":null,"format":null,"safe_value":""}]},"field_file_image_title_text":{"und":[{"value":null,"format":null,"safe_value":""}]},"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]","default":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]"},"description":{"value":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!","default":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!"},"abstract":{"value":""},"keywords":{"value":""},"robots":{"value":{"index":0,"follow":0,"noindex":0,"nofollow":0,"noarchive":0,"nosnippet":0,"noodp":0,"noydir":0,"noimageindex":0,"notranslate":0}},"news_keywords":{"value":""},"standout":{"value":""},"rating":{"value":""},"referrer":{"value":""},"rights":{"value":""},"image_src":{"value":""},"canonical":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"shortlink":{"value":"[current-page:url:unaliased]","default":"[current-page:url:unaliased]"},"original-source":{"value":""},"prev":{"value":""},"next":{"value":""},"content-language":{"value":""},"geo.position":{"value":""},"geo.placename":{"value":""},"geo.region":{"value":""},"icbm":{"value":""},"refresh":{"value":""},"revisit-after":{"value":"","period":""},"pragma":{"value":""},"cache-control":{"value":""},"expires":{"value":""},"og:type":{"value":"article","default":"article"},"og:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"og:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"og:determiner":{"value":""},"og:description":{"value":""},"og:updated_time":{"value":""},"og:see_also":{"value":""},"og:image":{"value":""},"og:image:url":{"value":""},"og:image:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:image:type":{"value":""},"og:image:width":{"value":""},"og:image:height":{"value":""},"og:latitude":{"value":""},"og:longitude":{"value":""},"og:street_address":{"value":""},"og:locality":{"value":""},"og:region":{"value":""},"og:postal_code":{"value":""},"og:country_name":{"value":""},"og:email":{"value":""},"og:phone_number":{"value":""},"og:fax_number":{"value":""},"og:locale":{"value":""},"og:locale:alternate":{"value":""},"article:author":{"value":""},"article:publisher":{"value":""},"article:section":{"value":""},"article:tag":{"value":""},"article:published_time":{"value":""},"article:modified_time":{"value":""},"article:expiration_time":{"value":""},"profile:first_name":{"value":""},"profile:last_name":{"value":""},"profile:username":{"value":""},"profile:gender":{"value":""},"og:audio":{"value":""},"og:audio:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:audio:type":{"value":""},"book:author":{"value":""},"book:isbn":{"value":""},"book:release_date":{"value":""},"book:tag":{"value":""},"og:video:url":{"value":""},"og:video:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:video:width":{"value":""},"og:video:height":{"value":""},"og:video:type":{"value":""},"video:actor":{"value":""},"video:actor:role":{"value":""},"video:director":{"value":""},"video:writer":{"value":""},"video:duration":{"value":""},"video:release_date":{"value":""},"video:tag":{"value":""},"video:series":{"value":""},"twitter:card":{"value":"summary","default":"summary"},"twitter:creator":{"value":""},"twitter:creator:id":{"value":""},"twitter:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"twitter:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"twitter:description":{"value":""},"twitter:image":{"value":""},"twitter:image:width":{"value":""},"twitter:image:height":{"value":""},"twitter:image:alt":{"value":""},"twitter:image0":{"value":""},"twitter:image1":{"value":""},"twitter:image2":{"value":""},"twitter:image3":{"value":""},"twitter:player":{"value":""},"twitter:player:width":{"value":""},"twitter:player:height":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream:content_type":{"value":""},"twitter:app:country":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:label1":{"value":""},"twitter:data1":{"value":""},"twitter:label2":{"value":""},"twitter:data2":{"value":""}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"metadata":{"height":360,"width":640},"height":"360","width":"640","alt":null,"title":null}]},"field_league":{"und":[{"tid":"196"}]},"field_section":{"und":[{"tid":"201"}]},"field_short_title":{"und":[{"value":"How teenage goalie prospect Carter Hart is already mentally fit for Flyers' future","format":null,"safe_value":"How teenage goalie prospect Carter Hart is already mentally fit for Flyers' future"}]},"field_sponsor":[],"field_sport":{"und":[{"tid":"191"}]},"field_tags":{"und":[{"tid":"5411"},{"tid":"6201"},{"tid":"18276"},{"tid":"466"},{"tid":"2966"},{"tid":"3091"}]},"field_team":{"und":[{"tid":"141"}]},"field_top_story":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_video_autoplay":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_videos":{"und":[{"target_id":"537396"}]},"field_tags_hide":{"und":[{"tid":"18276"}]},"field_video_automute":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_editorial_category":{"und":[{"value":"other_news"}]},"field_allow_lld_domains":[],"field_enable_stanza":[],"field_exclude_from_yahoo":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"Carter Hart already mentally fit for Flyers' net"},"news_keywords":{"value":"Carter Hart, Philadelphia Flyers, Tom Dougherty, Flyers prospect Carter Hart"}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"name":"JHall","picture":"0","data":"b:0;"},"access":true},{"target_id":"537591","entity":{"vid":"564031","uid":"266","title":"Pascal Laberge out to be 'the real me' following dark days from concussion","log":"","status":"1","comment":"0","promote":"0","sticky":"0","nid":"537591","type":"article","language":"und","created":"1499535853","changed":"1501550820","tnid":"0","translate":"0","published":"1499605800","revision_timestamp":"1501550820","revision_uid":"156","body":{"und":[{"value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 On a Saturday night in Victoriaville, Quebec, last October, the trajectory of Pascal Laberge\u2019s third season in the QMJHL changed in a flash and not for the better.<\/p>Six minutes into the Tigres\u2019 game against the Moncton Wildcats, Laberge was met by a thundering headshot from Zachary Malatesta as he gathered the puck at his own blue line.<\/p>Laberge lay barren on the ice while Victoriaville alternate captain James Phelan immediately jumped Malatesta, who was ejected and then suspended seven games.<\/p>\u201cYou try to avoid these concussions and when a player does a thing like that, it sure pisses you off a little bit,\u201d Laberge said Friday at development camp at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> Skate Zone. \u201cThere\u2019s always going to be some guys like that in hockey. It\u2019s just that it happened to me.\u201d<\/p>What happened to Laberge was a concussion that caused him to miss over a month before returning Nov. 25 for two games to only sit out another three games as symptoms returned.<\/p>Upon returning, Laberge labored to find the consistency and point production that led to the Flyers\u2019 selecting him with the 36th overall pick in the 2016 NHL draft.<\/p>After his symptoms subsided enough for him to come back Dec. 8, the 19-year-old forward recorded seven points in eight games in the month. In January, he tallied six points in 10 games but was held pointless during six of those games. He finished the season with 32 points.<\/p>In 2015-16, his draft year, Laberge registered 68 points in 56 games for Victoriaville. His 32 points last season was one point more than his 2014-15 rookie campaign in the QMJHL. <\/p>He ended last season with an assist in each of the Tigres\u2019 final three games and scooped up two more in four games during Victoriaville\u2019s first-round postseason exit to Chicoutimi.<\/p>Regaining confidence was a barricade for Laberge following his return from his concussion, especially when going toward the boards. \u201cYou\u2019re kind of shy to go there,\u201d he said. He often played looking over his shoulder and said it took about two months for him to fully recover.<\/p>\u201cThe first month,\u201d he said, \u201cI couldn\u2019t wake up. I had to sleep all day.\u201d<\/p>By now, Laberge\u2019s story is well known. In summer 2015, his stepmother was diagnosed with metastatic cancer and his father, prostate cancer. His stepmother died in September 2015. His dad had his prostate removed that fall. All while he was trying to get drafted.<\/p>Laberge fell to the Flyers in the second round despite being rated 28th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting Bureau. Some saw him as a late first-rounder.<\/p>One of the traits the Flyers liked about Laberge when they drafted him last summer was his perseverance, how he dealt with his family situation and also still produced on the ice.<\/p>Character is something general manager Ron Hextall values greatly. When he talks about prospects, chiefly in regards of development camp, character is one detail he preaches. <\/p>How prospects deal with adversity \u2014 albeit on the ice or off it, both are true in Laberge\u2019s case \u2014 can make them hungrier and better as a player and person, according to Hextall. <\/p>Hextall offered a guess: Last season, on the ice, was a first for Laberge. A young, talented kid who didn\u2019t have his way, who took a step back in his development and wasn\u2019t a star.<\/p>For someone his age, he has been through a lot off the ice. Last season, the concussion was just \u201canother tough time.\u201d It\u2019s getting him stronger, he said.<\/p>\u201cSometimes with my friends,\u201d Laberge said, \u201cI feel a little bit older than them.\u201d<\/p>In his second development camp, Laberge claims he\u2019s back to normal, feels good and his concussion issues are in the past. He understands how last season went means the timetable for his path to the NHL has been pushed back because of the lost time.<\/p>Laberge wants to get back to \u201cthe real me\u201d in 2017-18. With one more year of junior eligibility, he, barring any miracles, will spend another season in Victoriaville.<\/p>While Hextall\u2019s been adamant about keeping a few spots open for prospects to earn during training camp in September, it\u2019s a long shot to consider Laberge to be in that competition.<\/p>\u201cWe didn\u2019t like what he went through,\u201d Hextall said Friday. \u201cWe didn\u2019t like, at times, the level he was playing to, which wasn\u2019t at the level he\u2019s capable of. But \u2026 <\/p>\u201cYou go through adversity like that as a young man, you learn from it. You become stronger. It\u2019s like a team. Sometimes you have to lose to learn how to win.\u201d<\/p>If there\u2019s any one thing Laberge learned from last season, it\u2019s \u2026 <\/p>\u201cNext time,\u201d he said, \u201cI\u2019ll lift my head.\u201d<\/p>","summary":"After enduring yet another year filled with adversity, Pascal Laberge, 19, hopes to show the Flyers his true self in 2017-18. By Tom Dougherty<\/p>","format":"filtered_html","safe_value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 On a Saturday night in Victoriaville, Quebec, last October, the trajectory of Pascal Laberge\u2019s third season in the QMJHL changed in a flash and not for the better.<\/p>\nSix minutes into the Tigres\u2019 game against the Moncton Wildcats, Laberge was met by a thundering headshot from Zachary Malatesta as he gathered the puck at his own blue line.<\/p>\nLaberge lay barren on the ice while Victoriaville alternate captain James Phelan immediately jumped Malatesta, who was ejected and then suspended seven games.<\/p>\n\u201cYou try to avoid these concussions and when a player does a thing like that, it sure pisses you off a little bit,\u201d Laberge said Friday at development camp at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> Skate Zone. \u201cThere\u2019s always going to be some guys like that in hockey. It\u2019s just that it happened to me.\u201d<\/p>\nWhat happened to Laberge was a concussion that caused him to miss over a month before returning Nov. 25 for two games to only sit out another three games as symptoms returned.<\/p>\nUpon returning, Laberge labored to find the consistency and point production that led to the Flyers\u2019 selecting him with the 36th overall pick in the 2016 NHL draft.<\/p>\nAfter his symptoms subsided enough for him to come back Dec. 8, the 19-year-old forward recorded seven points in eight games in the month. In January, he tallied six points in 10 games but was held pointless during six of those games. He finished the season with 32 points.<\/p>\nIn 2015-16, his draft year, Laberge registered 68 points in 56 games for Victoriaville. His 32 points last season was one point more than his 2014-15 rookie campaign in the QMJHL. <\/p>\nHe ended last season with an assist in each of the Tigres\u2019 final three games and scooped up two more in four games during Victoriaville\u2019s first-round postseason exit to Chicoutimi.<\/p>\nRegaining confidence was a barricade for Laberge following his return from his concussion, especially when going toward the boards. \u201cYou\u2019re kind of shy to go there,\u201d he said. He often played looking over his shoulder and said it took about two months for him to fully recover.<\/p>\n\u201cThe first month,\u201d he said, \u201cI couldn\u2019t wake up. I had to sleep all day.\u201d<\/p>\nBy now, Laberge\u2019s story is well known. In summer 2015, his stepmother was diagnosed with metastatic cancer and his father, prostate cancer. His stepmother died in September 2015. His dad had his prostate removed that fall. All while he was trying to get drafted.<\/p>\nLaberge fell to the Flyers in the second round despite being rated 28th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting Bureau. Some saw him as a late first-rounder.<\/p>\nOne of the traits the Flyers liked about Laberge when they drafted him last summer was his perseverance, how he dealt with his family situation and also still produced on the ice.<\/p>\nCharacter is something general manager Ron Hextall values greatly. When he talks about prospects, chiefly in regards of development camp, character is one detail he preaches. <\/p>\nHow prospects deal with adversity \u2014 albeit on the ice or off it, both are true in Laberge\u2019s case \u2014 can make them hungrier and better as a player and person, according to Hextall. <\/p>\nHextall offered a guess: Last season, on the ice, was a first for Laberge. A young, talented kid who didn\u2019t have his way, who took a step back in his development and wasn\u2019t a star.<\/p>\nFor someone his age, he has been through a lot off the ice. Last season, the concussion was just \u201canother tough time.\u201d It\u2019s getting him stronger, he said.<\/p>\n\u201cSometimes with my friends,\u201d Laberge said, \u201cI feel a little bit older than them.\u201d<\/p>\nIn his second development camp, Laberge claims he\u2019s back to normal, feels good and his concussion issues are in the past. He understands how last season went means the timetable for his path to the NHL has been pushed back because of the lost time.<\/p>\nLaberge wants to get back to \u201cthe real me\u201d in 2017-18. With one more year of junior eligibility, he, barring any miracles, will spend another season in Victoriaville.<\/p>\nWhile Hextall\u2019s been adamant about keeping a few spots open for prospects to earn during training camp in September, it\u2019s a long shot to consider Laberge to be in that competition.<\/p>\n\u201cWe didn\u2019t like what he went through,\u201d Hextall said Friday. \u201cWe didn\u2019t like, at times, the level he was playing to, which wasn\u2019t at the level he\u2019s capable of. But \u2026 <\/p>\n\u201cYou go through adversity like that as a young man, you learn from it. You become stronger. It\u2019s like a team. Sometimes you have to lose to learn how to win.\u201d<\/p>\nIf there\u2019s any one thing Laberge learned from last season, it\u2019s \u2026 <\/p>\n\u201cNext time,\u201d he said, \u201cI\u2019ll lift my head.\u201d<\/p>\n","safe_summary":"After enduring yet another year filled with adversity, Pascal Laberge, 19, hopes to show the Flyers his true self in 2017-18. By Tom Dougherty<\/p>\n"}]},"field_author_reference":{"und":[{"tid":"1321"}]},"field_bean_single_col":{"und":[{"target_id":"2456"}]},"field_chrome_page":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_date_published":{"und":[{"value":"2017-07-09 13:10:00","timezone":"America\/New_York","timezone_db":"UTC","date_type":"datetime"}]},"field_hero_image_credit":{"und":[{"value":"Photo: Zack Hill\/Flyers","format":null,"safe_value":"Photo: Zack Hill\/Flyers"}]},"field_image":{"und":[{"fid":"472606","uid":"266","filename":"zack-hill-pascal-laberge.jpg","uri":"public:\/\/2017\/07\/08\/zack-hill-pascal-laberge.jpg","filemime":"image\/jpeg","filesize":"154834","status":"1","timestamp":"1499535488","origname":"zack-hill-pascal-laberge.jpg","type":"image","field_file_image_alt_text":{"und":[{"value":"Pascal Laberge, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers","format":null,"safe_value":"Pascal Laberge, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers"}]},"field_file_image_title_text":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":[],"alt":"Pascal Laberge, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers","metadata":{"height":360,"width":640},"height":"360","width":"640","title":""}]},"field_league":{"und":[{"tid":"196"}]},"field_section":{"und":[{"tid":"201"}]},"field_short_title":{"und":[{"value":"Flyers' Laberge out to be 'the real me' following dark days from concussion","format":null,"safe_value":"Flyers' Laberge out to be 'the real me' following dark days from concussion"}]},"field_sponsor":[],"field_sport":{"und":[{"tid":"191"}]},"field_tags":{"und":[{"tid":"18276"},{"tid":"5406"},{"tid":"466"},{"tid":"2966"},{"tid":"3091"}]},"field_team":{"und":[{"tid":"141"}]},"field_top_story":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_video_autoplay":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_videos":{"und":[{"target_id":"537646"}]},"field_tags_hide":{"und":[{"tid":"18276"}]},"field_video_automute":[],"field_editorial_category":[],"field_allow_lld_domains":[],"field_enable_stanza":[],"field_exclude_from_yahoo":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"Pascal Laberge out to show Flyers 'the real me'"},"news_keywords":{"value":"Pascal Laberge, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers, Pascal Laberge Flyers, Pascal Laberge concussion, Pascal Laberge head injury, Pascal Laberge hockey, Flyers top prospects"}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"name":"tdougherty","picture":"0","data":"b:0;"},"access":true},{"target_id":"539666","entity":{"vid":"566421","uid":"156","title":"Morgan Frost, the other 1st-round pick, can help Flyers, too","log":"","status":"1","comment":"0","promote":"0","sticky":"0","nid":"539666","type":"article","language":"und","created":"1500171137","changed":"1500320019","tnid":"0","translate":"0","published":"1500210000","revision_timestamp":"1500320019","revision_uid":"156","body":{"und":[{"value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Morgan Frost was teeming with nerves.<\/p>The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\" target=\"_blank\">Flyers<\/a> had just called his name on the night of the NHL draft, so emotions were running wild as he made his way to the spectacle's forefront at the United Center.<\/p>\"It was pretty crazy,\" Frost said last week. \"Walking up the stage, I thought I was going to fall over.\"<\/p>Unlike that concern, Frost has no trouble staying upright on the ice. His speed, skating and skills are what made him attractive to the Flyers, who selected the 18-year-old in the June draft with the 27th pick acquired via the Brayden Schenn trade.<\/p>With the deal, Frost became the Flyers' second first-round choice of the night, joining No. 2 overall pick Nolan Patrick. And similar to Patrick, Frost is a skilled forward that thrives when skill surrounds him. Put Frost with talent, and he'll make it better.<\/p>\"I think I'm definitely a playmaker first,\" Frost said. \"I think you're always going to see me with more assists than goals.\"<\/p>That rung true last season when Frost put up 42 assists compared to 20 goals in 67 games with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL. Alongside Bruins 2015 first-round pick Zach Senyshyn, a bona-fide goal-scoring winger, Frost dished the puck plenty and also produced a 22-assist increase from his first year of junior play.<\/p>\"Playing with a guy like Senyshyn definitely helps that stat because he's a goal scorer,\" Frost said. \"I think for me, playing with a goal scorer is part of the best thing because I'm a guy that likes to distribute. At the same time, I feel like I can contribute offensively in terms of scoring, but I'm definitely a playmaker.\"<\/p>Frost provided glimpses of that ability through a variety of drills and competition at Flyers development camp, his first real taste of the NHL.<\/p>\"It's super special,\" Frost said. \"The first step on that ice obviously meant a lot to me. It's still pretty surreal for me to be here. I'm definitely excited.\"<\/p>Now with an NHL organization, Frost hopes to grow both physically and defensively. An offensive stalwart listed at 5-foot-11, 172 pounds, Frost was able to see how he can improve those areas after spending six days with the Flyers.<\/p>\"Giving them an early view of our expectations as an organization of ways to improve their game, whether it's skill-wise or strength-wise,\" Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said of development camp.<\/p>\"Being a pro and showing them ways to develop physically and as an athlete.\"<\/p>Over time, Frost wants to show he can be an all-situation center. He feels he has already started to with the Greyhounds, who will continue to give him greater responsibilities in 2017-18, including penalty-kill minutes.<\/p>\"They kind of stressed that to me right when I got there,\" Frost said. \"I was kind of a one-dimensional player, offensive. They stressed that it wasn't all about that, it's not about scoring goals or setting up goals all the time if you're going to be on the ice for goals against. So plus-minus was something I wanted to improve on and just be harder to play against, play defense. They turned me into more of a well-rounded player.\"<\/p>Over 65 games in 2015-16, Frost was a minus-6. He went to a plus-15 in 2016-17. And while he wants to become more complete, making a difference with the puck on his stick will be his ticket to the Flyers.<\/p>\"I think that's a skill I've had ever since I was a little kid, just being able to see the ice and slow the play down a little,\" Frost said. \"But at the same time, I think that's developed with coaching and practice.\"<\/p>After getting to know the Flyers, he found new ways to work on those strengths.<\/p>\"We're watching video, watching just little things that you can do with your skates \u2014 ways to change your angle, use your edges,\" Frost said. \"That's one thing that I definitely want to do and I want to be able to accelerate better.<\/p>\"The first three steps and once I get up to speed, I'm fast and I can use my speed to my advantage.\"<\/p>And to help his teammates, too. That's what Frost does best.<\/p>","summary":"Similar to Nolan Patrick, Morgan Frost was a first-round pick of the Flyers that excels by making those around him better. By Jordan Hall<\/p>","format":"filtered_html","safe_value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Morgan Frost was teeming with nerves.<\/p>\nThe <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\" target=\"_blank\">Flyers<\/a> had just called his name on the night of the NHL draft, so emotions were running wild as he made his way to the spectacle's forefront at the United Center.<\/p>\n\"It was pretty crazy,\" Frost said last week. \"Walking up the stage, I thought I was going to fall over.\"<\/p>\nUnlike that concern, Frost has no trouble staying upright on the ice. His speed, skating and skills are what made him attractive to the Flyers, who selected the 18-year-old in the June draft with the 27th pick acquired via the Brayden Schenn trade.<\/p>\nWith the deal, Frost became the Flyers' second first-round choice of the night, joining No. 2 overall pick Nolan Patrick. And similar to Patrick, Frost is a skilled forward that thrives when skill surrounds him. Put Frost with talent, and he'll make it better.<\/p>\n\"I think I'm definitely a playmaker first,\" Frost said. \"I think you're always going to see me with more assists than goals.\"<\/p>\nThat rung true last season when Frost put up 42 assists compared to 20 goals in 67 games with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL. Alongside Bruins 2015 first-round pick Zach Senyshyn, a bona-fide goal-scoring winger, Frost dished the puck plenty and also produced a 22-assist increase from his first year of junior play.<\/p>\n\"Playing with a guy like Senyshyn definitely helps that stat because he's a goal scorer,\" Frost said. \"I think for me, playing with a goal scorer is part of the best thing because I'm a guy that likes to distribute. At the same time, I feel like I can contribute offensively in terms of scoring, but I'm definitely a playmaker.\"<\/p>\nFrost provided glimpses of that ability through a variety of drills and competition at Flyers development camp, his first real taste of the NHL.<\/p>\n\"It's super special,\" Frost said. \"The first step on that ice obviously meant a lot to me. It's still pretty surreal for me to be here. I'm definitely excited.\"<\/p>\nNow with an NHL organization, Frost hopes to grow both physically and defensively. An offensive stalwart listed at 5-foot-11, 172 pounds, Frost was able to see how he can improve those areas after spending six days with the Flyers.<\/p>\n\"Giving them an early view of our expectations as an organization of ways to improve their game, whether it's skill-wise or strength-wise,\" Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said of development camp.<\/p>\n\"Being a pro and showing them ways to develop physically and as an athlete.\"<\/p>\nOver time, Frost wants to show he can be an all-situation center. He feels he has already started to with the Greyhounds, who will continue to give him greater responsibilities in 2017-18, including penalty-kill minutes.<\/p>\n\"They kind of stressed that to me right when I got there,\" Frost said. \"I was kind of a one-dimensional player, offensive. They stressed that it wasn't all about that, it's not about scoring goals or setting up goals all the time if you're going to be on the ice for goals against. So plus-minus was something I wanted to improve on and just be harder to play against, play defense. They turned me into more of a well-rounded player.\"<\/p>\nOver 65 games in 2015-16, Frost was a minus-6. He went to a plus-15 in 2016-17. And while he wants to become more complete, making a difference with the puck on his stick will be his ticket to the Flyers.<\/p>\n\"I think that's a skill I've had ever since I was a little kid, just being able to see the ice and slow the play down a little,\" Frost said. \"But at the same time, I think that's developed with coaching and practice.\"<\/p>\nAfter getting to know the Flyers, he found new ways to work on those strengths.<\/p>\n\"We're watching video, watching just little things that you can do with your skates \u2014 ways to change your angle, use your edges,\" Frost said. \"That's one thing that I definitely want to do and I want to be able to accelerate better.<\/p>\n\"The first three steps and once I get up to speed, I'm fast and I can use my speed to my advantage.\"<\/p>\nAnd to help his teammates, too. That's what Frost does best.<\/p>\n","safe_summary":"Similar to Nolan Patrick, Morgan Frost was a first-round pick of the Flyers that excels by making those around him better. By Jordan Hall<\/p>\n"}]},"field_author_reference":{"und":[{"tid":"1056"}]},"field_bean_single_col":{"und":[{"target_id":"2456"}]},"field_chrome_page":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_date_published":{"und":[{"value":"2017-07-16 13:00:00","timezone":"America\/New_York","timezone_db":"UTC","date_type":"datetime"}]},"field_hero_image_credit":{"und":[{"value":"Photo credit: Zack Hill\/Flyers","format":null,"safe_value":"Photo credit: Zack Hill\/Flyers"}]},"field_image":{"und":[{"fid":"476586","uid":"156","filename":"zack-hill-flyers-morgan-frost.jpg","uri":"public:\/\/2017\/07\/15\/zack-hill-flyers-morgan-frost.jpg","filemime":"image\/jpeg","filesize":"316920","status":"1","timestamp":"1500171137","origname":"zack-hill-flyers-morgan-frost.jpg","type":"image","field_file_image_alt_text":{"und":[{"value":"Morgan Frost, Philadelphia Flyers","format":null,"safe_value":"Morgan Frost, Philadelphia Flyers"}]},"field_file_image_title_text":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]","default":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]"},"description":{"value":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!","default":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!"},"abstract":{"value":""},"keywords":{"value":""},"robots":{"value":{"index":0,"follow":0,"noindex":0,"nofollow":0,"noarchive":0,"nosnippet":0,"noodp":0,"noydir":0,"noimageindex":0,"notranslate":0}},"news_keywords":{"value":""},"standout":{"value":""},"rating":{"value":""},"referrer":{"value":""},"rights":{"value":""},"image_src":{"value":""},"canonical":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"shortlink":{"value":"[current-page:url:unaliased]","default":"[current-page:url:unaliased]"},"original-source":{"value":""},"prev":{"value":""},"next":{"value":""},"content-language":{"value":""},"geo.position":{"value":""},"geo.placename":{"value":""},"geo.region":{"value":""},"icbm":{"value":""},"refresh":{"value":""},"revisit-after":{"value":"","period":""},"pragma":{"value":""},"cache-control":{"value":""},"expires":{"value":""},"og:type":{"value":"article","default":"article"},"og:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"og:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"og:determiner":{"value":""},"og:description":{"value":""},"og:updated_time":{"value":""},"og:see_also":{"value":""},"og:image":{"value":""},"og:image:url":{"value":""},"og:image:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:image:type":{"value":""},"og:image:width":{"value":""},"og:image:height":{"value":""},"og:latitude":{"value":""},"og:longitude":{"value":""},"og:street_address":{"value":""},"og:locality":{"value":""},"og:region":{"value":""},"og:postal_code":{"value":""},"og:country_name":{"value":""},"og:email":{"value":""},"og:phone_number":{"value":""},"og:fax_number":{"value":""},"og:locale":{"value":""},"og:locale:alternate":{"value":""},"article:author":{"value":""},"article:publisher":{"value":""},"article:section":{"value":""},"article:tag":{"value":""},"article:published_time":{"value":""},"article:modified_time":{"value":""},"article:expiration_time":{"value":""},"profile:first_name":{"value":""},"profile:last_name":{"value":""},"profile:username":{"value":""},"profile:gender":{"value":""},"og:audio":{"value":""},"og:audio:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:audio:type":{"value":""},"book:author":{"value":""},"book:isbn":{"value":""},"book:release_date":{"value":""},"book:tag":{"value":""},"og:video:url":{"value":""},"og:video:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:video:width":{"value":""},"og:video:height":{"value":""},"og:video:type":{"value":""},"video:actor":{"value":""},"video:actor:role":{"value":""},"video:director":{"value":""},"video:writer":{"value":""},"video:duration":{"value":""},"video:release_date":{"value":""},"video:tag":{"value":""},"video:series":{"value":""},"twitter:card":{"value":"summary","default":"summary"},"twitter:creator":{"value":""},"twitter:creator:id":{"value":""},"twitter:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"twitter:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"twitter:description":{"value":""},"twitter:image":{"value":""},"twitter:image:width":{"value":""},"twitter:image:height":{"value":""},"twitter:image:alt":{"value":""},"twitter:image0":{"value":""},"twitter:image1":{"value":""},"twitter:image2":{"value":""},"twitter:image3":{"value":""},"twitter:player":{"value":""},"twitter:player:width":{"value":""},"twitter:player:height":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream:content_type":{"value":""},"twitter:app:country":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:label1":{"value":""},"twitter:data1":{"value":""},"twitter:label2":{"value":""},"twitter:data2":{"value":""}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"alt":"Morgan Frost, Philadelphia Flyers","metadata":{"height":382,"width":640},"height":"382","width":"640","title":""}]},"field_league":{"und":[{"tid":"196"}]},"field_section":{"und":[{"tid":"201"}]},"field_short_title":{"und":[{"value":"The other 1st-round pick, Morgan Frost can help Flyers, too","format":null,"safe_value":"The other 1st-round pick, Morgan Frost can help Flyers, too"}]},"field_sponsor":[],"field_sport":{"und":[{"tid":"191"}]},"field_tags":{"und":[{"tid":"6201"},{"tid":"18276"},{"tid":"506"},{"tid":"19506"},{"tid":"466"}]},"field_team":{"und":[{"tid":"141"}]},"field_top_story":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_video_autoplay":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_videos":{"und":[{"target_id":"532906"}]},"field_tags_hide":{"und":[{"tid":"18276"}]},"field_video_automute":[],"field_editorial_category":[],"field_allow_lld_domains":[],"field_enable_stanza":[],"field_exclude_from_yahoo":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"news_keywords":{"value":"Morgan Frost, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers development camp, Flyers prospects"}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"name":"JHall","picture":"0","data":"b:0;"},"access":true},{"target_id":"539336","entity":{"vid":"565986","uid":"266","title":"After popping at world juniors, Mikhail Vorobyev sees 'good opportunity' with Phantoms","log":"","status":"1","comment":"0","promote":"0","sticky":"0","nid":"539336","type":"article","language":"und","created":"1500066760","changed":"1501259318","tnid":"0","translate":"0","published":"1500123600","revision_timestamp":"1501259318","revision_uid":"266","body":{"und":[{"value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Not many people knew who Mikhail Vorobyev was when the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships began last December.<\/p>They found out quick who he was by the end.<\/p>Vorobyev led the tournament with 10 assists in seven games for Team Russia, which captured the bronze medal. He didn\u2019t register a goal but his 10 points were third most.<\/p>\u201cVorobyev popped at the world juniors when he\u2019s playing with his peers,\u201d <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> general manager Ron Hextall said recently during development camp at Flyers Skate Zone.<\/p>\u201cOur guys really liked him his draft year. We got him in the fourth round probably because he was in Russia. He was hidden a little bit.\u201d<\/p>After one full season playing in the KHL for Salavat Yulaev Ufa, Vorobyev signed his entry-level contract with the Flyers in late April. The 20-year-old center will spend the 2017-18 season with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms as part of an interesting forward group.<\/p>Lehigh Valley finished as the second-best AHL team last season with 101 points in the regular season, but it lost to the Hershey Bears in five games during the first round of the playoffs.<\/p>This season, Vorobyev figures to have a spot in the regular lineup, but the forward competition in the AHL could be as competitive as it will be with the Flyers.<\/p>Still, Vorobyev believed coming overseas was for his best interests.<\/p>\u201cIf you want to continue development,\u201d Vorobyev said through an interpreter, Flyers skating coach Slava Kouznetsov, \u201cthis is a good opportunity to get better. In Russia, I think I reached up. That\u2019s why I\u2019m switching to North America to get better than I already am.\u201d<\/p>It may take Vorobyev a while to get accumulated to the North American lifestyle, especially since he doesn\u2019t speak English, but having Radel Fazleev at Lehigh Valley should help.<\/p>Fazleev is entering his second season in the AHL. He\u2019s been in North America full-time since 2013-14, his first season in the WHL.<\/p>At development camp, Vorobyev had three other Russians \u2014 Fazleev, German Rubtsov and camp invite Ivan Kosorenkov \u2014 and Maksim Sushko, who\u2019s from Belarus but speaks Russian, to lean on. Fazleev was the only development camp veteran of the bunch.<\/p>Like Rubtsov last summer, Vorobyev wasn\u2019t able to attend development camp in 2015 and 2016 because of his contract obligations in the KHL. Having Kouznetsov around also helps.<\/p>\"It is a big help,\u201d Vorobyev said. \u201cI'm feeling much more comfortable. The guys are helpful. It's easier to have conversation. They explain the rules, especially the guys who were here the previous years.\u201d<\/p>The adjustment for Vorobyev will come largely off the ice. The Salavat, Russia, native doesn\u2019t view the smaller rink as an obstacle, but it usually is for Europeans and Russians.<\/p>\"When I traveled with the Russian team, I always liked to play on the smaller surface,\u201d Vorobyev said. \u201cI like it. There's no adjustment, basically.\"<\/p>Vorobyev isn\u2019t the only player coming overseas this season for the Flyers. Oskar Lindblom, a 2014 fifth-round pick, believes the biggest transition for him will be the rink size.<\/p>\u201cThat\u2019s the big thing,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a little bit faster over here, so you have to think a little faster and be ready out there. Otherwise, you're going to get hit or not make the play.\"<\/p>Both Vorobyev and Lindblom were middle-round picks. Lindblom\u2019s ascension has caught the eyes of the Flyers and their fans. Lindblom is expected to be a Flyer in 2017-18.<\/p>While Lindblom has earned the hype, Vorobyev\u2019s progression has been interesting too. Both are examples of how far the Flyers\u2019 scouting department has come in recent years.<\/p>Vorobyev earned a steady role in the KHL last season after splitting the 2015-16 season with Salavat Yulaev and Tolpar Ufa of the MHL.<\/p>For the average folk, Vorobyev\u2019s numbers last season will not turn any heads. He had just three goals and 11 points in 44 games for Salavat Yulaev, but with young players in the KHL, it\u2019s hard to judge strictly on statistics. What should be of note is the ice time.<\/p>During the regular season, Vorobyev averaged 9:47. That number shot up to 13:29 per game in five postseason contests. That signals his Salavat Yulaev coaches trusted him enough to play him.<\/p>It's easy to see the difference with Vorobyev and Rubtsov. Vorobyev carved out a spot on his team at 19 and 20 years old. Rubtsov couldn\u2019t crack his KHL lineup.<\/p>Both are now in North America. The Flyers have three options with Rubtsov: QMJHL, AHL and NHL. They technically have two choices with Vorobyev, but he\u2019ll be in the AHL.<\/p>\u201cThe Russians are a little bit of a different animal because if you\u2019re playing in the KHL,\u201d Hextall said, \u201cyou got a young kid playing against men in a top league and keep them down on the fourth line and give him seven minutes. It\u2019s hard to show a whole lot in seven minutes.\u201d<\/p>Vorobyev has added at least 13 pounds since the Flyers drafted him in the fourth round of the 2015 NHL draft. He\u2019s currently listed at 6-foot-2, 207 pounds.<\/p>\u201cIf you look at his weight, his body makeup, it\u2019s changed quite a bit since we drafted him,\u201d Hextall said, \u201cand again, he popped at the world juniors last year. Quite honestly, if you asked our scouts, I don\u2019t think they\u2019d be too surprised.\u201d<\/p>The world junior performance was Vorobyev\u2019s coming out party in North America. He was exciting to watch on a Russian team that also featured Rubtsov, who struggled in the tournament. Vorobyev displayed playmaking and vision not many ever he knew he had.<\/p>Vorobyev did most of his damage setting his teammates up from behind the net and said at development camp behind the net is an area he\u2019s comfortable.<\/p>\u201cBehind the net, I felt comfortable and got points off feeding the puck to the slot,\u201d Vorobyev said. \u201cIf my partners did not score, I wouldn\u2019t get assists. It is pride [to lead the tournament in assists], but the partners, that\u2019s who I relied on.\u201d<\/p>","summary":"After breaking onto the scene at the world juniors, Mikhail Vorobyev sees a \"good opportunity\" in North America with the Phantoms. By Tom Dougherty<\/p>","format":"filtered_html","safe_value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Not many people knew who Mikhail Vorobyev was when the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships began last December.<\/p>\nThey found out quick who he was by the end.<\/p>\nVorobyev led the tournament with 10 assists in seven games for Team Russia, which captured the bronze medal. He didn\u2019t register a goal but his 10 points were third most.<\/p>\n\u201cVorobyev popped at the world juniors when he\u2019s playing with his peers,\u201d <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> general manager Ron Hextall said recently during development camp at Flyers Skate Zone.<\/p>\n\u201cOur guys really liked him his draft year. We got him in the fourth round probably because he was in Russia. He was hidden a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\nAfter one full season playing in the KHL for Salavat Yulaev Ufa, Vorobyev signed his entry-level contract with the Flyers in late April. The 20-year-old center will spend the 2017-18 season with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms as part of an interesting forward group.<\/p>\nLehigh Valley finished as the second-best AHL team last season with 101 points in the regular season, but it lost to the Hershey Bears in five games during the first round of the playoffs.<\/p>\nThis season, Vorobyev figures to have a spot in the regular lineup, but the forward competition in the AHL could be as competitive as it will be with the Flyers.<\/p>\nStill, Vorobyev believed coming overseas was for his best interests.<\/p>\n\u201cIf you want to continue development,\u201d Vorobyev said through an interpreter, Flyers skating coach Slava Kouznetsov, \u201cthis is a good opportunity to get better. In Russia, I think I reached up. That\u2019s why I\u2019m switching to North America to get better than I already am.\u201d<\/p>\nIt may take Vorobyev a while to get accumulated to the North American lifestyle, especially since he doesn\u2019t speak English, but having Radel Fazleev at Lehigh Valley should help.<\/p>\nFazleev is entering his second season in the AHL. He\u2019s been in North America full-time since 2013-14, his first season in the WHL.<\/p>\nAt development camp, Vorobyev had three other Russians \u2014 Fazleev, German Rubtsov and camp invite Ivan Kosorenkov \u2014 and Maksim Sushko, who\u2019s from Belarus but speaks Russian, to lean on. Fazleev was the only development camp veteran of the bunch.<\/p>\nLike Rubtsov last summer, Vorobyev wasn\u2019t able to attend development camp in 2015 and 2016 because of his contract obligations in the KHL. Having Kouznetsov around also helps.<\/p>\n\"It is a big help,\u201d Vorobyev said. \u201cI'm feeling much more comfortable. The guys are helpful. It's easier to have conversation. They explain the rules, especially the guys who were here the previous years.\u201d<\/p>\nThe adjustment for Vorobyev will come largely off the ice. The Salavat, Russia, native doesn\u2019t view the smaller rink as an obstacle, but it usually is for Europeans and Russians.<\/p>\n\"When I traveled with the Russian team, I always liked to play on the smaller surface,\u201d Vorobyev said. \u201cI like it. There's no adjustment, basically.\"<\/p>\nVorobyev isn\u2019t the only player coming overseas this season for the Flyers. Oskar Lindblom, a 2014 fifth-round pick, believes the biggest transition for him will be the rink size.<\/p>\n\u201cThat\u2019s the big thing,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a little bit faster over here, so you have to think a little faster and be ready out there. Otherwise, you're going to get hit or not make the play.\"<\/p>\nBoth Vorobyev and Lindblom were middle-round picks. Lindblom\u2019s ascension has caught the eyes of the Flyers and their fans. Lindblom is expected to be a Flyer in 2017-18.<\/p>\nWhile Lindblom has earned the hype, Vorobyev\u2019s progression has been interesting too. Both are examples of how far the Flyers\u2019 scouting department has come in recent years.<\/p>\nVorobyev earned a steady role in the KHL last season after splitting the 2015-16 season with Salavat Yulaev and Tolpar Ufa of the MHL.<\/p>\nFor the average folk, Vorobyev\u2019s numbers last season will not turn any heads. He had just three goals and 11 points in 44 games for Salavat Yulaev, but with young players in the KHL, it\u2019s hard to judge strictly on statistics. What should be of note is the ice time.<\/p>\nDuring the regular season, Vorobyev averaged 9:47. That number shot up to 13:29 per game in five postseason contests. That signals his Salavat Yulaev coaches trusted him enough to play him.<\/p>\nIt's easy to see the difference with Vorobyev and Rubtsov. Vorobyev carved out a spot on his team at 19 and 20 years old. Rubtsov couldn\u2019t crack his KHL lineup.<\/p>\nBoth are now in North America. The Flyers have three options with Rubtsov: QMJHL, AHL and NHL. They technically have two choices with Vorobyev, but he\u2019ll be in the AHL.<\/p>\n\u201cThe Russians are a little bit of a different animal because if you\u2019re playing in the KHL,\u201d Hextall said, \u201cyou got a young kid playing against men in a top league and keep them down on the fourth line and give him seven minutes. It\u2019s hard to show a whole lot in seven minutes.\u201d<\/p>\nVorobyev has added at least 13 pounds since the Flyers drafted him in the fourth round of the 2015 NHL draft. He\u2019s currently listed at 6-foot-2, 207 pounds.<\/p>\n\u201cIf you look at his weight, his body makeup, it\u2019s changed quite a bit since we drafted him,\u201d Hextall said, \u201cand again, he popped at the world juniors last year. Quite honestly, if you asked our scouts, I don\u2019t think they\u2019d be too surprised.\u201d<\/p>\nThe world junior performance was Vorobyev\u2019s coming out party in North America. He was exciting to watch on a Russian team that also featured Rubtsov, who struggled in the tournament. Vorobyev displayed playmaking and vision not many ever he knew he had.<\/p>\nVorobyev did most of his damage setting his teammates up from behind the net and said at development camp behind the net is an area he\u2019s comfortable.<\/p>\n\u201cBehind the net, I felt comfortable and got points off feeding the puck to the slot,\u201d Vorobyev said. \u201cIf my partners did not score, I wouldn\u2019t get assists. It is pride [to lead the tournament in assists], but the partners, that\u2019s who I relied on.\u201d<\/p>\n","safe_summary":"After breaking onto the scene at the world juniors, Mikhail Vorobyev sees a \"good opportunity\" in North America with the Phantoms. By Tom Dougherty<\/p>\n"}]},"field_author_reference":{"und":[{"tid":"1321"}]},"field_bean_single_col":{"und":[{"target_id":"2456"}]},"field_chrome_page":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_date_published":{"und":[{"value":"2017-07-15 13:00:00","timezone":"America\/New_York","timezone_db":"UTC","date_type":"datetime"}]},"field_hero_image_credit":{"und":[{"value":"Tom Dougherty\/CSNPhilly.com","format":null,"safe_value":"Tom Dougherty\/CSNPhilly.com"}]},"field_image":{"und":[{"fid":"472531","uid":"266","filename":"tom-dougherty-mikhail-vorobyev-3.jpg","uri":"public:\/\/2017\/07\/14\/tom-dougherty-mikhail-vorobyev-3.jpg","filemime":"image\/jpeg","filesize":"177970","status":"1","timestamp":"1500066760","origname":"tom-dougherty-mikhail-vorobyev-3.jpg","type":"image","field_file_image_alt_text":[],"field_file_image_title_text":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]","default":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]"},"description":{"value":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!","default":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!"},"abstract":{"value":""},"keywords":{"value":""},"robots":{"value":{"index":0,"follow":0,"noindex":0,"nofollow":0,"noarchive":0,"nosnippet":0,"noodp":0,"noydir":0,"noimageindex":0,"notranslate":0}},"news_keywords":{"value":""},"standout":{"value":""},"rating":{"value":""},"referrer":{"value":""},"rights":{"value":""},"image_src":{"value":""},"canonical":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"shortlink":{"value":"[current-page:url:unaliased]","default":"[current-page:url:unaliased]"},"original-source":{"value":""},"prev":{"value":""},"next":{"value":""},"content-language":{"value":""},"geo.position":{"value":""},"geo.placename":{"value":""},"geo.region":{"value":""},"icbm":{"value":""},"refresh":{"value":""},"revisit-after":{"value":"","period":""},"pragma":{"value":""},"cache-control":{"value":""},"expires":{"value":""},"og:type":{"value":"article","default":"article"},"og:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"og:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"og:determiner":{"value":""},"og:description":{"value":""},"og:updated_time":{"value":""},"og:see_also":{"value":""},"og:image":{"value":""},"og:image:url":{"value":""},"og:image:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:image:type":{"value":""},"og:image:width":{"value":""},"og:image:height":{"value":""},"og:latitude":{"value":""},"og:longitude":{"value":""},"og:street_address":{"value":""},"og:locality":{"value":""},"og:region":{"value":""},"og:postal_code":{"value":""},"og:country_name":{"value":""},"og:email":{"value":""},"og:phone_number":{"value":""},"og:fax_number":{"value":""},"og:locale":{"value":""},"og:locale:alternate":{"value":""},"article:author":{"value":""},"article:publisher":{"value":""},"article:section":{"value":""},"article:tag":{"value":""},"article:published_time":{"value":""},"article:modified_time":{"value":""},"article:expiration_time":{"value":""},"profile:first_name":{"value":""},"profile:last_name":{"value":""},"profile:username":{"value":""},"profile:gender":{"value":""},"og:audio":{"value":""},"og:audio:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:audio:type":{"value":""},"book:author":{"value":""},"book:isbn":{"value":""},"book:release_date":{"value":""},"book:tag":{"value":""},"og:video:url":{"value":""},"og:video:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:video:width":{"value":""},"og:video:height":{"value":""},"og:video:type":{"value":""},"video:actor":{"value":""},"video:actor:role":{"value":""},"video:director":{"value":""},"video:writer":{"value":""},"video:duration":{"value":""},"video:release_date":{"value":""},"video:tag":{"value":""},"video:series":{"value":""},"twitter:card":{"value":"summary","default":"summary"},"twitter:creator":{"value":""},"twitter:creator:id":{"value":""},"twitter:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"twitter:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"twitter:description":{"value":""},"twitter:image":{"value":""},"twitter:image:width":{"value":""},"twitter:image:height":{"value":""},"twitter:image:alt":{"value":""},"twitter:image0":{"value":""},"twitter:image1":{"value":""},"twitter:image2":{"value":""},"twitter:image3":{"value":""},"twitter:player":{"value":""},"twitter:player:width":{"value":""},"twitter:player:height":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream:content_type":{"value":""},"twitter:app:country":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:label1":{"value":""},"twitter:data1":{"value":""},"twitter:label2":{"value":""},"twitter:data2":{"value":""}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"metadata":{"height":360,"width":640},"height":"360","width":"640","alt":"","title":""}]},"field_league":{"und":[{"tid":"196"}]},"field_section":{"und":[{"tid":"201"}]},"field_short_title":{"und":[{"value":"After popping at WJCs, Mikhail Vorobyev sees 'good opportunity' with Phantoms","format":null,"safe_value":"After popping at WJCs, Mikhail Vorobyev sees 'good opportunity' with Phantoms"}]},"field_sponsor":[],"field_sport":{"und":[{"tid":"191"}]},"field_tags":{"und":[{"tid":"6201"},{"tid":"18276"},{"tid":"20111"},{"tid":"466"},{"tid":"3091"}]},"field_team":{"und":[{"tid":"141"}]},"field_top_story":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_video_autoplay":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_videos":{"und":[{"target_id":"537636"}]},"field_tags_hide":{"und":[{"tid":"18276"}]},"field_video_automute":[],"field_editorial_category":[],"field_allow_lld_domains":[],"field_enable_stanza":[],"field_exclude_from_yahoo":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"Mikhail Vorobyev sees 'good opportunity' with Flyers, Phantoms"},"news_keywords":{"value":"Mikhail Vorobyev, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers, Mikhail Vorobyev Flyers, Flyers draft Mikhail Vorobyev, Flyers sign Mikhail Vorobyev"}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"name":"tdougherty","picture":"0","data":"b:0;"},"access":true}]},"field_primary_display":[],"field_section":[],"field_show":[],"field_sport":[],"field_tags":[],"field_team":[],"field_author_reference":[],"field_archive":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_mc_auto_mute":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_mc_cont_play":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_mc_media_file_title":[],"field_mc_vod_player_id":[],"field_media_file_id":[],"field_mediacard_autoplay":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_display_desktop_large_only":[],"field_hide_on_mobile":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","entity_view_prepared":true},"#items":[{"value":"MANUAL_CONTENT_STRATEGY"}],"#formatter":"list_default","0":{"#markup":"Select content manually"}},"field_content_type":{"#theme":"field","#weight":7,"#title":"Content Type","#access":true,"#label_display":"above","#view_mode":"default","#language":"und","#field_name":"field_content_type","#field_type":"list_text","#field_translatable":"0","#entity_type":"bean","#bundle":"media_card","#object":{"label":"Flyers Development Camp","description":null,"title":"Flyers Development Camp","type":"media_card","data":{"view_mode":"1col_eight_pack_headlines"},"delta":"flyers-development-camp","view_mode":"1col_eight_pack_headlines","bid":"2456","vid":"12311","created":"1499751228","changed":"1501226779","log":"","uid":"156","default_revision":"1","revisions":[],"field_ad_hoc_group":[],"field_branded_header":[],"field_content_strategy":{"und":[{"value":"MANUAL_CONTENT_STRATEGY"}]},"field_content_type":{"und":[{"value":"article"},{"value":"headline"},{"value":"media_gallery"},{"value":"video_on_demand"}]},"field_dl_tabloid_headline":{"und":[{"value":""},{"value":""},{"value":""},{"value":""},{"value":""},{"value":""},{"value":""},{"value":""}]},"field_event":[],"field_genre_display":[],"field_league":[],"field_link":[],"field_links":[],"field_media_card_items":{"und":[{"target_id":"538021","entity":{"vid":"564531","uid":"266","title":"On his own time, Oskar Lindblom puts himself right there with Flyers","log":"","status":"1","comment":"0","promote":"0","sticky":"0","nid":"538021","type":"article","language":"und","created":"1499654903","changed":"1499791976","tnid":"0","translate":"0","published":"1499691600","revision_timestamp":"1499791976","revision_uid":"266","body":{"und":[{"value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Oskar Lindblom would take 10 minutes out of his own time and hit the ice early before practice. In Sweden, there was no high-level skating whiz to seek out on staff.   Actually, there was no skating coach period.   \"Do your own thing and try to be better every day,\" Lindblom said. \"That's the only thing you can do.   \"You have to put yourself into it.\"   And so he did.   It's what makes the fifth-round pick's ascension that more grandiose. Lindblom is no longer a raw wonder with skating deficiencies. Those 10 minutes have added up into a refined and rising prospect, attracting <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> fans in bunches last weekend.   Everyone knows Lindblom now.   \"We picked Oskar, he went back to Europe, nobody even talks about him,\" Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said Friday at development camp. \"What does he do? He just gets better and better and better.\"   Lindblom's climb has nearly reached the Flyers. The 6-foot-2, 192-pound winger signed his entry-level contract in May and turns 21 in August. He earned 2016-17 Swedish Hockey League Forward of the Year honors playing for Bryn\u00e4s IF. Over 52 regular-season games, Lindblom accumulated 47 points on 22 goals and 25 assists, then added 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in 20 playoff games.   How in the world did all that slip to the fifth round of the 2014 draft?   \"Oskar going into his draft year, he was thought to be a first-round pick, maybe top-15 pick that year,\" Hextall said. \"He didn't have a great year, some things didn't go his way, whatever, you look back and these kids are really young.   \"Some of these kids make a lot of progress in a couple years and I think Oskar is one of those guys. His skating, you look at certain players, they don't have a great stride and their skating can certainly get better, but there's a bit of ceiling there. With Oskar, it was more of a strength issue and that's what's come on with him. It's been a couple of years, he's gotten a lot stronger and you can just tell when you see him out on the ice there.\"   Not many would have predicted this, though. Lindblom, a humbled youngster from Sweden with long blonde hair, even surprised himself last season.   \"A little bit,\" he said. \"I just wanted to be a leading guy on our team, but I didn't think I was going to score that much or have that many points. The longer the season got, I got more confident in my play. It felt good.\"   So how did Lindblom develop so vastly? For one, it's come from his own motivation. He knew he had to become stronger, and he has. He knew his skating had to improve, so he worked on it. His hands had to be better, and now they are.   A lot of the credit goes to Lindblom.   \"Take the hat off to the kid, too, because he put a lot of work in,\" Hextall said. \"When you improve that much, he put a lot of work in.\"   Secondly, Lindblom embodies the importance of development camp. He valued the instruction from NHL coaches and implemented what he learned moving forward.   A significant influence in Lindblom's development has been Flyers skating coach Slava Kouznetsov.   \"We've got some drills over here from Slava,\" Lindblom said. \"Try to do small stuff like in the gym. Just the small stuff to do to get better \u2014 that's what you need to do.   \"My legs are much stronger now and my technique has been a little better. Those two things I think have been most important.\"   If Hextall had a development camp manual, Lindblom would be in it.   \"We have Slava here \u2014 he's instructed to give things to take home,\" Hextall said. \"And if they work on those every day, even if it's only five minutes, I guarantee you over the course of the year, they'll get better. Oskar's a great example.\"   Lindblom said his plans are to head home following development camp and then return in mid-August \"just to get ready and get comfortable.\" With the Flyers in need of scoring, specifically production from the wing, Lindblom has become the organization's most anticipated prospect not named Nolan Patrick. He'll be in September's training camp with more than a fighter's chance to win a roster spot.   \"He had a real good year last year and he's certainly put himself on the map for everybody, but he still has to come in and get it done,\" Hextall said. \"He has to prove he makes us a better team.\"   Lindblom, of all people, doesn't expect anything handed to him.   \"It's going to be a big challenge for me,\" Lindblom said. \"It's going to be tough work to get to where I want to be.   \"Like everybody else, you have to earn the spot and battle for it.\"   A fifth-round pick is well aware.   \"I just think about it by myself, like fifth-rounder, I just felt like I can play and I can be on this level,\" Lindblom said. \"So I'm just trying to push myself every day and be better. Now I've signed here and just have to do my best now to get there. That's what I want \u2014 play in the NHL, of course.\"   Putting in 10 extra minutes by himself has him right there.<\/p>","summary":"Knocking on the NHL's door, Oskar Lindblom's ascension into one of the Flyers' most anticipated prospects is a large part of his own. By Jordan Hall<\/p>","format":"filtered_html","safe_value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Oskar Lindblom would take 10 minutes out of his own time and hit the ice early before practice. In Sweden, there was no high-level skating whiz to seek out on staff.   Actually, there was no skating coach period.   \"Do your own thing and try to be better every day,\" Lindblom said. \"That's the only thing you can do.   \"You have to put yourself into it.\"   And so he did.   It's what makes the fifth-round pick's ascension that more grandiose. Lindblom is no longer a raw wonder with skating deficiencies. Those 10 minutes have added up into a refined and rising prospect, attracting <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> fans in bunches last weekend.   Everyone knows Lindblom now.   \"We picked Oskar, he went back to Europe, nobody even talks about him,\" Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said Friday at development camp. \"What does he do? He just gets better and better and better.\"   Lindblom's climb has nearly reached the Flyers. The 6-foot-2, 192-pound winger signed his entry-level contract in May and turns 21 in August. He earned 2016-17 Swedish Hockey League Forward of the Year honors playing for Bryn\u00e4s IF. Over 52 regular-season games, Lindblom accumulated 47 points on 22 goals and 25 assists, then added 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in 20 playoff games.   How in the world did all that slip to the fifth round of the 2014 draft?   \"Oskar going into his draft year, he was thought to be a first-round pick, maybe top-15 pick that year,\" Hextall said. \"He didn't have a great year, some things didn't go his way, whatever, you look back and these kids are really young.   \"Some of these kids make a lot of progress in a couple years and I think Oskar is one of those guys. His skating, you look at certain players, they don't have a great stride and their skating can certainly get better, but there's a bit of ceiling there. With Oskar, it was more of a strength issue and that's what's come on with him. It's been a couple of years, he's gotten a lot stronger and you can just tell when you see him out on the ice there.\"   Not many would have predicted this, though. Lindblom, a humbled youngster from Sweden with long blonde hair, even surprised himself last season.   \"A little bit,\" he said. \"I just wanted to be a leading guy on our team, but I didn't think I was going to score that much or have that many points. The longer the season got, I got more confident in my play. It felt good.\"   So how did Lindblom develop so vastly? For one, it's come from his own motivation. He knew he had to become stronger, and he has. He knew his skating had to improve, so he worked on it. His hands had to be better, and now they are.   A lot of the credit goes to Lindblom.   \"Take the hat off to the kid, too, because he put a lot of work in,\" Hextall said. \"When you improve that much, he put a lot of work in.\"   Secondly, Lindblom embodies the importance of development camp. He valued the instruction from NHL coaches and implemented what he learned moving forward.   A significant influence in Lindblom's development has been Flyers skating coach Slava Kouznetsov.   \"We've got some drills over here from Slava,\" Lindblom said. \"Try to do small stuff like in the gym. Just the small stuff to do to get better \u2014 that's what you need to do.   \"My legs are much stronger now and my technique has been a little better. Those two things I think have been most important.\"   If Hextall had a development camp manual, Lindblom would be in it.   \"We have Slava here \u2014 he's instructed to give things to take home,\" Hextall said. \"And if they work on those every day, even if it's only five minutes, I guarantee you over the course of the year, they'll get better. Oskar's a great example.\"   Lindblom said his plans are to head home following development camp and then return in mid-August \"just to get ready and get comfortable.\" With the Flyers in need of scoring, specifically production from the wing, Lindblom has become the organization's most anticipated prospect not named Nolan Patrick. He'll be in September's training camp with more than a fighter's chance to win a roster spot.   \"He had a real good year last year and he's certainly put himself on the map for everybody, but he still has to come in and get it done,\" Hextall said. \"He has to prove he makes us a better team.\"   Lindblom, of all people, doesn't expect anything handed to him.   \"It's going to be a big challenge for me,\" Lindblom said. \"It's going to be tough work to get to where I want to be.   \"Like everybody else, you have to earn the spot and battle for it.\"   A fifth-round pick is well aware.   \"I just think about it by myself, like fifth-rounder, I just felt like I can play and I can be on this level,\" Lindblom said. \"So I'm just trying to push myself every day and be better. Now I've signed here and just have to do my best now to get there. That's what I want \u2014 play in the NHL, of course.\"   Putting in 10 extra minutes by himself has him right there.<\/p>\n","safe_summary":"Knocking on the NHL's door, Oskar Lindblom's ascension into one of the Flyers' most anticipated prospects is a large part of his own. By Jordan Hall<\/p>\n"}]},"field_author_reference":{"und":[{"tid":"1056"}]},"field_bean_single_col":{"und":[{"target_id":"2456"}]},"field_chrome_page":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_date_published":{"und":[{"value":"2017-07-10 13:00:00","timezone":"America\/New_York","timezone_db":"UTC","date_type":"datetime"}]},"field_hero_image_credit":{"und":[{"value":"Photo credit: Zack Hill\/Flyers","format":null,"safe_value":"Photo credit: Zack Hill\/Flyers"}]},"field_image":{"und":[{"fid":"472556","uid":"266","filename":"zack-hill-flyers-oskar-lindblom.jpg","uri":"public:\/\/2017\/07\/09\/zack-hill-flyers-oskar-lindblom.jpg","filemime":"image\/jpeg","filesize":"206840","status":"1","timestamp":"1499654903","origname":"zack-hill-flyers-oskar-lindblom.jpg","type":"image","field_file_image_alt_text":[],"field_file_image_title_text":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]","default":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]"},"description":{"value":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!","default":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!"},"abstract":{"value":""},"keywords":{"value":""},"robots":{"value":{"index":0,"follow":0,"noindex":0,"nofollow":0,"noarchive":0,"nosnippet":0,"noodp":0,"noydir":0,"noimageindex":0,"notranslate":0}},"news_keywords":{"value":""},"standout":{"value":""},"rating":{"value":""},"referrer":{"value":""},"rights":{"value":""},"image_src":{"value":""},"canonical":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"shortlink":{"value":"[current-page:url:unaliased]","default":"[current-page:url:unaliased]"},"original-source":{"value":""},"prev":{"value":""},"next":{"value":""},"content-language":{"value":""},"geo.position":{"value":""},"geo.placename":{"value":""},"geo.region":{"value":""},"icbm":{"value":""},"refresh":{"value":""},"revisit-after":{"value":"","period":""},"pragma":{"value":""},"cache-control":{"value":""},"expires":{"value":""},"og:type":{"value":"article","default":"article"},"og:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"og:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"og:determiner":{"value":""},"og:description":{"value":""},"og:updated_time":{"value":""},"og:see_also":{"value":""},"og:image":{"value":""},"og:image:url":{"value":""},"og:image:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:image:type":{"value":""},"og:image:width":{"value":""},"og:image:height":{"value":""},"og:latitude":{"value":""},"og:longitude":{"value":""},"og:street_address":{"value":""},"og:locality":{"value":""},"og:region":{"value":""},"og:postal_code":{"value":""},"og:country_name":{"value":""},"og:email":{"value":""},"og:phone_number":{"value":""},"og:fax_number":{"value":""},"og:locale":{"value":""},"og:locale:alternate":{"value":""},"article:author":{"value":""},"article:publisher":{"value":""},"article:section":{"value":""},"article:tag":{"value":""},"article:published_time":{"value":""},"article:modified_time":{"value":""},"article:expiration_time":{"value":""},"profile:first_name":{"value":""},"profile:last_name":{"value":""},"profile:username":{"value":""},"profile:gender":{"value":""},"og:audio":{"value":""},"og:audio:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:audio:type":{"value":""},"book:author":{"value":""},"book:isbn":{"value":""},"book:release_date":{"value":""},"book:tag":{"value":""},"og:video:url":{"value":""},"og:video:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:video:width":{"value":""},"og:video:height":{"value":""},"og:video:type":{"value":""},"video:actor":{"value":""},"video:actor:role":{"value":""},"video:director":{"value":""},"video:writer":{"value":""},"video:duration":{"value":""},"video:release_date":{"value":""},"video:tag":{"value":""},"video:series":{"value":""},"twitter:card":{"value":"summary","default":"summary"},"twitter:creator":{"value":""},"twitter:creator:id":{"value":""},"twitter:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"twitter:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"twitter:description":{"value":""},"twitter:image":{"value":""},"twitter:image:width":{"value":""},"twitter:image:height":{"value":""},"twitter:image:alt":{"value":""},"twitter:image0":{"value":""},"twitter:image1":{"value":""},"twitter:image2":{"value":""},"twitter:image3":{"value":""},"twitter:player":{"value":""},"twitter:player:width":{"value":""},"twitter:player:height":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream:content_type":{"value":""},"twitter:app:country":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:label1":{"value":""},"twitter:data1":{"value":""},"twitter:label2":{"value":""},"twitter:data2":{"value":""}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"metadata":{"height":360,"width":640},"height":"360","width":"640","alt":"","title":""}]},"field_league":{"und":[{"tid":"196"}]},"field_section":{"und":[{"tid":"201"}]},"field_short_title":{"und":[{"value":"On his own time, Oskar Lindblom puts himself right there with Flyers","format":null,"safe_value":"On his own time, Oskar Lindblom puts himself right there with Flyers"}]},"field_sponsor":[],"field_sport":{"und":[{"tid":"191"}]},"field_tags":{"und":[{"tid":"6201"},{"tid":"18276"},{"tid":"506"},{"tid":"10166"},{"tid":"466"},{"tid":"2966"}]},"field_team":{"und":[{"tid":"141"}]},"field_top_story":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_video_autoplay":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_videos":{"und":[{"target_id":"537346"}]},"field_tags_hide":{"und":[{"tid":"18276"}]},"field_video_automute":[],"field_editorial_category":[],"field_allow_lld_domains":[],"field_enable_stanza":[],"field_exclude_from_yahoo":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"Oskar Lindblom puts himself with Flyers on own time"},"news_keywords":{"value":"Oskar Lindblom, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers, Oskar Lindblom Flyers, Flyers sign Oskar Lindblom, Ron Hextall, Oskar Lindblom hockey"}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"name":"tdougherty","picture":"0","data":"b:0;"},"access":true},{"target_id":"539281","entity":{"vid":"565926","uid":"156","title":"Travis Sanheim welcomes competition, 'coming to make the Flyers'","log":"","status":"1","comment":"0","promote":"0","sticky":"0","nid":"539281","type":"article","language":"und","created":"1500056265","changed":"1500155401","tnid":"0","translate":"0","published":"1500056580","revision_timestamp":"1500155401","revision_uid":"266","body":{"und":[{"value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 At development camp, Travis Sanheim was almost too developed.<\/p>He would skate through drills so naturally and fluidly, he could have been an instructor.<\/p>Unintentionally, he was in a way.<\/p>\"It's definitely a teaching camp,\" Sanheim said last week. \"Even the development coaches have talked to me, making sure I slow stuff down and show the younger guys how to do it properly, not necessarily doing everything at full speed.\"<\/p>Sanheim understood the importance of leading by example at his fourth development camp, but there was no reason to feel sorry for appearing ahead of the curve.<\/p>That's where Sanheim is.<\/p>Which made for a slight paradox over the six-day course. Undoubtedly, the 21-year-old defenseman wanted to be among the organization's prospects, sharpening and sculpting his game just like the rest.<\/p>But there's no question Sanheim's yearning for a much different camp \u2014 September with the big boys, because he's now one of them.<\/p>\"I feel like I'm ready, I'm going to compete for a spot,\" Sanheim said. \"Until somebody tells me differently, that's my goal. I'm coming to make the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\" target=\"_blank\">Flyers<\/a>.\"<\/p>Under general manager Ron Hextall's philosophy of earn what you get, Sanheim will have his chance. But is there room? The Flyers are at a numbers crunch on the blue line. There is expected to be two spots open, presumably for Robert Hagg and Sam Morin, both of whom acquitted themselves well during their April NHL debuts.<\/p>Sanheim isn't conceding anything, though.<\/p>\"It's going to come down to camp,\" he said.<\/p>\"This year, obviously there's going to be some spots available, and we're going to be fighting for the job.\"<\/p>It's hard to deny his readiness. The 2014 first-round pick has done what has been necessary through his development path. He's added noticeable strength, going from around 172 pounds when drafted to a sturdy 200 currently.<\/p>\"I watched Travis Sanheim \u2014 you see him, his first development camp he looked like a young boy,\" Hextall said. \"And you look at him now, and he almost looks like a man. He's just more upright, you can tell his body is more linked up, he's got a stronger core, he's more upright when he skates.\"<\/p>The 6-foot-4 Sanheim weighed the same at 2016 development camp, a possible sign he's where he needs to be physically. Hextall believes weight must still be gained and Sanheim doesn't disagree, but did point out how he fared just fine last season in his first full year with AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley.<\/p>\"Obviously, I'm going to want to continue to keep gaining strength and add that to my game, but I played pro this year and it didn't faze me at all,\" he said. \"The strength, I think I was right there with everyone else, was able to compete and battle in 1-on-1s against pro players.\"<\/p>With the Phantoms, his defensive principles and two-way awareness took positive strides over time. Offense has always been Sanheim's game. In his final two junior seasons, he totaled 133 points in 119 regular-season games. That was against kids in the WHL.<\/p>In 2016-17, he saw the change against men in the AHL. He managed to collect 37 points (10 goals, 27 assists) in 76 games for a plus-7 rating and knows he can do more, but the AHL helped him focus on picking his spots.<\/p>\"I went over numerous video sessions with the coaches, watching clips of stuff that if I was to look at it now, it would just look silly,\" Sanheim said with a laugh. \"I'm standing on top of the goalie in the crease, there's just no need for that as a defenseman and especially at the pro level.<\/p>\"I wasn't able to do the same things that I was able to do in junior. I had to learn some valuable lessons in the first few months, but I think towards the end of the season, you could see that I had gained my confidence again and was starting to play the game that I wanted to play.<\/p>\"I know to play at this next level, I'm going to have to be just as good in my D-zone as I am in the offensive zone, so for me, if I'm not contributing offensively, I just want to make sure I'm bringing the full two-way game.\"<\/p>Hextall noticed Sanheim's adjustment period.<\/p>\"He did a really good job last year from start to finish \u2014 got a lot better,\" he said. \"The adjustment on the first month, month and a half, where he was going too much up ice, a little bit irresponsible and all of a sudden, a month, month and a half in, figured that part out. That was a huge step for him. He got better, he got better throughout the year and he needs to continue on that.\"<\/p>As pleased as Hextall has been with the development, it sounds like Sanheim's jump to the NHL will ultimately come down to the aforementioned size and opportunity.<\/p>\"You go from an American League level to trying to make the NHL team, there's a speed, a strength thing that wounds up another two notches,\" Hextall said. \"He just has to continue to do what he's doing and get better every day.<\/p>\"Your reaction time to closing on a guy, whether to close or not close, everything gets ramped up. It's the whole mind, the hockey sense, the strength, the being in the proper position, because if you're caught out of position at the NHL level and it's an elite player, you're in big trouble. In the American League, you can get away with it.<\/p>\"There's still some fine-tuning that he needs to do and all those young defensemen need to do, and we'll see where we're at in September.\"<\/p>Sanheim knows where he wants to be. And he's not just saying it \u2014 he believes it.<\/p>\"I'm going to obviously do what they tell me,\" he said, \"but I'm coming to camp to make the team.\"<\/p>","summary":"If there isn't a spot open on the Flyers' defense for Travis Sanheim in 2017-18, he's ready to make himself one. By Jordan Hall<\/p>","format":"filtered_html","safe_value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 At development camp, Travis Sanheim was almost too developed.<\/p>\nHe would skate through drills so naturally and fluidly, he could have been an instructor.<\/p>\nUnintentionally, he was in a way.<\/p>\n\"It's definitely a teaching camp,\" Sanheim said last week. \"Even the development coaches have talked to me, making sure I slow stuff down and show the younger guys how to do it properly, not necessarily doing everything at full speed.\"<\/p>\nSanheim understood the importance of leading by example at his fourth development camp, but there was no reason to feel sorry for appearing ahead of the curve.<\/p>\nThat's where Sanheim is.<\/p>\nWhich made for a slight paradox over the six-day course. Undoubtedly, the 21-year-old defenseman wanted to be among the organization's prospects, sharpening and sculpting his game just like the rest.<\/p>\nBut there's no question Sanheim's yearning for a much different camp \u2014 September with the big boys, because he's now one of them.<\/p>\n\"I feel like I'm ready, I'm going to compete for a spot,\" Sanheim said. \"Until somebody tells me differently, that's my goal. I'm coming to make the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\" target=\"_blank\">Flyers<\/a>.\"<\/p>\nUnder general manager Ron Hextall's philosophy of earn what you get, Sanheim will have his chance. But is there room? The Flyers are at a numbers crunch on the blue line. There is expected to be two spots open, presumably for Robert Hagg and Sam Morin, both of whom acquitted themselves well during their April NHL debuts.<\/p>\nSanheim isn't conceding anything, though.<\/p>\n\"It's going to come down to camp,\" he said.<\/p>\n\"This year, obviously there's going to be some spots available, and we're going to be fighting for the job.\"<\/p>\nIt's hard to deny his readiness. The 2014 first-round pick has done what has been necessary through his development path. He's added noticeable strength, going from around 172 pounds when drafted to a sturdy 200 currently.<\/p>\n\"I watched Travis Sanheim \u2014 you see him, his first development camp he looked like a young boy,\" Hextall said. \"And you look at him now, and he almost looks like a man. He's just more upright, you can tell his body is more linked up, he's got a stronger core, he's more upright when he skates.\"<\/p>\nThe 6-foot-4 Sanheim weighed the same at 2016 development camp, a possible sign he's where he needs to be physically. Hextall believes weight must still be gained and Sanheim doesn't disagree, but did point out how he fared just fine last season in his first full year with AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley.<\/p>\n\"Obviously, I'm going to want to continue to keep gaining strength and add that to my game, but I played pro this year and it didn't faze me at all,\" he said. \"The strength, I think I was right there with everyone else, was able to compete and battle in 1-on-1s against pro players.\"<\/p>\nWith the Phantoms, his defensive principles and two-way awareness took positive strides over time. Offense has always been Sanheim's game. In his final two junior seasons, he totaled 133 points in 119 regular-season games. That was against kids in the WHL.<\/p>\nIn 2016-17, he saw the change against men in the AHL. He managed to collect 37 points (10 goals, 27 assists) in 76 games for a plus-7 rating and knows he can do more, but the AHL helped him focus on picking his spots.<\/p>\n\"I went over numerous video sessions with the coaches, watching clips of stuff that if I was to look at it now, it would just look silly,\" Sanheim said with a laugh. \"I'm standing on top of the goalie in the crease, there's just no need for that as a defenseman and especially at the pro level.<\/p>\n\"I wasn't able to do the same things that I was able to do in junior. I had to learn some valuable lessons in the first few months, but I think towards the end of the season, you could see that I had gained my confidence again and was starting to play the game that I wanted to play.<\/p>\n\"I know to play at this next level, I'm going to have to be just as good in my D-zone as I am in the offensive zone, so for me, if I'm not contributing offensively, I just want to make sure I'm bringing the full two-way game.\"<\/p>\nHextall noticed Sanheim's adjustment period.<\/p>\n\"He did a really good job last year from start to finish \u2014 got a lot better,\" he said. \"The adjustment on the first month, month and a half, where he was going too much up ice, a little bit irresponsible and all of a sudden, a month, month and a half in, figured that part out. That was a huge step for him. He got better, he got better throughout the year and he needs to continue on that.\"<\/p>\nAs pleased as Hextall has been with the development, it sounds like Sanheim's jump to the NHL will ultimately come down to the aforementioned size and opportunity.<\/p>\n\"You go from an American League level to trying to make the NHL team, there's a speed, a strength thing that wounds up another two notches,\" Hextall said. \"He just has to continue to do what he's doing and get better every day.<\/p>\n\"Your reaction time to closing on a guy, whether to close or not close, everything gets ramped up. It's the whole mind, the hockey sense, the strength, the being in the proper position, because if you're caught out of position at the NHL level and it's an elite player, you're in big trouble. In the American League, you can get away with it.<\/p>\n\"There's still some fine-tuning that he needs to do and all those young defensemen need to do, and we'll see where we're at in September.\"<\/p>\nSanheim knows where he wants to be. And he's not just saying it \u2014 he believes it.<\/p>\n\"I'm going to obviously do what they tell me,\" he said, \"but I'm coming to camp to make the team.\"<\/p>\n","safe_summary":"If there isn't a spot open on the Flyers' defense for Travis Sanheim in 2017-18, he's ready to make himself one. By Jordan Hall<\/p>\n"}]},"field_author_reference":{"und":[{"tid":"1056"}]},"field_bean_single_col":{"und":[{"target_id":"2456"}]},"field_chrome_page":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_date_published":{"und":[{"value":"2017-07-14 18:23:00","timezone":"America\/New_York","timezone_db":"UTC","date_type":"datetime"}]},"field_hero_image_credit":{"und":[{"value":"Photo credit: Zack Hill\/Flyers","format":null,"safe_value":"Photo credit: Zack Hill\/Flyers"}]},"field_image":{"und":[{"fid":"474286","uid":"156","filename":"zack-hill-travis-sanheim.jpg","uri":"public:\/\/2017\/07\/14\/zack-hill-travis-sanheim.jpg","filemime":"image\/jpeg","filesize":"290788","status":"1","timestamp":"1500056265","origname":"zack-hill-travis-sanheim.jpg","type":"image","field_file_image_alt_text":[],"field_file_image_title_text":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]","default":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]"},"description":{"value":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!","default":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!"},"abstract":{"value":""},"keywords":{"value":""},"robots":{"value":{"index":0,"follow":0,"noindex":0,"nofollow":0,"noarchive":0,"nosnippet":0,"noodp":0,"noydir":0,"noimageindex":0,"notranslate":0}},"news_keywords":{"value":""},"standout":{"value":""},"rating":{"value":""},"referrer":{"value":""},"rights":{"value":""},"image_src":{"value":""},"canonical":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"shortlink":{"value":"[current-page:url:unaliased]","default":"[current-page:url:unaliased]"},"original-source":{"value":""},"prev":{"value":""},"next":{"value":""},"content-language":{"value":""},"geo.position":{"value":""},"geo.placename":{"value":""},"geo.region":{"value":""},"icbm":{"value":""},"refresh":{"value":""},"revisit-after":{"value":"","period":""},"pragma":{"value":""},"cache-control":{"value":""},"expires":{"value":""},"og:type":{"value":"article","default":"article"},"og:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"og:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"og:determiner":{"value":""},"og:description":{"value":""},"og:updated_time":{"value":""},"og:see_also":{"value":""},"og:image":{"value":""},"og:image:url":{"value":""},"og:image:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:image:type":{"value":""},"og:image:width":{"value":""},"og:image:height":{"value":""},"og:latitude":{"value":""},"og:longitude":{"value":""},"og:street_address":{"value":""},"og:locality":{"value":""},"og:region":{"value":""},"og:postal_code":{"value":""},"og:country_name":{"value":""},"og:email":{"value":""},"og:phone_number":{"value":""},"og:fax_number":{"value":""},"og:locale":{"value":""},"og:locale:alternate":{"value":""},"article:author":{"value":""},"article:publisher":{"value":""},"article:section":{"value":""},"article:tag":{"value":""},"article:published_time":{"value":""},"article:modified_time":{"value":""},"article:expiration_time":{"value":""},"profile:first_name":{"value":""},"profile:last_name":{"value":""},"profile:username":{"value":""},"profile:gender":{"value":""},"og:audio":{"value":""},"og:audio:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:audio:type":{"value":""},"book:author":{"value":""},"book:isbn":{"value":""},"book:release_date":{"value":""},"book:tag":{"value":""},"og:video:url":{"value":""},"og:video:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:video:width":{"value":""},"og:video:height":{"value":""},"og:video:type":{"value":""},"video:actor":{"value":""},"video:actor:role":{"value":""},"video:director":{"value":""},"video:writer":{"value":""},"video:duration":{"value":""},"video:release_date":{"value":""},"video:tag":{"value":""},"video:series":{"value":""},"twitter:card":{"value":"summary","default":"summary"},"twitter:creator":{"value":""},"twitter:creator:id":{"value":""},"twitter:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"twitter:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"twitter:description":{"value":""},"twitter:image":{"value":""},"twitter:image:width":{"value":""},"twitter:image:height":{"value":""},"twitter:image:alt":{"value":""},"twitter:image0":{"value":""},"twitter:image1":{"value":""},"twitter:image2":{"value":""},"twitter:image3":{"value":""},"twitter:player":{"value":""},"twitter:player:width":{"value":""},"twitter:player:height":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream:content_type":{"value":""},"twitter:app:country":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:label1":{"value":""},"twitter:data1":{"value":""},"twitter:label2":{"value":""},"twitter:data2":{"value":""}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"metadata":{"height":353,"width":640},"height":"353","width":"640","alt":"","title":""}]},"field_league":{"und":[{"tid":"196"}]},"field_section":{"und":[{"tid":"201"}]},"field_short_title":{"und":[{"value":"Travis Sanheim welcomes competition, 'coming to make the Flyers'","format":null,"safe_value":"Travis Sanheim welcomes competition, 'coming to make the Flyers'"}]},"field_sponsor":[],"field_sport":{"und":[{"tid":"191"}]},"field_tags":{"und":[{"tid":"6201"},{"tid":"18276"},{"tid":"506"},{"tid":"466"},{"tid":"2966"},{"tid":"6606"}]},"field_team":{"und":[{"tid":"141"}]},"field_top_story":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_video_autoplay":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_videos":{"und":[{"target_id":"537651"}]},"field_tags_hide":{"und":[{"tid":"18276"}]},"field_video_automute":[],"field_editorial_category":[],"field_allow_lld_domains":[],"field_enable_stanza":[],"field_exclude_from_yahoo":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"Travis Sanheim 'coming to make the Flyers'"},"news_keywords":{"value":"Travis Sanheim, Philadelphia Flyers, Jordan Hall, Flyers development camp, Flyers prospects"}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"name":"JHall","picture":"0","data":"b:0;"},"access":true},{"target_id":"539771","entity":{"vid":"566531","uid":"266","title":"Phil Myers, bulked up and healthy, pledges this Flyers training camp will be different","log":"","status":"1","comment":"0","promote":"0","sticky":"0","nid":"539771","type":"article","language":"und","created":"1500221167","changed":"1501550565","tnid":"0","translate":"0","published":"1500291000","revision_timestamp":"1501550565","revision_uid":"156","body":{"und":[{"value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Standing at his stall at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> Skate Zone during last weekend\u2019s development camp, defenseman Phil Myers towered over everyone else, but there was one noticeable difference.<\/p>Myers added about 10 pounds of muscle over the summer, and it shows. On the ice, he looked out of place. He belonged with the orange and black on his sweater. No doubt.<\/p>It just didn\u2019t look as if he needed to be on the same sheet with his peers anymore. Perhaps it was the benefits of a full summer of training. Injuries derailed his training last summer.<\/p>\u201cI had the same surgery as (Shayne) Gostisbehere,\u201d Myers said. \u201cHe had one hip, and Sam Morin, all of those guys got the same thing I did.\u201d<\/p>There was a sprained knee suffered at the 2016 Memorial Cup. There was a pubic plate detachment and a torn labrum in his left hip. He underwent hip surgery on June 22, 2016. The recovery wiped out Myers\u2019 summer training. On Sept. 26, 2016, he was medically cleared to return. The next night, he dove into the fray against the New York Islanders.<\/p>How did it go? Myers finished as a plus-two with three hits and a blocked shot in 22:39.<\/p>\u201cI felt out of shape, obviously, last year,\u201d he said. \u201cThe day after I got cleared, I jumped into a preseason game. It jumped up pretty quick. \u2026 This summer is going to be different.\u201d<\/p>The Flyers insist development camp is not for evaluation. That may be true. Its purpose is to teach prospects how to work and live as a professional hockey player. No matter how much Myers looked like a pro amid his peers, it will not impact his odds come September's training camp when spots are earned in a competitive environment.   Myers, 20, is graduating to the professional ranks this season, and where he plays will be up to him. The Flyers have two openings on their blue line, and general manager Ron Hextall is leaving them up for prospects to grab. Robert Hagg and Morin are the front runners.   Don\u2019t count Myers out just yet.   The Moncton, New Brunswick, native was among the Flyers\u2019 final cuts last October. He stuck around longer than many expected and that was without any summer training.   His training this summer has been broken down into phases. The first phase was bulking up and putting on muscle. Mission accomplished. The next phase, according to Myers, is \u201cheavier stuff,\u201d which he said is strength training. His plan is to stay in the Philadelphia area for two weeks after development camp to train and come back 10 days early to skate before the big camp begins in September.   \u201cYou get stronger and faster,\u201d Myers said. \u201cI\u2019m going to focus on what I can do and what I can control. That\u2019s what I did last year. I just took as much in as possible and tried to get ready as fast as I could because I didn\u2019t really have a lot of time. This year, I have much more time so I\u2019m taking things much more slowly and more controlled.\u201d   Last season was another in which Myers trended upward, though it was one mired with injuries; he suffered whiplash in October and a concussion against Team USA at the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships. Myers, the only undrafted player on Team Canada\u2019s roster, was arguably the team\u2019s best defenseman before the concussion. His play at the world juniors led to TSN\u2019s Bob McKenzie tweeting Myers \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TSNBobMcKenzie\/status\/819558090211094528\">looks NHL ready, or close to it<\/a>.\u201d   The smooth-skating 6-foot-5 blueliner registered double-digit goals (10) and 35 points in 34 regular-season games with Rouyn-Noranda of the QMJHL in 2016-17. He ended the regular season on a five-game point streak. He added nine points in 13 playoff games. He finished his QMJHL career with 29 goals and 92 points in 203 games. Like Carter Hart, Myers joined the Phantoms once his season ended but didn\u2019t play.   \u201cThe injury struggles that he, unfortunately, went through there, those are all opportunities to learn and grow,\u201d Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol said. \u201cYou can see the growth in Phil off-ice when you look at his stature. You just want to see him come into camp and come in and compete as hard as he did last year and improve on the results from last year.\u201d   Myers may be at a disadvantage come September. Because of last year's injury-ridden season and the fact that he's coming straight from junior, he may be a few legs behind Hagg, Morin and even Travis Sanheim, who was at his fourth development camp last weekend <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\/travis-sanheim-welcomes-competition-coming-make-flyers\">(see story)<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.    While every player\u2019s developmental path is different, Myers has to beat out at least two players with professional experience already and two \u2014 Hagg and Morin \u2014 who looked the part during their NHL debuts in April. It\u2019s a safe bet that Myers begins at Lehigh Valley.   \u201cIf he comes in and he\u2019s the best guy or we feel he\u2019s the best guy,\u201d Hextall said of Myers, \u201che\u2019s going to play. The other guys, whenever you played in the American League, you have a leg up. You expect those guys to come in and be a little more NHL ready than a kid coming right out of junior, but the players are going to dictate who\u2019s on our team.\u201d<\/p>","summary":"With a full summer of training behind him, Phil Myers said this September's training camp will be different than last year's. By Tom Dougherty<\/p>","format":"filtered_html","safe_value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Standing at his stall at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> Skate Zone during last weekend\u2019s development camp, defenseman Phil Myers towered over everyone else, but there was one noticeable difference.<\/p>\nMyers added about 10 pounds of muscle over the summer, and it shows. On the ice, he looked out of place. He belonged with the orange and black on his sweater. No doubt.<\/p>\nIt just didn\u2019t look as if he needed to be on the same sheet with his peers anymore. Perhaps it was the benefits of a full summer of training. Injuries derailed his training last summer.<\/p>\n\u201cI had the same surgery as (Shayne) Gostisbehere,\u201d Myers said. \u201cHe had one hip, and Sam Morin, all of those guys got the same thing I did.\u201d<\/p>\nThere was a sprained knee suffered at the 2016 Memorial Cup. There was a pubic plate detachment and a torn labrum in his left hip. He underwent hip surgery on June 22, 2016. The recovery wiped out Myers\u2019 summer training. On Sept. 26, 2016, he was medically cleared to return. The next night, he dove into the fray against the New York Islanders.<\/p>\nHow did it go? Myers finished as a plus-two with three hits and a blocked shot in 22:39.<\/p>\n\u201cI felt out of shape, obviously, last year,\u201d he said. \u201cThe day after I got cleared, I jumped into a preseason game. It jumped up pretty quick. \u2026 This summer is going to be different.\u201d<\/p>\nThe Flyers insist development camp is not for evaluation. That may be true. Its purpose is to teach prospects how to work and live as a professional hockey player. No matter how much Myers looked like a pro amid his peers, it will not impact his odds come September's training camp when spots are earned in a competitive environment.   Myers, 20, is graduating to the professional ranks this season, and where he plays will be up to him. The Flyers have two openings on their blue line, and general manager Ron Hextall is leaving them up for prospects to grab. Robert Hagg and Morin are the front runners.   Don\u2019t count Myers out just yet.   The Moncton, New Brunswick, native was among the Flyers\u2019 final cuts last October. He stuck around longer than many expected and that was without any summer training.   His training this summer has been broken down into phases. The first phase was bulking up and putting on muscle. Mission accomplished. The next phase, according to Myers, is \u201cheavier stuff,\u201d which he said is strength training. His plan is to stay in the Philadelphia area for two weeks after development camp to train and come back 10 days early to skate before the big camp begins in September.   \u201cYou get stronger and faster,\u201d Myers said. \u201cI\u2019m going to focus on what I can do and what I can control. That\u2019s what I did last year. I just took as much in as possible and tried to get ready as fast as I could because I didn\u2019t really have a lot of time. This year, I have much more time so I\u2019m taking things much more slowly and more controlled.\u201d   Last season was another in which Myers trended upward, though it was one mired with injuries; he suffered whiplash in October and a concussion against Team USA at the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships. Myers, the only undrafted player on Team Canada\u2019s roster, was arguably the team\u2019s best defenseman before the concussion. His play at the world juniors led to TSN\u2019s Bob McKenzie tweeting Myers \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TSNBobMcKenzie\/status\/819558090211094528\">looks NHL ready, or close to it<\/a>.\u201d   The smooth-skating 6-foot-5 blueliner registered double-digit goals (10) and 35 points in 34 regular-season games with Rouyn-Noranda of the QMJHL in 2016-17. He ended the regular season on a five-game point streak. He added nine points in 13 playoff games. He finished his QMJHL career with 29 goals and 92 points in 203 games. Like Carter Hart, Myers joined the Phantoms once his season ended but didn\u2019t play.   \u201cThe injury struggles that he, unfortunately, went through there, those are all opportunities to learn and grow,\u201d Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol said. \u201cYou can see the growth in Phil off-ice when you look at his stature. You just want to see him come into camp and come in and compete as hard as he did last year and improve on the results from last year.\u201d   Myers may be at a disadvantage come September. Because of last year's injury-ridden season and the fact that he's coming straight from junior, he may be a few legs behind Hagg, Morin and even Travis Sanheim, who was at his fourth development camp last weekend <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\/travis-sanheim-welcomes-competition-coming-make-flyers\">(see story)<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.    While every player\u2019s developmental path is different, Myers has to beat out at least two players with professional experience already and two \u2014 Hagg and Morin \u2014 who looked the part during their NHL debuts in April. It\u2019s a safe bet that Myers begins at Lehigh Valley.   \u201cIf he comes in and he\u2019s the best guy or we feel he\u2019s the best guy,\u201d Hextall said of Myers, \u201che\u2019s going to play. The other guys, whenever you played in the American League, you have a leg up. You expect those guys to come in and be a little more NHL ready than a kid coming right out of junior, but the players are going to dictate who\u2019s on our team.\u201d<\/p>\n","safe_summary":"With a full summer of training behind him, Phil Myers said this September's training camp will be different than last year's. By Tom Dougherty<\/p>\n"}]},"field_author_reference":{"und":[{"tid":"1321"}]},"field_bean_single_col":{"und":[{"target_id":"2456"}]},"field_chrome_page":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_date_published":{"und":[{"value":"2017-07-17 11:30:00","timezone":"America\/New_York","timezone_db":"UTC","date_type":"datetime"}]},"field_hero_image_credit":{"und":[{"value":"AP Images","format":null,"safe_value":"AP Images"}]},"field_image":{"und":[{"fid":"476841","uid":"266","filename":"ap-phil-myers-flyers-devils.jpg","uri":"public:\/\/2017\/07\/16\/ap-phil-myers-flyers-devils.jpg","filemime":"image\/jpeg","filesize":"209957","status":"1","timestamp":"1500221083","origname":"ap-phil-myers-flyers-devils.jpg","type":"image","field_file_image_alt_text":{"und":[{"value":"Phil Myers, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers, Phil Myers Flyers","format":null,"safe_value":"Phil Myers, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers, Phil Myers Flyers"}]},"field_file_image_title_text":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","alt":"Phil Myers, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers, Phil Myers Flyers","metadata":{"height":360,"width":640},"height":"360","width":"640","title":""}]},"field_league":{"und":[{"tid":"196"}]},"field_section":{"und":[{"tid":"201"}]},"field_short_title":{"und":[{"value":"Phil Myers, bulked up, pledges this Flyers training camp will be different","format":null,"safe_value":"Phil Myers, bulked up, pledges this Flyers training camp will be different"}]},"field_sponsor":[],"field_sport":{"und":[{"tid":"191"}]},"field_tags":{"und":[{"tid":"6201"},{"tid":"18276"},{"tid":"20171"},{"tid":"466"},{"tid":"3091"}]},"field_team":{"und":[{"tid":"141"}]},"field_top_story":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_video_autoplay":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_videos":{"und":[{"target_id":"539891"}]},"field_tags_hide":[],"field_video_automute":[],"field_editorial_category":[],"field_allow_lld_domains":[],"field_enable_stanza":[],"field_exclude_from_yahoo":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"Phil Myers pledges Flyers' training camp will be different"},"news_keywords":{"value":"Phil Myers, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers, Philippe Myers, Phil Myers Flyers, Philippe Myers Flyers, Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Ron Hextall, Flyers sign Philippe Myers, Phil Myers injuries, Philippe Myers injuries"}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"name":"tdougherty","picture":"0","data":"b:0;"},"access":true},{"target_id":"539011","entity":{"vid":"565616","uid":"266","title":"Finally with his age group, German Rubtsov now eyeing bigger things","log":"","status":"1","comment":"0","promote":"0","sticky":"0","nid":"539011","type":"article","language":"und","created":"1499959003","changed":"1501550692","tnid":"0","translate":"0","published":"1499962500","revision_timestamp":"1501550692","revision_uid":"156","body":{"und":[{"value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Ask any prospect at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> development camp what their goals come September\u2019s NHL training camp are and it\u2019s hard to find an offbeat answer.<\/p>\u201cIt\u2019s a trick question, right?\u201d German Rubtsov said last Friday through an interpreter, Flyers skating coach Slava Kouznetsov. \u201cEverybody wants to play in the NHL.\u201d<\/p>When training camp breaks in October, the Flyers have three options for Rubtsov:<\/p>The 2016 first-round pick can play in the NHL.<\/p>He can return to the Chicoutimi Saguen\u00e9ens of the QMJHL.<\/p>Or he can play in the AHL since the Flyers drafted him out of Russia.<\/p>\u201cPlaying in Chicoutimi, I felt comfortable,\u201d he said. \u201cEvery game was a point or point plus, thanks to my partners as well. Before that, I played KHL. I think I\u2019m ready to try the league.\u201d<\/p>Which league?<\/p>\u201cThe<\/em> league,\u201d Rubtsov said. \u201cBig.\u201d<\/p>The 19-year-old Rubtsov likely won't be donning the orange and black in the fall. That should not come to a surprise to anyone.<\/p>With the drafting Nolan Patrick last month and the arrival of Oskar Lindblom from Sweden, the forward competition is already as competitive as it\u2019s been in a while.<\/p>Even with the 51 combined games Rubtsov played in 2016-17 between the KHL, MHL, QMJHL and 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships, more minor league seasoning will be needed.<\/p>Whether that will be in Chicoutimi or Lehigh Valley remains unanswered for now.<\/p>\u201cI don\u2019t know the answer to that,\u201d Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said. \u201cTo me, it\u2019s not fair to make a decision predetermined right now, \u2018OK, he\u2019s going here, he\u2019s going there.\u2019<\/p>\u201cWe\u2019ll leave that door open in terms of NHL. I\u2019d probably say it\u2019s a long shot. But American League or junior, we\u2019ll see as we go along here where the best place for him to develop is.\u201d<\/p>Rubtsov attended his first development camp last weekend. He was unable to attend last summer\u2019s camp because of his contract obligations with the KHL\u2019s HC Vityaz.<\/p>There was some controversy surrounding Rubtsov and the Russian under-18 team prospects going into the 2016 NHL draft. Team Russia was banned from the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championships because of a meldonium doping scandal.<\/p>After being drafted, Rubtsov insisted that he and his teammates unknowingly took a banned substance. Hextall further investigated the situation and still felt comfortable selecting the center, who also<\/span> had two years left on his contract with Vityaz.<\/p>The original plan was for Rubtsov to stay in the KHL until his contract expired before coming to North America, but he struggled in the KHL and was too advanced for the MHL.<\/p>Eventually, Rubtsov\u2019s agent, Mark Gandler, negotiated a release from his contract with Vityaz on Jan. 9, and Rubtsov joined the Saguen\u00e9ens, who owned his CHL rights.<\/p>Rubtsov didn\u2019t debut with Chicoutimi until Jan. 19 because of a broken nose.<\/p>\u201cThe moving to the United States was the first thing,\u201d Rubtsov said. \u201cIn Chicoutimi, the first couple of games were not comfortable. Then everything came to normal.<\/p>\u201cI feel comfortable. Being in the United States before and playing in Canada helped, so I\u2019m feeling pretty comfortable [now] and everything is pretty much good.\u201d<\/p>The difference between the Rubtsov in the KHL and the Rubtsov in the QMJHL was noticable. He struggled to get minutes in the KHL, averaging 6:33 in 15 games and failed to register a point. He had just five shots and won 31.8 percent of his faceoffs.<\/p>He was a point-per-game player in the MHL, a Russian junior league, recording 15 points in 15 games with the Russkie Vityazi Chekhov. That was the player he resembled more in the Q.   Rubtsov made an immediate impact with the Saguen\u00e9ens. He picked up two assists and fired six shots on goal in his first game, and he picked up nine points in his first six games.   \u201cWhen you see a kid playing with his peers, it\u2019s a lot different than playing in the KHL,\u201d Hextall said. \u201cYou saw it a little bit with Ruby. Ruby goes from KHL and all of a sudden, he goes to Chicoutimi with his own age group and you\u2019re like, \u2018Woah.\u2019   \u201cWe certainly weren\u2019t surprised by that.\u201d   The Chekhov, Russia, native missed Chicoutimi\u2019s final six games of the regular season and then its postseason because of a fractured hand. He finished his brief QMJHL stint with racking up 22 points in 16 games \u2014 nine goals, five power-play markers, 13 assists with six multi-point games and was held scoreless just three times.   Last season, Rubtsov dealt with a broken nose and a fractured hand at the end of the campaign. He said he dealt with injuries in the KHL as well and played through them.   \u201cI played until I wasn\u2019t able to hold the stick,\u201d Rubtsov said. \u201cWhen the hand completely gave up that\u2019s when I came [to Philadelphia for surgery].\u201d   \u201cThat's kind of what you want,\" Hextall said. \"You want guys who will push themselves and do what they can to try to be the best they can and try to help the team win. It certainly comes into the mix in terms of the character of a player and person.\u201d   When the Flyers drafted Rubtsov last summer, their forward prospect group was not as deep as it is now. Hextall added seven forwards in 2016, including five of his first six picks. Last month, he added seven more, including three in the top 35.   So the question with Rubtsov, does he still project as a center with the Flyers? He played both center and wing last season in Chicoutimi. The versatility at his age is attractive.   \u201cThere are certain guys in the middle you want to move out of the middle because when they get to the NHL level, maybe their sense isn\u2019t quite high enough or their size or there\u2019s a blemish,\u201d Hextall said. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t have that blemish. He\u2019s a smart player, he skates well.   \u201cHe\u2019s going to be big and strong enough in a couple years. He\u2019s going to be one of those guys truly who\u2019s going to be really good in the middle and we may want to keep him there.\u201d<\/p>","summary":"German Rubtsov is eyeing bigger things entering his first full season in North America, but where will he be in 2017-18? By Tom Dougherty<\/p>","format":"filtered_html","safe_value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Ask any prospect at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> development camp what their goals come September\u2019s NHL training camp are and it\u2019s hard to find an offbeat answer.<\/p>\n\u201cIt\u2019s a trick question, right?\u201d German Rubtsov said last Friday through an interpreter, Flyers skating coach Slava Kouznetsov. \u201cEverybody wants to play in the NHL.\u201d<\/p>\nWhen training camp breaks in October, the Flyers have three options for Rubtsov:<\/p>\nThe 2016 first-round pick can play in the NHL.<\/p>\nHe can return to the Chicoutimi Saguen\u00e9ens of the QMJHL.<\/p>\nOr he can play in the AHL since the Flyers drafted him out of Russia.<\/p>\n\u201cPlaying in Chicoutimi, I felt comfortable,\u201d he said. \u201cEvery game was a point or point plus, thanks to my partners as well. Before that, I played KHL. I think I\u2019m ready to try the league.\u201d<\/p>\nWhich league?<\/p>\n\u201cThe<\/em> league,\u201d Rubtsov said. \u201cBig.\u201d<\/p>\nThe 19-year-old Rubtsov likely won't be donning the orange and black in the fall. That should not come to a surprise to anyone.<\/p>\nWith the drafting Nolan Patrick last month and the arrival of Oskar Lindblom from Sweden, the forward competition is already as competitive as it\u2019s been in a while.<\/p>\nEven with the 51 combined games Rubtsov played in 2016-17 between the KHL, MHL, QMJHL and 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships, more minor league seasoning will be needed.<\/p>\nWhether that will be in Chicoutimi or Lehigh Valley remains unanswered for now.<\/p>\n\u201cI don\u2019t know the answer to that,\u201d Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said. \u201cTo me, it\u2019s not fair to make a decision predetermined right now, \u2018OK, he\u2019s going here, he\u2019s going there.\u2019<\/p>\n\u201cWe\u2019ll leave that door open in terms of NHL. I\u2019d probably say it\u2019s a long shot. But American League or junior, we\u2019ll see as we go along here where the best place for him to develop is.\u201d<\/p>\nRubtsov attended his first development camp last weekend. He was unable to attend last summer\u2019s camp because of his contract obligations with the KHL\u2019s HC Vityaz.<\/p>\nThere was some controversy surrounding Rubtsov and the Russian under-18 team prospects going into the 2016 NHL draft. Team Russia was banned from the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championships because of a meldonium doping scandal.<\/p>\nAfter being drafted, Rubtsov insisted that he and his teammates unknowingly took a banned substance. Hextall further investigated the situation and still felt comfortable selecting the center, who also had two years left on his contract with Vityaz.<\/p>\nThe original plan was for Rubtsov to stay in the KHL until his contract expired before coming to North America, but he struggled in the KHL and was too advanced for the MHL.<\/p>\nEventually, Rubtsov\u2019s agent, Mark Gandler, negotiated a release from his contract with Vityaz on Jan. 9, and Rubtsov joined the Saguen\u00e9ens, who owned his CHL rights.<\/p>\nRubtsov didn\u2019t debut with Chicoutimi until Jan. 19 because of a broken nose.<\/p>\n\u201cThe moving to the United States was the first thing,\u201d Rubtsov said. \u201cIn Chicoutimi, the first couple of games were not comfortable. Then everything came to normal.<\/p>\n\u201cI feel comfortable. Being in the United States before and playing in Canada helped, so I\u2019m feeling pretty comfortable [now] and everything is pretty much good.\u201d<\/p>\nThe difference between the Rubtsov in the KHL and the Rubtsov in the QMJHL was noticable. He struggled to get minutes in the KHL, averaging 6:33 in 15 games and failed to register a point. He had just five shots and won 31.8 percent of his faceoffs.<\/p>\nHe was a point-per-game player in the MHL, a Russian junior league, recording 15 points in 15 games with the Russkie Vityazi Chekhov. That was the player he resembled more in the Q.   Rubtsov made an immediate impact with the Saguen\u00e9ens. He picked up two assists and fired six shots on goal in his first game, and he picked up nine points in his first six games.   \u201cWhen you see a kid playing with his peers, it\u2019s a lot different than playing in the KHL,\u201d Hextall said. \u201cYou saw it a little bit with Ruby. Ruby goes from KHL and all of a sudden, he goes to Chicoutimi with his own age group and you\u2019re like, \u2018Woah.\u2019   \u201cWe certainly weren\u2019t surprised by that.\u201d   The Chekhov, Russia, native missed Chicoutimi\u2019s final six games of the regular season and then its postseason because of a fractured hand. He finished his brief QMJHL stint with racking up 22 points in 16 games \u2014 nine goals, five power-play markers, 13 assists with six multi-point games and was held scoreless just three times.   Last season, Rubtsov dealt with a broken nose and a fractured hand at the end of the campaign. He said he dealt with injuries in the KHL as well and played through them.   \u201cI played until I wasn\u2019t able to hold the stick,\u201d Rubtsov said. \u201cWhen the hand completely gave up that\u2019s when I came [to Philadelphia for surgery].\u201d   \u201cThat's kind of what you want,\" Hextall said. \"You want guys who will push themselves and do what they can to try to be the best they can and try to help the team win. It certainly comes into the mix in terms of the character of a player and person.\u201d   When the Flyers drafted Rubtsov last summer, their forward prospect group was not as deep as it is now. Hextall added seven forwards in 2016, including five of his first six picks. Last month, he added seven more, including three in the top 35.   So the question with Rubtsov, does he still project as a center with the Flyers? He played both center and wing last season in Chicoutimi. The versatility at his age is attractive.   \u201cThere are certain guys in the middle you want to move out of the middle because when they get to the NHL level, maybe their sense isn\u2019t quite high enough or their size or there\u2019s a blemish,\u201d Hextall said. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t have that blemish. He\u2019s a smart player, he skates well.   \u201cHe\u2019s going to be big and strong enough in a couple years. He\u2019s going to be one of those guys truly who\u2019s going to be really good in the middle and we may want to keep him there.\u201d<\/p>\n","safe_summary":"German Rubtsov is eyeing bigger things entering his first full season in North America, but where will he be in 2017-18? By Tom Dougherty<\/p>\n"}]},"field_author_reference":{"und":[{"tid":"1321"}]},"field_bean_single_col":{"und":[{"target_id":"2456"}]},"field_chrome_page":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_date_published":{"und":[{"value":"2017-07-13 16:15:00","timezone":"America\/New_York","timezone_db":"UTC","date_type":"datetime"}]},"field_hero_image_credit":{"und":[{"value":"Tom Dougherty\/CSNPhilly.com","format":null,"safe_value":"Tom Dougherty\/CSNPhilly.com"}]},"field_image":{"und":[{"fid":"475886","uid":"266","filename":"tom-dougherty-german-rubtsov.jpg","uri":"public:\/\/2017\/07\/13\/tom-dougherty-german-rubtsov.jpg","filemime":"image\/jpeg","filesize":"202712","status":"1","timestamp":"1499996289","origname":"tom-dougherty-german-rubtsov.jpg","type":"image","field_file_image_alt_text":[],"field_file_image_title_text":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]","default":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]"},"description":{"value":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!","default":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!"},"abstract":{"value":""},"keywords":{"value":""},"robots":{"value":{"index":0,"follow":0,"noindex":0,"nofollow":0,"noarchive":0,"nosnippet":0,"noodp":0,"noydir":0,"noimageindex":0,"notranslate":0}},"news_keywords":{"value":""},"standout":{"value":""},"rating":{"value":""},"referrer":{"value":""},"rights":{"value":""},"image_src":{"value":""},"canonical":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"shortlink":{"value":"[current-page:url:unaliased]","default":"[current-page:url:unaliased]"},"original-source":{"value":""},"prev":{"value":""},"next":{"value":""},"content-language":{"value":""},"geo.position":{"value":""},"geo.placename":{"value":""},"geo.region":{"value":""},"icbm":{"value":""},"refresh":{"value":""},"revisit-after":{"value":"","period":""},"pragma":{"value":""},"cache-control":{"value":""},"expires":{"value":""},"og:type":{"value":"article","default":"article"},"og:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"og:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"og:determiner":{"value":""},"og:description":{"value":""},"og:updated_time":{"value":""},"og:see_also":{"value":""},"og:image":{"value":""},"og:image:url":{"value":""},"og:image:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:image:type":{"value":""},"og:image:width":{"value":""},"og:image:height":{"value":""},"og:latitude":{"value":""},"og:longitude":{"value":""},"og:street_address":{"value":""},"og:locality":{"value":""},"og:region":{"value":""},"og:postal_code":{"value":""},"og:country_name":{"value":""},"og:email":{"value":""},"og:phone_number":{"value":""},"og:fax_number":{"value":""},"og:locale":{"value":""},"og:locale:alternate":{"value":""},"article:author":{"value":""},"article:publisher":{"value":""},"article:section":{"value":""},"article:tag":{"value":""},"article:published_time":{"value":""},"article:modified_time":{"value":""},"article:expiration_time":{"value":""},"profile:first_name":{"value":""},"profile:last_name":{"value":""},"profile:username":{"value":""},"profile:gender":{"value":""},"og:audio":{"value":""},"og:audio:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:audio:type":{"value":""},"book:author":{"value":""},"book:isbn":{"value":""},"book:release_date":{"value":""},"book:tag":{"value":""},"og:video:url":{"value":""},"og:video:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:video:width":{"value":""},"og:video:height":{"value":""},"og:video:type":{"value":""},"video:actor":{"value":""},"video:actor:role":{"value":""},"video:director":{"value":""},"video:writer":{"value":""},"video:duration":{"value":""},"video:release_date":{"value":""},"video:tag":{"value":""},"video:series":{"value":""},"twitter:card":{"value":"summary","default":"summary"},"twitter:creator":{"value":""},"twitter:creator:id":{"value":""},"twitter:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"twitter:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"twitter:description":{"value":""},"twitter:image":{"value":""},"twitter:image:width":{"value":""},"twitter:image:height":{"value":""},"twitter:image:alt":{"value":""},"twitter:image0":{"value":""},"twitter:image1":{"value":""},"twitter:image2":{"value":""},"twitter:image3":{"value":""},"twitter:player":{"value":""},"twitter:player:width":{"value":""},"twitter:player:height":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream:content_type":{"value":""},"twitter:app:country":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:label1":{"value":""},"twitter:data1":{"value":""},"twitter:label2":{"value":""},"twitter:data2":{"value":""}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"metadata":{"height":360,"width":640},"height":"360","width":"640","alt":"","title":""}]},"field_league":{"und":[{"tid":"196"}]},"field_section":{"und":[{"tid":"201"}]},"field_short_title":{"und":[{"value":"Finally with age group, Flyers prospect German Rubtsov eyeing bigger things","format":null,"safe_value":"Finally with age group, Flyers prospect German Rubtsov eyeing bigger things"}]},"field_sponsor":[],"field_sport":{"und":[{"tid":"191"}]},"field_tags":{"und":[{"tid":"6201"},{"tid":"5391"},{"tid":"18276"},{"tid":"466"},{"tid":"2966"},{"tid":"3091"}]},"field_team":{"und":[{"tid":"141"}]},"field_top_story":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_video_autoplay":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_videos":{"und":[{"target_id":"537641"}]},"field_tags_hide":[],"field_video_automute":[],"field_editorial_category":[],"field_allow_lld_domains":[],"field_enable_stanza":[],"field_exclude_from_yahoo":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"German Rubtsov still eyeing Flyers despite long odds"},"news_keywords":{"value":"German Rubtsov, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers, German Rubtsov Flyers, Flyers top prospects, Ron Hextall, Nolan Patrick, Flyers development camp, Flyers draft German Rubtsov, German Rubtsov NHL"}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"name":"tdougherty","picture":"0","data":"b:0;"},"access":true},{"target_id":"538336","entity":{"vid":"564891","uid":"156","title":"Just a teenager, Carter Hart already mentally fit for Flyers' future","log":"","status":"1","comment":"0","promote":"0","sticky":"0","nid":"538336","type":"article","language":"und","created":"1499750468","changed":"1531160805","tnid":"0","translate":"0","published":"1499778000","revision_timestamp":"1531160805","revision_uid":"156","body":{"und":[{"value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 The last time Carter Hart recalls becoming irritated on the ice, he was 10 years old. He was in his first year of playing goaltender after previously playing forward.<\/p>His dad, John Hart, was his coach and his current sports psychologist, John Stevenson, was then his goalie coach. What transpired may have resembled a more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=vbAEj8o1SY8\" target=\"_blank\">PG version of this<\/a>.<\/p>\u201cThis one kid kept crashing into my crease,\u201d Hart said, \u201cso my dad was on the bench coaching and he\u2019s just like, \u2018Just give it to this kid.\u2019 So I just started blockering him.<\/p>\u201cI actually didn\u2019t know to blocker a kid, they consider it a weapon [and it\u2019s] a five-game suspension. So I got a five-game suspension when I was 10 years old.\u201d<\/p>Eight years later, Hart finds himself as one of the most anticipated goaltending prospects the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\" target=\"_blank\">Flyers<\/a> have ever had, perhaps even more than the person who drafted him, Ron Hextall.<\/p>There was Pete Peeters in the late 1970s and Pelle Lindbergh in the \u201880s. Hextall, of course, in the late \u201880s. The Flyers\u2019 history of drafting goalies is an urban legend.<\/p>Not many swooned over the likes of Dominic Roussel and Neil Little.<\/p>Hart is a different breed of goaltender. The Flyers made him the first goalie drafted in 2016 when they selected him 48th overall. He won the CHL Goaltender of the Year his draft year.<\/p>Last season, he posted superior numbers but didn\u2019t recapture his crown. Owen Sound\u2019s Michael McNiven won the title. Politics was likely involved. No goalie has ever won it twice.<\/p>Still, Hart won the Del Wilson Memorial Trophy as the WHL\u2019s Goaltender of the Year for the second consecutive season and was twice named the Vaughn CHL Goaltender of the Week.<\/p>When sports psychologist and an 18-year-old come up in the same sentence, it may carry a negative connotation. Some may trigger the alarms. It shouldn\u2019t, especially for a goalie.<\/p>Mental toughness is as essential to goaltending as hand-eye coordination is to hitting a baseball. If any conclusion can be drawn from Hart having one, it should be positive. <\/p>Stevenson is a registered psychologist based in Edmonton, Alberta. He runs Zone Performance Psychology with his wife, Jaci Stevenson, and is a former scout for the Oilers.<\/p>The relationship between Hart and Stevenson goes back to when Hart was 10 when he was encouraged by his dad to blocker the kid crashing his crease. Stevenson was originally his goalie coach before transitioning into psychology full-time. Hart describes himself as laid-back whose \u201cenergy levels have dropped\u201d in the eight years since. On the ice, he carries a calm demeanor \u2014 he doesn\u2019t get mad and doesn\u2019t consider himself to be vocal.<\/p>Perhaps some tricks he\u2019s applicated from working with Stevenson, who also works with Washington Capitals goalie Braden Holtby, the 2016 Vezina Trophy winner. As a former goalie coach, Stevenson would try to get in Hart\u2019s head to mess with him, according to Hart, which taught the Sherwood Park, Alberta, native to control what he can control.<\/p>\u201cI talk to him on a regular basis,\u201d Hart said Friday of Stevenson. \u201cI\u2019ve learned a lot on the mental side of things. The mental game is huge. It\u2019s probably 90 percent of the position, really. If you believe you can do it, you can. That\u2019s the mindset you have to have, you have to believe in yourself. You really have to believe in yourself and trust everything that you do.\u201d<\/p>Holtby has been working with Stevenson since he was 15 years old. The Capitals\u2019 goaltender told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/sports\/capitals\/braden-holtby-at-peace-in-the-crease\/2015\/04\/24\/7cd9ad6a-e9b7-11e4-9a6a-c1ab95a0600b_story.html\" target=\"_blank\">The Washington Post<\/em><\/a> in 2015 that he didn\u2019t realize how important Stevenson has been to him in his professional life until his first year away from him.<\/p>\u201cThat\u2019s when I really found out how crucial that experience I had with him was,\u201d he told the Post. \u201cKind of take it for granted when it\u2019s right there at your fingertips, and once it\u2019s gone, you have to start doing it on your own. It makes it harder, but you learn it even more.\u201d<\/p>While Holtby and Hart share the same psychologist, Holtby isn\u2019t the goalie Hart admires most, though he did call Holtby \u201cone of the most mentally tough guys in the business.\u201d Hart said he\u2019s met Holtby a few times through Stevenson, and Holtby texted him after the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships. The goalie he models his game after is Carey Price.<\/p>\u201cHe\u2019s very efficient,\u201d Hart said of Price. \u201cHe\u2019s one of the best skaters in the game. He makes things simple and makes difficult saves look easy. I really admire the way he skates. That\u2019s one of the biggest things for me is being a good skater. If you can\u2019t skate, you can\u2019t play.<\/p>\u201cYou have to be an elite-level skater to play in the NHL. \u2026 I think Price is the most elite skater in the league.\u201d<\/p>Hart turns 19 on Aug. 13 and is not eligible for the AHL. It\u2019s either one more year in Everett or breaking training camp with the Flyers. \u201cObviously, it doesn\u2019t happen often for 19-year-old goalies,\u201d he said. That\u2019s his goal, but the numbers game dictates his October destination. Brian Elliott and Michal Neuvirth are the Flyers\u2019 goalies for the next two years.<\/p>In 2016-17, Hart posted a 32-11-6 record in 54 games last season with the Silvertips. He led the WHL in goals-against average (1.99), save percentage (.927) and shutouts (nine). He had a shutout streak of 193 minutes and 38 seconds during the record season.<\/p>After his season ended in Everett, Hart joined the Lehigh Valley Phantoms during AHL playoffs largely as a third goalie with Anthony Stolarz injured. Then Alex Lyon suffered an injury in Game 2 of their first-round series with the Hershey Bears. Hart found himself on the bench backing up Martin Ouellette for Game 3. The Phantoms rode Ouellette for Games 4 and 5 with Mark Dekanich backing up. Lehigh Valley lost in five games.<\/p>Hart never played.<\/p>\u201cI thought maybe against Hershey when I backed up, maybe see what happens,\u201d he said.<\/p>Hextall drafted his fifth goalie in his fourth draft last month as Flyers general manager, selecting Russian netminder Kirill Ustimenko in the third round. With Ustimenko in the fold, the Flyers now have nine goalies in the organization.<\/p>\u201cIt doesn\u2019t really matter. It\u2019s just goalie depth,\u201d Hart said. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing wrong with having goalie depth because you never know what happens. The position of goaltending can be tough and tough on the body. \u2026 It\u2019s a long year. Seventy-two games in the WHL, 76 games in the American League and obviously 82 in The Show.<\/p>\u201cIt doesn't bother me. Just got to worry about yourself.\u201d<\/p>","summary":"Is Carter Hart the Flyers' goalie of the future? The teenager is already mentally fit for the pressure of being in an NHL net. By Tom Dougherty<\/p>","format":"filtered_html","safe_value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 The last time Carter Hart recalls becoming irritated on the ice, he was 10 years old. He was in his first year of playing goaltender after previously playing forward.<\/p>\nHis dad, John Hart, was his coach and his current sports psychologist, John Stevenson, was then his goalie coach. What transpired may have resembled a more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=vbAEj8o1SY8\" target=\"_blank\">PG version of this<\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cThis one kid kept crashing into my crease,\u201d Hart said, \u201cso my dad was on the bench coaching and he\u2019s just like, \u2018Just give it to this kid.\u2019 So I just started blockering him.<\/p>\n\u201cI actually didn\u2019t know to blocker a kid, they consider it a weapon [and it\u2019s] a five-game suspension. So I got a five-game suspension when I was 10 years old.\u201d<\/p>\nEight years later, Hart finds himself as one of the most anticipated goaltending prospects the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\" target=\"_blank\">Flyers<\/a> have ever had, perhaps even more than the person who drafted him, Ron Hextall.<\/p>\nThere was Pete Peeters in the late 1970s and Pelle Lindbergh in the \u201880s. Hextall, of course, in the late \u201880s. The Flyers\u2019 history of drafting goalies is an urban legend.<\/p>\nNot many swooned over the likes of Dominic Roussel and Neil Little.<\/p>\nHart is a different breed of goaltender. The Flyers made him the first goalie drafted in 2016 when they selected him 48th overall. He won the CHL Goaltender of the Year his draft year.<\/p>\nLast season, he posted superior numbers but didn\u2019t recapture his crown. Owen Sound\u2019s Michael McNiven won the title. Politics was likely involved. No goalie has ever won it twice.<\/p>\nStill, Hart won the Del Wilson Memorial Trophy as the WHL\u2019s Goaltender of the Year for the second consecutive season and was twice named the Vaughn CHL Goaltender of the Week.<\/p>\nWhen sports psychologist and an 18-year-old come up in the same sentence, it may carry a negative connotation. Some may trigger the alarms. It shouldn\u2019t, especially for a goalie.<\/p>\nMental toughness is as essential to goaltending as hand-eye coordination is to hitting a baseball. If any conclusion can be drawn from Hart having one, it should be positive. <\/p>\nStevenson is a registered psychologist based in Edmonton, Alberta. He runs Zone Performance Psychology with his wife, Jaci Stevenson, and is a former scout for the Oilers.<\/p>\nThe relationship between Hart and Stevenson goes back to when Hart was 10 when he was encouraged by his dad to blocker the kid crashing his crease. Stevenson was originally his goalie coach before transitioning into psychology full-time. Hart describes himself as laid-back whose \u201cenergy levels have dropped\u201d in the eight years since. On the ice, he carries a calm demeanor \u2014 he doesn\u2019t get mad and doesn\u2019t consider himself to be vocal.<\/p>\nPerhaps some tricks he\u2019s applicated from working with Stevenson, who also works with Washington Capitals goalie Braden Holtby, the 2016 Vezina Trophy winner. As a former goalie coach, Stevenson would try to get in Hart\u2019s head to mess with him, according to Hart, which taught the Sherwood Park, Alberta, native to control what he can control.<\/p>\n\u201cI talk to him on a regular basis,\u201d Hart said Friday of Stevenson. \u201cI\u2019ve learned a lot on the mental side of things. The mental game is huge. It\u2019s probably 90 percent of the position, really. If you believe you can do it, you can. That\u2019s the mindset you have to have, you have to believe in yourself. You really have to believe in yourself and trust everything that you do.\u201d<\/p>\nHoltby has been working with Stevenson since he was 15 years old. The Capitals\u2019 goaltender told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/sports\/capitals\/braden-holtby-at-peace-in-the-crease\/2015\/04\/24\/7cd9ad6a-e9b7-11e4-9a6a-c1ab95a0600b_story.html\" target=\"_blank\">The Washington Post<\/em><\/a> in 2015 that he didn\u2019t realize how important Stevenson has been to him in his professional life until his first year away from him.<\/p>\n\u201cThat\u2019s when I really found out how crucial that experience I had with him was,\u201d he told the Post. \u201cKind of take it for granted when it\u2019s right there at your fingertips, and once it\u2019s gone, you have to start doing it on your own. It makes it harder, but you learn it even more.\u201d<\/p>\nWhile Holtby and Hart share the same psychologist, Holtby isn\u2019t the goalie Hart admires most, though he did call Holtby \u201cone of the most mentally tough guys in the business.\u201d Hart said he\u2019s met Holtby a few times through Stevenson, and Holtby texted him after the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships. The goalie he models his game after is Carey Price.<\/p>\n\u201cHe\u2019s very efficient,\u201d Hart said of Price. \u201cHe\u2019s one of the best skaters in the game. He makes things simple and makes difficult saves look easy. I really admire the way he skates. That\u2019s one of the biggest things for me is being a good skater. If you can\u2019t skate, you can\u2019t play.<\/p>\n\u201cYou have to be an elite-level skater to play in the NHL. \u2026 I think Price is the most elite skater in the league.\u201d<\/p>\nHart turns 19 on Aug. 13 and is not eligible for the AHL. It\u2019s either one more year in Everett or breaking training camp with the Flyers. \u201cObviously, it doesn\u2019t happen often for 19-year-old goalies,\u201d he said. That\u2019s his goal, but the numbers game dictates his October destination. Brian Elliott and Michal Neuvirth are the Flyers\u2019 goalies for the next two years.<\/p>\nIn 2016-17, Hart posted a 32-11-6 record in 54 games last season with the Silvertips. He led the WHL in goals-against average (1.99), save percentage (.927) and shutouts (nine). He had a shutout streak of 193 minutes and 38 seconds during the record season.<\/p>\nAfter his season ended in Everett, Hart joined the Lehigh Valley Phantoms during AHL playoffs largely as a third goalie with Anthony Stolarz injured. Then Alex Lyon suffered an injury in Game 2 of their first-round series with the Hershey Bears. Hart found himself on the bench backing up Martin Ouellette for Game 3. The Phantoms rode Ouellette for Games 4 and 5 with Mark Dekanich backing up. Lehigh Valley lost in five games.<\/p>\nHart never played.<\/p>\n\u201cI thought maybe against Hershey when I backed up, maybe see what happens,\u201d he said.<\/p>\nHextall drafted his fifth goalie in his fourth draft last month as Flyers general manager, selecting Russian netminder Kirill Ustimenko in the third round. With Ustimenko in the fold, the Flyers now have nine goalies in the organization.<\/p>\n\u201cIt doesn\u2019t really matter. It\u2019s just goalie depth,\u201d Hart said. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing wrong with having goalie depth because you never know what happens. The position of goaltending can be tough and tough on the body. \u2026 It\u2019s a long year. Seventy-two games in the WHL, 76 games in the American League and obviously 82 in The Show.<\/p>\n\u201cIt doesn't bother me. Just got to worry about yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n","safe_summary":"Is Carter Hart the Flyers' goalie of the future? The teenager is already mentally fit for the pressure of being in an NHL net. By Tom Dougherty<\/p>\n"}]},"field_author_reference":{"und":[{"tid":"1321"}]},"field_bean_single_col":{"und":[{"target_id":"2456"}]},"field_chrome_page":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_date_published":{"und":[{"value":"2017-07-11 13:00:00","timezone":"America\/New_York","timezone_db":"UTC","date_type":"datetime"}]},"field_hero_image_credit":{"und":[{"value":"Photo credit: Zack Hill\/Flyers","format":null,"safe_value":"Photo credit: Zack Hill\/Flyers"}]},"field_image":{"und":[{"fid":"472561","uid":"266","filename":"zack-hill-flyers-carter-hart.jpg","uri":"public:\/\/2018\/05\/02\/zack-hill-flyers-carter-hart.jpg","filemime":"image\/jpeg","filesize":"179409","status":"1","timestamp":"1525292288","origname":"zack-hill-flyers-carter-hart.jpg","type":"image","field_file_image_alt_text":{"und":[{"value":null,"format":null,"safe_value":""}]},"field_file_image_title_text":{"und":[{"value":null,"format":null,"safe_value":""}]},"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]","default":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]"},"description":{"value":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!","default":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!"},"abstract":{"value":""},"keywords":{"value":""},"robots":{"value":{"index":0,"follow":0,"noindex":0,"nofollow":0,"noarchive":0,"nosnippet":0,"noodp":0,"noydir":0,"noimageindex":0,"notranslate":0}},"news_keywords":{"value":""},"standout":{"value":""},"rating":{"value":""},"referrer":{"value":""},"rights":{"value":""},"image_src":{"value":""},"canonical":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"shortlink":{"value":"[current-page:url:unaliased]","default":"[current-page:url:unaliased]"},"original-source":{"value":""},"prev":{"value":""},"next":{"value":""},"content-language":{"value":""},"geo.position":{"value":""},"geo.placename":{"value":""},"geo.region":{"value":""},"icbm":{"value":""},"refresh":{"value":""},"revisit-after":{"value":"","period":""},"pragma":{"value":""},"cache-control":{"value":""},"expires":{"value":""},"og:type":{"value":"article","default":"article"},"og:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"og:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"og:determiner":{"value":""},"og:description":{"value":""},"og:updated_time":{"value":""},"og:see_also":{"value":""},"og:image":{"value":""},"og:image:url":{"value":""},"og:image:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:image:type":{"value":""},"og:image:width":{"value":""},"og:image:height":{"value":""},"og:latitude":{"value":""},"og:longitude":{"value":""},"og:street_address":{"value":""},"og:locality":{"value":""},"og:region":{"value":""},"og:postal_code":{"value":""},"og:country_name":{"value":""},"og:email":{"value":""},"og:phone_number":{"value":""},"og:fax_number":{"value":""},"og:locale":{"value":""},"og:locale:alternate":{"value":""},"article:author":{"value":""},"article:publisher":{"value":""},"article:section":{"value":""},"article:tag":{"value":""},"article:published_time":{"value":""},"article:modified_time":{"value":""},"article:expiration_time":{"value":""},"profile:first_name":{"value":""},"profile:last_name":{"value":""},"profile:username":{"value":""},"profile:gender":{"value":""},"og:audio":{"value":""},"og:audio:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:audio:type":{"value":""},"book:author":{"value":""},"book:isbn":{"value":""},"book:release_date":{"value":""},"book:tag":{"value":""},"og:video:url":{"value":""},"og:video:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:video:width":{"value":""},"og:video:height":{"value":""},"og:video:type":{"value":""},"video:actor":{"value":""},"video:actor:role":{"value":""},"video:director":{"value":""},"video:writer":{"value":""},"video:duration":{"value":""},"video:release_date":{"value":""},"video:tag":{"value":""},"video:series":{"value":""},"twitter:card":{"value":"summary","default":"summary"},"twitter:creator":{"value":""},"twitter:creator:id":{"value":""},"twitter:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"twitter:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"twitter:description":{"value":""},"twitter:image":{"value":""},"twitter:image:width":{"value":""},"twitter:image:height":{"value":""},"twitter:image:alt":{"value":""},"twitter:image0":{"value":""},"twitter:image1":{"value":""},"twitter:image2":{"value":""},"twitter:image3":{"value":""},"twitter:player":{"value":""},"twitter:player:width":{"value":""},"twitter:player:height":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream:content_type":{"value":""},"twitter:app:country":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:label1":{"value":""},"twitter:data1":{"value":""},"twitter:label2":{"value":""},"twitter:data2":{"value":""}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"metadata":{"height":360,"width":640},"height":"360","width":"640","alt":null,"title":null}]},"field_league":{"und":[{"tid":"196"}]},"field_section":{"und":[{"tid":"201"}]},"field_short_title":{"und":[{"value":"How teenage goalie prospect Carter Hart is already mentally fit for Flyers' future","format":null,"safe_value":"How teenage goalie prospect Carter Hart is already mentally fit for Flyers' future"}]},"field_sponsor":[],"field_sport":{"und":[{"tid":"191"}]},"field_tags":{"und":[{"tid":"5411"},{"tid":"6201"},{"tid":"18276"},{"tid":"466"},{"tid":"2966"},{"tid":"3091"}]},"field_team":{"und":[{"tid":"141"}]},"field_top_story":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_video_autoplay":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_videos":{"und":[{"target_id":"537396"}]},"field_tags_hide":{"und":[{"tid":"18276"}]},"field_video_automute":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_editorial_category":{"und":[{"value":"other_news"}]},"field_allow_lld_domains":[],"field_enable_stanza":[],"field_exclude_from_yahoo":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"Carter Hart already mentally fit for Flyers' net"},"news_keywords":{"value":"Carter Hart, Philadelphia Flyers, Tom Dougherty, Flyers prospect Carter Hart"}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"name":"JHall","picture":"0","data":"b:0;"},"access":true},{"target_id":"537591","entity":{"vid":"564031","uid":"266","title":"Pascal Laberge out to be 'the real me' following dark days from concussion","log":"","status":"1","comment":"0","promote":"0","sticky":"0","nid":"537591","type":"article","language":"und","created":"1499535853","changed":"1501550820","tnid":"0","translate":"0","published":"1499605800","revision_timestamp":"1501550820","revision_uid":"156","body":{"und":[{"value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 On a Saturday night in Victoriaville, Quebec, last October, the trajectory of Pascal Laberge\u2019s third season in the QMJHL changed in a flash and not for the better.<\/p>Six minutes into the Tigres\u2019 game against the Moncton Wildcats, Laberge was met by a thundering headshot from Zachary Malatesta as he gathered the puck at his own blue line.<\/p>Laberge lay barren on the ice while Victoriaville alternate captain James Phelan immediately jumped Malatesta, who was ejected and then suspended seven games.<\/p>\u201cYou try to avoid these concussions and when a player does a thing like that, it sure pisses you off a little bit,\u201d Laberge said Friday at development camp at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> Skate Zone. \u201cThere\u2019s always going to be some guys like that in hockey. It\u2019s just that it happened to me.\u201d<\/p>What happened to Laberge was a concussion that caused him to miss over a month before returning Nov. 25 for two games to only sit out another three games as symptoms returned.<\/p>Upon returning, Laberge labored to find the consistency and point production that led to the Flyers\u2019 selecting him with the 36th overall pick in the 2016 NHL draft.<\/p>After his symptoms subsided enough for him to come back Dec. 8, the 19-year-old forward recorded seven points in eight games in the month. In January, he tallied six points in 10 games but was held pointless during six of those games. He finished the season with 32 points.<\/p>In 2015-16, his draft year, Laberge registered 68 points in 56 games for Victoriaville. His 32 points last season was one point more than his 2014-15 rookie campaign in the QMJHL. <\/p>He ended last season with an assist in each of the Tigres\u2019 final three games and scooped up two more in four games during Victoriaville\u2019s first-round postseason exit to Chicoutimi.<\/p>Regaining confidence was a barricade for Laberge following his return from his concussion, especially when going toward the boards. \u201cYou\u2019re kind of shy to go there,\u201d he said. He often played looking over his shoulder and said it took about two months for him to fully recover.<\/p>\u201cThe first month,\u201d he said, \u201cI couldn\u2019t wake up. I had to sleep all day.\u201d<\/p>By now, Laberge\u2019s story is well known. In summer 2015, his stepmother was diagnosed with metastatic cancer and his father, prostate cancer. His stepmother died in September 2015. His dad had his prostate removed that fall. All while he was trying to get drafted.<\/p>Laberge fell to the Flyers in the second round despite being rated 28th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting Bureau. Some saw him as a late first-rounder.<\/p>One of the traits the Flyers liked about Laberge when they drafted him last summer was his perseverance, how he dealt with his family situation and also still produced on the ice.<\/p>Character is something general manager Ron Hextall values greatly. When he talks about prospects, chiefly in regards of development camp, character is one detail he preaches. <\/p>How prospects deal with adversity \u2014 albeit on the ice or off it, both are true in Laberge\u2019s case \u2014 can make them hungrier and better as a player and person, according to Hextall. <\/p>Hextall offered a guess: Last season, on the ice, was a first for Laberge. A young, talented kid who didn\u2019t have his way, who took a step back in his development and wasn\u2019t a star.<\/p>For someone his age, he has been through a lot off the ice. Last season, the concussion was just \u201canother tough time.\u201d It\u2019s getting him stronger, he said.<\/p>\u201cSometimes with my friends,\u201d Laberge said, \u201cI feel a little bit older than them.\u201d<\/p>In his second development camp, Laberge claims he\u2019s back to normal, feels good and his concussion issues are in the past. He understands how last season went means the timetable for his path to the NHL has been pushed back because of the lost time.<\/p>Laberge wants to get back to \u201cthe real me\u201d in 2017-18. With one more year of junior eligibility, he, barring any miracles, will spend another season in Victoriaville.<\/p>While Hextall\u2019s been adamant about keeping a few spots open for prospects to earn during training camp in September, it\u2019s a long shot to consider Laberge to be in that competition.<\/p>\u201cWe didn\u2019t like what he went through,\u201d Hextall said Friday. \u201cWe didn\u2019t like, at times, the level he was playing to, which wasn\u2019t at the level he\u2019s capable of. But \u2026 <\/p>\u201cYou go through adversity like that as a young man, you learn from it. You become stronger. It\u2019s like a team. Sometimes you have to lose to learn how to win.\u201d<\/p>If there\u2019s any one thing Laberge learned from last season, it\u2019s \u2026 <\/p>\u201cNext time,\u201d he said, \u201cI\u2019ll lift my head.\u201d<\/p>","summary":"After enduring yet another year filled with adversity, Pascal Laberge, 19, hopes to show the Flyers his true self in 2017-18. By Tom Dougherty<\/p>","format":"filtered_html","safe_value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 On a Saturday night in Victoriaville, Quebec, last October, the trajectory of Pascal Laberge\u2019s third season in the QMJHL changed in a flash and not for the better.<\/p>\nSix minutes into the Tigres\u2019 game against the Moncton Wildcats, Laberge was met by a thundering headshot from Zachary Malatesta as he gathered the puck at his own blue line.<\/p>\nLaberge lay barren on the ice while Victoriaville alternate captain James Phelan immediately jumped Malatesta, who was ejected and then suspended seven games.<\/p>\n\u201cYou try to avoid these concussions and when a player does a thing like that, it sure pisses you off a little bit,\u201d Laberge said Friday at development camp at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> Skate Zone. \u201cThere\u2019s always going to be some guys like that in hockey. It\u2019s just that it happened to me.\u201d<\/p>\nWhat happened to Laberge was a concussion that caused him to miss over a month before returning Nov. 25 for two games to only sit out another three games as symptoms returned.<\/p>\nUpon returning, Laberge labored to find the consistency and point production that led to the Flyers\u2019 selecting him with the 36th overall pick in the 2016 NHL draft.<\/p>\nAfter his symptoms subsided enough for him to come back Dec. 8, the 19-year-old forward recorded seven points in eight games in the month. In January, he tallied six points in 10 games but was held pointless during six of those games. He finished the season with 32 points.<\/p>\nIn 2015-16, his draft year, Laberge registered 68 points in 56 games for Victoriaville. His 32 points last season was one point more than his 2014-15 rookie campaign in the QMJHL. <\/p>\nHe ended last season with an assist in each of the Tigres\u2019 final three games and scooped up two more in four games during Victoriaville\u2019s first-round postseason exit to Chicoutimi.<\/p>\nRegaining confidence was a barricade for Laberge following his return from his concussion, especially when going toward the boards. \u201cYou\u2019re kind of shy to go there,\u201d he said. He often played looking over his shoulder and said it took about two months for him to fully recover.<\/p>\n\u201cThe first month,\u201d he said, \u201cI couldn\u2019t wake up. I had to sleep all day.\u201d<\/p>\nBy now, Laberge\u2019s story is well known. In summer 2015, his stepmother was diagnosed with metastatic cancer and his father, prostate cancer. His stepmother died in September 2015. His dad had his prostate removed that fall. All while he was trying to get drafted.<\/p>\nLaberge fell to the Flyers in the second round despite being rated 28th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting Bureau. Some saw him as a late first-rounder.<\/p>\nOne of the traits the Flyers liked about Laberge when they drafted him last summer was his perseverance, how he dealt with his family situation and also still produced on the ice.<\/p>\nCharacter is something general manager Ron Hextall values greatly. When he talks about prospects, chiefly in regards of development camp, character is one detail he preaches. <\/p>\nHow prospects deal with adversity \u2014 albeit on the ice or off it, both are true in Laberge\u2019s case \u2014 can make them hungrier and better as a player and person, according to Hextall. <\/p>\nHextall offered a guess: Last season, on the ice, was a first for Laberge. A young, talented kid who didn\u2019t have his way, who took a step back in his development and wasn\u2019t a star.<\/p>\nFor someone his age, he has been through a lot off the ice. Last season, the concussion was just \u201canother tough time.\u201d It\u2019s getting him stronger, he said.<\/p>\n\u201cSometimes with my friends,\u201d Laberge said, \u201cI feel a little bit older than them.\u201d<\/p>\nIn his second development camp, Laberge claims he\u2019s back to normal, feels good and his concussion issues are in the past. He understands how last season went means the timetable for his path to the NHL has been pushed back because of the lost time.<\/p>\nLaberge wants to get back to \u201cthe real me\u201d in 2017-18. With one more year of junior eligibility, he, barring any miracles, will spend another season in Victoriaville.<\/p>\nWhile Hextall\u2019s been adamant about keeping a few spots open for prospects to earn during training camp in September, it\u2019s a long shot to consider Laberge to be in that competition.<\/p>\n\u201cWe didn\u2019t like what he went through,\u201d Hextall said Friday. \u201cWe didn\u2019t like, at times, the level he was playing to, which wasn\u2019t at the level he\u2019s capable of. But \u2026 <\/p>\n\u201cYou go through adversity like that as a young man, you learn from it. You become stronger. It\u2019s like a team. Sometimes you have to lose to learn how to win.\u201d<\/p>\nIf there\u2019s any one thing Laberge learned from last season, it\u2019s \u2026 <\/p>\n\u201cNext time,\u201d he said, \u201cI\u2019ll lift my head.\u201d<\/p>\n","safe_summary":"After enduring yet another year filled with adversity, Pascal Laberge, 19, hopes to show the Flyers his true self in 2017-18. By Tom Dougherty<\/p>\n"}]},"field_author_reference":{"und":[{"tid":"1321"}]},"field_bean_single_col":{"und":[{"target_id":"2456"}]},"field_chrome_page":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_date_published":{"und":[{"value":"2017-07-09 13:10:00","timezone":"America\/New_York","timezone_db":"UTC","date_type":"datetime"}]},"field_hero_image_credit":{"und":[{"value":"Photo: Zack Hill\/Flyers","format":null,"safe_value":"Photo: Zack Hill\/Flyers"}]},"field_image":{"und":[{"fid":"472606","uid":"266","filename":"zack-hill-pascal-laberge.jpg","uri":"public:\/\/2017\/07\/08\/zack-hill-pascal-laberge.jpg","filemime":"image\/jpeg","filesize":"154834","status":"1","timestamp":"1499535488","origname":"zack-hill-pascal-laberge.jpg","type":"image","field_file_image_alt_text":{"und":[{"value":"Pascal Laberge, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers","format":null,"safe_value":"Pascal Laberge, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers"}]},"field_file_image_title_text":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":[],"alt":"Pascal Laberge, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers","metadata":{"height":360,"width":640},"height":"360","width":"640","title":""}]},"field_league":{"und":[{"tid":"196"}]},"field_section":{"und":[{"tid":"201"}]},"field_short_title":{"und":[{"value":"Flyers' Laberge out to be 'the real me' following dark days from concussion","format":null,"safe_value":"Flyers' Laberge out to be 'the real me' following dark days from concussion"}]},"field_sponsor":[],"field_sport":{"und":[{"tid":"191"}]},"field_tags":{"und":[{"tid":"18276"},{"tid":"5406"},{"tid":"466"},{"tid":"2966"},{"tid":"3091"}]},"field_team":{"und":[{"tid":"141"}]},"field_top_story":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_video_autoplay":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_videos":{"und":[{"target_id":"537646"}]},"field_tags_hide":{"und":[{"tid":"18276"}]},"field_video_automute":[],"field_editorial_category":[],"field_allow_lld_domains":[],"field_enable_stanza":[],"field_exclude_from_yahoo":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"Pascal Laberge out to show Flyers 'the real me'"},"news_keywords":{"value":"Pascal Laberge, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers, Pascal Laberge Flyers, Pascal Laberge concussion, Pascal Laberge head injury, Pascal Laberge hockey, Flyers top prospects"}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"name":"tdougherty","picture":"0","data":"b:0;"},"access":true},{"target_id":"539666","entity":{"vid":"566421","uid":"156","title":"Morgan Frost, the other 1st-round pick, can help Flyers, too","log":"","status":"1","comment":"0","promote":"0","sticky":"0","nid":"539666","type":"article","language":"und","created":"1500171137","changed":"1500320019","tnid":"0","translate":"0","published":"1500210000","revision_timestamp":"1500320019","revision_uid":"156","body":{"und":[{"value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Morgan Frost was teeming with nerves.<\/p>The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\" target=\"_blank\">Flyers<\/a> had just called his name on the night of the NHL draft, so emotions were running wild as he made his way to the spectacle's forefront at the United Center.<\/p>\"It was pretty crazy,\" Frost said last week. \"Walking up the stage, I thought I was going to fall over.\"<\/p>Unlike that concern, Frost has no trouble staying upright on the ice. His speed, skating and skills are what made him attractive to the Flyers, who selected the 18-year-old in the June draft with the 27th pick acquired via the Brayden Schenn trade.<\/p>With the deal, Frost became the Flyers' second first-round choice of the night, joining No. 2 overall pick Nolan Patrick. And similar to Patrick, Frost is a skilled forward that thrives when skill surrounds him. Put Frost with talent, and he'll make it better.<\/p>\"I think I'm definitely a playmaker first,\" Frost said. \"I think you're always going to see me with more assists than goals.\"<\/p>That rung true last season when Frost put up 42 assists compared to 20 goals in 67 games with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL. Alongside Bruins 2015 first-round pick Zach Senyshyn, a bona-fide goal-scoring winger, Frost dished the puck plenty and also produced a 22-assist increase from his first year of junior play.<\/p>\"Playing with a guy like Senyshyn definitely helps that stat because he's a goal scorer,\" Frost said. \"I think for me, playing with a goal scorer is part of the best thing because I'm a guy that likes to distribute. At the same time, I feel like I can contribute offensively in terms of scoring, but I'm definitely a playmaker.\"<\/p>Frost provided glimpses of that ability through a variety of drills and competition at Flyers development camp, his first real taste of the NHL.<\/p>\"It's super special,\" Frost said. \"The first step on that ice obviously meant a lot to me. It's still pretty surreal for me to be here. I'm definitely excited.\"<\/p>Now with an NHL organization, Frost hopes to grow both physically and defensively. An offensive stalwart listed at 5-foot-11, 172 pounds, Frost was able to see how he can improve those areas after spending six days with the Flyers.<\/p>\"Giving them an early view of our expectations as an organization of ways to improve their game, whether it's skill-wise or strength-wise,\" Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said of development camp.<\/p>\"Being a pro and showing them ways to develop physically and as an athlete.\"<\/p>Over time, Frost wants to show he can be an all-situation center. He feels he has already started to with the Greyhounds, who will continue to give him greater responsibilities in 2017-18, including penalty-kill minutes.<\/p>\"They kind of stressed that to me right when I got there,\" Frost said. \"I was kind of a one-dimensional player, offensive. They stressed that it wasn't all about that, it's not about scoring goals or setting up goals all the time if you're going to be on the ice for goals against. So plus-minus was something I wanted to improve on and just be harder to play against, play defense. They turned me into more of a well-rounded player.\"<\/p>Over 65 games in 2015-16, Frost was a minus-6. He went to a plus-15 in 2016-17. And while he wants to become more complete, making a difference with the puck on his stick will be his ticket to the Flyers.<\/p>\"I think that's a skill I've had ever since I was a little kid, just being able to see the ice and slow the play down a little,\" Frost said. \"But at the same time, I think that's developed with coaching and practice.\"<\/p>After getting to know the Flyers, he found new ways to work on those strengths.<\/p>\"We're watching video, watching just little things that you can do with your skates \u2014 ways to change your angle, use your edges,\" Frost said. \"That's one thing that I definitely want to do and I want to be able to accelerate better.<\/p>\"The first three steps and once I get up to speed, I'm fast and I can use my speed to my advantage.\"<\/p>And to help his teammates, too. That's what Frost does best.<\/p>","summary":"Similar to Nolan Patrick, Morgan Frost was a first-round pick of the Flyers that excels by making those around him better. By Jordan Hall<\/p>","format":"filtered_html","safe_value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Morgan Frost was teeming with nerves.<\/p>\nThe <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\" target=\"_blank\">Flyers<\/a> had just called his name on the night of the NHL draft, so emotions were running wild as he made his way to the spectacle's forefront at the United Center.<\/p>\n\"It was pretty crazy,\" Frost said last week. \"Walking up the stage, I thought I was going to fall over.\"<\/p>\nUnlike that concern, Frost has no trouble staying upright on the ice. His speed, skating and skills are what made him attractive to the Flyers, who selected the 18-year-old in the June draft with the 27th pick acquired via the Brayden Schenn trade.<\/p>\nWith the deal, Frost became the Flyers' second first-round choice of the night, joining No. 2 overall pick Nolan Patrick. And similar to Patrick, Frost is a skilled forward that thrives when skill surrounds him. Put Frost with talent, and he'll make it better.<\/p>\n\"I think I'm definitely a playmaker first,\" Frost said. \"I think you're always going to see me with more assists than goals.\"<\/p>\nThat rung true last season when Frost put up 42 assists compared to 20 goals in 67 games with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL. Alongside Bruins 2015 first-round pick Zach Senyshyn, a bona-fide goal-scoring winger, Frost dished the puck plenty and also produced a 22-assist increase from his first year of junior play.<\/p>\n\"Playing with a guy like Senyshyn definitely helps that stat because he's a goal scorer,\" Frost said. \"I think for me, playing with a goal scorer is part of the best thing because I'm a guy that likes to distribute. At the same time, I feel like I can contribute offensively in terms of scoring, but I'm definitely a playmaker.\"<\/p>\nFrost provided glimpses of that ability through a variety of drills and competition at Flyers development camp, his first real taste of the NHL.<\/p>\n\"It's super special,\" Frost said. \"The first step on that ice obviously meant a lot to me. It's still pretty surreal for me to be here. I'm definitely excited.\"<\/p>\nNow with an NHL organization, Frost hopes to grow both physically and defensively. An offensive stalwart listed at 5-foot-11, 172 pounds, Frost was able to see how he can improve those areas after spending six days with the Flyers.<\/p>\n\"Giving them an early view of our expectations as an organization of ways to improve their game, whether it's skill-wise or strength-wise,\" Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said of development camp.<\/p>\n\"Being a pro and showing them ways to develop physically and as an athlete.\"<\/p>\nOver time, Frost wants to show he can be an all-situation center. He feels he has already started to with the Greyhounds, who will continue to give him greater responsibilities in 2017-18, including penalty-kill minutes.<\/p>\n\"They kind of stressed that to me right when I got there,\" Frost said. \"I was kind of a one-dimensional player, offensive. They stressed that it wasn't all about that, it's not about scoring goals or setting up goals all the time if you're going to be on the ice for goals against. So plus-minus was something I wanted to improve on and just be harder to play against, play defense. They turned me into more of a well-rounded player.\"<\/p>\nOver 65 games in 2015-16, Frost was a minus-6. He went to a plus-15 in 2016-17. And while he wants to become more complete, making a difference with the puck on his stick will be his ticket to the Flyers.<\/p>\n\"I think that's a skill I've had ever since I was a little kid, just being able to see the ice and slow the play down a little,\" Frost said. \"But at the same time, I think that's developed with coaching and practice.\"<\/p>\nAfter getting to know the Flyers, he found new ways to work on those strengths.<\/p>\n\"We're watching video, watching just little things that you can do with your skates \u2014 ways to change your angle, use your edges,\" Frost said. \"That's one thing that I definitely want to do and I want to be able to accelerate better.<\/p>\n\"The first three steps and once I get up to speed, I'm fast and I can use my speed to my advantage.\"<\/p>\nAnd to help his teammates, too. That's what Frost does best.<\/p>\n","safe_summary":"Similar to Nolan Patrick, Morgan Frost was a first-round pick of the Flyers that excels by making those around him better. By Jordan Hall<\/p>\n"}]},"field_author_reference":{"und":[{"tid":"1056"}]},"field_bean_single_col":{"und":[{"target_id":"2456"}]},"field_chrome_page":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_date_published":{"und":[{"value":"2017-07-16 13:00:00","timezone":"America\/New_York","timezone_db":"UTC","date_type":"datetime"}]},"field_hero_image_credit":{"und":[{"value":"Photo credit: Zack Hill\/Flyers","format":null,"safe_value":"Photo credit: Zack Hill\/Flyers"}]},"field_image":{"und":[{"fid":"476586","uid":"156","filename":"zack-hill-flyers-morgan-frost.jpg","uri":"public:\/\/2017\/07\/15\/zack-hill-flyers-morgan-frost.jpg","filemime":"image\/jpeg","filesize":"316920","status":"1","timestamp":"1500171137","origname":"zack-hill-flyers-morgan-frost.jpg","type":"image","field_file_image_alt_text":{"und":[{"value":"Morgan Frost, Philadelphia Flyers","format":null,"safe_value":"Morgan Frost, Philadelphia Flyers"}]},"field_file_image_title_text":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]","default":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]"},"description":{"value":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!","default":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!"},"abstract":{"value":""},"keywords":{"value":""},"robots":{"value":{"index":0,"follow":0,"noindex":0,"nofollow":0,"noarchive":0,"nosnippet":0,"noodp":0,"noydir":0,"noimageindex":0,"notranslate":0}},"news_keywords":{"value":""},"standout":{"value":""},"rating":{"value":""},"referrer":{"value":""},"rights":{"value":""},"image_src":{"value":""},"canonical":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"shortlink":{"value":"[current-page:url:unaliased]","default":"[current-page:url:unaliased]"},"original-source":{"value":""},"prev":{"value":""},"next":{"value":""},"content-language":{"value":""},"geo.position":{"value":""},"geo.placename":{"value":""},"geo.region":{"value":""},"icbm":{"value":""},"refresh":{"value":""},"revisit-after":{"value":"","period":""},"pragma":{"value":""},"cache-control":{"value":""},"expires":{"value":""},"og:type":{"value":"article","default":"article"},"og:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"og:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"og:determiner":{"value":""},"og:description":{"value":""},"og:updated_time":{"value":""},"og:see_also":{"value":""},"og:image":{"value":""},"og:image:url":{"value":""},"og:image:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:image:type":{"value":""},"og:image:width":{"value":""},"og:image:height":{"value":""},"og:latitude":{"value":""},"og:longitude":{"value":""},"og:street_address":{"value":""},"og:locality":{"value":""},"og:region":{"value":""},"og:postal_code":{"value":""},"og:country_name":{"value":""},"og:email":{"value":""},"og:phone_number":{"value":""},"og:fax_number":{"value":""},"og:locale":{"value":""},"og:locale:alternate":{"value":""},"article:author":{"value":""},"article:publisher":{"value":""},"article:section":{"value":""},"article:tag":{"value":""},"article:published_time":{"value":""},"article:modified_time":{"value":""},"article:expiration_time":{"value":""},"profile:first_name":{"value":""},"profile:last_name":{"value":""},"profile:username":{"value":""},"profile:gender":{"value":""},"og:audio":{"value":""},"og:audio:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:audio:type":{"value":""},"book:author":{"value":""},"book:isbn":{"value":""},"book:release_date":{"value":""},"book:tag":{"value":""},"og:video:url":{"value":""},"og:video:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:video:width":{"value":""},"og:video:height":{"value":""},"og:video:type":{"value":""},"video:actor":{"value":""},"video:actor:role":{"value":""},"video:director":{"value":""},"video:writer":{"value":""},"video:duration":{"value":""},"video:release_date":{"value":""},"video:tag":{"value":""},"video:series":{"value":""},"twitter:card":{"value":"summary","default":"summary"},"twitter:creator":{"value":""},"twitter:creator:id":{"value":""},"twitter:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"twitter:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"twitter:description":{"value":""},"twitter:image":{"value":""},"twitter:image:width":{"value":""},"twitter:image:height":{"value":""},"twitter:image:alt":{"value":""},"twitter:image0":{"value":""},"twitter:image1":{"value":""},"twitter:image2":{"value":""},"twitter:image3":{"value":""},"twitter:player":{"value":""},"twitter:player:width":{"value":""},"twitter:player:height":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream:content_type":{"value":""},"twitter:app:country":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:label1":{"value":""},"twitter:data1":{"value":""},"twitter:label2":{"value":""},"twitter:data2":{"value":""}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"alt":"Morgan Frost, Philadelphia Flyers","metadata":{"height":382,"width":640},"height":"382","width":"640","title":""}]},"field_league":{"und":[{"tid":"196"}]},"field_section":{"und":[{"tid":"201"}]},"field_short_title":{"und":[{"value":"The other 1st-round pick, Morgan Frost can help Flyers, too","format":null,"safe_value":"The other 1st-round pick, Morgan Frost can help Flyers, too"}]},"field_sponsor":[],"field_sport":{"und":[{"tid":"191"}]},"field_tags":{"und":[{"tid":"6201"},{"tid":"18276"},{"tid":"506"},{"tid":"19506"},{"tid":"466"}]},"field_team":{"und":[{"tid":"141"}]},"field_top_story":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_video_autoplay":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_videos":{"und":[{"target_id":"532906"}]},"field_tags_hide":{"und":[{"tid":"18276"}]},"field_video_automute":[],"field_editorial_category":[],"field_allow_lld_domains":[],"field_enable_stanza":[],"field_exclude_from_yahoo":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"news_keywords":{"value":"Morgan Frost, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers development camp, Flyers prospects"}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"name":"JHall","picture":"0","data":"b:0;"},"access":true},{"target_id":"539336","entity":{"vid":"565986","uid":"266","title":"After popping at world juniors, Mikhail Vorobyev sees 'good opportunity' with Phantoms","log":"","status":"1","comment":"0","promote":"0","sticky":"0","nid":"539336","type":"article","language":"und","created":"1500066760","changed":"1501259318","tnid":"0","translate":"0","published":"1500123600","revision_timestamp":"1501259318","revision_uid":"266","body":{"und":[{"value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Not many people knew who Mikhail Vorobyev was when the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships began last December.<\/p>They found out quick who he was by the end.<\/p>Vorobyev led the tournament with 10 assists in seven games for Team Russia, which captured the bronze medal. He didn\u2019t register a goal but his 10 points were third most.<\/p>\u201cVorobyev popped at the world juniors when he\u2019s playing with his peers,\u201d <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> general manager Ron Hextall said recently during development camp at Flyers Skate Zone.<\/p>\u201cOur guys really liked him his draft year. We got him in the fourth round probably because he was in Russia. He was hidden a little bit.\u201d<\/p>After one full season playing in the KHL for Salavat Yulaev Ufa, Vorobyev signed his entry-level contract with the Flyers in late April. The 20-year-old center will spend the 2017-18 season with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms as part of an interesting forward group.<\/p>Lehigh Valley finished as the second-best AHL team last season with 101 points in the regular season, but it lost to the Hershey Bears in five games during the first round of the playoffs.<\/p>This season, Vorobyev figures to have a spot in the regular lineup, but the forward competition in the AHL could be as competitive as it will be with the Flyers.<\/p>Still, Vorobyev believed coming overseas was for his best interests.<\/p>\u201cIf you want to continue development,\u201d Vorobyev said through an interpreter, Flyers skating coach Slava Kouznetsov, \u201cthis is a good opportunity to get better. In Russia, I think I reached up. That\u2019s why I\u2019m switching to North America to get better than I already am.\u201d<\/p>It may take Vorobyev a while to get accumulated to the North American lifestyle, especially since he doesn\u2019t speak English, but having Radel Fazleev at Lehigh Valley should help.<\/p>Fazleev is entering his second season in the AHL. He\u2019s been in North America full-time since 2013-14, his first season in the WHL.<\/p>At development camp, Vorobyev had three other Russians \u2014 Fazleev, German Rubtsov and camp invite Ivan Kosorenkov \u2014 and Maksim Sushko, who\u2019s from Belarus but speaks Russian, to lean on. Fazleev was the only development camp veteran of the bunch.<\/p>Like Rubtsov last summer, Vorobyev wasn\u2019t able to attend development camp in 2015 and 2016 because of his contract obligations in the KHL. Having Kouznetsov around also helps.<\/p>\"It is a big help,\u201d Vorobyev said. \u201cI'm feeling much more comfortable. The guys are helpful. It's easier to have conversation. They explain the rules, especially the guys who were here the previous years.\u201d<\/p>The adjustment for Vorobyev will come largely off the ice. The Salavat, Russia, native doesn\u2019t view the smaller rink as an obstacle, but it usually is for Europeans and Russians.<\/p>\"When I traveled with the Russian team, I always liked to play on the smaller surface,\u201d Vorobyev said. \u201cI like it. There's no adjustment, basically.\"<\/p>Vorobyev isn\u2019t the only player coming overseas this season for the Flyers. Oskar Lindblom, a 2014 fifth-round pick, believes the biggest transition for him will be the rink size.<\/p>\u201cThat\u2019s the big thing,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a little bit faster over here, so you have to think a little faster and be ready out there. Otherwise, you're going to get hit or not make the play.\"<\/p>Both Vorobyev and Lindblom were middle-round picks. Lindblom\u2019s ascension has caught the eyes of the Flyers and their fans. Lindblom is expected to be a Flyer in 2017-18.<\/p>While Lindblom has earned the hype, Vorobyev\u2019s progression has been interesting too. Both are examples of how far the Flyers\u2019 scouting department has come in recent years.<\/p>Vorobyev earned a steady role in the KHL last season after splitting the 2015-16 season with Salavat Yulaev and Tolpar Ufa of the MHL.<\/p>For the average folk, Vorobyev\u2019s numbers last season will not turn any heads. He had just three goals and 11 points in 44 games for Salavat Yulaev, but with young players in the KHL, it\u2019s hard to judge strictly on statistics. What should be of note is the ice time.<\/p>During the regular season, Vorobyev averaged 9:47. That number shot up to 13:29 per game in five postseason contests. That signals his Salavat Yulaev coaches trusted him enough to play him.<\/p>It's easy to see the difference with Vorobyev and Rubtsov. Vorobyev carved out a spot on his team at 19 and 20 years old. Rubtsov couldn\u2019t crack his KHL lineup.<\/p>Both are now in North America. The Flyers have three options with Rubtsov: QMJHL, AHL and NHL. They technically have two choices with Vorobyev, but he\u2019ll be in the AHL.<\/p>\u201cThe Russians are a little bit of a different animal because if you\u2019re playing in the KHL,\u201d Hextall said, \u201cyou got a young kid playing against men in a top league and keep them down on the fourth line and give him seven minutes. It\u2019s hard to show a whole lot in seven minutes.\u201d<\/p>Vorobyev has added at least 13 pounds since the Flyers drafted him in the fourth round of the 2015 NHL draft. He\u2019s currently listed at 6-foot-2, 207 pounds.<\/p>\u201cIf you look at his weight, his body makeup, it\u2019s changed quite a bit since we drafted him,\u201d Hextall said, \u201cand again, he popped at the world juniors last year. Quite honestly, if you asked our scouts, I don\u2019t think they\u2019d be too surprised.\u201d<\/p>The world junior performance was Vorobyev\u2019s coming out party in North America. He was exciting to watch on a Russian team that also featured Rubtsov, who struggled in the tournament. Vorobyev displayed playmaking and vision not many ever he knew he had.<\/p>Vorobyev did most of his damage setting his teammates up from behind the net and said at development camp behind the net is an area he\u2019s comfortable.<\/p>\u201cBehind the net, I felt comfortable and got points off feeding the puck to the slot,\u201d Vorobyev said. \u201cIf my partners did not score, I wouldn\u2019t get assists. It is pride [to lead the tournament in assists], but the partners, that\u2019s who I relied on.\u201d<\/p>","summary":"After breaking onto the scene at the world juniors, Mikhail Vorobyev sees a \"good opportunity\" in North America with the Phantoms. By Tom Dougherty<\/p>","format":"filtered_html","safe_value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Not many people knew who Mikhail Vorobyev was when the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships began last December.<\/p>\nThey found out quick who he was by the end.<\/p>\nVorobyev led the tournament with 10 assists in seven games for Team Russia, which captured the bronze medal. He didn\u2019t register a goal but his 10 points were third most.<\/p>\n\u201cVorobyev popped at the world juniors when he\u2019s playing with his peers,\u201d <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> general manager Ron Hextall said recently during development camp at Flyers Skate Zone.<\/p>\n\u201cOur guys really liked him his draft year. We got him in the fourth round probably because he was in Russia. He was hidden a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\nAfter one full season playing in the KHL for Salavat Yulaev Ufa, Vorobyev signed his entry-level contract with the Flyers in late April. The 20-year-old center will spend the 2017-18 season with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms as part of an interesting forward group.<\/p>\nLehigh Valley finished as the second-best AHL team last season with 101 points in the regular season, but it lost to the Hershey Bears in five games during the first round of the playoffs.<\/p>\nThis season, Vorobyev figures to have a spot in the regular lineup, but the forward competition in the AHL could be as competitive as it will be with the Flyers.<\/p>\nStill, Vorobyev believed coming overseas was for his best interests.<\/p>\n\u201cIf you want to continue development,\u201d Vorobyev said through an interpreter, Flyers skating coach Slava Kouznetsov, \u201cthis is a good opportunity to get better. In Russia, I think I reached up. That\u2019s why I\u2019m switching to North America to get better than I already am.\u201d<\/p>\nIt may take Vorobyev a while to get accumulated to the North American lifestyle, especially since he doesn\u2019t speak English, but having Radel Fazleev at Lehigh Valley should help.<\/p>\nFazleev is entering his second season in the AHL. He\u2019s been in North America full-time since 2013-14, his first season in the WHL.<\/p>\nAt development camp, Vorobyev had three other Russians \u2014 Fazleev, German Rubtsov and camp invite Ivan Kosorenkov \u2014 and Maksim Sushko, who\u2019s from Belarus but speaks Russian, to lean on. Fazleev was the only development camp veteran of the bunch.<\/p>\nLike Rubtsov last summer, Vorobyev wasn\u2019t able to attend development camp in 2015 and 2016 because of his contract obligations in the KHL. Having Kouznetsov around also helps.<\/p>\n\"It is a big help,\u201d Vorobyev said. \u201cI'm feeling much more comfortable. The guys are helpful. It's easier to have conversation. They explain the rules, especially the guys who were here the previous years.\u201d<\/p>\nThe adjustment for Vorobyev will come largely off the ice. The Salavat, Russia, native doesn\u2019t view the smaller rink as an obstacle, but it usually is for Europeans and Russians.<\/p>\n\"When I traveled with the Russian team, I always liked to play on the smaller surface,\u201d Vorobyev said. \u201cI like it. There's no adjustment, basically.\"<\/p>\nVorobyev isn\u2019t the only player coming overseas this season for the Flyers. Oskar Lindblom, a 2014 fifth-round pick, believes the biggest transition for him will be the rink size.<\/p>\n\u201cThat\u2019s the big thing,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a little bit faster over here, so you have to think a little faster and be ready out there. Otherwise, you're going to get hit or not make the play.\"<\/p>\nBoth Vorobyev and Lindblom were middle-round picks. Lindblom\u2019s ascension has caught the eyes of the Flyers and their fans. Lindblom is expected to be a Flyer in 2017-18.<\/p>\nWhile Lindblom has earned the hype, Vorobyev\u2019s progression has been interesting too. Both are examples of how far the Flyers\u2019 scouting department has come in recent years.<\/p>\nVorobyev earned a steady role in the KHL last season after splitting the 2015-16 season with Salavat Yulaev and Tolpar Ufa of the MHL.<\/p>\nFor the average folk, Vorobyev\u2019s numbers last season will not turn any heads. He had just three goals and 11 points in 44 games for Salavat Yulaev, but with young players in the KHL, it\u2019s hard to judge strictly on statistics. What should be of note is the ice time.<\/p>\nDuring the regular season, Vorobyev averaged 9:47. That number shot up to 13:29 per game in five postseason contests. That signals his Salavat Yulaev coaches trusted him enough to play him.<\/p>\nIt's easy to see the difference with Vorobyev and Rubtsov. Vorobyev carved out a spot on his team at 19 and 20 years old. Rubtsov couldn\u2019t crack his KHL lineup.<\/p>\nBoth are now in North America. The Flyers have three options with Rubtsov: QMJHL, AHL and NHL. They technically have two choices with Vorobyev, but he\u2019ll be in the AHL.<\/p>\n\u201cThe Russians are a little bit of a different animal because if you\u2019re playing in the KHL,\u201d Hextall said, \u201cyou got a young kid playing against men in a top league and keep them down on the fourth line and give him seven minutes. It\u2019s hard to show a whole lot in seven minutes.\u201d<\/p>\nVorobyev has added at least 13 pounds since the Flyers drafted him in the fourth round of the 2015 NHL draft. He\u2019s currently listed at 6-foot-2, 207 pounds.<\/p>\n\u201cIf you look at his weight, his body makeup, it\u2019s changed quite a bit since we drafted him,\u201d Hextall said, \u201cand again, he popped at the world juniors last year. Quite honestly, if you asked our scouts, I don\u2019t think they\u2019d be too surprised.\u201d<\/p>\nThe world junior performance was Vorobyev\u2019s coming out party in North America. He was exciting to watch on a Russian team that also featured Rubtsov, who struggled in the tournament. Vorobyev displayed playmaking and vision not many ever he knew he had.<\/p>\nVorobyev did most of his damage setting his teammates up from behind the net and said at development camp behind the net is an area he\u2019s comfortable.<\/p>\n\u201cBehind the net, I felt comfortable and got points off feeding the puck to the slot,\u201d Vorobyev said. \u201cIf my partners did not score, I wouldn\u2019t get assists. It is pride [to lead the tournament in assists], but the partners, that\u2019s who I relied on.\u201d<\/p>\n","safe_summary":"After breaking onto the scene at the world juniors, Mikhail Vorobyev sees a \"good opportunity\" in North America with the Phantoms. By Tom Dougherty<\/p>\n"}]},"field_author_reference":{"und":[{"tid":"1321"}]},"field_bean_single_col":{"und":[{"target_id":"2456"}]},"field_chrome_page":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_date_published":{"und":[{"value":"2017-07-15 13:00:00","timezone":"America\/New_York","timezone_db":"UTC","date_type":"datetime"}]},"field_hero_image_credit":{"und":[{"value":"Tom Dougherty\/CSNPhilly.com","format":null,"safe_value":"Tom Dougherty\/CSNPhilly.com"}]},"field_image":{"und":[{"fid":"472531","uid":"266","filename":"tom-dougherty-mikhail-vorobyev-3.jpg","uri":"public:\/\/2017\/07\/14\/tom-dougherty-mikhail-vorobyev-3.jpg","filemime":"image\/jpeg","filesize":"177970","status":"1","timestamp":"1500066760","origname":"tom-dougherty-mikhail-vorobyev-3.jpg","type":"image","field_file_image_alt_text":[],"field_file_image_title_text":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]","default":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]"},"description":{"value":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!","default":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!"},"abstract":{"value":""},"keywords":{"value":""},"robots":{"value":{"index":0,"follow":0,"noindex":0,"nofollow":0,"noarchive":0,"nosnippet":0,"noodp":0,"noydir":0,"noimageindex":0,"notranslate":0}},"news_keywords":{"value":""},"standout":{"value":""},"rating":{"value":""},"referrer":{"value":""},"rights":{"value":""},"image_src":{"value":""},"canonical":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"shortlink":{"value":"[current-page:url:unaliased]","default":"[current-page:url:unaliased]"},"original-source":{"value":""},"prev":{"value":""},"next":{"value":""},"content-language":{"value":""},"geo.position":{"value":""},"geo.placename":{"value":""},"geo.region":{"value":""},"icbm":{"value":""},"refresh":{"value":""},"revisit-after":{"value":"","period":""},"pragma":{"value":""},"cache-control":{"value":""},"expires":{"value":""},"og:type":{"value":"article","default":"article"},"og:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"og:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"og:determiner":{"value":""},"og:description":{"value":""},"og:updated_time":{"value":""},"og:see_also":{"value":""},"og:image":{"value":""},"og:image:url":{"value":""},"og:image:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:image:type":{"value":""},"og:image:width":{"value":""},"og:image:height":{"value":""},"og:latitude":{"value":""},"og:longitude":{"value":""},"og:street_address":{"value":""},"og:locality":{"value":""},"og:region":{"value":""},"og:postal_code":{"value":""},"og:country_name":{"value":""},"og:email":{"value":""},"og:phone_number":{"value":""},"og:fax_number":{"value":""},"og:locale":{"value":""},"og:locale:alternate":{"value":""},"article:author":{"value":""},"article:publisher":{"value":""},"article:section":{"value":""},"article:tag":{"value":""},"article:published_time":{"value":""},"article:modified_time":{"value":""},"article:expiration_time":{"value":""},"profile:first_name":{"value":""},"profile:last_name":{"value":""},"profile:username":{"value":""},"profile:gender":{"value":""},"og:audio":{"value":""},"og:audio:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:audio:type":{"value":""},"book:author":{"value":""},"book:isbn":{"value":""},"book:release_date":{"value":""},"book:tag":{"value":""},"og:video:url":{"value":""},"og:video:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:video:width":{"value":""},"og:video:height":{"value":""},"og:video:type":{"value":""},"video:actor":{"value":""},"video:actor:role":{"value":""},"video:director":{"value":""},"video:writer":{"value":""},"video:duration":{"value":""},"video:release_date":{"value":""},"video:tag":{"value":""},"video:series":{"value":""},"twitter:card":{"value":"summary","default":"summary"},"twitter:creator":{"value":""},"twitter:creator:id":{"value":""},"twitter:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"twitter:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"twitter:description":{"value":""},"twitter:image":{"value":""},"twitter:image:width":{"value":""},"twitter:image:height":{"value":""},"twitter:image:alt":{"value":""},"twitter:image0":{"value":""},"twitter:image1":{"value":""},"twitter:image2":{"value":""},"twitter:image3":{"value":""},"twitter:player":{"value":""},"twitter:player:width":{"value":""},"twitter:player:height":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream:content_type":{"value":""},"twitter:app:country":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:label1":{"value":""},"twitter:data1":{"value":""},"twitter:label2":{"value":""},"twitter:data2":{"value":""}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"metadata":{"height":360,"width":640},"height":"360","width":"640","alt":"","title":""}]},"field_league":{"und":[{"tid":"196"}]},"field_section":{"und":[{"tid":"201"}]},"field_short_title":{"und":[{"value":"After popping at WJCs, Mikhail Vorobyev sees 'good opportunity' with Phantoms","format":null,"safe_value":"After popping at WJCs, Mikhail Vorobyev sees 'good opportunity' with Phantoms"}]},"field_sponsor":[],"field_sport":{"und":[{"tid":"191"}]},"field_tags":{"und":[{"tid":"6201"},{"tid":"18276"},{"tid":"20111"},{"tid":"466"},{"tid":"3091"}]},"field_team":{"und":[{"tid":"141"}]},"field_top_story":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_video_autoplay":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_videos":{"und":[{"target_id":"537636"}]},"field_tags_hide":{"und":[{"tid":"18276"}]},"field_video_automute":[],"field_editorial_category":[],"field_allow_lld_domains":[],"field_enable_stanza":[],"field_exclude_from_yahoo":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"Mikhail Vorobyev sees 'good opportunity' with Flyers, Phantoms"},"news_keywords":{"value":"Mikhail Vorobyev, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers, Mikhail Vorobyev Flyers, Flyers draft Mikhail Vorobyev, Flyers sign Mikhail Vorobyev"}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"name":"tdougherty","picture":"0","data":"b:0;"},"access":true}]},"field_primary_display":[],"field_section":[],"field_show":[],"field_sport":[],"field_tags":[],"field_team":[],"field_author_reference":[],"field_archive":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_mc_auto_mute":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_mc_cont_play":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_mc_media_file_title":[],"field_mc_vod_player_id":[],"field_media_file_id":[],"field_mediacard_autoplay":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_display_desktop_large_only":[],"field_hide_on_mobile":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","entity_view_prepared":true},"#items":[{"value":"article"},{"value":"headline"},{"value":"media_gallery"},{"value":"video_on_demand"}],"#formatter":"list_default","0":{"#markup":"Article"},"1":{"#markup":"Headline"},"2":{"#markup":"Media Gallery"},"3":{"#markup":"Video On Demand"}},"field_dl_tabloid_headline":{"#theme":"field","#weight":26,"#title":"Title Override","#access":true,"#label_display":"above","#view_mode":"default","#language":"und","#field_name":"field_dl_tabloid_headline","#field_type":"media_cards","#field_translatable":"0","#entity_type":"bean","#bundle":"media_card","#object":{"label":"Flyers Development Camp","description":null,"title":"Flyers Development Camp","type":"media_card","data":{"view_mode":"1col_eight_pack_headlines"},"delta":"flyers-development-camp","view_mode":"1col_eight_pack_headlines","bid":"2456","vid":"12311","created":"1499751228","changed":"1501226779","log":"","uid":"156","default_revision":"1","revisions":[],"field_ad_hoc_group":[],"field_branded_header":[],"field_content_strategy":{"und":[{"value":"MANUAL_CONTENT_STRATEGY"}]},"field_content_type":{"und":[{"value":"article"},{"value":"headline"},{"value":"media_gallery"},{"value":"video_on_demand"}]},"field_dl_tabloid_headline":{"und":[{"value":""},{"value":""},{"value":""},{"value":""},{"value":""},{"value":""},{"value":""},{"value":""}]},"field_event":[],"field_genre_display":[],"field_league":[],"field_link":[],"field_links":[],"field_media_card_items":{"und":[{"target_id":"538021","entity":{"vid":"564531","uid":"266","title":"On his own time, Oskar Lindblom puts himself right there with Flyers","log":"","status":"1","comment":"0","promote":"0","sticky":"0","nid":"538021","type":"article","language":"und","created":"1499654903","changed":"1499791976","tnid":"0","translate":"0","published":"1499691600","revision_timestamp":"1499791976","revision_uid":"266","body":{"und":[{"value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Oskar Lindblom would take 10 minutes out of his own time and hit the ice early before practice. In Sweden, there was no high-level skating whiz to seek out on staff.   Actually, there was no skating coach period.   \"Do your own thing and try to be better every day,\" Lindblom said. \"That's the only thing you can do.   \"You have to put yourself into it.\"   And so he did.   It's what makes the fifth-round pick's ascension that more grandiose. Lindblom is no longer a raw wonder with skating deficiencies. Those 10 minutes have added up into a refined and rising prospect, attracting <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> fans in bunches last weekend.   Everyone knows Lindblom now.   \"We picked Oskar, he went back to Europe, nobody even talks about him,\" Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said Friday at development camp. \"What does he do? He just gets better and better and better.\"   Lindblom's climb has nearly reached the Flyers. The 6-foot-2, 192-pound winger signed his entry-level contract in May and turns 21 in August. He earned 2016-17 Swedish Hockey League Forward of the Year honors playing for Bryn\u00e4s IF. Over 52 regular-season games, Lindblom accumulated 47 points on 22 goals and 25 assists, then added 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in 20 playoff games.   How in the world did all that slip to the fifth round of the 2014 draft?   \"Oskar going into his draft year, he was thought to be a first-round pick, maybe top-15 pick that year,\" Hextall said. \"He didn't have a great year, some things didn't go his way, whatever, you look back and these kids are really young.   \"Some of these kids make a lot of progress in a couple years and I think Oskar is one of those guys. His skating, you look at certain players, they don't have a great stride and their skating can certainly get better, but there's a bit of ceiling there. With Oskar, it was more of a strength issue and that's what's come on with him. It's been a couple of years, he's gotten a lot stronger and you can just tell when you see him out on the ice there.\"   Not many would have predicted this, though. Lindblom, a humbled youngster from Sweden with long blonde hair, even surprised himself last season.   \"A little bit,\" he said. \"I just wanted to be a leading guy on our team, but I didn't think I was going to score that much or have that many points. The longer the season got, I got more confident in my play. It felt good.\"   So how did Lindblom develop so vastly? For one, it's come from his own motivation. He knew he had to become stronger, and he has. He knew his skating had to improve, so he worked on it. His hands had to be better, and now they are.   A lot of the credit goes to Lindblom.   \"Take the hat off to the kid, too, because he put a lot of work in,\" Hextall said. \"When you improve that much, he put a lot of work in.\"   Secondly, Lindblom embodies the importance of development camp. He valued the instruction from NHL coaches and implemented what he learned moving forward.   A significant influence in Lindblom's development has been Flyers skating coach Slava Kouznetsov.   \"We've got some drills over here from Slava,\" Lindblom said. \"Try to do small stuff like in the gym. Just the small stuff to do to get better \u2014 that's what you need to do.   \"My legs are much stronger now and my technique has been a little better. Those two things I think have been most important.\"   If Hextall had a development camp manual, Lindblom would be in it.   \"We have Slava here \u2014 he's instructed to give things to take home,\" Hextall said. \"And if they work on those every day, even if it's only five minutes, I guarantee you over the course of the year, they'll get better. Oskar's a great example.\"   Lindblom said his plans are to head home following development camp and then return in mid-August \"just to get ready and get comfortable.\" With the Flyers in need of scoring, specifically production from the wing, Lindblom has become the organization's most anticipated prospect not named Nolan Patrick. He'll be in September's training camp with more than a fighter's chance to win a roster spot.   \"He had a real good year last year and he's certainly put himself on the map for everybody, but he still has to come in and get it done,\" Hextall said. \"He has to prove he makes us a better team.\"   Lindblom, of all people, doesn't expect anything handed to him.   \"It's going to be a big challenge for me,\" Lindblom said. \"It's going to be tough work to get to where I want to be.   \"Like everybody else, you have to earn the spot and battle for it.\"   A fifth-round pick is well aware.   \"I just think about it by myself, like fifth-rounder, I just felt like I can play and I can be on this level,\" Lindblom said. \"So I'm just trying to push myself every day and be better. Now I've signed here and just have to do my best now to get there. That's what I want \u2014 play in the NHL, of course.\"   Putting in 10 extra minutes by himself has him right there.<\/p>","summary":"Knocking on the NHL's door, Oskar Lindblom's ascension into one of the Flyers' most anticipated prospects is a large part of his own. By Jordan Hall<\/p>","format":"filtered_html","safe_value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Oskar Lindblom would take 10 minutes out of his own time and hit the ice early before practice. In Sweden, there was no high-level skating whiz to seek out on staff.   Actually, there was no skating coach period.   \"Do your own thing and try to be better every day,\" Lindblom said. \"That's the only thing you can do.   \"You have to put yourself into it.\"   And so he did.   It's what makes the fifth-round pick's ascension that more grandiose. Lindblom is no longer a raw wonder with skating deficiencies. Those 10 minutes have added up into a refined and rising prospect, attracting <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> fans in bunches last weekend.   Everyone knows Lindblom now.   \"We picked Oskar, he went back to Europe, nobody even talks about him,\" Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said Friday at development camp. \"What does he do? He just gets better and better and better.\"   Lindblom's climb has nearly reached the Flyers. The 6-foot-2, 192-pound winger signed his entry-level contract in May and turns 21 in August. He earned 2016-17 Swedish Hockey League Forward of the Year honors playing for Bryn\u00e4s IF. Over 52 regular-season games, Lindblom accumulated 47 points on 22 goals and 25 assists, then added 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in 20 playoff games.   How in the world did all that slip to the fifth round of the 2014 draft?   \"Oskar going into his draft year, he was thought to be a first-round pick, maybe top-15 pick that year,\" Hextall said. \"He didn't have a great year, some things didn't go his way, whatever, you look back and these kids are really young.   \"Some of these kids make a lot of progress in a couple years and I think Oskar is one of those guys. His skating, you look at certain players, they don't have a great stride and their skating can certainly get better, but there's a bit of ceiling there. With Oskar, it was more of a strength issue and that's what's come on with him. It's been a couple of years, he's gotten a lot stronger and you can just tell when you see him out on the ice there.\"   Not many would have predicted this, though. Lindblom, a humbled youngster from Sweden with long blonde hair, even surprised himself last season.   \"A little bit,\" he said. \"I just wanted to be a leading guy on our team, but I didn't think I was going to score that much or have that many points. The longer the season got, I got more confident in my play. It felt good.\"   So how did Lindblom develop so vastly? For one, it's come from his own motivation. He knew he had to become stronger, and he has. He knew his skating had to improve, so he worked on it. His hands had to be better, and now they are.   A lot of the credit goes to Lindblom.   \"Take the hat off to the kid, too, because he put a lot of work in,\" Hextall said. \"When you improve that much, he put a lot of work in.\"   Secondly, Lindblom embodies the importance of development camp. He valued the instruction from NHL coaches and implemented what he learned moving forward.   A significant influence in Lindblom's development has been Flyers skating coach Slava Kouznetsov.   \"We've got some drills over here from Slava,\" Lindblom said. \"Try to do small stuff like in the gym. Just the small stuff to do to get better \u2014 that's what you need to do.   \"My legs are much stronger now and my technique has been a little better. Those two things I think have been most important.\"   If Hextall had a development camp manual, Lindblom would be in it.   \"We have Slava here \u2014 he's instructed to give things to take home,\" Hextall said. \"And if they work on those every day, even if it's only five minutes, I guarantee you over the course of the year, they'll get better. Oskar's a great example.\"   Lindblom said his plans are to head home following development camp and then return in mid-August \"just to get ready and get comfortable.\" With the Flyers in need of scoring, specifically production from the wing, Lindblom has become the organization's most anticipated prospect not named Nolan Patrick. He'll be in September's training camp with more than a fighter's chance to win a roster spot.   \"He had a real good year last year and he's certainly put himself on the map for everybody, but he still has to come in and get it done,\" Hextall said. \"He has to prove he makes us a better team.\"   Lindblom, of all people, doesn't expect anything handed to him.   \"It's going to be a big challenge for me,\" Lindblom said. \"It's going to be tough work to get to where I want to be.   \"Like everybody else, you have to earn the spot and battle for it.\"   A fifth-round pick is well aware.   \"I just think about it by myself, like fifth-rounder, I just felt like I can play and I can be on this level,\" Lindblom said. \"So I'm just trying to push myself every day and be better. Now I've signed here and just have to do my best now to get there. That's what I want \u2014 play in the NHL, of course.\"   Putting in 10 extra minutes by himself has him right there.<\/p>\n","safe_summary":"Knocking on the NHL's door, Oskar Lindblom's ascension into one of the Flyers' most anticipated prospects is a large part of his own. By Jordan Hall<\/p>\n"}]},"field_author_reference":{"und":[{"tid":"1056"}]},"field_bean_single_col":{"und":[{"target_id":"2456"}]},"field_chrome_page":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_date_published":{"und":[{"value":"2017-07-10 13:00:00","timezone":"America\/New_York","timezone_db":"UTC","date_type":"datetime"}]},"field_hero_image_credit":{"und":[{"value":"Photo credit: Zack Hill\/Flyers","format":null,"safe_value":"Photo credit: Zack Hill\/Flyers"}]},"field_image":{"und":[{"fid":"472556","uid":"266","filename":"zack-hill-flyers-oskar-lindblom.jpg","uri":"public:\/\/2017\/07\/09\/zack-hill-flyers-oskar-lindblom.jpg","filemime":"image\/jpeg","filesize":"206840","status":"1","timestamp":"1499654903","origname":"zack-hill-flyers-oskar-lindblom.jpg","type":"image","field_file_image_alt_text":[],"field_file_image_title_text":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]","default":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]"},"description":{"value":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!","default":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!"},"abstract":{"value":""},"keywords":{"value":""},"robots":{"value":{"index":0,"follow":0,"noindex":0,"nofollow":0,"noarchive":0,"nosnippet":0,"noodp":0,"noydir":0,"noimageindex":0,"notranslate":0}},"news_keywords":{"value":""},"standout":{"value":""},"rating":{"value":""},"referrer":{"value":""},"rights":{"value":""},"image_src":{"value":""},"canonical":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"shortlink":{"value":"[current-page:url:unaliased]","default":"[current-page:url:unaliased]"},"original-source":{"value":""},"prev":{"value":""},"next":{"value":""},"content-language":{"value":""},"geo.position":{"value":""},"geo.placename":{"value":""},"geo.region":{"value":""},"icbm":{"value":""},"refresh":{"value":""},"revisit-after":{"value":"","period":""},"pragma":{"value":""},"cache-control":{"value":""},"expires":{"value":""},"og:type":{"value":"article","default":"article"},"og:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"og:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"og:determiner":{"value":""},"og:description":{"value":""},"og:updated_time":{"value":""},"og:see_also":{"value":""},"og:image":{"value":""},"og:image:url":{"value":""},"og:image:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:image:type":{"value":""},"og:image:width":{"value":""},"og:image:height":{"value":""},"og:latitude":{"value":""},"og:longitude":{"value":""},"og:street_address":{"value":""},"og:locality":{"value":""},"og:region":{"value":""},"og:postal_code":{"value":""},"og:country_name":{"value":""},"og:email":{"value":""},"og:phone_number":{"value":""},"og:fax_number":{"value":""},"og:locale":{"value":""},"og:locale:alternate":{"value":""},"article:author":{"value":""},"article:publisher":{"value":""},"article:section":{"value":""},"article:tag":{"value":""},"article:published_time":{"value":""},"article:modified_time":{"value":""},"article:expiration_time":{"value":""},"profile:first_name":{"value":""},"profile:last_name":{"value":""},"profile:username":{"value":""},"profile:gender":{"value":""},"og:audio":{"value":""},"og:audio:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:audio:type":{"value":""},"book:author":{"value":""},"book:isbn":{"value":""},"book:release_date":{"value":""},"book:tag":{"value":""},"og:video:url":{"value":""},"og:video:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:video:width":{"value":""},"og:video:height":{"value":""},"og:video:type":{"value":""},"video:actor":{"value":""},"video:actor:role":{"value":""},"video:director":{"value":""},"video:writer":{"value":""},"video:duration":{"value":""},"video:release_date":{"value":""},"video:tag":{"value":""},"video:series":{"value":""},"twitter:card":{"value":"summary","default":"summary"},"twitter:creator":{"value":""},"twitter:creator:id":{"value":""},"twitter:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"twitter:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"twitter:description":{"value":""},"twitter:image":{"value":""},"twitter:image:width":{"value":""},"twitter:image:height":{"value":""},"twitter:image:alt":{"value":""},"twitter:image0":{"value":""},"twitter:image1":{"value":""},"twitter:image2":{"value":""},"twitter:image3":{"value":""},"twitter:player":{"value":""},"twitter:player:width":{"value":""},"twitter:player:height":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream:content_type":{"value":""},"twitter:app:country":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:label1":{"value":""},"twitter:data1":{"value":""},"twitter:label2":{"value":""},"twitter:data2":{"value":""}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"metadata":{"height":360,"width":640},"height":"360","width":"640","alt":"","title":""}]},"field_league":{"und":[{"tid":"196"}]},"field_section":{"und":[{"tid":"201"}]},"field_short_title":{"und":[{"value":"On his own time, Oskar Lindblom puts himself right there with Flyers","format":null,"safe_value":"On his own time, Oskar Lindblom puts himself right there with Flyers"}]},"field_sponsor":[],"field_sport":{"und":[{"tid":"191"}]},"field_tags":{"und":[{"tid":"6201"},{"tid":"18276"},{"tid":"506"},{"tid":"10166"},{"tid":"466"},{"tid":"2966"}]},"field_team":{"und":[{"tid":"141"}]},"field_top_story":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_video_autoplay":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_videos":{"und":[{"target_id":"537346"}]},"field_tags_hide":{"und":[{"tid":"18276"}]},"field_video_automute":[],"field_editorial_category":[],"field_allow_lld_domains":[],"field_enable_stanza":[],"field_exclude_from_yahoo":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"Oskar Lindblom puts himself with Flyers on own time"},"news_keywords":{"value":"Oskar Lindblom, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers, Oskar Lindblom Flyers, Flyers sign Oskar Lindblom, Ron Hextall, Oskar Lindblom hockey"}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"name":"tdougherty","picture":"0","data":"b:0;"},"access":true},{"target_id":"539281","entity":{"vid":"565926","uid":"156","title":"Travis Sanheim welcomes competition, 'coming to make the Flyers'","log":"","status":"1","comment":"0","promote":"0","sticky":"0","nid":"539281","type":"article","language":"und","created":"1500056265","changed":"1500155401","tnid":"0","translate":"0","published":"1500056580","revision_timestamp":"1500155401","revision_uid":"266","body":{"und":[{"value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 At development camp, Travis Sanheim was almost too developed.<\/p>He would skate through drills so naturally and fluidly, he could have been an instructor.<\/p>Unintentionally, he was in a way.<\/p>\"It's definitely a teaching camp,\" Sanheim said last week. \"Even the development coaches have talked to me, making sure I slow stuff down and show the younger guys how to do it properly, not necessarily doing everything at full speed.\"<\/p>Sanheim understood the importance of leading by example at his fourth development camp, but there was no reason to feel sorry for appearing ahead of the curve.<\/p>That's where Sanheim is.<\/p>Which made for a slight paradox over the six-day course. Undoubtedly, the 21-year-old defenseman wanted to be among the organization's prospects, sharpening and sculpting his game just like the rest.<\/p>But there's no question Sanheim's yearning for a much different camp \u2014 September with the big boys, because he's now one of them.<\/p>\"I feel like I'm ready, I'm going to compete for a spot,\" Sanheim said. \"Until somebody tells me differently, that's my goal. I'm coming to make the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\" target=\"_blank\">Flyers<\/a>.\"<\/p>Under general manager Ron Hextall's philosophy of earn what you get, Sanheim will have his chance. But is there room? The Flyers are at a numbers crunch on the blue line. There is expected to be two spots open, presumably for Robert Hagg and Sam Morin, both of whom acquitted themselves well during their April NHL debuts.<\/p>Sanheim isn't conceding anything, though.<\/p>\"It's going to come down to camp,\" he said.<\/p>\"This year, obviously there's going to be some spots available, and we're going to be fighting for the job.\"<\/p>It's hard to deny his readiness. The 2014 first-round pick has done what has been necessary through his development path. He's added noticeable strength, going from around 172 pounds when drafted to a sturdy 200 currently.<\/p>\"I watched Travis Sanheim \u2014 you see him, his first development camp he looked like a young boy,\" Hextall said. \"And you look at him now, and he almost looks like a man. He's just more upright, you can tell his body is more linked up, he's got a stronger core, he's more upright when he skates.\"<\/p>The 6-foot-4 Sanheim weighed the same at 2016 development camp, a possible sign he's where he needs to be physically. Hextall believes weight must still be gained and Sanheim doesn't disagree, but did point out how he fared just fine last season in his first full year with AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley.<\/p>\"Obviously, I'm going to want to continue to keep gaining strength and add that to my game, but I played pro this year and it didn't faze me at all,\" he said. \"The strength, I think I was right there with everyone else, was able to compete and battle in 1-on-1s against pro players.\"<\/p>With the Phantoms, his defensive principles and two-way awareness took positive strides over time. Offense has always been Sanheim's game. In his final two junior seasons, he totaled 133 points in 119 regular-season games. That was against kids in the WHL.<\/p>In 2016-17, he saw the change against men in the AHL. He managed to collect 37 points (10 goals, 27 assists) in 76 games for a plus-7 rating and knows he can do more, but the AHL helped him focus on picking his spots.<\/p>\"I went over numerous video sessions with the coaches, watching clips of stuff that if I was to look at it now, it would just look silly,\" Sanheim said with a laugh. \"I'm standing on top of the goalie in the crease, there's just no need for that as a defenseman and especially at the pro level.<\/p>\"I wasn't able to do the same things that I was able to do in junior. I had to learn some valuable lessons in the first few months, but I think towards the end of the season, you could see that I had gained my confidence again and was starting to play the game that I wanted to play.<\/p>\"I know to play at this next level, I'm going to have to be just as good in my D-zone as I am in the offensive zone, so for me, if I'm not contributing offensively, I just want to make sure I'm bringing the full two-way game.\"<\/p>Hextall noticed Sanheim's adjustment period.<\/p>\"He did a really good job last year from start to finish \u2014 got a lot better,\" he said. \"The adjustment on the first month, month and a half, where he was going too much up ice, a little bit irresponsible and all of a sudden, a month, month and a half in, figured that part out. That was a huge step for him. He got better, he got better throughout the year and he needs to continue on that.\"<\/p>As pleased as Hextall has been with the development, it sounds like Sanheim's jump to the NHL will ultimately come down to the aforementioned size and opportunity.<\/p>\"You go from an American League level to trying to make the NHL team, there's a speed, a strength thing that wounds up another two notches,\" Hextall said. \"He just has to continue to do what he's doing and get better every day.<\/p>\"Your reaction time to closing on a guy, whether to close or not close, everything gets ramped up. It's the whole mind, the hockey sense, the strength, the being in the proper position, because if you're caught out of position at the NHL level and it's an elite player, you're in big trouble. In the American League, you can get away with it.<\/p>\"There's still some fine-tuning that he needs to do and all those young defensemen need to do, and we'll see where we're at in September.\"<\/p>Sanheim knows where he wants to be. And he's not just saying it \u2014 he believes it.<\/p>\"I'm going to obviously do what they tell me,\" he said, \"but I'm coming to camp to make the team.\"<\/p>","summary":"If there isn't a spot open on the Flyers' defense for Travis Sanheim in 2017-18, he's ready to make himself one. By Jordan Hall<\/p>","format":"filtered_html","safe_value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 At development camp, Travis Sanheim was almost too developed.<\/p>\nHe would skate through drills so naturally and fluidly, he could have been an instructor.<\/p>\nUnintentionally, he was in a way.<\/p>\n\"It's definitely a teaching camp,\" Sanheim said last week. \"Even the development coaches have talked to me, making sure I slow stuff down and show the younger guys how to do it properly, not necessarily doing everything at full speed.\"<\/p>\nSanheim understood the importance of leading by example at his fourth development camp, but there was no reason to feel sorry for appearing ahead of the curve.<\/p>\nThat's where Sanheim is.<\/p>\nWhich made for a slight paradox over the six-day course. Undoubtedly, the 21-year-old defenseman wanted to be among the organization's prospects, sharpening and sculpting his game just like the rest.<\/p>\nBut there's no question Sanheim's yearning for a much different camp \u2014 September with the big boys, because he's now one of them.<\/p>\n\"I feel like I'm ready, I'm going to compete for a spot,\" Sanheim said. \"Until somebody tells me differently, that's my goal. I'm coming to make the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\" target=\"_blank\">Flyers<\/a>.\"<\/p>\nUnder general manager Ron Hextall's philosophy of earn what you get, Sanheim will have his chance. But is there room? The Flyers are at a numbers crunch on the blue line. There is expected to be two spots open, presumably for Robert Hagg and Sam Morin, both of whom acquitted themselves well during their April NHL debuts.<\/p>\nSanheim isn't conceding anything, though.<\/p>\n\"It's going to come down to camp,\" he said.<\/p>\n\"This year, obviously there's going to be some spots available, and we're going to be fighting for the job.\"<\/p>\nIt's hard to deny his readiness. The 2014 first-round pick has done what has been necessary through his development path. He's added noticeable strength, going from around 172 pounds when drafted to a sturdy 200 currently.<\/p>\n\"I watched Travis Sanheim \u2014 you see him, his first development camp he looked like a young boy,\" Hextall said. \"And you look at him now, and he almost looks like a man. He's just more upright, you can tell his body is more linked up, he's got a stronger core, he's more upright when he skates.\"<\/p>\nThe 6-foot-4 Sanheim weighed the same at 2016 development camp, a possible sign he's where he needs to be physically. Hextall believes weight must still be gained and Sanheim doesn't disagree, but did point out how he fared just fine last season in his first full year with AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley.<\/p>\n\"Obviously, I'm going to want to continue to keep gaining strength and add that to my game, but I played pro this year and it didn't faze me at all,\" he said. \"The strength, I think I was right there with everyone else, was able to compete and battle in 1-on-1s against pro players.\"<\/p>\nWith the Phantoms, his defensive principles and two-way awareness took positive strides over time. Offense has always been Sanheim's game. In his final two junior seasons, he totaled 133 points in 119 regular-season games. That was against kids in the WHL.<\/p>\nIn 2016-17, he saw the change against men in the AHL. He managed to collect 37 points (10 goals, 27 assists) in 76 games for a plus-7 rating and knows he can do more, but the AHL helped him focus on picking his spots.<\/p>\n\"I went over numerous video sessions with the coaches, watching clips of stuff that if I was to look at it now, it would just look silly,\" Sanheim said with a laugh. \"I'm standing on top of the goalie in the crease, there's just no need for that as a defenseman and especially at the pro level.<\/p>\n\"I wasn't able to do the same things that I was able to do in junior. I had to learn some valuable lessons in the first few months, but I think towards the end of the season, you could see that I had gained my confidence again and was starting to play the game that I wanted to play.<\/p>\n\"I know to play at this next level, I'm going to have to be just as good in my D-zone as I am in the offensive zone, so for me, if I'm not contributing offensively, I just want to make sure I'm bringing the full two-way game.\"<\/p>\nHextall noticed Sanheim's adjustment period.<\/p>\n\"He did a really good job last year from start to finish \u2014 got a lot better,\" he said. \"The adjustment on the first month, month and a half, where he was going too much up ice, a little bit irresponsible and all of a sudden, a month, month and a half in, figured that part out. That was a huge step for him. He got better, he got better throughout the year and he needs to continue on that.\"<\/p>\nAs pleased as Hextall has been with the development, it sounds like Sanheim's jump to the NHL will ultimately come down to the aforementioned size and opportunity.<\/p>\n\"You go from an American League level to trying to make the NHL team, there's a speed, a strength thing that wounds up another two notches,\" Hextall said. \"He just has to continue to do what he's doing and get better every day.<\/p>\n\"Your reaction time to closing on a guy, whether to close or not close, everything gets ramped up. It's the whole mind, the hockey sense, the strength, the being in the proper position, because if you're caught out of position at the NHL level and it's an elite player, you're in big trouble. In the American League, you can get away with it.<\/p>\n\"There's still some fine-tuning that he needs to do and all those young defensemen need to do, and we'll see where we're at in September.\"<\/p>\nSanheim knows where he wants to be. And he's not just saying it \u2014 he believes it.<\/p>\n\"I'm going to obviously do what they tell me,\" he said, \"but I'm coming to camp to make the team.\"<\/p>\n","safe_summary":"If there isn't a spot open on the Flyers' defense for Travis Sanheim in 2017-18, he's ready to make himself one. By Jordan Hall<\/p>\n"}]},"field_author_reference":{"und":[{"tid":"1056"}]},"field_bean_single_col":{"und":[{"target_id":"2456"}]},"field_chrome_page":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_date_published":{"und":[{"value":"2017-07-14 18:23:00","timezone":"America\/New_York","timezone_db":"UTC","date_type":"datetime"}]},"field_hero_image_credit":{"und":[{"value":"Photo credit: Zack Hill\/Flyers","format":null,"safe_value":"Photo credit: Zack Hill\/Flyers"}]},"field_image":{"und":[{"fid":"474286","uid":"156","filename":"zack-hill-travis-sanheim.jpg","uri":"public:\/\/2017\/07\/14\/zack-hill-travis-sanheim.jpg","filemime":"image\/jpeg","filesize":"290788","status":"1","timestamp":"1500056265","origname":"zack-hill-travis-sanheim.jpg","type":"image","field_file_image_alt_text":[],"field_file_image_title_text":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]","default":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]"},"description":{"value":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!","default":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!"},"abstract":{"value":""},"keywords":{"value":""},"robots":{"value":{"index":0,"follow":0,"noindex":0,"nofollow":0,"noarchive":0,"nosnippet":0,"noodp":0,"noydir":0,"noimageindex":0,"notranslate":0}},"news_keywords":{"value":""},"standout":{"value":""},"rating":{"value":""},"referrer":{"value":""},"rights":{"value":""},"image_src":{"value":""},"canonical":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"shortlink":{"value":"[current-page:url:unaliased]","default":"[current-page:url:unaliased]"},"original-source":{"value":""},"prev":{"value":""},"next":{"value":""},"content-language":{"value":""},"geo.position":{"value":""},"geo.placename":{"value":""},"geo.region":{"value":""},"icbm":{"value":""},"refresh":{"value":""},"revisit-after":{"value":"","period":""},"pragma":{"value":""},"cache-control":{"value":""},"expires":{"value":""},"og:type":{"value":"article","default":"article"},"og:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"og:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"og:determiner":{"value":""},"og:description":{"value":""},"og:updated_time":{"value":""},"og:see_also":{"value":""},"og:image":{"value":""},"og:image:url":{"value":""},"og:image:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:image:type":{"value":""},"og:image:width":{"value":""},"og:image:height":{"value":""},"og:latitude":{"value":""},"og:longitude":{"value":""},"og:street_address":{"value":""},"og:locality":{"value":""},"og:region":{"value":""},"og:postal_code":{"value":""},"og:country_name":{"value":""},"og:email":{"value":""},"og:phone_number":{"value":""},"og:fax_number":{"value":""},"og:locale":{"value":""},"og:locale:alternate":{"value":""},"article:author":{"value":""},"article:publisher":{"value":""},"article:section":{"value":""},"article:tag":{"value":""},"article:published_time":{"value":""},"article:modified_time":{"value":""},"article:expiration_time":{"value":""},"profile:first_name":{"value":""},"profile:last_name":{"value":""},"profile:username":{"value":""},"profile:gender":{"value":""},"og:audio":{"value":""},"og:audio:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:audio:type":{"value":""},"book:author":{"value":""},"book:isbn":{"value":""},"book:release_date":{"value":""},"book:tag":{"value":""},"og:video:url":{"value":""},"og:video:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:video:width":{"value":""},"og:video:height":{"value":""},"og:video:type":{"value":""},"video:actor":{"value":""},"video:actor:role":{"value":""},"video:director":{"value":""},"video:writer":{"value":""},"video:duration":{"value":""},"video:release_date":{"value":""},"video:tag":{"value":""},"video:series":{"value":""},"twitter:card":{"value":"summary","default":"summary"},"twitter:creator":{"value":""},"twitter:creator:id":{"value":""},"twitter:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"twitter:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"twitter:description":{"value":""},"twitter:image":{"value":""},"twitter:image:width":{"value":""},"twitter:image:height":{"value":""},"twitter:image:alt":{"value":""},"twitter:image0":{"value":""},"twitter:image1":{"value":""},"twitter:image2":{"value":""},"twitter:image3":{"value":""},"twitter:player":{"value":""},"twitter:player:width":{"value":""},"twitter:player:height":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream:content_type":{"value":""},"twitter:app:country":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:label1":{"value":""},"twitter:data1":{"value":""},"twitter:label2":{"value":""},"twitter:data2":{"value":""}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"metadata":{"height":353,"width":640},"height":"353","width":"640","alt":"","title":""}]},"field_league":{"und":[{"tid":"196"}]},"field_section":{"und":[{"tid":"201"}]},"field_short_title":{"und":[{"value":"Travis Sanheim welcomes competition, 'coming to make the Flyers'","format":null,"safe_value":"Travis Sanheim welcomes competition, 'coming to make the Flyers'"}]},"field_sponsor":[],"field_sport":{"und":[{"tid":"191"}]},"field_tags":{"und":[{"tid":"6201"},{"tid":"18276"},{"tid":"506"},{"tid":"466"},{"tid":"2966"},{"tid":"6606"}]},"field_team":{"und":[{"tid":"141"}]},"field_top_story":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_video_autoplay":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_videos":{"und":[{"target_id":"537651"}]},"field_tags_hide":{"und":[{"tid":"18276"}]},"field_video_automute":[],"field_editorial_category":[],"field_allow_lld_domains":[],"field_enable_stanza":[],"field_exclude_from_yahoo":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"Travis Sanheim 'coming to make the Flyers'"},"news_keywords":{"value":"Travis Sanheim, Philadelphia Flyers, Jordan Hall, Flyers development camp, Flyers prospects"}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"name":"JHall","picture":"0","data":"b:0;"},"access":true},{"target_id":"539771","entity":{"vid":"566531","uid":"266","title":"Phil Myers, bulked up and healthy, pledges this Flyers training camp will be different","log":"","status":"1","comment":"0","promote":"0","sticky":"0","nid":"539771","type":"article","language":"und","created":"1500221167","changed":"1501550565","tnid":"0","translate":"0","published":"1500291000","revision_timestamp":"1501550565","revision_uid":"156","body":{"und":[{"value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Standing at his stall at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> Skate Zone during last weekend\u2019s development camp, defenseman Phil Myers towered over everyone else, but there was one noticeable difference.<\/p>Myers added about 10 pounds of muscle over the summer, and it shows. On the ice, he looked out of place. He belonged with the orange and black on his sweater. No doubt.<\/p>It just didn\u2019t look as if he needed to be on the same sheet with his peers anymore. Perhaps it was the benefits of a full summer of training. Injuries derailed his training last summer.<\/p>\u201cI had the same surgery as (Shayne) Gostisbehere,\u201d Myers said. \u201cHe had one hip, and Sam Morin, all of those guys got the same thing I did.\u201d<\/p>There was a sprained knee suffered at the 2016 Memorial Cup. There was a pubic plate detachment and a torn labrum in his left hip. He underwent hip surgery on June 22, 2016. The recovery wiped out Myers\u2019 summer training. On Sept. 26, 2016, he was medically cleared to return. The next night, he dove into the fray against the New York Islanders.<\/p>How did it go? Myers finished as a plus-two with three hits and a blocked shot in 22:39.<\/p>\u201cI felt out of shape, obviously, last year,\u201d he said. \u201cThe day after I got cleared, I jumped into a preseason game. It jumped up pretty quick. \u2026 This summer is going to be different.\u201d<\/p>The Flyers insist development camp is not for evaluation. That may be true. Its purpose is to teach prospects how to work and live as a professional hockey player. No matter how much Myers looked like a pro amid his peers, it will not impact his odds come September's training camp when spots are earned in a competitive environment.   Myers, 20, is graduating to the professional ranks this season, and where he plays will be up to him. The Flyers have two openings on their blue line, and general manager Ron Hextall is leaving them up for prospects to grab. Robert Hagg and Morin are the front runners.   Don\u2019t count Myers out just yet.   The Moncton, New Brunswick, native was among the Flyers\u2019 final cuts last October. He stuck around longer than many expected and that was without any summer training.   His training this summer has been broken down into phases. The first phase was bulking up and putting on muscle. Mission accomplished. The next phase, according to Myers, is \u201cheavier stuff,\u201d which he said is strength training. His plan is to stay in the Philadelphia area for two weeks after development camp to train and come back 10 days early to skate before the big camp begins in September.   \u201cYou get stronger and faster,\u201d Myers said. \u201cI\u2019m going to focus on what I can do and what I can control. That\u2019s what I did last year. I just took as much in as possible and tried to get ready as fast as I could because I didn\u2019t really have a lot of time. This year, I have much more time so I\u2019m taking things much more slowly and more controlled.\u201d   Last season was another in which Myers trended upward, though it was one mired with injuries; he suffered whiplash in October and a concussion against Team USA at the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships. Myers, the only undrafted player on Team Canada\u2019s roster, was arguably the team\u2019s best defenseman before the concussion. His play at the world juniors led to TSN\u2019s Bob McKenzie tweeting Myers \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TSNBobMcKenzie\/status\/819558090211094528\">looks NHL ready, or close to it<\/a>.\u201d   The smooth-skating 6-foot-5 blueliner registered double-digit goals (10) and 35 points in 34 regular-season games with Rouyn-Noranda of the QMJHL in 2016-17. He ended the regular season on a five-game point streak. He added nine points in 13 playoff games. He finished his QMJHL career with 29 goals and 92 points in 203 games. Like Carter Hart, Myers joined the Phantoms once his season ended but didn\u2019t play.   \u201cThe injury struggles that he, unfortunately, went through there, those are all opportunities to learn and grow,\u201d Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol said. \u201cYou can see the growth in Phil off-ice when you look at his stature. You just want to see him come into camp and come in and compete as hard as he did last year and improve on the results from last year.\u201d   Myers may be at a disadvantage come September. Because of last year's injury-ridden season and the fact that he's coming straight from junior, he may be a few legs behind Hagg, Morin and even Travis Sanheim, who was at his fourth development camp last weekend <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\/travis-sanheim-welcomes-competition-coming-make-flyers\">(see story)<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.    While every player\u2019s developmental path is different, Myers has to beat out at least two players with professional experience already and two \u2014 Hagg and Morin \u2014 who looked the part during their NHL debuts in April. It\u2019s a safe bet that Myers begins at Lehigh Valley.   \u201cIf he comes in and he\u2019s the best guy or we feel he\u2019s the best guy,\u201d Hextall said of Myers, \u201che\u2019s going to play. The other guys, whenever you played in the American League, you have a leg up. You expect those guys to come in and be a little more NHL ready than a kid coming right out of junior, but the players are going to dictate who\u2019s on our team.\u201d<\/p>","summary":"With a full summer of training behind him, Phil Myers said this September's training camp will be different than last year's. By Tom Dougherty<\/p>","format":"filtered_html","safe_value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Standing at his stall at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> Skate Zone during last weekend\u2019s development camp, defenseman Phil Myers towered over everyone else, but there was one noticeable difference.<\/p>\nMyers added about 10 pounds of muscle over the summer, and it shows. On the ice, he looked out of place. He belonged with the orange and black on his sweater. No doubt.<\/p>\nIt just didn\u2019t look as if he needed to be on the same sheet with his peers anymore. Perhaps it was the benefits of a full summer of training. Injuries derailed his training last summer.<\/p>\n\u201cI had the same surgery as (Shayne) Gostisbehere,\u201d Myers said. \u201cHe had one hip, and Sam Morin, all of those guys got the same thing I did.\u201d<\/p>\nThere was a sprained knee suffered at the 2016 Memorial Cup. There was a pubic plate detachment and a torn labrum in his left hip. He underwent hip surgery on June 22, 2016. The recovery wiped out Myers\u2019 summer training. On Sept. 26, 2016, he was medically cleared to return. The next night, he dove into the fray against the New York Islanders.<\/p>\nHow did it go? Myers finished as a plus-two with three hits and a blocked shot in 22:39.<\/p>\n\u201cI felt out of shape, obviously, last year,\u201d he said. \u201cThe day after I got cleared, I jumped into a preseason game. It jumped up pretty quick. \u2026 This summer is going to be different.\u201d<\/p>\nThe Flyers insist development camp is not for evaluation. That may be true. Its purpose is to teach prospects how to work and live as a professional hockey player. No matter how much Myers looked like a pro amid his peers, it will not impact his odds come September's training camp when spots are earned in a competitive environment.   Myers, 20, is graduating to the professional ranks this season, and where he plays will be up to him. The Flyers have two openings on their blue line, and general manager Ron Hextall is leaving them up for prospects to grab. Robert Hagg and Morin are the front runners.   Don\u2019t count Myers out just yet.   The Moncton, New Brunswick, native was among the Flyers\u2019 final cuts last October. He stuck around longer than many expected and that was without any summer training.   His training this summer has been broken down into phases. The first phase was bulking up and putting on muscle. Mission accomplished. The next phase, according to Myers, is \u201cheavier stuff,\u201d which he said is strength training. His plan is to stay in the Philadelphia area for two weeks after development camp to train and come back 10 days early to skate before the big camp begins in September.   \u201cYou get stronger and faster,\u201d Myers said. \u201cI\u2019m going to focus on what I can do and what I can control. That\u2019s what I did last year. I just took as much in as possible and tried to get ready as fast as I could because I didn\u2019t really have a lot of time. This year, I have much more time so I\u2019m taking things much more slowly and more controlled.\u201d   Last season was another in which Myers trended upward, though it was one mired with injuries; he suffered whiplash in October and a concussion against Team USA at the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships. Myers, the only undrafted player on Team Canada\u2019s roster, was arguably the team\u2019s best defenseman before the concussion. His play at the world juniors led to TSN\u2019s Bob McKenzie tweeting Myers \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TSNBobMcKenzie\/status\/819558090211094528\">looks NHL ready, or close to it<\/a>.\u201d   The smooth-skating 6-foot-5 blueliner registered double-digit goals (10) and 35 points in 34 regular-season games with Rouyn-Noranda of the QMJHL in 2016-17. He ended the regular season on a five-game point streak. He added nine points in 13 playoff games. He finished his QMJHL career with 29 goals and 92 points in 203 games. Like Carter Hart, Myers joined the Phantoms once his season ended but didn\u2019t play.   \u201cThe injury struggles that he, unfortunately, went through there, those are all opportunities to learn and grow,\u201d Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol said. \u201cYou can see the growth in Phil off-ice when you look at his stature. You just want to see him come into camp and come in and compete as hard as he did last year and improve on the results from last year.\u201d   Myers may be at a disadvantage come September. Because of last year's injury-ridden season and the fact that he's coming straight from junior, he may be a few legs behind Hagg, Morin and even Travis Sanheim, who was at his fourth development camp last weekend <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\/travis-sanheim-welcomes-competition-coming-make-flyers\">(see story)<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.    While every player\u2019s developmental path is different, Myers has to beat out at least two players with professional experience already and two \u2014 Hagg and Morin \u2014 who looked the part during their NHL debuts in April. It\u2019s a safe bet that Myers begins at Lehigh Valley.   \u201cIf he comes in and he\u2019s the best guy or we feel he\u2019s the best guy,\u201d Hextall said of Myers, \u201che\u2019s going to play. The other guys, whenever you played in the American League, you have a leg up. You expect those guys to come in and be a little more NHL ready than a kid coming right out of junior, but the players are going to dictate who\u2019s on our team.\u201d<\/p>\n","safe_summary":"With a full summer of training behind him, Phil Myers said this September's training camp will be different than last year's. By Tom Dougherty<\/p>\n"}]},"field_author_reference":{"und":[{"tid":"1321"}]},"field_bean_single_col":{"und":[{"target_id":"2456"}]},"field_chrome_page":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_date_published":{"und":[{"value":"2017-07-17 11:30:00","timezone":"America\/New_York","timezone_db":"UTC","date_type":"datetime"}]},"field_hero_image_credit":{"und":[{"value":"AP Images","format":null,"safe_value":"AP Images"}]},"field_image":{"und":[{"fid":"476841","uid":"266","filename":"ap-phil-myers-flyers-devils.jpg","uri":"public:\/\/2017\/07\/16\/ap-phil-myers-flyers-devils.jpg","filemime":"image\/jpeg","filesize":"209957","status":"1","timestamp":"1500221083","origname":"ap-phil-myers-flyers-devils.jpg","type":"image","field_file_image_alt_text":{"und":[{"value":"Phil Myers, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers, Phil Myers Flyers","format":null,"safe_value":"Phil Myers, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers, Phil Myers Flyers"}]},"field_file_image_title_text":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","alt":"Phil Myers, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers, Phil Myers Flyers","metadata":{"height":360,"width":640},"height":"360","width":"640","title":""}]},"field_league":{"und":[{"tid":"196"}]},"field_section":{"und":[{"tid":"201"}]},"field_short_title":{"und":[{"value":"Phil Myers, bulked up, pledges this Flyers training camp will be different","format":null,"safe_value":"Phil Myers, bulked up, pledges this Flyers training camp will be different"}]},"field_sponsor":[],"field_sport":{"und":[{"tid":"191"}]},"field_tags":{"und":[{"tid":"6201"},{"tid":"18276"},{"tid":"20171"},{"tid":"466"},{"tid":"3091"}]},"field_team":{"und":[{"tid":"141"}]},"field_top_story":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_video_autoplay":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_videos":{"und":[{"target_id":"539891"}]},"field_tags_hide":[],"field_video_automute":[],"field_editorial_category":[],"field_allow_lld_domains":[],"field_enable_stanza":[],"field_exclude_from_yahoo":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"Phil Myers pledges Flyers' training camp will be different"},"news_keywords":{"value":"Phil Myers, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers, Philippe Myers, Phil Myers Flyers, Philippe Myers Flyers, Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Ron Hextall, Flyers sign Philippe Myers, Phil Myers injuries, Philippe Myers injuries"}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"name":"tdougherty","picture":"0","data":"b:0;"},"access":true},{"target_id":"539011","entity":{"vid":"565616","uid":"266","title":"Finally with his age group, German Rubtsov now eyeing bigger things","log":"","status":"1","comment":"0","promote":"0","sticky":"0","nid":"539011","type":"article","language":"und","created":"1499959003","changed":"1501550692","tnid":"0","translate":"0","published":"1499962500","revision_timestamp":"1501550692","revision_uid":"156","body":{"und":[{"value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Ask any prospect at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> development camp what their goals come September\u2019s NHL training camp are and it\u2019s hard to find an offbeat answer.<\/p>\u201cIt\u2019s a trick question, right?\u201d German Rubtsov said last Friday through an interpreter, Flyers skating coach Slava Kouznetsov. \u201cEverybody wants to play in the NHL.\u201d<\/p>When training camp breaks in October, the Flyers have three options for Rubtsov:<\/p>The 2016 first-round pick can play in the NHL.<\/p>He can return to the Chicoutimi Saguen\u00e9ens of the QMJHL.<\/p>Or he can play in the AHL since the Flyers drafted him out of Russia.<\/p>\u201cPlaying in Chicoutimi, I felt comfortable,\u201d he said. \u201cEvery game was a point or point plus, thanks to my partners as well. Before that, I played KHL. I think I\u2019m ready to try the league.\u201d<\/p>Which league?<\/p>\u201cThe<\/em> league,\u201d Rubtsov said. \u201cBig.\u201d<\/p>The 19-year-old Rubtsov likely won't be donning the orange and black in the fall. That should not come to a surprise to anyone.<\/p>With the drafting Nolan Patrick last month and the arrival of Oskar Lindblom from Sweden, the forward competition is already as competitive as it\u2019s been in a while.<\/p>Even with the 51 combined games Rubtsov played in 2016-17 between the KHL, MHL, QMJHL and 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships, more minor league seasoning will be needed.<\/p>Whether that will be in Chicoutimi or Lehigh Valley remains unanswered for now.<\/p>\u201cI don\u2019t know the answer to that,\u201d Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said. \u201cTo me, it\u2019s not fair to make a decision predetermined right now, \u2018OK, he\u2019s going here, he\u2019s going there.\u2019<\/p>\u201cWe\u2019ll leave that door open in terms of NHL. I\u2019d probably say it\u2019s a long shot. But American League or junior, we\u2019ll see as we go along here where the best place for him to develop is.\u201d<\/p>Rubtsov attended his first development camp last weekend. He was unable to attend last summer\u2019s camp because of his contract obligations with the KHL\u2019s HC Vityaz.<\/p>There was some controversy surrounding Rubtsov and the Russian under-18 team prospects going into the 2016 NHL draft. Team Russia was banned from the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championships because of a meldonium doping scandal.<\/p>After being drafted, Rubtsov insisted that he and his teammates unknowingly took a banned substance. Hextall further investigated the situation and still felt comfortable selecting the center, who also<\/span> had two years left on his contract with Vityaz.<\/p>The original plan was for Rubtsov to stay in the KHL until his contract expired before coming to North America, but he struggled in the KHL and was too advanced for the MHL.<\/p>Eventually, Rubtsov\u2019s agent, Mark Gandler, negotiated a release from his contract with Vityaz on Jan. 9, and Rubtsov joined the Saguen\u00e9ens, who owned his CHL rights.<\/p>Rubtsov didn\u2019t debut with Chicoutimi until Jan. 19 because of a broken nose.<\/p>\u201cThe moving to the United States was the first thing,\u201d Rubtsov said. \u201cIn Chicoutimi, the first couple of games were not comfortable. Then everything came to normal.<\/p>\u201cI feel comfortable. Being in the United States before and playing in Canada helped, so I\u2019m feeling pretty comfortable [now] and everything is pretty much good.\u201d<\/p>The difference between the Rubtsov in the KHL and the Rubtsov in the QMJHL was noticable. He struggled to get minutes in the KHL, averaging 6:33 in 15 games and failed to register a point. He had just five shots and won 31.8 percent of his faceoffs.<\/p>He was a point-per-game player in the MHL, a Russian junior league, recording 15 points in 15 games with the Russkie Vityazi Chekhov. That was the player he resembled more in the Q.   Rubtsov made an immediate impact with the Saguen\u00e9ens. He picked up two assists and fired six shots on goal in his first game, and he picked up nine points in his first six games.   \u201cWhen you see a kid playing with his peers, it\u2019s a lot different than playing in the KHL,\u201d Hextall said. \u201cYou saw it a little bit with Ruby. Ruby goes from KHL and all of a sudden, he goes to Chicoutimi with his own age group and you\u2019re like, \u2018Woah.\u2019   \u201cWe certainly weren\u2019t surprised by that.\u201d   The Chekhov, Russia, native missed Chicoutimi\u2019s final six games of the regular season and then its postseason because of a fractured hand. He finished his brief QMJHL stint with racking up 22 points in 16 games \u2014 nine goals, five power-play markers, 13 assists with six multi-point games and was held scoreless just three times.   Last season, Rubtsov dealt with a broken nose and a fractured hand at the end of the campaign. He said he dealt with injuries in the KHL as well and played through them.   \u201cI played until I wasn\u2019t able to hold the stick,\u201d Rubtsov said. \u201cWhen the hand completely gave up that\u2019s when I came [to Philadelphia for surgery].\u201d   \u201cThat's kind of what you want,\" Hextall said. \"You want guys who will push themselves and do what they can to try to be the best they can and try to help the team win. It certainly comes into the mix in terms of the character of a player and person.\u201d   When the Flyers drafted Rubtsov last summer, their forward prospect group was not as deep as it is now. Hextall added seven forwards in 2016, including five of his first six picks. Last month, he added seven more, including three in the top 35.   So the question with Rubtsov, does he still project as a center with the Flyers? He played both center and wing last season in Chicoutimi. The versatility at his age is attractive.   \u201cThere are certain guys in the middle you want to move out of the middle because when they get to the NHL level, maybe their sense isn\u2019t quite high enough or their size or there\u2019s a blemish,\u201d Hextall said. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t have that blemish. He\u2019s a smart player, he skates well.   \u201cHe\u2019s going to be big and strong enough in a couple years. He\u2019s going to be one of those guys truly who\u2019s going to be really good in the middle and we may want to keep him there.\u201d<\/p>","summary":"German Rubtsov is eyeing bigger things entering his first full season in North America, but where will he be in 2017-18? By Tom Dougherty<\/p>","format":"filtered_html","safe_value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Ask any prospect at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> development camp what their goals come September\u2019s NHL training camp are and it\u2019s hard to find an offbeat answer.<\/p>\n\u201cIt\u2019s a trick question, right?\u201d German Rubtsov said last Friday through an interpreter, Flyers skating coach Slava Kouznetsov. \u201cEverybody wants to play in the NHL.\u201d<\/p>\nWhen training camp breaks in October, the Flyers have three options for Rubtsov:<\/p>\nThe 2016 first-round pick can play in the NHL.<\/p>\nHe can return to the Chicoutimi Saguen\u00e9ens of the QMJHL.<\/p>\nOr he can play in the AHL since the Flyers drafted him out of Russia.<\/p>\n\u201cPlaying in Chicoutimi, I felt comfortable,\u201d he said. \u201cEvery game was a point or point plus, thanks to my partners as well. Before that, I played KHL. I think I\u2019m ready to try the league.\u201d<\/p>\nWhich league?<\/p>\n\u201cThe<\/em> league,\u201d Rubtsov said. \u201cBig.\u201d<\/p>\nThe 19-year-old Rubtsov likely won't be donning the orange and black in the fall. That should not come to a surprise to anyone.<\/p>\nWith the drafting Nolan Patrick last month and the arrival of Oskar Lindblom from Sweden, the forward competition is already as competitive as it\u2019s been in a while.<\/p>\nEven with the 51 combined games Rubtsov played in 2016-17 between the KHL, MHL, QMJHL and 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships, more minor league seasoning will be needed.<\/p>\nWhether that will be in Chicoutimi or Lehigh Valley remains unanswered for now.<\/p>\n\u201cI don\u2019t know the answer to that,\u201d Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said. \u201cTo me, it\u2019s not fair to make a decision predetermined right now, \u2018OK, he\u2019s going here, he\u2019s going there.\u2019<\/p>\n\u201cWe\u2019ll leave that door open in terms of NHL. I\u2019d probably say it\u2019s a long shot. But American League or junior, we\u2019ll see as we go along here where the best place for him to develop is.\u201d<\/p>\nRubtsov attended his first development camp last weekend. He was unable to attend last summer\u2019s camp because of his contract obligations with the KHL\u2019s HC Vityaz.<\/p>\nThere was some controversy surrounding Rubtsov and the Russian under-18 team prospects going into the 2016 NHL draft. Team Russia was banned from the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championships because of a meldonium doping scandal.<\/p>\nAfter being drafted, Rubtsov insisted that he and his teammates unknowingly took a banned substance. Hextall further investigated the situation and still felt comfortable selecting the center, who also had two years left on his contract with Vityaz.<\/p>\nThe original plan was for Rubtsov to stay in the KHL until his contract expired before coming to North America, but he struggled in the KHL and was too advanced for the MHL.<\/p>\nEventually, Rubtsov\u2019s agent, Mark Gandler, negotiated a release from his contract with Vityaz on Jan. 9, and Rubtsov joined the Saguen\u00e9ens, who owned his CHL rights.<\/p>\nRubtsov didn\u2019t debut with Chicoutimi until Jan. 19 because of a broken nose.<\/p>\n\u201cThe moving to the United States was the first thing,\u201d Rubtsov said. \u201cIn Chicoutimi, the first couple of games were not comfortable. Then everything came to normal.<\/p>\n\u201cI feel comfortable. Being in the United States before and playing in Canada helped, so I\u2019m feeling pretty comfortable [now] and everything is pretty much good.\u201d<\/p>\nThe difference between the Rubtsov in the KHL and the Rubtsov in the QMJHL was noticable. He struggled to get minutes in the KHL, averaging 6:33 in 15 games and failed to register a point. He had just five shots and won 31.8 percent of his faceoffs.<\/p>\nHe was a point-per-game player in the MHL, a Russian junior league, recording 15 points in 15 games with the Russkie Vityazi Chekhov. That was the player he resembled more in the Q.   Rubtsov made an immediate impact with the Saguen\u00e9ens. He picked up two assists and fired six shots on goal in his first game, and he picked up nine points in his first six games.   \u201cWhen you see a kid playing with his peers, it\u2019s a lot different than playing in the KHL,\u201d Hextall said. \u201cYou saw it a little bit with Ruby. Ruby goes from KHL and all of a sudden, he goes to Chicoutimi with his own age group and you\u2019re like, \u2018Woah.\u2019   \u201cWe certainly weren\u2019t surprised by that.\u201d   The Chekhov, Russia, native missed Chicoutimi\u2019s final six games of the regular season and then its postseason because of a fractured hand. He finished his brief QMJHL stint with racking up 22 points in 16 games \u2014 nine goals, five power-play markers, 13 assists with six multi-point games and was held scoreless just three times.   Last season, Rubtsov dealt with a broken nose and a fractured hand at the end of the campaign. He said he dealt with injuries in the KHL as well and played through them.   \u201cI played until I wasn\u2019t able to hold the stick,\u201d Rubtsov said. \u201cWhen the hand completely gave up that\u2019s when I came [to Philadelphia for surgery].\u201d   \u201cThat's kind of what you want,\" Hextall said. \"You want guys who will push themselves and do what they can to try to be the best they can and try to help the team win. It certainly comes into the mix in terms of the character of a player and person.\u201d   When the Flyers drafted Rubtsov last summer, their forward prospect group was not as deep as it is now. Hextall added seven forwards in 2016, including five of his first six picks. Last month, he added seven more, including three in the top 35.   So the question with Rubtsov, does he still project as a center with the Flyers? He played both center and wing last season in Chicoutimi. The versatility at his age is attractive.   \u201cThere are certain guys in the middle you want to move out of the middle because when they get to the NHL level, maybe their sense isn\u2019t quite high enough or their size or there\u2019s a blemish,\u201d Hextall said. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t have that blemish. He\u2019s a smart player, he skates well.   \u201cHe\u2019s going to be big and strong enough in a couple years. He\u2019s going to be one of those guys truly who\u2019s going to be really good in the middle and we may want to keep him there.\u201d<\/p>\n","safe_summary":"German Rubtsov is eyeing bigger things entering his first full season in North America, but where will he be in 2017-18? By Tom Dougherty<\/p>\n"}]},"field_author_reference":{"und":[{"tid":"1321"}]},"field_bean_single_col":{"und":[{"target_id":"2456"}]},"field_chrome_page":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_date_published":{"und":[{"value":"2017-07-13 16:15:00","timezone":"America\/New_York","timezone_db":"UTC","date_type":"datetime"}]},"field_hero_image_credit":{"und":[{"value":"Tom Dougherty\/CSNPhilly.com","format":null,"safe_value":"Tom Dougherty\/CSNPhilly.com"}]},"field_image":{"und":[{"fid":"475886","uid":"266","filename":"tom-dougherty-german-rubtsov.jpg","uri":"public:\/\/2017\/07\/13\/tom-dougherty-german-rubtsov.jpg","filemime":"image\/jpeg","filesize":"202712","status":"1","timestamp":"1499996289","origname":"tom-dougherty-german-rubtsov.jpg","type":"image","field_file_image_alt_text":[],"field_file_image_title_text":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]","default":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]"},"description":{"value":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!","default":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!"},"abstract":{"value":""},"keywords":{"value":""},"robots":{"value":{"index":0,"follow":0,"noindex":0,"nofollow":0,"noarchive":0,"nosnippet":0,"noodp":0,"noydir":0,"noimageindex":0,"notranslate":0}},"news_keywords":{"value":""},"standout":{"value":""},"rating":{"value":""},"referrer":{"value":""},"rights":{"value":""},"image_src":{"value":""},"canonical":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"shortlink":{"value":"[current-page:url:unaliased]","default":"[current-page:url:unaliased]"},"original-source":{"value":""},"prev":{"value":""},"next":{"value":""},"content-language":{"value":""},"geo.position":{"value":""},"geo.placename":{"value":""},"geo.region":{"value":""},"icbm":{"value":""},"refresh":{"value":""},"revisit-after":{"value":"","period":""},"pragma":{"value":""},"cache-control":{"value":""},"expires":{"value":""},"og:type":{"value":"article","default":"article"},"og:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"og:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"og:determiner":{"value":""},"og:description":{"value":""},"og:updated_time":{"value":""},"og:see_also":{"value":""},"og:image":{"value":""},"og:image:url":{"value":""},"og:image:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:image:type":{"value":""},"og:image:width":{"value":""},"og:image:height":{"value":""},"og:latitude":{"value":""},"og:longitude":{"value":""},"og:street_address":{"value":""},"og:locality":{"value":""},"og:region":{"value":""},"og:postal_code":{"value":""},"og:country_name":{"value":""},"og:email":{"value":""},"og:phone_number":{"value":""},"og:fax_number":{"value":""},"og:locale":{"value":""},"og:locale:alternate":{"value":""},"article:author":{"value":""},"article:publisher":{"value":""},"article:section":{"value":""},"article:tag":{"value":""},"article:published_time":{"value":""},"article:modified_time":{"value":""},"article:expiration_time":{"value":""},"profile:first_name":{"value":""},"profile:last_name":{"value":""},"profile:username":{"value":""},"profile:gender":{"value":""},"og:audio":{"value":""},"og:audio:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:audio:type":{"value":""},"book:author":{"value":""},"book:isbn":{"value":""},"book:release_date":{"value":""},"book:tag":{"value":""},"og:video:url":{"value":""},"og:video:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:video:width":{"value":""},"og:video:height":{"value":""},"og:video:type":{"value":""},"video:actor":{"value":""},"video:actor:role":{"value":""},"video:director":{"value":""},"video:writer":{"value":""},"video:duration":{"value":""},"video:release_date":{"value":""},"video:tag":{"value":""},"video:series":{"value":""},"twitter:card":{"value":"summary","default":"summary"},"twitter:creator":{"value":""},"twitter:creator:id":{"value":""},"twitter:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"twitter:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"twitter:description":{"value":""},"twitter:image":{"value":""},"twitter:image:width":{"value":""},"twitter:image:height":{"value":""},"twitter:image:alt":{"value":""},"twitter:image0":{"value":""},"twitter:image1":{"value":""},"twitter:image2":{"value":""},"twitter:image3":{"value":""},"twitter:player":{"value":""},"twitter:player:width":{"value":""},"twitter:player:height":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream:content_type":{"value":""},"twitter:app:country":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:label1":{"value":""},"twitter:data1":{"value":""},"twitter:label2":{"value":""},"twitter:data2":{"value":""}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"metadata":{"height":360,"width":640},"height":"360","width":"640","alt":"","title":""}]},"field_league":{"und":[{"tid":"196"}]},"field_section":{"und":[{"tid":"201"}]},"field_short_title":{"und":[{"value":"Finally with age group, Flyers prospect German Rubtsov eyeing bigger things","format":null,"safe_value":"Finally with age group, Flyers prospect German Rubtsov eyeing bigger things"}]},"field_sponsor":[],"field_sport":{"und":[{"tid":"191"}]},"field_tags":{"und":[{"tid":"6201"},{"tid":"5391"},{"tid":"18276"},{"tid":"466"},{"tid":"2966"},{"tid":"3091"}]},"field_team":{"und":[{"tid":"141"}]},"field_top_story":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_video_autoplay":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_videos":{"und":[{"target_id":"537641"}]},"field_tags_hide":[],"field_video_automute":[],"field_editorial_category":[],"field_allow_lld_domains":[],"field_enable_stanza":[],"field_exclude_from_yahoo":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"German Rubtsov still eyeing Flyers despite long odds"},"news_keywords":{"value":"German Rubtsov, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers, German Rubtsov Flyers, Flyers top prospects, Ron Hextall, Nolan Patrick, Flyers development camp, Flyers draft German Rubtsov, German Rubtsov NHL"}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"name":"tdougherty","picture":"0","data":"b:0;"},"access":true},{"target_id":"538336","entity":{"vid":"564891","uid":"156","title":"Just a teenager, Carter Hart already mentally fit for Flyers' future","log":"","status":"1","comment":"0","promote":"0","sticky":"0","nid":"538336","type":"article","language":"und","created":"1499750468","changed":"1531160805","tnid":"0","translate":"0","published":"1499778000","revision_timestamp":"1531160805","revision_uid":"156","body":{"und":[{"value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 The last time Carter Hart recalls becoming irritated on the ice, he was 10 years old. He was in his first year of playing goaltender after previously playing forward.<\/p>His dad, John Hart, was his coach and his current sports psychologist, John Stevenson, was then his goalie coach. What transpired may have resembled a more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=vbAEj8o1SY8\" target=\"_blank\">PG version of this<\/a>.<\/p>\u201cThis one kid kept crashing into my crease,\u201d Hart said, \u201cso my dad was on the bench coaching and he\u2019s just like, \u2018Just give it to this kid.\u2019 So I just started blockering him.<\/p>\u201cI actually didn\u2019t know to blocker a kid, they consider it a weapon [and it\u2019s] a five-game suspension. So I got a five-game suspension when I was 10 years old.\u201d<\/p>Eight years later, Hart finds himself as one of the most anticipated goaltending prospects the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\" target=\"_blank\">Flyers<\/a> have ever had, perhaps even more than the person who drafted him, Ron Hextall.<\/p>There was Pete Peeters in the late 1970s and Pelle Lindbergh in the \u201880s. Hextall, of course, in the late \u201880s. The Flyers\u2019 history of drafting goalies is an urban legend.<\/p>Not many swooned over the likes of Dominic Roussel and Neil Little.<\/p>Hart is a different breed of goaltender. The Flyers made him the first goalie drafted in 2016 when they selected him 48th overall. He won the CHL Goaltender of the Year his draft year.<\/p>Last season, he posted superior numbers but didn\u2019t recapture his crown. Owen Sound\u2019s Michael McNiven won the title. Politics was likely involved. No goalie has ever won it twice.<\/p>Still, Hart won the Del Wilson Memorial Trophy as the WHL\u2019s Goaltender of the Year for the second consecutive season and was twice named the Vaughn CHL Goaltender of the Week.<\/p>When sports psychologist and an 18-year-old come up in the same sentence, it may carry a negative connotation. Some may trigger the alarms. It shouldn\u2019t, especially for a goalie.<\/p>Mental toughness is as essential to goaltending as hand-eye coordination is to hitting a baseball. If any conclusion can be drawn from Hart having one, it should be positive. <\/p>Stevenson is a registered psychologist based in Edmonton, Alberta. He runs Zone Performance Psychology with his wife, Jaci Stevenson, and is a former scout for the Oilers.<\/p>The relationship between Hart and Stevenson goes back to when Hart was 10 when he was encouraged by his dad to blocker the kid crashing his crease. Stevenson was originally his goalie coach before transitioning into psychology full-time. Hart describes himself as laid-back whose \u201cenergy levels have dropped\u201d in the eight years since. On the ice, he carries a calm demeanor \u2014 he doesn\u2019t get mad and doesn\u2019t consider himself to be vocal.<\/p>Perhaps some tricks he\u2019s applicated from working with Stevenson, who also works with Washington Capitals goalie Braden Holtby, the 2016 Vezina Trophy winner. As a former goalie coach, Stevenson would try to get in Hart\u2019s head to mess with him, according to Hart, which taught the Sherwood Park, Alberta, native to control what he can control.<\/p>\u201cI talk to him on a regular basis,\u201d Hart said Friday of Stevenson. \u201cI\u2019ve learned a lot on the mental side of things. The mental game is huge. It\u2019s probably 90 percent of the position, really. If you believe you can do it, you can. That\u2019s the mindset you have to have, you have to believe in yourself. You really have to believe in yourself and trust everything that you do.\u201d<\/p>Holtby has been working with Stevenson since he was 15 years old. The Capitals\u2019 goaltender told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/sports\/capitals\/braden-holtby-at-peace-in-the-crease\/2015\/04\/24\/7cd9ad6a-e9b7-11e4-9a6a-c1ab95a0600b_story.html\" target=\"_blank\">The Washington Post<\/em><\/a> in 2015 that he didn\u2019t realize how important Stevenson has been to him in his professional life until his first year away from him.<\/p>\u201cThat\u2019s when I really found out how crucial that experience I had with him was,\u201d he told the Post. \u201cKind of take it for granted when it\u2019s right there at your fingertips, and once it\u2019s gone, you have to start doing it on your own. It makes it harder, but you learn it even more.\u201d<\/p>While Holtby and Hart share the same psychologist, Holtby isn\u2019t the goalie Hart admires most, though he did call Holtby \u201cone of the most mentally tough guys in the business.\u201d Hart said he\u2019s met Holtby a few times through Stevenson, and Holtby texted him after the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships. The goalie he models his game after is Carey Price.<\/p>\u201cHe\u2019s very efficient,\u201d Hart said of Price. \u201cHe\u2019s one of the best skaters in the game. He makes things simple and makes difficult saves look easy. I really admire the way he skates. That\u2019s one of the biggest things for me is being a good skater. If you can\u2019t skate, you can\u2019t play.<\/p>\u201cYou have to be an elite-level skater to play in the NHL. \u2026 I think Price is the most elite skater in the league.\u201d<\/p>Hart turns 19 on Aug. 13 and is not eligible for the AHL. It\u2019s either one more year in Everett or breaking training camp with the Flyers. \u201cObviously, it doesn\u2019t happen often for 19-year-old goalies,\u201d he said. That\u2019s his goal, but the numbers game dictates his October destination. Brian Elliott and Michal Neuvirth are the Flyers\u2019 goalies for the next two years.<\/p>In 2016-17, Hart posted a 32-11-6 record in 54 games last season with the Silvertips. He led the WHL in goals-against average (1.99), save percentage (.927) and shutouts (nine). He had a shutout streak of 193 minutes and 38 seconds during the record season.<\/p>After his season ended in Everett, Hart joined the Lehigh Valley Phantoms during AHL playoffs largely as a third goalie with Anthony Stolarz injured. Then Alex Lyon suffered an injury in Game 2 of their first-round series with the Hershey Bears. Hart found himself on the bench backing up Martin Ouellette for Game 3. The Phantoms rode Ouellette for Games 4 and 5 with Mark Dekanich backing up. Lehigh Valley lost in five games.<\/p>Hart never played.<\/p>\u201cI thought maybe against Hershey when I backed up, maybe see what happens,\u201d he said.<\/p>Hextall drafted his fifth goalie in his fourth draft last month as Flyers general manager, selecting Russian netminder Kirill Ustimenko in the third round. With Ustimenko in the fold, the Flyers now have nine goalies in the organization.<\/p>\u201cIt doesn\u2019t really matter. It\u2019s just goalie depth,\u201d Hart said. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing wrong with having goalie depth because you never know what happens. The position of goaltending can be tough and tough on the body. \u2026 It\u2019s a long year. Seventy-two games in the WHL, 76 games in the American League and obviously 82 in The Show.<\/p>\u201cIt doesn't bother me. Just got to worry about yourself.\u201d<\/p>","summary":"Is Carter Hart the Flyers' goalie of the future? The teenager is already mentally fit for the pressure of being in an NHL net. By Tom Dougherty<\/p>","format":"filtered_html","safe_value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 The last time Carter Hart recalls becoming irritated on the ice, he was 10 years old. He was in his first year of playing goaltender after previously playing forward.<\/p>\nHis dad, John Hart, was his coach and his current sports psychologist, John Stevenson, was then his goalie coach. What transpired may have resembled a more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=vbAEj8o1SY8\" target=\"_blank\">PG version of this<\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cThis one kid kept crashing into my crease,\u201d Hart said, \u201cso my dad was on the bench coaching and he\u2019s just like, \u2018Just give it to this kid.\u2019 So I just started blockering him.<\/p>\n\u201cI actually didn\u2019t know to blocker a kid, they consider it a weapon [and it\u2019s] a five-game suspension. So I got a five-game suspension when I was 10 years old.\u201d<\/p>\nEight years later, Hart finds himself as one of the most anticipated goaltending prospects the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\" target=\"_blank\">Flyers<\/a> have ever had, perhaps even more than the person who drafted him, Ron Hextall.<\/p>\nThere was Pete Peeters in the late 1970s and Pelle Lindbergh in the \u201880s. Hextall, of course, in the late \u201880s. The Flyers\u2019 history of drafting goalies is an urban legend.<\/p>\nNot many swooned over the likes of Dominic Roussel and Neil Little.<\/p>\nHart is a different breed of goaltender. The Flyers made him the first goalie drafted in 2016 when they selected him 48th overall. He won the CHL Goaltender of the Year his draft year.<\/p>\nLast season, he posted superior numbers but didn\u2019t recapture his crown. Owen Sound\u2019s Michael McNiven won the title. Politics was likely involved. No goalie has ever won it twice.<\/p>\nStill, Hart won the Del Wilson Memorial Trophy as the WHL\u2019s Goaltender of the Year for the second consecutive season and was twice named the Vaughn CHL Goaltender of the Week.<\/p>\nWhen sports psychologist and an 18-year-old come up in the same sentence, it may carry a negative connotation. Some may trigger the alarms. It shouldn\u2019t, especially for a goalie.<\/p>\nMental toughness is as essential to goaltending as hand-eye coordination is to hitting a baseball. If any conclusion can be drawn from Hart having one, it should be positive. <\/p>\nStevenson is a registered psychologist based in Edmonton, Alberta. He runs Zone Performance Psychology with his wife, Jaci Stevenson, and is a former scout for the Oilers.<\/p>\nThe relationship between Hart and Stevenson goes back to when Hart was 10 when he was encouraged by his dad to blocker the kid crashing his crease. Stevenson was originally his goalie coach before transitioning into psychology full-time. Hart describes himself as laid-back whose \u201cenergy levels have dropped\u201d in the eight years since. On the ice, he carries a calm demeanor \u2014 he doesn\u2019t get mad and doesn\u2019t consider himself to be vocal.<\/p>\nPerhaps some tricks he\u2019s applicated from working with Stevenson, who also works with Washington Capitals goalie Braden Holtby, the 2016 Vezina Trophy winner. As a former goalie coach, Stevenson would try to get in Hart\u2019s head to mess with him, according to Hart, which taught the Sherwood Park, Alberta, native to control what he can control.<\/p>\n\u201cI talk to him on a regular basis,\u201d Hart said Friday of Stevenson. \u201cI\u2019ve learned a lot on the mental side of things. The mental game is huge. It\u2019s probably 90 percent of the position, really. If you believe you can do it, you can. That\u2019s the mindset you have to have, you have to believe in yourself. You really have to believe in yourself and trust everything that you do.\u201d<\/p>\nHoltby has been working with Stevenson since he was 15 years old. The Capitals\u2019 goaltender told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/sports\/capitals\/braden-holtby-at-peace-in-the-crease\/2015\/04\/24\/7cd9ad6a-e9b7-11e4-9a6a-c1ab95a0600b_story.html\" target=\"_blank\">The Washington Post<\/em><\/a> in 2015 that he didn\u2019t realize how important Stevenson has been to him in his professional life until his first year away from him.<\/p>\n\u201cThat\u2019s when I really found out how crucial that experience I had with him was,\u201d he told the Post. \u201cKind of take it for granted when it\u2019s right there at your fingertips, and once it\u2019s gone, you have to start doing it on your own. It makes it harder, but you learn it even more.\u201d<\/p>\nWhile Holtby and Hart share the same psychologist, Holtby isn\u2019t the goalie Hart admires most, though he did call Holtby \u201cone of the most mentally tough guys in the business.\u201d Hart said he\u2019s met Holtby a few times through Stevenson, and Holtby texted him after the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships. The goalie he models his game after is Carey Price.<\/p>\n\u201cHe\u2019s very efficient,\u201d Hart said of Price. \u201cHe\u2019s one of the best skaters in the game. He makes things simple and makes difficult saves look easy. I really admire the way he skates. That\u2019s one of the biggest things for me is being a good skater. If you can\u2019t skate, you can\u2019t play.<\/p>\n\u201cYou have to be an elite-level skater to play in the NHL. \u2026 I think Price is the most elite skater in the league.\u201d<\/p>\nHart turns 19 on Aug. 13 and is not eligible for the AHL. It\u2019s either one more year in Everett or breaking training camp with the Flyers. \u201cObviously, it doesn\u2019t happen often for 19-year-old goalies,\u201d he said. That\u2019s his goal, but the numbers game dictates his October destination. Brian Elliott and Michal Neuvirth are the Flyers\u2019 goalies for the next two years.<\/p>\nIn 2016-17, Hart posted a 32-11-6 record in 54 games last season with the Silvertips. He led the WHL in goals-against average (1.99), save percentage (.927) and shutouts (nine). He had a shutout streak of 193 minutes and 38 seconds during the record season.<\/p>\nAfter his season ended in Everett, Hart joined the Lehigh Valley Phantoms during AHL playoffs largely as a third goalie with Anthony Stolarz injured. Then Alex Lyon suffered an injury in Game 2 of their first-round series with the Hershey Bears. Hart found himself on the bench backing up Martin Ouellette for Game 3. The Phantoms rode Ouellette for Games 4 and 5 with Mark Dekanich backing up. Lehigh Valley lost in five games.<\/p>\nHart never played.<\/p>\n\u201cI thought maybe against Hershey when I backed up, maybe see what happens,\u201d he said.<\/p>\nHextall drafted his fifth goalie in his fourth draft last month as Flyers general manager, selecting Russian netminder Kirill Ustimenko in the third round. With Ustimenko in the fold, the Flyers now have nine goalies in the organization.<\/p>\n\u201cIt doesn\u2019t really matter. It\u2019s just goalie depth,\u201d Hart said. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing wrong with having goalie depth because you never know what happens. The position of goaltending can be tough and tough on the body. \u2026 It\u2019s a long year. Seventy-two games in the WHL, 76 games in the American League and obviously 82 in The Show.<\/p>\n\u201cIt doesn't bother me. Just got to worry about yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n","safe_summary":"Is Carter Hart the Flyers' goalie of the future? The teenager is already mentally fit for the pressure of being in an NHL net. By Tom Dougherty<\/p>\n"}]},"field_author_reference":{"und":[{"tid":"1321"}]},"field_bean_single_col":{"und":[{"target_id":"2456"}]},"field_chrome_page":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_date_published":{"und":[{"value":"2017-07-11 13:00:00","timezone":"America\/New_York","timezone_db":"UTC","date_type":"datetime"}]},"field_hero_image_credit":{"und":[{"value":"Photo credit: Zack Hill\/Flyers","format":null,"safe_value":"Photo credit: Zack Hill\/Flyers"}]},"field_image":{"und":[{"fid":"472561","uid":"266","filename":"zack-hill-flyers-carter-hart.jpg","uri":"public:\/\/2018\/05\/02\/zack-hill-flyers-carter-hart.jpg","filemime":"image\/jpeg","filesize":"179409","status":"1","timestamp":"1525292288","origname":"zack-hill-flyers-carter-hart.jpg","type":"image","field_file_image_alt_text":{"und":[{"value":null,"format":null,"safe_value":""}]},"field_file_image_title_text":{"und":[{"value":null,"format":null,"safe_value":""}]},"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]","default":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]"},"description":{"value":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!","default":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!"},"abstract":{"value":""},"keywords":{"value":""},"robots":{"value":{"index":0,"follow":0,"noindex":0,"nofollow":0,"noarchive":0,"nosnippet":0,"noodp":0,"noydir":0,"noimageindex":0,"notranslate":0}},"news_keywords":{"value":""},"standout":{"value":""},"rating":{"value":""},"referrer":{"value":""},"rights":{"value":""},"image_src":{"value":""},"canonical":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"shortlink":{"value":"[current-page:url:unaliased]","default":"[current-page:url:unaliased]"},"original-source":{"value":""},"prev":{"value":""},"next":{"value":""},"content-language":{"value":""},"geo.position":{"value":""},"geo.placename":{"value":""},"geo.region":{"value":""},"icbm":{"value":""},"refresh":{"value":""},"revisit-after":{"value":"","period":""},"pragma":{"value":""},"cache-control":{"value":""},"expires":{"value":""},"og:type":{"value":"article","default":"article"},"og:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"og:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"og:determiner":{"value":""},"og:description":{"value":""},"og:updated_time":{"value":""},"og:see_also":{"value":""},"og:image":{"value":""},"og:image:url":{"value":""},"og:image:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:image:type":{"value":""},"og:image:width":{"value":""},"og:image:height":{"value":""},"og:latitude":{"value":""},"og:longitude":{"value":""},"og:street_address":{"value":""},"og:locality":{"value":""},"og:region":{"value":""},"og:postal_code":{"value":""},"og:country_name":{"value":""},"og:email":{"value":""},"og:phone_number":{"value":""},"og:fax_number":{"value":""},"og:locale":{"value":""},"og:locale:alternate":{"value":""},"article:author":{"value":""},"article:publisher":{"value":""},"article:section":{"value":""},"article:tag":{"value":""},"article:published_time":{"value":""},"article:modified_time":{"value":""},"article:expiration_time":{"value":""},"profile:first_name":{"value":""},"profile:last_name":{"value":""},"profile:username":{"value":""},"profile:gender":{"value":""},"og:audio":{"value":""},"og:audio:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:audio:type":{"value":""},"book:author":{"value":""},"book:isbn":{"value":""},"book:release_date":{"value":""},"book:tag":{"value":""},"og:video:url":{"value":""},"og:video:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:video:width":{"value":""},"og:video:height":{"value":""},"og:video:type":{"value":""},"video:actor":{"value":""},"video:actor:role":{"value":""},"video:director":{"value":""},"video:writer":{"value":""},"video:duration":{"value":""},"video:release_date":{"value":""},"video:tag":{"value":""},"video:series":{"value":""},"twitter:card":{"value":"summary","default":"summary"},"twitter:creator":{"value":""},"twitter:creator:id":{"value":""},"twitter:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"twitter:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"twitter:description":{"value":""},"twitter:image":{"value":""},"twitter:image:width":{"value":""},"twitter:image:height":{"value":""},"twitter:image:alt":{"value":""},"twitter:image0":{"value":""},"twitter:image1":{"value":""},"twitter:image2":{"value":""},"twitter:image3":{"value":""},"twitter:player":{"value":""},"twitter:player:width":{"value":""},"twitter:player:height":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream:content_type":{"value":""},"twitter:app:country":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:label1":{"value":""},"twitter:data1":{"value":""},"twitter:label2":{"value":""},"twitter:data2":{"value":""}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"metadata":{"height":360,"width":640},"height":"360","width":"640","alt":null,"title":null}]},"field_league":{"und":[{"tid":"196"}]},"field_section":{"und":[{"tid":"201"}]},"field_short_title":{"und":[{"value":"How teenage goalie prospect Carter Hart is already mentally fit for Flyers' future","format":null,"safe_value":"How teenage goalie prospect Carter Hart is already mentally fit for Flyers' future"}]},"field_sponsor":[],"field_sport":{"und":[{"tid":"191"}]},"field_tags":{"und":[{"tid":"5411"},{"tid":"6201"},{"tid":"18276"},{"tid":"466"},{"tid":"2966"},{"tid":"3091"}]},"field_team":{"und":[{"tid":"141"}]},"field_top_story":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_video_autoplay":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_videos":{"und":[{"target_id":"537396"}]},"field_tags_hide":{"und":[{"tid":"18276"}]},"field_video_automute":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_editorial_category":{"und":[{"value":"other_news"}]},"field_allow_lld_domains":[],"field_enable_stanza":[],"field_exclude_from_yahoo":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"Carter Hart already mentally fit for Flyers' net"},"news_keywords":{"value":"Carter Hart, Philadelphia Flyers, Tom Dougherty, Flyers prospect Carter Hart"}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"name":"JHall","picture":"0","data":"b:0;"},"access":true},{"target_id":"537591","entity":{"vid":"564031","uid":"266","title":"Pascal Laberge out to be 'the real me' following dark days from concussion","log":"","status":"1","comment":"0","promote":"0","sticky":"0","nid":"537591","type":"article","language":"und","created":"1499535853","changed":"1501550820","tnid":"0","translate":"0","published":"1499605800","revision_timestamp":"1501550820","revision_uid":"156","body":{"und":[{"value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 On a Saturday night in Victoriaville, Quebec, last October, the trajectory of Pascal Laberge\u2019s third season in the QMJHL changed in a flash and not for the better.<\/p>Six minutes into the Tigres\u2019 game against the Moncton Wildcats, Laberge was met by a thundering headshot from Zachary Malatesta as he gathered the puck at his own blue line.<\/p>Laberge lay barren on the ice while Victoriaville alternate captain James Phelan immediately jumped Malatesta, who was ejected and then suspended seven games.<\/p>\u201cYou try to avoid these concussions and when a player does a thing like that, it sure pisses you off a little bit,\u201d Laberge said Friday at development camp at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> Skate Zone. \u201cThere\u2019s always going to be some guys like that in hockey. It\u2019s just that it happened to me.\u201d<\/p>What happened to Laberge was a concussion that caused him to miss over a month before returning Nov. 25 for two games to only sit out another three games as symptoms returned.<\/p>Upon returning, Laberge labored to find the consistency and point production that led to the Flyers\u2019 selecting him with the 36th overall pick in the 2016 NHL draft.<\/p>After his symptoms subsided enough for him to come back Dec. 8, the 19-year-old forward recorded seven points in eight games in the month. In January, he tallied six points in 10 games but was held pointless during six of those games. He finished the season with 32 points.<\/p>In 2015-16, his draft year, Laberge registered 68 points in 56 games for Victoriaville. His 32 points last season was one point more than his 2014-15 rookie campaign in the QMJHL. <\/p>He ended last season with an assist in each of the Tigres\u2019 final three games and scooped up two more in four games during Victoriaville\u2019s first-round postseason exit to Chicoutimi.<\/p>Regaining confidence was a barricade for Laberge following his return from his concussion, especially when going toward the boards. \u201cYou\u2019re kind of shy to go there,\u201d he said. He often played looking over his shoulder and said it took about two months for him to fully recover.<\/p>\u201cThe first month,\u201d he said, \u201cI couldn\u2019t wake up. I had to sleep all day.\u201d<\/p>By now, Laberge\u2019s story is well known. In summer 2015, his stepmother was diagnosed with metastatic cancer and his father, prostate cancer. His stepmother died in September 2015. His dad had his prostate removed that fall. All while he was trying to get drafted.<\/p>Laberge fell to the Flyers in the second round despite being rated 28th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting Bureau. Some saw him as a late first-rounder.<\/p>One of the traits the Flyers liked about Laberge when they drafted him last summer was his perseverance, how he dealt with his family situation and also still produced on the ice.<\/p>Character is something general manager Ron Hextall values greatly. When he talks about prospects, chiefly in regards of development camp, character is one detail he preaches. <\/p>How prospects deal with adversity \u2014 albeit on the ice or off it, both are true in Laberge\u2019s case \u2014 can make them hungrier and better as a player and person, according to Hextall. <\/p>Hextall offered a guess: Last season, on the ice, was a first for Laberge. A young, talented kid who didn\u2019t have his way, who took a step back in his development and wasn\u2019t a star.<\/p>For someone his age, he has been through a lot off the ice. Last season, the concussion was just \u201canother tough time.\u201d It\u2019s getting him stronger, he said.<\/p>\u201cSometimes with my friends,\u201d Laberge said, \u201cI feel a little bit older than them.\u201d<\/p>In his second development camp, Laberge claims he\u2019s back to normal, feels good and his concussion issues are in the past. He understands how last season went means the timetable for his path to the NHL has been pushed back because of the lost time.<\/p>Laberge wants to get back to \u201cthe real me\u201d in 2017-18. With one more year of junior eligibility, he, barring any miracles, will spend another season in Victoriaville.<\/p>While Hextall\u2019s been adamant about keeping a few spots open for prospects to earn during training camp in September, it\u2019s a long shot to consider Laberge to be in that competition.<\/p>\u201cWe didn\u2019t like what he went through,\u201d Hextall said Friday. \u201cWe didn\u2019t like, at times, the level he was playing to, which wasn\u2019t at the level he\u2019s capable of. But \u2026 <\/p>\u201cYou go through adversity like that as a young man, you learn from it. You become stronger. It\u2019s like a team. Sometimes you have to lose to learn how to win.\u201d<\/p>If there\u2019s any one thing Laberge learned from last season, it\u2019s \u2026 <\/p>\u201cNext time,\u201d he said, \u201cI\u2019ll lift my head.\u201d<\/p>","summary":"After enduring yet another year filled with adversity, Pascal Laberge, 19, hopes to show the Flyers his true self in 2017-18. By Tom Dougherty<\/p>","format":"filtered_html","safe_value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 On a Saturday night in Victoriaville, Quebec, last October, the trajectory of Pascal Laberge\u2019s third season in the QMJHL changed in a flash and not for the better.<\/p>\nSix minutes into the Tigres\u2019 game against the Moncton Wildcats, Laberge was met by a thundering headshot from Zachary Malatesta as he gathered the puck at his own blue line.<\/p>\nLaberge lay barren on the ice while Victoriaville alternate captain James Phelan immediately jumped Malatesta, who was ejected and then suspended seven games.<\/p>\n\u201cYou try to avoid these concussions and when a player does a thing like that, it sure pisses you off a little bit,\u201d Laberge said Friday at development camp at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> Skate Zone. \u201cThere\u2019s always going to be some guys like that in hockey. It\u2019s just that it happened to me.\u201d<\/p>\nWhat happened to Laberge was a concussion that caused him to miss over a month before returning Nov. 25 for two games to only sit out another three games as symptoms returned.<\/p>\nUpon returning, Laberge labored to find the consistency and point production that led to the Flyers\u2019 selecting him with the 36th overall pick in the 2016 NHL draft.<\/p>\nAfter his symptoms subsided enough for him to come back Dec. 8, the 19-year-old forward recorded seven points in eight games in the month. In January, he tallied six points in 10 games but was held pointless during six of those games. He finished the season with 32 points.<\/p>\nIn 2015-16, his draft year, Laberge registered 68 points in 56 games for Victoriaville. His 32 points last season was one point more than his 2014-15 rookie campaign in the QMJHL. <\/p>\nHe ended last season with an assist in each of the Tigres\u2019 final three games and scooped up two more in four games during Victoriaville\u2019s first-round postseason exit to Chicoutimi.<\/p>\nRegaining confidence was a barricade for Laberge following his return from his concussion, especially when going toward the boards. \u201cYou\u2019re kind of shy to go there,\u201d he said. He often played looking over his shoulder and said it took about two months for him to fully recover.<\/p>\n\u201cThe first month,\u201d he said, \u201cI couldn\u2019t wake up. I had to sleep all day.\u201d<\/p>\nBy now, Laberge\u2019s story is well known. In summer 2015, his stepmother was diagnosed with metastatic cancer and his father, prostate cancer. His stepmother died in September 2015. His dad had his prostate removed that fall. All while he was trying to get drafted.<\/p>\nLaberge fell to the Flyers in the second round despite being rated 28th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting Bureau. Some saw him as a late first-rounder.<\/p>\nOne of the traits the Flyers liked about Laberge when they drafted him last summer was his perseverance, how he dealt with his family situation and also still produced on the ice.<\/p>\nCharacter is something general manager Ron Hextall values greatly. When he talks about prospects, chiefly in regards of development camp, character is one detail he preaches. <\/p>\nHow prospects deal with adversity \u2014 albeit on the ice or off it, both are true in Laberge\u2019s case \u2014 can make them hungrier and better as a player and person, according to Hextall. <\/p>\nHextall offered a guess: Last season, on the ice, was a first for Laberge. A young, talented kid who didn\u2019t have his way, who took a step back in his development and wasn\u2019t a star.<\/p>\nFor someone his age, he has been through a lot off the ice. Last season, the concussion was just \u201canother tough time.\u201d It\u2019s getting him stronger, he said.<\/p>\n\u201cSometimes with my friends,\u201d Laberge said, \u201cI feel a little bit older than them.\u201d<\/p>\nIn his second development camp, Laberge claims he\u2019s back to normal, feels good and his concussion issues are in the past. He understands how last season went means the timetable for his path to the NHL has been pushed back because of the lost time.<\/p>\nLaberge wants to get back to \u201cthe real me\u201d in 2017-18. With one more year of junior eligibility, he, barring any miracles, will spend another season in Victoriaville.<\/p>\nWhile Hextall\u2019s been adamant about keeping a few spots open for prospects to earn during training camp in September, it\u2019s a long shot to consider Laberge to be in that competition.<\/p>\n\u201cWe didn\u2019t like what he went through,\u201d Hextall said Friday. \u201cWe didn\u2019t like, at times, the level he was playing to, which wasn\u2019t at the level he\u2019s capable of. But \u2026 <\/p>\n\u201cYou go through adversity like that as a young man, you learn from it. You become stronger. It\u2019s like a team. Sometimes you have to lose to learn how to win.\u201d<\/p>\nIf there\u2019s any one thing Laberge learned from last season, it\u2019s \u2026 <\/p>\n\u201cNext time,\u201d he said, \u201cI\u2019ll lift my head.\u201d<\/p>\n","safe_summary":"After enduring yet another year filled with adversity, Pascal Laberge, 19, hopes to show the Flyers his true self in 2017-18. By Tom Dougherty<\/p>\n"}]},"field_author_reference":{"und":[{"tid":"1321"}]},"field_bean_single_col":{"und":[{"target_id":"2456"}]},"field_chrome_page":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_date_published":{"und":[{"value":"2017-07-09 13:10:00","timezone":"America\/New_York","timezone_db":"UTC","date_type":"datetime"}]},"field_hero_image_credit":{"und":[{"value":"Photo: Zack Hill\/Flyers","format":null,"safe_value":"Photo: Zack Hill\/Flyers"}]},"field_image":{"und":[{"fid":"472606","uid":"266","filename":"zack-hill-pascal-laberge.jpg","uri":"public:\/\/2017\/07\/08\/zack-hill-pascal-laberge.jpg","filemime":"image\/jpeg","filesize":"154834","status":"1","timestamp":"1499535488","origname":"zack-hill-pascal-laberge.jpg","type":"image","field_file_image_alt_text":{"und":[{"value":"Pascal Laberge, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers","format":null,"safe_value":"Pascal Laberge, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers"}]},"field_file_image_title_text":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":[],"alt":"Pascal Laberge, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers","metadata":{"height":360,"width":640},"height":"360","width":"640","title":""}]},"field_league":{"und":[{"tid":"196"}]},"field_section":{"und":[{"tid":"201"}]},"field_short_title":{"und":[{"value":"Flyers' Laberge out to be 'the real me' following dark days from concussion","format":null,"safe_value":"Flyers' Laberge out to be 'the real me' following dark days from concussion"}]},"field_sponsor":[],"field_sport":{"und":[{"tid":"191"}]},"field_tags":{"und":[{"tid":"18276"},{"tid":"5406"},{"tid":"466"},{"tid":"2966"},{"tid":"3091"}]},"field_team":{"und":[{"tid":"141"}]},"field_top_story":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_video_autoplay":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_videos":{"und":[{"target_id":"537646"}]},"field_tags_hide":{"und":[{"tid":"18276"}]},"field_video_automute":[],"field_editorial_category":[],"field_allow_lld_domains":[],"field_enable_stanza":[],"field_exclude_from_yahoo":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"Pascal Laberge out to show Flyers 'the real me'"},"news_keywords":{"value":"Pascal Laberge, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers, Pascal Laberge Flyers, Pascal Laberge concussion, Pascal Laberge head injury, Pascal Laberge hockey, Flyers top prospects"}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"name":"tdougherty","picture":"0","data":"b:0;"},"access":true},{"target_id":"539666","entity":{"vid":"566421","uid":"156","title":"Morgan Frost, the other 1st-round pick, can help Flyers, too","log":"","status":"1","comment":"0","promote":"0","sticky":"0","nid":"539666","type":"article","language":"und","created":"1500171137","changed":"1500320019","tnid":"0","translate":"0","published":"1500210000","revision_timestamp":"1500320019","revision_uid":"156","body":{"und":[{"value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Morgan Frost was teeming with nerves.<\/p>The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\" target=\"_blank\">Flyers<\/a> had just called his name on the night of the NHL draft, so emotions were running wild as he made his way to the spectacle's forefront at the United Center.<\/p>\"It was pretty crazy,\" Frost said last week. \"Walking up the stage, I thought I was going to fall over.\"<\/p>Unlike that concern, Frost has no trouble staying upright on the ice. His speed, skating and skills are what made him attractive to the Flyers, who selected the 18-year-old in the June draft with the 27th pick acquired via the Brayden Schenn trade.<\/p>With the deal, Frost became the Flyers' second first-round choice of the night, joining No. 2 overall pick Nolan Patrick. And similar to Patrick, Frost is a skilled forward that thrives when skill surrounds him. Put Frost with talent, and he'll make it better.<\/p>\"I think I'm definitely a playmaker first,\" Frost said. \"I think you're always going to see me with more assists than goals.\"<\/p>That rung true last season when Frost put up 42 assists compared to 20 goals in 67 games with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL. Alongside Bruins 2015 first-round pick Zach Senyshyn, a bona-fide goal-scoring winger, Frost dished the puck plenty and also produced a 22-assist increase from his first year of junior play.<\/p>\"Playing with a guy like Senyshyn definitely helps that stat because he's a goal scorer,\" Frost said. \"I think for me, playing with a goal scorer is part of the best thing because I'm a guy that likes to distribute. At the same time, I feel like I can contribute offensively in terms of scoring, but I'm definitely a playmaker.\"<\/p>Frost provided glimpses of that ability through a variety of drills and competition at Flyers development camp, his first real taste of the NHL.<\/p>\"It's super special,\" Frost said. \"The first step on that ice obviously meant a lot to me. It's still pretty surreal for me to be here. I'm definitely excited.\"<\/p>Now with an NHL organization, Frost hopes to grow both physically and defensively. An offensive stalwart listed at 5-foot-11, 172 pounds, Frost was able to see how he can improve those areas after spending six days with the Flyers.<\/p>\"Giving them an early view of our expectations as an organization of ways to improve their game, whether it's skill-wise or strength-wise,\" Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said of development camp.<\/p>\"Being a pro and showing them ways to develop physically and as an athlete.\"<\/p>Over time, Frost wants to show he can be an all-situation center. He feels he has already started to with the Greyhounds, who will continue to give him greater responsibilities in 2017-18, including penalty-kill minutes.<\/p>\"They kind of stressed that to me right when I got there,\" Frost said. \"I was kind of a one-dimensional player, offensive. They stressed that it wasn't all about that, it's not about scoring goals or setting up goals all the time if you're going to be on the ice for goals against. So plus-minus was something I wanted to improve on and just be harder to play against, play defense. They turned me into more of a well-rounded player.\"<\/p>Over 65 games in 2015-16, Frost was a minus-6. He went to a plus-15 in 2016-17. And while he wants to become more complete, making a difference with the puck on his stick will be his ticket to the Flyers.<\/p>\"I think that's a skill I've had ever since I was a little kid, just being able to see the ice and slow the play down a little,\" Frost said. \"But at the same time, I think that's developed with coaching and practice.\"<\/p>After getting to know the Flyers, he found new ways to work on those strengths.<\/p>\"We're watching video, watching just little things that you can do with your skates \u2014 ways to change your angle, use your edges,\" Frost said. \"That's one thing that I definitely want to do and I want to be able to accelerate better.<\/p>\"The first three steps and once I get up to speed, I'm fast and I can use my speed to my advantage.\"<\/p>And to help his teammates, too. That's what Frost does best.<\/p>","summary":"Similar to Nolan Patrick, Morgan Frost was a first-round pick of the Flyers that excels by making those around him better. By Jordan Hall<\/p>","format":"filtered_html","safe_value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Morgan Frost was teeming with nerves.<\/p>\nThe <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\" target=\"_blank\">Flyers<\/a> had just called his name on the night of the NHL draft, so emotions were running wild as he made his way to the spectacle's forefront at the United Center.<\/p>\n\"It was pretty crazy,\" Frost said last week. \"Walking up the stage, I thought I was going to fall over.\"<\/p>\nUnlike that concern, Frost has no trouble staying upright on the ice. His speed, skating and skills are what made him attractive to the Flyers, who selected the 18-year-old in the June draft with the 27th pick acquired via the Brayden Schenn trade.<\/p>\nWith the deal, Frost became the Flyers' second first-round choice of the night, joining No. 2 overall pick Nolan Patrick. And similar to Patrick, Frost is a skilled forward that thrives when skill surrounds him. Put Frost with talent, and he'll make it better.<\/p>\n\"I think I'm definitely a playmaker first,\" Frost said. \"I think you're always going to see me with more assists than goals.\"<\/p>\nThat rung true last season when Frost put up 42 assists compared to 20 goals in 67 games with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL. Alongside Bruins 2015 first-round pick Zach Senyshyn, a bona-fide goal-scoring winger, Frost dished the puck plenty and also produced a 22-assist increase from his first year of junior play.<\/p>\n\"Playing with a guy like Senyshyn definitely helps that stat because he's a goal scorer,\" Frost said. \"I think for me, playing with a goal scorer is part of the best thing because I'm a guy that likes to distribute. At the same time, I feel like I can contribute offensively in terms of scoring, but I'm definitely a playmaker.\"<\/p>\nFrost provided glimpses of that ability through a variety of drills and competition at Flyers development camp, his first real taste of the NHL.<\/p>\n\"It's super special,\" Frost said. \"The first step on that ice obviously meant a lot to me. It's still pretty surreal for me to be here. I'm definitely excited.\"<\/p>\nNow with an NHL organization, Frost hopes to grow both physically and defensively. An offensive stalwart listed at 5-foot-11, 172 pounds, Frost was able to see how he can improve those areas after spending six days with the Flyers.<\/p>\n\"Giving them an early view of our expectations as an organization of ways to improve their game, whether it's skill-wise or strength-wise,\" Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said of development camp.<\/p>\n\"Being a pro and showing them ways to develop physically and as an athlete.\"<\/p>\nOver time, Frost wants to show he can be an all-situation center. He feels he has already started to with the Greyhounds, who will continue to give him greater responsibilities in 2017-18, including penalty-kill minutes.<\/p>\n\"They kind of stressed that to me right when I got there,\" Frost said. \"I was kind of a one-dimensional player, offensive. They stressed that it wasn't all about that, it's not about scoring goals or setting up goals all the time if you're going to be on the ice for goals against. So plus-minus was something I wanted to improve on and just be harder to play against, play defense. They turned me into more of a well-rounded player.\"<\/p>\nOver 65 games in 2015-16, Frost was a minus-6. He went to a plus-15 in 2016-17. And while he wants to become more complete, making a difference with the puck on his stick will be his ticket to the Flyers.<\/p>\n\"I think that's a skill I've had ever since I was a little kid, just being able to see the ice and slow the play down a little,\" Frost said. \"But at the same time, I think that's developed with coaching and practice.\"<\/p>\nAfter getting to know the Flyers, he found new ways to work on those strengths.<\/p>\n\"We're watching video, watching just little things that you can do with your skates \u2014 ways to change your angle, use your edges,\" Frost said. \"That's one thing that I definitely want to do and I want to be able to accelerate better.<\/p>\n\"The first three steps and once I get up to speed, I'm fast and I can use my speed to my advantage.\"<\/p>\nAnd to help his teammates, too. That's what Frost does best.<\/p>\n","safe_summary":"Similar to Nolan Patrick, Morgan Frost was a first-round pick of the Flyers that excels by making those around him better. By Jordan Hall<\/p>\n"}]},"field_author_reference":{"und":[{"tid":"1056"}]},"field_bean_single_col":{"und":[{"target_id":"2456"}]},"field_chrome_page":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_date_published":{"und":[{"value":"2017-07-16 13:00:00","timezone":"America\/New_York","timezone_db":"UTC","date_type":"datetime"}]},"field_hero_image_credit":{"und":[{"value":"Photo credit: Zack Hill\/Flyers","format":null,"safe_value":"Photo credit: Zack Hill\/Flyers"}]},"field_image":{"und":[{"fid":"476586","uid":"156","filename":"zack-hill-flyers-morgan-frost.jpg","uri":"public:\/\/2017\/07\/15\/zack-hill-flyers-morgan-frost.jpg","filemime":"image\/jpeg","filesize":"316920","status":"1","timestamp":"1500171137","origname":"zack-hill-flyers-morgan-frost.jpg","type":"image","field_file_image_alt_text":{"und":[{"value":"Morgan Frost, Philadelphia Flyers","format":null,"safe_value":"Morgan Frost, Philadelphia Flyers"}]},"field_file_image_title_text":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]","default":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]"},"description":{"value":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!","default":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!"},"abstract":{"value":""},"keywords":{"value":""},"robots":{"value":{"index":0,"follow":0,"noindex":0,"nofollow":0,"noarchive":0,"nosnippet":0,"noodp":0,"noydir":0,"noimageindex":0,"notranslate":0}},"news_keywords":{"value":""},"standout":{"value":""},"rating":{"value":""},"referrer":{"value":""},"rights":{"value":""},"image_src":{"value":""},"canonical":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"shortlink":{"value":"[current-page:url:unaliased]","default":"[current-page:url:unaliased]"},"original-source":{"value":""},"prev":{"value":""},"next":{"value":""},"content-language":{"value":""},"geo.position":{"value":""},"geo.placename":{"value":""},"geo.region":{"value":""},"icbm":{"value":""},"refresh":{"value":""},"revisit-after":{"value":"","period":""},"pragma":{"value":""},"cache-control":{"value":""},"expires":{"value":""},"og:type":{"value":"article","default":"article"},"og:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"og:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"og:determiner":{"value":""},"og:description":{"value":""},"og:updated_time":{"value":""},"og:see_also":{"value":""},"og:image":{"value":""},"og:image:url":{"value":""},"og:image:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:image:type":{"value":""},"og:image:width":{"value":""},"og:image:height":{"value":""},"og:latitude":{"value":""},"og:longitude":{"value":""},"og:street_address":{"value":""},"og:locality":{"value":""},"og:region":{"value":""},"og:postal_code":{"value":""},"og:country_name":{"value":""},"og:email":{"value":""},"og:phone_number":{"value":""},"og:fax_number":{"value":""},"og:locale":{"value":""},"og:locale:alternate":{"value":""},"article:author":{"value":""},"article:publisher":{"value":""},"article:section":{"value":""},"article:tag":{"value":""},"article:published_time":{"value":""},"article:modified_time":{"value":""},"article:expiration_time":{"value":""},"profile:first_name":{"value":""},"profile:last_name":{"value":""},"profile:username":{"value":""},"profile:gender":{"value":""},"og:audio":{"value":""},"og:audio:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:audio:type":{"value":""},"book:author":{"value":""},"book:isbn":{"value":""},"book:release_date":{"value":""},"book:tag":{"value":""},"og:video:url":{"value":""},"og:video:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:video:width":{"value":""},"og:video:height":{"value":""},"og:video:type":{"value":""},"video:actor":{"value":""},"video:actor:role":{"value":""},"video:director":{"value":""},"video:writer":{"value":""},"video:duration":{"value":""},"video:release_date":{"value":""},"video:tag":{"value":""},"video:series":{"value":""},"twitter:card":{"value":"summary","default":"summary"},"twitter:creator":{"value":""},"twitter:creator:id":{"value":""},"twitter:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"twitter:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"twitter:description":{"value":""},"twitter:image":{"value":""},"twitter:image:width":{"value":""},"twitter:image:height":{"value":""},"twitter:image:alt":{"value":""},"twitter:image0":{"value":""},"twitter:image1":{"value":""},"twitter:image2":{"value":""},"twitter:image3":{"value":""},"twitter:player":{"value":""},"twitter:player:width":{"value":""},"twitter:player:height":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream:content_type":{"value":""},"twitter:app:country":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:label1":{"value":""},"twitter:data1":{"value":""},"twitter:label2":{"value":""},"twitter:data2":{"value":""}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"alt":"Morgan Frost, Philadelphia Flyers","metadata":{"height":382,"width":640},"height":"382","width":"640","title":""}]},"field_league":{"und":[{"tid":"196"}]},"field_section":{"und":[{"tid":"201"}]},"field_short_title":{"und":[{"value":"The other 1st-round pick, Morgan Frost can help Flyers, too","format":null,"safe_value":"The other 1st-round pick, Morgan Frost can help Flyers, too"}]},"field_sponsor":[],"field_sport":{"und":[{"tid":"191"}]},"field_tags":{"und":[{"tid":"6201"},{"tid":"18276"},{"tid":"506"},{"tid":"19506"},{"tid":"466"}]},"field_team":{"und":[{"tid":"141"}]},"field_top_story":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_video_autoplay":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_videos":{"und":[{"target_id":"532906"}]},"field_tags_hide":{"und":[{"tid":"18276"}]},"field_video_automute":[],"field_editorial_category":[],"field_allow_lld_domains":[],"field_enable_stanza":[],"field_exclude_from_yahoo":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"news_keywords":{"value":"Morgan Frost, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers development camp, Flyers prospects"}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"name":"JHall","picture":"0","data":"b:0;"},"access":true},{"target_id":"539336","entity":{"vid":"565986","uid":"266","title":"After popping at world juniors, Mikhail Vorobyev sees 'good opportunity' with Phantoms","log":"","status":"1","comment":"0","promote":"0","sticky":"0","nid":"539336","type":"article","language":"und","created":"1500066760","changed":"1501259318","tnid":"0","translate":"0","published":"1500123600","revision_timestamp":"1501259318","revision_uid":"266","body":{"und":[{"value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Not many people knew who Mikhail Vorobyev was when the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships began last December.<\/p>They found out quick who he was by the end.<\/p>Vorobyev led the tournament with 10 assists in seven games for Team Russia, which captured the bronze medal. He didn\u2019t register a goal but his 10 points were third most.<\/p>\u201cVorobyev popped at the world juniors when he\u2019s playing with his peers,\u201d <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> general manager Ron Hextall said recently during development camp at Flyers Skate Zone.<\/p>\u201cOur guys really liked him his draft year. We got him in the fourth round probably because he was in Russia. He was hidden a little bit.\u201d<\/p>After one full season playing in the KHL for Salavat Yulaev Ufa, Vorobyev signed his entry-level contract with the Flyers in late April. The 20-year-old center will spend the 2017-18 season with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms as part of an interesting forward group.<\/p>Lehigh Valley finished as the second-best AHL team last season with 101 points in the regular season, but it lost to the Hershey Bears in five games during the first round of the playoffs.<\/p>This season, Vorobyev figures to have a spot in the regular lineup, but the forward competition in the AHL could be as competitive as it will be with the Flyers.<\/p>Still, Vorobyev believed coming overseas was for his best interests.<\/p>\u201cIf you want to continue development,\u201d Vorobyev said through an interpreter, Flyers skating coach Slava Kouznetsov, \u201cthis is a good opportunity to get better. In Russia, I think I reached up. That\u2019s why I\u2019m switching to North America to get better than I already am.\u201d<\/p>It may take Vorobyev a while to get accumulated to the North American lifestyle, especially since he doesn\u2019t speak English, but having Radel Fazleev at Lehigh Valley should help.<\/p>Fazleev is entering his second season in the AHL. He\u2019s been in North America full-time since 2013-14, his first season in the WHL.<\/p>At development camp, Vorobyev had three other Russians \u2014 Fazleev, German Rubtsov and camp invite Ivan Kosorenkov \u2014 and Maksim Sushko, who\u2019s from Belarus but speaks Russian, to lean on. Fazleev was the only development camp veteran of the bunch.<\/p>Like Rubtsov last summer, Vorobyev wasn\u2019t able to attend development camp in 2015 and 2016 because of his contract obligations in the KHL. Having Kouznetsov around also helps.<\/p>\"It is a big help,\u201d Vorobyev said. \u201cI'm feeling much more comfortable. The guys are helpful. It's easier to have conversation. They explain the rules, especially the guys who were here the previous years.\u201d<\/p>The adjustment for Vorobyev will come largely off the ice. The Salavat, Russia, native doesn\u2019t view the smaller rink as an obstacle, but it usually is for Europeans and Russians.<\/p>\"When I traveled with the Russian team, I always liked to play on the smaller surface,\u201d Vorobyev said. \u201cI like it. There's no adjustment, basically.\"<\/p>Vorobyev isn\u2019t the only player coming overseas this season for the Flyers. Oskar Lindblom, a 2014 fifth-round pick, believes the biggest transition for him will be the rink size.<\/p>\u201cThat\u2019s the big thing,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a little bit faster over here, so you have to think a little faster and be ready out there. Otherwise, you're going to get hit or not make the play.\"<\/p>Both Vorobyev and Lindblom were middle-round picks. Lindblom\u2019s ascension has caught the eyes of the Flyers and their fans. Lindblom is expected to be a Flyer in 2017-18.<\/p>While Lindblom has earned the hype, Vorobyev\u2019s progression has been interesting too. Both are examples of how far the Flyers\u2019 scouting department has come in recent years.<\/p>Vorobyev earned a steady role in the KHL last season after splitting the 2015-16 season with Salavat Yulaev and Tolpar Ufa of the MHL.<\/p>For the average folk, Vorobyev\u2019s numbers last season will not turn any heads. He had just three goals and 11 points in 44 games for Salavat Yulaev, but with young players in the KHL, it\u2019s hard to judge strictly on statistics. What should be of note is the ice time.<\/p>During the regular season, Vorobyev averaged 9:47. That number shot up to 13:29 per game in five postseason contests. That signals his Salavat Yulaev coaches trusted him enough to play him.<\/p>It's easy to see the difference with Vorobyev and Rubtsov. Vorobyev carved out a spot on his team at 19 and 20 years old. Rubtsov couldn\u2019t crack his KHL lineup.<\/p>Both are now in North America. The Flyers have three options with Rubtsov: QMJHL, AHL and NHL. They technically have two choices with Vorobyev, but he\u2019ll be in the AHL.<\/p>\u201cThe Russians are a little bit of a different animal because if you\u2019re playing in the KHL,\u201d Hextall said, \u201cyou got a young kid playing against men in a top league and keep them down on the fourth line and give him seven minutes. It\u2019s hard to show a whole lot in seven minutes.\u201d<\/p>Vorobyev has added at least 13 pounds since the Flyers drafted him in the fourth round of the 2015 NHL draft. He\u2019s currently listed at 6-foot-2, 207 pounds.<\/p>\u201cIf you look at his weight, his body makeup, it\u2019s changed quite a bit since we drafted him,\u201d Hextall said, \u201cand again, he popped at the world juniors last year. Quite honestly, if you asked our scouts, I don\u2019t think they\u2019d be too surprised.\u201d<\/p>The world junior performance was Vorobyev\u2019s coming out party in North America. He was exciting to watch on a Russian team that also featured Rubtsov, who struggled in the tournament. Vorobyev displayed playmaking and vision not many ever he knew he had.<\/p>Vorobyev did most of his damage setting his teammates up from behind the net and said at development camp behind the net is an area he\u2019s comfortable.<\/p>\u201cBehind the net, I felt comfortable and got points off feeding the puck to the slot,\u201d Vorobyev said. \u201cIf my partners did not score, I wouldn\u2019t get assists. It is pride [to lead the tournament in assists], but the partners, that\u2019s who I relied on.\u201d<\/p>","summary":"After breaking onto the scene at the world juniors, Mikhail Vorobyev sees a \"good opportunity\" in North America with the Phantoms. By Tom Dougherty<\/p>","format":"filtered_html","safe_value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Not many people knew who Mikhail Vorobyev was when the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships began last December.<\/p>\nThey found out quick who he was by the end.<\/p>\nVorobyev led the tournament with 10 assists in seven games for Team Russia, which captured the bronze medal. He didn\u2019t register a goal but his 10 points were third most.<\/p>\n\u201cVorobyev popped at the world juniors when he\u2019s playing with his peers,\u201d <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> general manager Ron Hextall said recently during development camp at Flyers Skate Zone.<\/p>\n\u201cOur guys really liked him his draft year. We got him in the fourth round probably because he was in Russia. He was hidden a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\nAfter one full season playing in the KHL for Salavat Yulaev Ufa, Vorobyev signed his entry-level contract with the Flyers in late April. The 20-year-old center will spend the 2017-18 season with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms as part of an interesting forward group.<\/p>\nLehigh Valley finished as the second-best AHL team last season with 101 points in the regular season, but it lost to the Hershey Bears in five games during the first round of the playoffs.<\/p>\nThis season, Vorobyev figures to have a spot in the regular lineup, but the forward competition in the AHL could be as competitive as it will be with the Flyers.<\/p>\nStill, Vorobyev believed coming overseas was for his best interests.<\/p>\n\u201cIf you want to continue development,\u201d Vorobyev said through an interpreter, Flyers skating coach Slava Kouznetsov, \u201cthis is a good opportunity to get better. In Russia, I think I reached up. That\u2019s why I\u2019m switching to North America to get better than I already am.\u201d<\/p>\nIt may take Vorobyev a while to get accumulated to the North American lifestyle, especially since he doesn\u2019t speak English, but having Radel Fazleev at Lehigh Valley should help.<\/p>\nFazleev is entering his second season in the AHL. He\u2019s been in North America full-time since 2013-14, his first season in the WHL.<\/p>\nAt development camp, Vorobyev had three other Russians \u2014 Fazleev, German Rubtsov and camp invite Ivan Kosorenkov \u2014 and Maksim Sushko, who\u2019s from Belarus but speaks Russian, to lean on. Fazleev was the only development camp veteran of the bunch.<\/p>\nLike Rubtsov last summer, Vorobyev wasn\u2019t able to attend development camp in 2015 and 2016 because of his contract obligations in the KHL. Having Kouznetsov around also helps.<\/p>\n\"It is a big help,\u201d Vorobyev said. \u201cI'm feeling much more comfortable. The guys are helpful. It's easier to have conversation. They explain the rules, especially the guys who were here the previous years.\u201d<\/p>\nThe adjustment for Vorobyev will come largely off the ice. The Salavat, Russia, native doesn\u2019t view the smaller rink as an obstacle, but it usually is for Europeans and Russians.<\/p>\n\"When I traveled with the Russian team, I always liked to play on the smaller surface,\u201d Vorobyev said. \u201cI like it. There's no adjustment, basically.\"<\/p>\nVorobyev isn\u2019t the only player coming overseas this season for the Flyers. Oskar Lindblom, a 2014 fifth-round pick, believes the biggest transition for him will be the rink size.<\/p>\n\u201cThat\u2019s the big thing,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a little bit faster over here, so you have to think a little faster and be ready out there. Otherwise, you're going to get hit or not make the play.\"<\/p>\nBoth Vorobyev and Lindblom were middle-round picks. Lindblom\u2019s ascension has caught the eyes of the Flyers and their fans. Lindblom is expected to be a Flyer in 2017-18.<\/p>\nWhile Lindblom has earned the hype, Vorobyev\u2019s progression has been interesting too. Both are examples of how far the Flyers\u2019 scouting department has come in recent years.<\/p>\nVorobyev earned a steady role in the KHL last season after splitting the 2015-16 season with Salavat Yulaev and Tolpar Ufa of the MHL.<\/p>\nFor the average folk, Vorobyev\u2019s numbers last season will not turn any heads. He had just three goals and 11 points in 44 games for Salavat Yulaev, but with young players in the KHL, it\u2019s hard to judge strictly on statistics. What should be of note is the ice time.<\/p>\nDuring the regular season, Vorobyev averaged 9:47. That number shot up to 13:29 per game in five postseason contests. That signals his Salavat Yulaev coaches trusted him enough to play him.<\/p>\nIt's easy to see the difference with Vorobyev and Rubtsov. Vorobyev carved out a spot on his team at 19 and 20 years old. Rubtsov couldn\u2019t crack his KHL lineup.<\/p>\nBoth are now in North America. The Flyers have three options with Rubtsov: QMJHL, AHL and NHL. They technically have two choices with Vorobyev, but he\u2019ll be in the AHL.<\/p>\n\u201cThe Russians are a little bit of a different animal because if you\u2019re playing in the KHL,\u201d Hextall said, \u201cyou got a young kid playing against men in a top league and keep them down on the fourth line and give him seven minutes. It\u2019s hard to show a whole lot in seven minutes.\u201d<\/p>\nVorobyev has added at least 13 pounds since the Flyers drafted him in the fourth round of the 2015 NHL draft. He\u2019s currently listed at 6-foot-2, 207 pounds.<\/p>\n\u201cIf you look at his weight, his body makeup, it\u2019s changed quite a bit since we drafted him,\u201d Hextall said, \u201cand again, he popped at the world juniors last year. Quite honestly, if you asked our scouts, I don\u2019t think they\u2019d be too surprised.\u201d<\/p>\nThe world junior performance was Vorobyev\u2019s coming out party in North America. He was exciting to watch on a Russian team that also featured Rubtsov, who struggled in the tournament. Vorobyev displayed playmaking and vision not many ever he knew he had.<\/p>\nVorobyev did most of his damage setting his teammates up from behind the net and said at development camp behind the net is an area he\u2019s comfortable.<\/p>\n\u201cBehind the net, I felt comfortable and got points off feeding the puck to the slot,\u201d Vorobyev said. \u201cIf my partners did not score, I wouldn\u2019t get assists. It is pride [to lead the tournament in assists], but the partners, that\u2019s who I relied on.\u201d<\/p>\n","safe_summary":"After breaking onto the scene at the world juniors, Mikhail Vorobyev sees a \"good opportunity\" in North America with the Phantoms. By Tom Dougherty<\/p>\n"}]},"field_author_reference":{"und":[{"tid":"1321"}]},"field_bean_single_col":{"und":[{"target_id":"2456"}]},"field_chrome_page":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_date_published":{"und":[{"value":"2017-07-15 13:00:00","timezone":"America\/New_York","timezone_db":"UTC","date_type":"datetime"}]},"field_hero_image_credit":{"und":[{"value":"Tom Dougherty\/CSNPhilly.com","format":null,"safe_value":"Tom Dougherty\/CSNPhilly.com"}]},"field_image":{"und":[{"fid":"472531","uid":"266","filename":"tom-dougherty-mikhail-vorobyev-3.jpg","uri":"public:\/\/2017\/07\/14\/tom-dougherty-mikhail-vorobyev-3.jpg","filemime":"image\/jpeg","filesize":"177970","status":"1","timestamp":"1500066760","origname":"tom-dougherty-mikhail-vorobyev-3.jpg","type":"image","field_file_image_alt_text":[],"field_file_image_title_text":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]","default":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]"},"description":{"value":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!","default":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!"},"abstract":{"value":""},"keywords":{"value":""},"robots":{"value":{"index":0,"follow":0,"noindex":0,"nofollow":0,"noarchive":0,"nosnippet":0,"noodp":0,"noydir":0,"noimageindex":0,"notranslate":0}},"news_keywords":{"value":""},"standout":{"value":""},"rating":{"value":""},"referrer":{"value":""},"rights":{"value":""},"image_src":{"value":""},"canonical":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"shortlink":{"value":"[current-page:url:unaliased]","default":"[current-page:url:unaliased]"},"original-source":{"value":""},"prev":{"value":""},"next":{"value":""},"content-language":{"value":""},"geo.position":{"value":""},"geo.placename":{"value":""},"geo.region":{"value":""},"icbm":{"value":""},"refresh":{"value":""},"revisit-after":{"value":"","period":""},"pragma":{"value":""},"cache-control":{"value":""},"expires":{"value":""},"og:type":{"value":"article","default":"article"},"og:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"og:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"og:determiner":{"value":""},"og:description":{"value":""},"og:updated_time":{"value":""},"og:see_also":{"value":""},"og:image":{"value":""},"og:image:url":{"value":""},"og:image:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:image:type":{"value":""},"og:image:width":{"value":""},"og:image:height":{"value":""},"og:latitude":{"value":""},"og:longitude":{"value":""},"og:street_address":{"value":""},"og:locality":{"value":""},"og:region":{"value":""},"og:postal_code":{"value":""},"og:country_name":{"value":""},"og:email":{"value":""},"og:phone_number":{"value":""},"og:fax_number":{"value":""},"og:locale":{"value":""},"og:locale:alternate":{"value":""},"article:author":{"value":""},"article:publisher":{"value":""},"article:section":{"value":""},"article:tag":{"value":""},"article:published_time":{"value":""},"article:modified_time":{"value":""},"article:expiration_time":{"value":""},"profile:first_name":{"value":""},"profile:last_name":{"value":""},"profile:username":{"value":""},"profile:gender":{"value":""},"og:audio":{"value":""},"og:audio:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:audio:type":{"value":""},"book:author":{"value":""},"book:isbn":{"value":""},"book:release_date":{"value":""},"book:tag":{"value":""},"og:video:url":{"value":""},"og:video:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:video:width":{"value":""},"og:video:height":{"value":""},"og:video:type":{"value":""},"video:actor":{"value":""},"video:actor:role":{"value":""},"video:director":{"value":""},"video:writer":{"value":""},"video:duration":{"value":""},"video:release_date":{"value":""},"video:tag":{"value":""},"video:series":{"value":""},"twitter:card":{"value":"summary","default":"summary"},"twitter:creator":{"value":""},"twitter:creator:id":{"value":""},"twitter:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"twitter:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"twitter:description":{"value":""},"twitter:image":{"value":""},"twitter:image:width":{"value":""},"twitter:image:height":{"value":""},"twitter:image:alt":{"value":""},"twitter:image0":{"value":""},"twitter:image1":{"value":""},"twitter:image2":{"value":""},"twitter:image3":{"value":""},"twitter:player":{"value":""},"twitter:player:width":{"value":""},"twitter:player:height":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream:content_type":{"value":""},"twitter:app:country":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:label1":{"value":""},"twitter:data1":{"value":""},"twitter:label2":{"value":""},"twitter:data2":{"value":""}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"metadata":{"height":360,"width":640},"height":"360","width":"640","alt":"","title":""}]},"field_league":{"und":[{"tid":"196"}]},"field_section":{"und":[{"tid":"201"}]},"field_short_title":{"und":[{"value":"After popping at WJCs, Mikhail Vorobyev sees 'good opportunity' with Phantoms","format":null,"safe_value":"After popping at WJCs, Mikhail Vorobyev sees 'good opportunity' with Phantoms"}]},"field_sponsor":[],"field_sport":{"und":[{"tid":"191"}]},"field_tags":{"und":[{"tid":"6201"},{"tid":"18276"},{"tid":"20111"},{"tid":"466"},{"tid":"3091"}]},"field_team":{"und":[{"tid":"141"}]},"field_top_story":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_video_autoplay":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_videos":{"und":[{"target_id":"537636"}]},"field_tags_hide":{"und":[{"tid":"18276"}]},"field_video_automute":[],"field_editorial_category":[],"field_allow_lld_domains":[],"field_enable_stanza":[],"field_exclude_from_yahoo":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"Mikhail Vorobyev sees 'good opportunity' with Flyers, Phantoms"},"news_keywords":{"value":"Mikhail Vorobyev, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers, Mikhail Vorobyev Flyers, Flyers draft Mikhail Vorobyev, Flyers sign Mikhail Vorobyev"}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"name":"tdougherty","picture":"0","data":"b:0;"},"access":true}]},"field_primary_display":[],"field_section":[],"field_show":[],"field_sport":[],"field_tags":[],"field_team":[],"field_author_reference":[],"field_archive":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_mc_auto_mute":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_mc_cont_play":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_mc_media_file_title":[],"field_mc_vod_player_id":[],"field_media_file_id":[],"field_mediacard_autoplay":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_display_desktop_large_only":[],"field_hide_on_mobile":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","entity_view_prepared":true},"#items":[{"value":""},{"value":""},{"value":""},{"value":""},{"value":""},{"value":""},{"value":""},{"value":""}],"#formatter":"text_default","0":{"#markup":""},"1":{"#markup":""},"2":{"#markup":""},"3":{"#markup":""},"4":{"#markup":""},"5":{"#markup":""},"6":{"#markup":""},"7":{"#markup":""}},"field_media_card_items":{"#theme":"field","#weight":0,"#title":"Media Card Items","#access":true,"#label_display":"above","#view_mode":"default","#language":"und","#field_name":"field_media_card_items","#field_type":"entityreference","#field_translatable":"0","#entity_type":"bean","#bundle":"media_card","#object":{"label":"Flyers Development Camp","description":null,"title":"Flyers Development Camp","type":"media_card","data":{"view_mode":"1col_eight_pack_headlines"},"delta":"flyers-development-camp","view_mode":"1col_eight_pack_headlines","bid":"2456","vid":"12311","created":"1499751228","changed":"1501226779","log":"","uid":"156","default_revision":"1","revisions":[],"field_ad_hoc_group":[],"field_branded_header":[],"field_content_strategy":{"und":[{"value":"MANUAL_CONTENT_STRATEGY"}]},"field_content_type":{"und":[{"value":"article"},{"value":"headline"},{"value":"media_gallery"},{"value":"video_on_demand"}]},"field_dl_tabloid_headline":{"und":[{"value":""},{"value":""},{"value":""},{"value":""},{"value":""},{"value":""},{"value":""},{"value":""}]},"field_event":[],"field_genre_display":[],"field_league":[],"field_link":[],"field_links":[],"field_media_card_items":{"und":[{"target_id":"538021","entity":{"vid":"564531","uid":"266","title":"On his own time, Oskar Lindblom puts himself right there with Flyers","log":"","status":"1","comment":"0","promote":"0","sticky":"0","nid":"538021","type":"article","language":"und","created":"1499654903","changed":"1499791976","tnid":"0","translate":"0","published":"1499691600","revision_timestamp":"1499791976","revision_uid":"266","body":{"und":[{"value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Oskar Lindblom would take 10 minutes out of his own time and hit the ice early before practice. In Sweden, there was no high-level skating whiz to seek out on staff.   Actually, there was no skating coach period.   \"Do your own thing and try to be better every day,\" Lindblom said. \"That's the only thing you can do.   \"You have to put yourself into it.\"   And so he did.   It's what makes the fifth-round pick's ascension that more grandiose. Lindblom is no longer a raw wonder with skating deficiencies. Those 10 minutes have added up into a refined and rising prospect, attracting <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> fans in bunches last weekend.   Everyone knows Lindblom now.   \"We picked Oskar, he went back to Europe, nobody even talks about him,\" Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said Friday at development camp. \"What does he do? He just gets better and better and better.\"   Lindblom's climb has nearly reached the Flyers. The 6-foot-2, 192-pound winger signed his entry-level contract in May and turns 21 in August. He earned 2016-17 Swedish Hockey League Forward of the Year honors playing for Bryn\u00e4s IF. Over 52 regular-season games, Lindblom accumulated 47 points on 22 goals and 25 assists, then added 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in 20 playoff games.   How in the world did all that slip to the fifth round of the 2014 draft?   \"Oskar going into his draft year, he was thought to be a first-round pick, maybe top-15 pick that year,\" Hextall said. \"He didn't have a great year, some things didn't go his way, whatever, you look back and these kids are really young.   \"Some of these kids make a lot of progress in a couple years and I think Oskar is one of those guys. His skating, you look at certain players, they don't have a great stride and their skating can certainly get better, but there's a bit of ceiling there. With Oskar, it was more of a strength issue and that's what's come on with him. It's been a couple of years, he's gotten a lot stronger and you can just tell when you see him out on the ice there.\"   Not many would have predicted this, though. Lindblom, a humbled youngster from Sweden with long blonde hair, even surprised himself last season.   \"A little bit,\" he said. \"I just wanted to be a leading guy on our team, but I didn't think I was going to score that much or have that many points. The longer the season got, I got more confident in my play. It felt good.\"   So how did Lindblom develop so vastly? For one, it's come from his own motivation. He knew he had to become stronger, and he has. He knew his skating had to improve, so he worked on it. His hands had to be better, and now they are.   A lot of the credit goes to Lindblom.   \"Take the hat off to the kid, too, because he put a lot of work in,\" Hextall said. \"When you improve that much, he put a lot of work in.\"   Secondly, Lindblom embodies the importance of development camp. He valued the instruction from NHL coaches and implemented what he learned moving forward.   A significant influence in Lindblom's development has been Flyers skating coach Slava Kouznetsov.   \"We've got some drills over here from Slava,\" Lindblom said. \"Try to do small stuff like in the gym. Just the small stuff to do to get better \u2014 that's what you need to do.   \"My legs are much stronger now and my technique has been a little better. Those two things I think have been most important.\"   If Hextall had a development camp manual, Lindblom would be in it.   \"We have Slava here \u2014 he's instructed to give things to take home,\" Hextall said. \"And if they work on those every day, even if it's only five minutes, I guarantee you over the course of the year, they'll get better. Oskar's a great example.\"   Lindblom said his plans are to head home following development camp and then return in mid-August \"just to get ready and get comfortable.\" With the Flyers in need of scoring, specifically production from the wing, Lindblom has become the organization's most anticipated prospect not named Nolan Patrick. He'll be in September's training camp with more than a fighter's chance to win a roster spot.   \"He had a real good year last year and he's certainly put himself on the map for everybody, but he still has to come in and get it done,\" Hextall said. \"He has to prove he makes us a better team.\"   Lindblom, of all people, doesn't expect anything handed to him.   \"It's going to be a big challenge for me,\" Lindblom said. \"It's going to be tough work to get to where I want to be.   \"Like everybody else, you have to earn the spot and battle for it.\"   A fifth-round pick is well aware.   \"I just think about it by myself, like fifth-rounder, I just felt like I can play and I can be on this level,\" Lindblom said. \"So I'm just trying to push myself every day and be better. Now I've signed here and just have to do my best now to get there. That's what I want \u2014 play in the NHL, of course.\"   Putting in 10 extra minutes by himself has him right there.<\/p>","summary":"Knocking on the NHL's door, Oskar Lindblom's ascension into one of the Flyers' most anticipated prospects is a large part of his own. By Jordan Hall<\/p>","format":"filtered_html","safe_value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Oskar Lindblom would take 10 minutes out of his own time and hit the ice early before practice. In Sweden, there was no high-level skating whiz to seek out on staff.   Actually, there was no skating coach period.   \"Do your own thing and try to be better every day,\" Lindblom said. \"That's the only thing you can do.   \"You have to put yourself into it.\"   And so he did.   It's what makes the fifth-round pick's ascension that more grandiose. Lindblom is no longer a raw wonder with skating deficiencies. Those 10 minutes have added up into a refined and rising prospect, attracting <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> fans in bunches last weekend.   Everyone knows Lindblom now.   \"We picked Oskar, he went back to Europe, nobody even talks about him,\" Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said Friday at development camp. \"What does he do? He just gets better and better and better.\"   Lindblom's climb has nearly reached the Flyers. The 6-foot-2, 192-pound winger signed his entry-level contract in May and turns 21 in August. He earned 2016-17 Swedish Hockey League Forward of the Year honors playing for Bryn\u00e4s IF. Over 52 regular-season games, Lindblom accumulated 47 points on 22 goals and 25 assists, then added 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in 20 playoff games.   How in the world did all that slip to the fifth round of the 2014 draft?   \"Oskar going into his draft year, he was thought to be a first-round pick, maybe top-15 pick that year,\" Hextall said. \"He didn't have a great year, some things didn't go his way, whatever, you look back and these kids are really young.   \"Some of these kids make a lot of progress in a couple years and I think Oskar is one of those guys. His skating, you look at certain players, they don't have a great stride and their skating can certainly get better, but there's a bit of ceiling there. With Oskar, it was more of a strength issue and that's what's come on with him. It's been a couple of years, he's gotten a lot stronger and you can just tell when you see him out on the ice there.\"   Not many would have predicted this, though. Lindblom, a humbled youngster from Sweden with long blonde hair, even surprised himself last season.   \"A little bit,\" he said. \"I just wanted to be a leading guy on our team, but I didn't think I was going to score that much or have that many points. The longer the season got, I got more confident in my play. It felt good.\"   So how did Lindblom develop so vastly? For one, it's come from his own motivation. He knew he had to become stronger, and he has. He knew his skating had to improve, so he worked on it. His hands had to be better, and now they are.   A lot of the credit goes to Lindblom.   \"Take the hat off to the kid, too, because he put a lot of work in,\" Hextall said. \"When you improve that much, he put a lot of work in.\"   Secondly, Lindblom embodies the importance of development camp. He valued the instruction from NHL coaches and implemented what he learned moving forward.   A significant influence in Lindblom's development has been Flyers skating coach Slava Kouznetsov.   \"We've got some drills over here from Slava,\" Lindblom said. \"Try to do small stuff like in the gym. Just the small stuff to do to get better \u2014 that's what you need to do.   \"My legs are much stronger now and my technique has been a little better. Those two things I think have been most important.\"   If Hextall had a development camp manual, Lindblom would be in it.   \"We have Slava here \u2014 he's instructed to give things to take home,\" Hextall said. \"And if they work on those every day, even if it's only five minutes, I guarantee you over the course of the year, they'll get better. Oskar's a great example.\"   Lindblom said his plans are to head home following development camp and then return in mid-August \"just to get ready and get comfortable.\" With the Flyers in need of scoring, specifically production from the wing, Lindblom has become the organization's most anticipated prospect not named Nolan Patrick. He'll be in September's training camp with more than a fighter's chance to win a roster spot.   \"He had a real good year last year and he's certainly put himself on the map for everybody, but he still has to come in and get it done,\" Hextall said. \"He has to prove he makes us a better team.\"   Lindblom, of all people, doesn't expect anything handed to him.   \"It's going to be a big challenge for me,\" Lindblom said. \"It's going to be tough work to get to where I want to be.   \"Like everybody else, you have to earn the spot and battle for it.\"   A fifth-round pick is well aware.   \"I just think about it by myself, like fifth-rounder, I just felt like I can play and I can be on this level,\" Lindblom said. \"So I'm just trying to push myself every day and be better. Now I've signed here and just have to do my best now to get there. That's what I want \u2014 play in the NHL, of course.\"   Putting in 10 extra minutes by himself has him right there.<\/p>\n","safe_summary":"Knocking on the NHL's door, Oskar Lindblom's ascension into one of the Flyers' most anticipated prospects is a large part of his own. By Jordan Hall<\/p>\n"}]},"field_author_reference":{"und":[{"tid":"1056"}]},"field_bean_single_col":{"und":[{"target_id":"2456"}]},"field_chrome_page":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_date_published":{"und":[{"value":"2017-07-10 13:00:00","timezone":"America\/New_York","timezone_db":"UTC","date_type":"datetime"}]},"field_hero_image_credit":{"und":[{"value":"Photo credit: Zack Hill\/Flyers","format":null,"safe_value":"Photo credit: Zack Hill\/Flyers"}]},"field_image":{"und":[{"fid":"472556","uid":"266","filename":"zack-hill-flyers-oskar-lindblom.jpg","uri":"public:\/\/2017\/07\/09\/zack-hill-flyers-oskar-lindblom.jpg","filemime":"image\/jpeg","filesize":"206840","status":"1","timestamp":"1499654903","origname":"zack-hill-flyers-oskar-lindblom.jpg","type":"image","field_file_image_alt_text":[],"field_file_image_title_text":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]","default":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]"},"description":{"value":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!","default":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!"},"abstract":{"value":""},"keywords":{"value":""},"robots":{"value":{"index":0,"follow":0,"noindex":0,"nofollow":0,"noarchive":0,"nosnippet":0,"noodp":0,"noydir":0,"noimageindex":0,"notranslate":0}},"news_keywords":{"value":""},"standout":{"value":""},"rating":{"value":""},"referrer":{"value":""},"rights":{"value":""},"image_src":{"value":""},"canonical":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"shortlink":{"value":"[current-page:url:unaliased]","default":"[current-page:url:unaliased]"},"original-source":{"value":""},"prev":{"value":""},"next":{"value":""},"content-language":{"value":""},"geo.position":{"value":""},"geo.placename":{"value":""},"geo.region":{"value":""},"icbm":{"value":""},"refresh":{"value":""},"revisit-after":{"value":"","period":""},"pragma":{"value":""},"cache-control":{"value":""},"expires":{"value":""},"og:type":{"value":"article","default":"article"},"og:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"og:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"og:determiner":{"value":""},"og:description":{"value":""},"og:updated_time":{"value":""},"og:see_also":{"value":""},"og:image":{"value":""},"og:image:url":{"value":""},"og:image:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:image:type":{"value":""},"og:image:width":{"value":""},"og:image:height":{"value":""},"og:latitude":{"value":""},"og:longitude":{"value":""},"og:street_address":{"value":""},"og:locality":{"value":""},"og:region":{"value":""},"og:postal_code":{"value":""},"og:country_name":{"value":""},"og:email":{"value":""},"og:phone_number":{"value":""},"og:fax_number":{"value":""},"og:locale":{"value":""},"og:locale:alternate":{"value":""},"article:author":{"value":""},"article:publisher":{"value":""},"article:section":{"value":""},"article:tag":{"value":""},"article:published_time":{"value":""},"article:modified_time":{"value":""},"article:expiration_time":{"value":""},"profile:first_name":{"value":""},"profile:last_name":{"value":""},"profile:username":{"value":""},"profile:gender":{"value":""},"og:audio":{"value":""},"og:audio:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:audio:type":{"value":""},"book:author":{"value":""},"book:isbn":{"value":""},"book:release_date":{"value":""},"book:tag":{"value":""},"og:video:url":{"value":""},"og:video:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:video:width":{"value":""},"og:video:height":{"value":""},"og:video:type":{"value":""},"video:actor":{"value":""},"video:actor:role":{"value":""},"video:director":{"value":""},"video:writer":{"value":""},"video:duration":{"value":""},"video:release_date":{"value":""},"video:tag":{"value":""},"video:series":{"value":""},"twitter:card":{"value":"summary","default":"summary"},"twitter:creator":{"value":""},"twitter:creator:id":{"value":""},"twitter:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"twitter:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"twitter:description":{"value":""},"twitter:image":{"value":""},"twitter:image:width":{"value":""},"twitter:image:height":{"value":""},"twitter:image:alt":{"value":""},"twitter:image0":{"value":""},"twitter:image1":{"value":""},"twitter:image2":{"value":""},"twitter:image3":{"value":""},"twitter:player":{"value":""},"twitter:player:width":{"value":""},"twitter:player:height":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream:content_type":{"value":""},"twitter:app:country":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:label1":{"value":""},"twitter:data1":{"value":""},"twitter:label2":{"value":""},"twitter:data2":{"value":""}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"metadata":{"height":360,"width":640},"height":"360","width":"640","alt":"","title":""}]},"field_league":{"und":[{"tid":"196"}]},"field_section":{"und":[{"tid":"201"}]},"field_short_title":{"und":[{"value":"On his own time, Oskar Lindblom puts himself right there with Flyers","format":null,"safe_value":"On his own time, Oskar Lindblom puts himself right there with Flyers"}]},"field_sponsor":[],"field_sport":{"und":[{"tid":"191"}]},"field_tags":{"und":[{"tid":"6201"},{"tid":"18276"},{"tid":"506"},{"tid":"10166"},{"tid":"466"},{"tid":"2966"}]},"field_team":{"und":[{"tid":"141"}]},"field_top_story":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_video_autoplay":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_videos":{"und":[{"target_id":"537346"}]},"field_tags_hide":{"und":[{"tid":"18276"}]},"field_video_automute":[],"field_editorial_category":[],"field_allow_lld_domains":[],"field_enable_stanza":[],"field_exclude_from_yahoo":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"Oskar Lindblom puts himself with Flyers on own time"},"news_keywords":{"value":"Oskar Lindblom, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers, Oskar Lindblom Flyers, Flyers sign Oskar Lindblom, Ron Hextall, Oskar Lindblom hockey"}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"name":"tdougherty","picture":"0","data":"b:0;"},"access":true},{"target_id":"539281","entity":{"vid":"565926","uid":"156","title":"Travis Sanheim welcomes competition, 'coming to make the Flyers'","log":"","status":"1","comment":"0","promote":"0","sticky":"0","nid":"539281","type":"article","language":"und","created":"1500056265","changed":"1500155401","tnid":"0","translate":"0","published":"1500056580","revision_timestamp":"1500155401","revision_uid":"266","body":{"und":[{"value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 At development camp, Travis Sanheim was almost too developed.<\/p>He would skate through drills so naturally and fluidly, he could have been an instructor.<\/p>Unintentionally, he was in a way.<\/p>\"It's definitely a teaching camp,\" Sanheim said last week. \"Even the development coaches have talked to me, making sure I slow stuff down and show the younger guys how to do it properly, not necessarily doing everything at full speed.\"<\/p>Sanheim understood the importance of leading by example at his fourth development camp, but there was no reason to feel sorry for appearing ahead of the curve.<\/p>That's where Sanheim is.<\/p>Which made for a slight paradox over the six-day course. Undoubtedly, the 21-year-old defenseman wanted to be among the organization's prospects, sharpening and sculpting his game just like the rest.<\/p>But there's no question Sanheim's yearning for a much different camp \u2014 September with the big boys, because he's now one of them.<\/p>\"I feel like I'm ready, I'm going to compete for a spot,\" Sanheim said. \"Until somebody tells me differently, that's my goal. I'm coming to make the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\" target=\"_blank\">Flyers<\/a>.\"<\/p>Under general manager Ron Hextall's philosophy of earn what you get, Sanheim will have his chance. But is there room? The Flyers are at a numbers crunch on the blue line. There is expected to be two spots open, presumably for Robert Hagg and Sam Morin, both of whom acquitted themselves well during their April NHL debuts.<\/p>Sanheim isn't conceding anything, though.<\/p>\"It's going to come down to camp,\" he said.<\/p>\"This year, obviously there's going to be some spots available, and we're going to be fighting for the job.\"<\/p>It's hard to deny his readiness. The 2014 first-round pick has done what has been necessary through his development path. He's added noticeable strength, going from around 172 pounds when drafted to a sturdy 200 currently.<\/p>\"I watched Travis Sanheim \u2014 you see him, his first development camp he looked like a young boy,\" Hextall said. \"And you look at him now, and he almost looks like a man. He's just more upright, you can tell his body is more linked up, he's got a stronger core, he's more upright when he skates.\"<\/p>The 6-foot-4 Sanheim weighed the same at 2016 development camp, a possible sign he's where he needs to be physically. Hextall believes weight must still be gained and Sanheim doesn't disagree, but did point out how he fared just fine last season in his first full year with AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley.<\/p>\"Obviously, I'm going to want to continue to keep gaining strength and add that to my game, but I played pro this year and it didn't faze me at all,\" he said. \"The strength, I think I was right there with everyone else, was able to compete and battle in 1-on-1s against pro players.\"<\/p>With the Phantoms, his defensive principles and two-way awareness took positive strides over time. Offense has always been Sanheim's game. In his final two junior seasons, he totaled 133 points in 119 regular-season games. That was against kids in the WHL.<\/p>In 2016-17, he saw the change against men in the AHL. He managed to collect 37 points (10 goals, 27 assists) in 76 games for a plus-7 rating and knows he can do more, but the AHL helped him focus on picking his spots.<\/p>\"I went over numerous video sessions with the coaches, watching clips of stuff that if I was to look at it now, it would just look silly,\" Sanheim said with a laugh. \"I'm standing on top of the goalie in the crease, there's just no need for that as a defenseman and especially at the pro level.<\/p>\"I wasn't able to do the same things that I was able to do in junior. I had to learn some valuable lessons in the first few months, but I think towards the end of the season, you could see that I had gained my confidence again and was starting to play the game that I wanted to play.<\/p>\"I know to play at this next level, I'm going to have to be just as good in my D-zone as I am in the offensive zone, so for me, if I'm not contributing offensively, I just want to make sure I'm bringing the full two-way game.\"<\/p>Hextall noticed Sanheim's adjustment period.<\/p>\"He did a really good job last year from start to finish \u2014 got a lot better,\" he said. \"The adjustment on the first month, month and a half, where he was going too much up ice, a little bit irresponsible and all of a sudden, a month, month and a half in, figured that part out. That was a huge step for him. He got better, he got better throughout the year and he needs to continue on that.\"<\/p>As pleased as Hextall has been with the development, it sounds like Sanheim's jump to the NHL will ultimately come down to the aforementioned size and opportunity.<\/p>\"You go from an American League level to trying to make the NHL team, there's a speed, a strength thing that wounds up another two notches,\" Hextall said. \"He just has to continue to do what he's doing and get better every day.<\/p>\"Your reaction time to closing on a guy, whether to close or not close, everything gets ramped up. It's the whole mind, the hockey sense, the strength, the being in the proper position, because if you're caught out of position at the NHL level and it's an elite player, you're in big trouble. In the American League, you can get away with it.<\/p>\"There's still some fine-tuning that he needs to do and all those young defensemen need to do, and we'll see where we're at in September.\"<\/p>Sanheim knows where he wants to be. And he's not just saying it \u2014 he believes it.<\/p>\"I'm going to obviously do what they tell me,\" he said, \"but I'm coming to camp to make the team.\"<\/p>","summary":"If there isn't a spot open on the Flyers' defense for Travis Sanheim in 2017-18, he's ready to make himself one. By Jordan Hall<\/p>","format":"filtered_html","safe_value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 At development camp, Travis Sanheim was almost too developed.<\/p>\nHe would skate through drills so naturally and fluidly, he could have been an instructor.<\/p>\nUnintentionally, he was in a way.<\/p>\n\"It's definitely a teaching camp,\" Sanheim said last week. \"Even the development coaches have talked to me, making sure I slow stuff down and show the younger guys how to do it properly, not necessarily doing everything at full speed.\"<\/p>\nSanheim understood the importance of leading by example at his fourth development camp, but there was no reason to feel sorry for appearing ahead of the curve.<\/p>\nThat's where Sanheim is.<\/p>\nWhich made for a slight paradox over the six-day course. Undoubtedly, the 21-year-old defenseman wanted to be among the organization's prospects, sharpening and sculpting his game just like the rest.<\/p>\nBut there's no question Sanheim's yearning for a much different camp \u2014 September with the big boys, because he's now one of them.<\/p>\n\"I feel like I'm ready, I'm going to compete for a spot,\" Sanheim said. \"Until somebody tells me differently, that's my goal. I'm coming to make the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\" target=\"_blank\">Flyers<\/a>.\"<\/p>\nUnder general manager Ron Hextall's philosophy of earn what you get, Sanheim will have his chance. But is there room? The Flyers are at a numbers crunch on the blue line. There is expected to be two spots open, presumably for Robert Hagg and Sam Morin, both of whom acquitted themselves well during their April NHL debuts.<\/p>\nSanheim isn't conceding anything, though.<\/p>\n\"It's going to come down to camp,\" he said.<\/p>\n\"This year, obviously there's going to be some spots available, and we're going to be fighting for the job.\"<\/p>\nIt's hard to deny his readiness. The 2014 first-round pick has done what has been necessary through his development path. He's added noticeable strength, going from around 172 pounds when drafted to a sturdy 200 currently.<\/p>\n\"I watched Travis Sanheim \u2014 you see him, his first development camp he looked like a young boy,\" Hextall said. \"And you look at him now, and he almost looks like a man. He's just more upright, you can tell his body is more linked up, he's got a stronger core, he's more upright when he skates.\"<\/p>\nThe 6-foot-4 Sanheim weighed the same at 2016 development camp, a possible sign he's where he needs to be physically. Hextall believes weight must still be gained and Sanheim doesn't disagree, but did point out how he fared just fine last season in his first full year with AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley.<\/p>\n\"Obviously, I'm going to want to continue to keep gaining strength and add that to my game, but I played pro this year and it didn't faze me at all,\" he said. \"The strength, I think I was right there with everyone else, was able to compete and battle in 1-on-1s against pro players.\"<\/p>\nWith the Phantoms, his defensive principles and two-way awareness took positive strides over time. Offense has always been Sanheim's game. In his final two junior seasons, he totaled 133 points in 119 regular-season games. That was against kids in the WHL.<\/p>\nIn 2016-17, he saw the change against men in the AHL. He managed to collect 37 points (10 goals, 27 assists) in 76 games for a plus-7 rating and knows he can do more, but the AHL helped him focus on picking his spots.<\/p>\n\"I went over numerous video sessions with the coaches, watching clips of stuff that if I was to look at it now, it would just look silly,\" Sanheim said with a laugh. \"I'm standing on top of the goalie in the crease, there's just no need for that as a defenseman and especially at the pro level.<\/p>\n\"I wasn't able to do the same things that I was able to do in junior. I had to learn some valuable lessons in the first few months, but I think towards the end of the season, you could see that I had gained my confidence again and was starting to play the game that I wanted to play.<\/p>\n\"I know to play at this next level, I'm going to have to be just as good in my D-zone as I am in the offensive zone, so for me, if I'm not contributing offensively, I just want to make sure I'm bringing the full two-way game.\"<\/p>\nHextall noticed Sanheim's adjustment period.<\/p>\n\"He did a really good job last year from start to finish \u2014 got a lot better,\" he said. \"The adjustment on the first month, month and a half, where he was going too much up ice, a little bit irresponsible and all of a sudden, a month, month and a half in, figured that part out. That was a huge step for him. He got better, he got better throughout the year and he needs to continue on that.\"<\/p>\nAs pleased as Hextall has been with the development, it sounds like Sanheim's jump to the NHL will ultimately come down to the aforementioned size and opportunity.<\/p>\n\"You go from an American League level to trying to make the NHL team, there's a speed, a strength thing that wounds up another two notches,\" Hextall said. \"He just has to continue to do what he's doing and get better every day.<\/p>\n\"Your reaction time to closing on a guy, whether to close or not close, everything gets ramped up. It's the whole mind, the hockey sense, the strength, the being in the proper position, because if you're caught out of position at the NHL level and it's an elite player, you're in big trouble. In the American League, you can get away with it.<\/p>\n\"There's still some fine-tuning that he needs to do and all those young defensemen need to do, and we'll see where we're at in September.\"<\/p>\nSanheim knows where he wants to be. And he's not just saying it \u2014 he believes it.<\/p>\n\"I'm going to obviously do what they tell me,\" he said, \"but I'm coming to camp to make the team.\"<\/p>\n","safe_summary":"If there isn't a spot open on the Flyers' defense for Travis Sanheim in 2017-18, he's ready to make himself one. By Jordan Hall<\/p>\n"}]},"field_author_reference":{"und":[{"tid":"1056"}]},"field_bean_single_col":{"und":[{"target_id":"2456"}]},"field_chrome_page":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_date_published":{"und":[{"value":"2017-07-14 18:23:00","timezone":"America\/New_York","timezone_db":"UTC","date_type":"datetime"}]},"field_hero_image_credit":{"und":[{"value":"Photo credit: Zack Hill\/Flyers","format":null,"safe_value":"Photo credit: Zack Hill\/Flyers"}]},"field_image":{"und":[{"fid":"474286","uid":"156","filename":"zack-hill-travis-sanheim.jpg","uri":"public:\/\/2017\/07\/14\/zack-hill-travis-sanheim.jpg","filemime":"image\/jpeg","filesize":"290788","status":"1","timestamp":"1500056265","origname":"zack-hill-travis-sanheim.jpg","type":"image","field_file_image_alt_text":[],"field_file_image_title_text":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]","default":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]"},"description":{"value":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!","default":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!"},"abstract":{"value":""},"keywords":{"value":""},"robots":{"value":{"index":0,"follow":0,"noindex":0,"nofollow":0,"noarchive":0,"nosnippet":0,"noodp":0,"noydir":0,"noimageindex":0,"notranslate":0}},"news_keywords":{"value":""},"standout":{"value":""},"rating":{"value":""},"referrer":{"value":""},"rights":{"value":""},"image_src":{"value":""},"canonical":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"shortlink":{"value":"[current-page:url:unaliased]","default":"[current-page:url:unaliased]"},"original-source":{"value":""},"prev":{"value":""},"next":{"value":""},"content-language":{"value":""},"geo.position":{"value":""},"geo.placename":{"value":""},"geo.region":{"value":""},"icbm":{"value":""},"refresh":{"value":""},"revisit-after":{"value":"","period":""},"pragma":{"value":""},"cache-control":{"value":""},"expires":{"value":""},"og:type":{"value":"article","default":"article"},"og:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"og:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"og:determiner":{"value":""},"og:description":{"value":""},"og:updated_time":{"value":""},"og:see_also":{"value":""},"og:image":{"value":""},"og:image:url":{"value":""},"og:image:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:image:type":{"value":""},"og:image:width":{"value":""},"og:image:height":{"value":""},"og:latitude":{"value":""},"og:longitude":{"value":""},"og:street_address":{"value":""},"og:locality":{"value":""},"og:region":{"value":""},"og:postal_code":{"value":""},"og:country_name":{"value":""},"og:email":{"value":""},"og:phone_number":{"value":""},"og:fax_number":{"value":""},"og:locale":{"value":""},"og:locale:alternate":{"value":""},"article:author":{"value":""},"article:publisher":{"value":""},"article:section":{"value":""},"article:tag":{"value":""},"article:published_time":{"value":""},"article:modified_time":{"value":""},"article:expiration_time":{"value":""},"profile:first_name":{"value":""},"profile:last_name":{"value":""},"profile:username":{"value":""},"profile:gender":{"value":""},"og:audio":{"value":""},"og:audio:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:audio:type":{"value":""},"book:author":{"value":""},"book:isbn":{"value":""},"book:release_date":{"value":""},"book:tag":{"value":""},"og:video:url":{"value":""},"og:video:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:video:width":{"value":""},"og:video:height":{"value":""},"og:video:type":{"value":""},"video:actor":{"value":""},"video:actor:role":{"value":""},"video:director":{"value":""},"video:writer":{"value":""},"video:duration":{"value":""},"video:release_date":{"value":""},"video:tag":{"value":""},"video:series":{"value":""},"twitter:card":{"value":"summary","default":"summary"},"twitter:creator":{"value":""},"twitter:creator:id":{"value":""},"twitter:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"twitter:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"twitter:description":{"value":""},"twitter:image":{"value":""},"twitter:image:width":{"value":""},"twitter:image:height":{"value":""},"twitter:image:alt":{"value":""},"twitter:image0":{"value":""},"twitter:image1":{"value":""},"twitter:image2":{"value":""},"twitter:image3":{"value":""},"twitter:player":{"value":""},"twitter:player:width":{"value":""},"twitter:player:height":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream:content_type":{"value":""},"twitter:app:country":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:label1":{"value":""},"twitter:data1":{"value":""},"twitter:label2":{"value":""},"twitter:data2":{"value":""}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"metadata":{"height":353,"width":640},"height":"353","width":"640","alt":"","title":""}]},"field_league":{"und":[{"tid":"196"}]},"field_section":{"und":[{"tid":"201"}]},"field_short_title":{"und":[{"value":"Travis Sanheim welcomes competition, 'coming to make the Flyers'","format":null,"safe_value":"Travis Sanheim welcomes competition, 'coming to make the Flyers'"}]},"field_sponsor":[],"field_sport":{"und":[{"tid":"191"}]},"field_tags":{"und":[{"tid":"6201"},{"tid":"18276"},{"tid":"506"},{"tid":"466"},{"tid":"2966"},{"tid":"6606"}]},"field_team":{"und":[{"tid":"141"}]},"field_top_story":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_video_autoplay":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_videos":{"und":[{"target_id":"537651"}]},"field_tags_hide":{"und":[{"tid":"18276"}]},"field_video_automute":[],"field_editorial_category":[],"field_allow_lld_domains":[],"field_enable_stanza":[],"field_exclude_from_yahoo":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"Travis Sanheim 'coming to make the Flyers'"},"news_keywords":{"value":"Travis Sanheim, Philadelphia Flyers, Jordan Hall, Flyers development camp, Flyers prospects"}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"name":"JHall","picture":"0","data":"b:0;"},"access":true},{"target_id":"539771","entity":{"vid":"566531","uid":"266","title":"Phil Myers, bulked up and healthy, pledges this Flyers training camp will be different","log":"","status":"1","comment":"0","promote":"0","sticky":"0","nid":"539771","type":"article","language":"und","created":"1500221167","changed":"1501550565","tnid":"0","translate":"0","published":"1500291000","revision_timestamp":"1501550565","revision_uid":"156","body":{"und":[{"value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Standing at his stall at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> Skate Zone during last weekend\u2019s development camp, defenseman Phil Myers towered over everyone else, but there was one noticeable difference.<\/p>Myers added about 10 pounds of muscle over the summer, and it shows. On the ice, he looked out of place. He belonged with the orange and black on his sweater. No doubt.<\/p>It just didn\u2019t look as if he needed to be on the same sheet with his peers anymore. Perhaps it was the benefits of a full summer of training. Injuries derailed his training last summer.<\/p>\u201cI had the same surgery as (Shayne) Gostisbehere,\u201d Myers said. \u201cHe had one hip, and Sam Morin, all of those guys got the same thing I did.\u201d<\/p>There was a sprained knee suffered at the 2016 Memorial Cup. There was a pubic plate detachment and a torn labrum in his left hip. He underwent hip surgery on June 22, 2016. The recovery wiped out Myers\u2019 summer training. On Sept. 26, 2016, he was medically cleared to return. The next night, he dove into the fray against the New York Islanders.<\/p>How did it go? Myers finished as a plus-two with three hits and a blocked shot in 22:39.<\/p>\u201cI felt out of shape, obviously, last year,\u201d he said. \u201cThe day after I got cleared, I jumped into a preseason game. It jumped up pretty quick. \u2026 This summer is going to be different.\u201d<\/p>The Flyers insist development camp is not for evaluation. That may be true. Its purpose is to teach prospects how to work and live as a professional hockey player. No matter how much Myers looked like a pro amid his peers, it will not impact his odds come September's training camp when spots are earned in a competitive environment.   Myers, 20, is graduating to the professional ranks this season, and where he plays will be up to him. The Flyers have two openings on their blue line, and general manager Ron Hextall is leaving them up for prospects to grab. Robert Hagg and Morin are the front runners.   Don\u2019t count Myers out just yet.   The Moncton, New Brunswick, native was among the Flyers\u2019 final cuts last October. He stuck around longer than many expected and that was without any summer training.   His training this summer has been broken down into phases. The first phase was bulking up and putting on muscle. Mission accomplished. The next phase, according to Myers, is \u201cheavier stuff,\u201d which he said is strength training. His plan is to stay in the Philadelphia area for two weeks after development camp to train and come back 10 days early to skate before the big camp begins in September.   \u201cYou get stronger and faster,\u201d Myers said. \u201cI\u2019m going to focus on what I can do and what I can control. That\u2019s what I did last year. I just took as much in as possible and tried to get ready as fast as I could because I didn\u2019t really have a lot of time. This year, I have much more time so I\u2019m taking things much more slowly and more controlled.\u201d   Last season was another in which Myers trended upward, though it was one mired with injuries; he suffered whiplash in October and a concussion against Team USA at the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships. Myers, the only undrafted player on Team Canada\u2019s roster, was arguably the team\u2019s best defenseman before the concussion. His play at the world juniors led to TSN\u2019s Bob McKenzie tweeting Myers \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TSNBobMcKenzie\/status\/819558090211094528\">looks NHL ready, or close to it<\/a>.\u201d   The smooth-skating 6-foot-5 blueliner registered double-digit goals (10) and 35 points in 34 regular-season games with Rouyn-Noranda of the QMJHL in 2016-17. He ended the regular season on a five-game point streak. He added nine points in 13 playoff games. He finished his QMJHL career with 29 goals and 92 points in 203 games. Like Carter Hart, Myers joined the Phantoms once his season ended but didn\u2019t play.   \u201cThe injury struggles that he, unfortunately, went through there, those are all opportunities to learn and grow,\u201d Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol said. \u201cYou can see the growth in Phil off-ice when you look at his stature. You just want to see him come into camp and come in and compete as hard as he did last year and improve on the results from last year.\u201d   Myers may be at a disadvantage come September. Because of last year's injury-ridden season and the fact that he's coming straight from junior, he may be a few legs behind Hagg, Morin and even Travis Sanheim, who was at his fourth development camp last weekend <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\/travis-sanheim-welcomes-competition-coming-make-flyers\">(see story)<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.    While every player\u2019s developmental path is different, Myers has to beat out at least two players with professional experience already and two \u2014 Hagg and Morin \u2014 who looked the part during their NHL debuts in April. It\u2019s a safe bet that Myers begins at Lehigh Valley.   \u201cIf he comes in and he\u2019s the best guy or we feel he\u2019s the best guy,\u201d Hextall said of Myers, \u201che\u2019s going to play. The other guys, whenever you played in the American League, you have a leg up. You expect those guys to come in and be a little more NHL ready than a kid coming right out of junior, but the players are going to dictate who\u2019s on our team.\u201d<\/p>","summary":"With a full summer of training behind him, Phil Myers said this September's training camp will be different than last year's. By Tom Dougherty<\/p>","format":"filtered_html","safe_value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Standing at his stall at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> Skate Zone during last weekend\u2019s development camp, defenseman Phil Myers towered over everyone else, but there was one noticeable difference.<\/p>\nMyers added about 10 pounds of muscle over the summer, and it shows. On the ice, he looked out of place. He belonged with the orange and black on his sweater. No doubt.<\/p>\nIt just didn\u2019t look as if he needed to be on the same sheet with his peers anymore. Perhaps it was the benefits of a full summer of training. Injuries derailed his training last summer.<\/p>\n\u201cI had the same surgery as (Shayne) Gostisbehere,\u201d Myers said. \u201cHe had one hip, and Sam Morin, all of those guys got the same thing I did.\u201d<\/p>\nThere was a sprained knee suffered at the 2016 Memorial Cup. There was a pubic plate detachment and a torn labrum in his left hip. He underwent hip surgery on June 22, 2016. The recovery wiped out Myers\u2019 summer training. On Sept. 26, 2016, he was medically cleared to return. The next night, he dove into the fray against the New York Islanders.<\/p>\nHow did it go? Myers finished as a plus-two with three hits and a blocked shot in 22:39.<\/p>\n\u201cI felt out of shape, obviously, last year,\u201d he said. \u201cThe day after I got cleared, I jumped into a preseason game. It jumped up pretty quick. \u2026 This summer is going to be different.\u201d<\/p>\nThe Flyers insist development camp is not for evaluation. That may be true. Its purpose is to teach prospects how to work and live as a professional hockey player. No matter how much Myers looked like a pro amid his peers, it will not impact his odds come September's training camp when spots are earned in a competitive environment.   Myers, 20, is graduating to the professional ranks this season, and where he plays will be up to him. The Flyers have two openings on their blue line, and general manager Ron Hextall is leaving them up for prospects to grab. Robert Hagg and Morin are the front runners.   Don\u2019t count Myers out just yet.   The Moncton, New Brunswick, native was among the Flyers\u2019 final cuts last October. He stuck around longer than many expected and that was without any summer training.   His training this summer has been broken down into phases. The first phase was bulking up and putting on muscle. Mission accomplished. The next phase, according to Myers, is \u201cheavier stuff,\u201d which he said is strength training. His plan is to stay in the Philadelphia area for two weeks after development camp to train and come back 10 days early to skate before the big camp begins in September.   \u201cYou get stronger and faster,\u201d Myers said. \u201cI\u2019m going to focus on what I can do and what I can control. That\u2019s what I did last year. I just took as much in as possible and tried to get ready as fast as I could because I didn\u2019t really have a lot of time. This year, I have much more time so I\u2019m taking things much more slowly and more controlled.\u201d   Last season was another in which Myers trended upward, though it was one mired with injuries; he suffered whiplash in October and a concussion against Team USA at the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships. Myers, the only undrafted player on Team Canada\u2019s roster, was arguably the team\u2019s best defenseman before the concussion. His play at the world juniors led to TSN\u2019s Bob McKenzie tweeting Myers \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TSNBobMcKenzie\/status\/819558090211094528\">looks NHL ready, or close to it<\/a>.\u201d   The smooth-skating 6-foot-5 blueliner registered double-digit goals (10) and 35 points in 34 regular-season games with Rouyn-Noranda of the QMJHL in 2016-17. He ended the regular season on a five-game point streak. He added nine points in 13 playoff games. He finished his QMJHL career with 29 goals and 92 points in 203 games. Like Carter Hart, Myers joined the Phantoms once his season ended but didn\u2019t play.   \u201cThe injury struggles that he, unfortunately, went through there, those are all opportunities to learn and grow,\u201d Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol said. \u201cYou can see the growth in Phil off-ice when you look at his stature. You just want to see him come into camp and come in and compete as hard as he did last year and improve on the results from last year.\u201d   Myers may be at a disadvantage come September. Because of last year's injury-ridden season and the fact that he's coming straight from junior, he may be a few legs behind Hagg, Morin and even Travis Sanheim, who was at his fourth development camp last weekend <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\/travis-sanheim-welcomes-competition-coming-make-flyers\">(see story)<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.    While every player\u2019s developmental path is different, Myers has to beat out at least two players with professional experience already and two \u2014 Hagg and Morin \u2014 who looked the part during their NHL debuts in April. It\u2019s a safe bet that Myers begins at Lehigh Valley.   \u201cIf he comes in and he\u2019s the best guy or we feel he\u2019s the best guy,\u201d Hextall said of Myers, \u201che\u2019s going to play. The other guys, whenever you played in the American League, you have a leg up. You expect those guys to come in and be a little more NHL ready than a kid coming right out of junior, but the players are going to dictate who\u2019s on our team.\u201d<\/p>\n","safe_summary":"With a full summer of training behind him, Phil Myers said this September's training camp will be different than last year's. By Tom Dougherty<\/p>\n"}]},"field_author_reference":{"und":[{"tid":"1321"}]},"field_bean_single_col":{"und":[{"target_id":"2456"}]},"field_chrome_page":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_date_published":{"und":[{"value":"2017-07-17 11:30:00","timezone":"America\/New_York","timezone_db":"UTC","date_type":"datetime"}]},"field_hero_image_credit":{"und":[{"value":"AP Images","format":null,"safe_value":"AP Images"}]},"field_image":{"und":[{"fid":"476841","uid":"266","filename":"ap-phil-myers-flyers-devils.jpg","uri":"public:\/\/2017\/07\/16\/ap-phil-myers-flyers-devils.jpg","filemime":"image\/jpeg","filesize":"209957","status":"1","timestamp":"1500221083","origname":"ap-phil-myers-flyers-devils.jpg","type":"image","field_file_image_alt_text":{"und":[{"value":"Phil Myers, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers, Phil Myers Flyers","format":null,"safe_value":"Phil Myers, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers, Phil Myers Flyers"}]},"field_file_image_title_text":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","alt":"Phil Myers, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers, Phil Myers Flyers","metadata":{"height":360,"width":640},"height":"360","width":"640","title":""}]},"field_league":{"und":[{"tid":"196"}]},"field_section":{"und":[{"tid":"201"}]},"field_short_title":{"und":[{"value":"Phil Myers, bulked up, pledges this Flyers training camp will be different","format":null,"safe_value":"Phil Myers, bulked up, pledges this Flyers training camp will be different"}]},"field_sponsor":[],"field_sport":{"und":[{"tid":"191"}]},"field_tags":{"und":[{"tid":"6201"},{"tid":"18276"},{"tid":"20171"},{"tid":"466"},{"tid":"3091"}]},"field_team":{"und":[{"tid":"141"}]},"field_top_story":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_video_autoplay":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_videos":{"und":[{"target_id":"539891"}]},"field_tags_hide":[],"field_video_automute":[],"field_editorial_category":[],"field_allow_lld_domains":[],"field_enable_stanza":[],"field_exclude_from_yahoo":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"Phil Myers pledges Flyers' training camp will be different"},"news_keywords":{"value":"Phil Myers, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers, Philippe Myers, Phil Myers Flyers, Philippe Myers Flyers, Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Ron Hextall, Flyers sign Philippe Myers, Phil Myers injuries, Philippe Myers injuries"}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"name":"tdougherty","picture":"0","data":"b:0;"},"access":true},{"target_id":"539011","entity":{"vid":"565616","uid":"266","title":"Finally with his age group, German Rubtsov now eyeing bigger things","log":"","status":"1","comment":"0","promote":"0","sticky":"0","nid":"539011","type":"article","language":"und","created":"1499959003","changed":"1501550692","tnid":"0","translate":"0","published":"1499962500","revision_timestamp":"1501550692","revision_uid":"156","body":{"und":[{"value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Ask any prospect at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> development camp what their goals come September\u2019s NHL training camp are and it\u2019s hard to find an offbeat answer.<\/p>\u201cIt\u2019s a trick question, right?\u201d German Rubtsov said last Friday through an interpreter, Flyers skating coach Slava Kouznetsov. \u201cEverybody wants to play in the NHL.\u201d<\/p>When training camp breaks in October, the Flyers have three options for Rubtsov:<\/p>The 2016 first-round pick can play in the NHL.<\/p>He can return to the Chicoutimi Saguen\u00e9ens of the QMJHL.<\/p>Or he can play in the AHL since the Flyers drafted him out of Russia.<\/p>\u201cPlaying in Chicoutimi, I felt comfortable,\u201d he said. \u201cEvery game was a point or point plus, thanks to my partners as well. Before that, I played KHL. I think I\u2019m ready to try the league.\u201d<\/p>Which league?<\/p>\u201cThe<\/em> league,\u201d Rubtsov said. \u201cBig.\u201d<\/p>The 19-year-old Rubtsov likely won't be donning the orange and black in the fall. That should not come to a surprise to anyone.<\/p>With the drafting Nolan Patrick last month and the arrival of Oskar Lindblom from Sweden, the forward competition is already as competitive as it\u2019s been in a while.<\/p>Even with the 51 combined games Rubtsov played in 2016-17 between the KHL, MHL, QMJHL and 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships, more minor league seasoning will be needed.<\/p>Whether that will be in Chicoutimi or Lehigh Valley remains unanswered for now.<\/p>\u201cI don\u2019t know the answer to that,\u201d Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said. \u201cTo me, it\u2019s not fair to make a decision predetermined right now, \u2018OK, he\u2019s going here, he\u2019s going there.\u2019<\/p>\u201cWe\u2019ll leave that door open in terms of NHL. I\u2019d probably say it\u2019s a long shot. But American League or junior, we\u2019ll see as we go along here where the best place for him to develop is.\u201d<\/p>Rubtsov attended his first development camp last weekend. He was unable to attend last summer\u2019s camp because of his contract obligations with the KHL\u2019s HC Vityaz.<\/p>There was some controversy surrounding Rubtsov and the Russian under-18 team prospects going into the 2016 NHL draft. Team Russia was banned from the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championships because of a meldonium doping scandal.<\/p>After being drafted, Rubtsov insisted that he and his teammates unknowingly took a banned substance. Hextall further investigated the situation and still felt comfortable selecting the center, who also<\/span> had two years left on his contract with Vityaz.<\/p>The original plan was for Rubtsov to stay in the KHL until his contract expired before coming to North America, but he struggled in the KHL and was too advanced for the MHL.<\/p>Eventually, Rubtsov\u2019s agent, Mark Gandler, negotiated a release from his contract with Vityaz on Jan. 9, and Rubtsov joined the Saguen\u00e9ens, who owned his CHL rights.<\/p>Rubtsov didn\u2019t debut with Chicoutimi until Jan. 19 because of a broken nose.<\/p>\u201cThe moving to the United States was the first thing,\u201d Rubtsov said. \u201cIn Chicoutimi, the first couple of games were not comfortable. Then everything came to normal.<\/p>\u201cI feel comfortable. Being in the United States before and playing in Canada helped, so I\u2019m feeling pretty comfortable [now] and everything is pretty much good.\u201d<\/p>The difference between the Rubtsov in the KHL and the Rubtsov in the QMJHL was noticable. He struggled to get minutes in the KHL, averaging 6:33 in 15 games and failed to register a point. He had just five shots and won 31.8 percent of his faceoffs.<\/p>He was a point-per-game player in the MHL, a Russian junior league, recording 15 points in 15 games with the Russkie Vityazi Chekhov. That was the player he resembled more in the Q.   Rubtsov made an immediate impact with the Saguen\u00e9ens. He picked up two assists and fired six shots on goal in his first game, and he picked up nine points in his first six games.   \u201cWhen you see a kid playing with his peers, it\u2019s a lot different than playing in the KHL,\u201d Hextall said. \u201cYou saw it a little bit with Ruby. Ruby goes from KHL and all of a sudden, he goes to Chicoutimi with his own age group and you\u2019re like, \u2018Woah.\u2019   \u201cWe certainly weren\u2019t surprised by that.\u201d   The Chekhov, Russia, native missed Chicoutimi\u2019s final six games of the regular season and then its postseason because of a fractured hand. He finished his brief QMJHL stint with racking up 22 points in 16 games \u2014 nine goals, five power-play markers, 13 assists with six multi-point games and was held scoreless just three times.   Last season, Rubtsov dealt with a broken nose and a fractured hand at the end of the campaign. He said he dealt with injuries in the KHL as well and played through them.   \u201cI played until I wasn\u2019t able to hold the stick,\u201d Rubtsov said. \u201cWhen the hand completely gave up that\u2019s when I came [to Philadelphia for surgery].\u201d   \u201cThat's kind of what you want,\" Hextall said. \"You want guys who will push themselves and do what they can to try to be the best they can and try to help the team win. It certainly comes into the mix in terms of the character of a player and person.\u201d   When the Flyers drafted Rubtsov last summer, their forward prospect group was not as deep as it is now. Hextall added seven forwards in 2016, including five of his first six picks. Last month, he added seven more, including three in the top 35.   So the question with Rubtsov, does he still project as a center with the Flyers? He played both center and wing last season in Chicoutimi. The versatility at his age is attractive.   \u201cThere are certain guys in the middle you want to move out of the middle because when they get to the NHL level, maybe their sense isn\u2019t quite high enough or their size or there\u2019s a blemish,\u201d Hextall said. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t have that blemish. He\u2019s a smart player, he skates well.   \u201cHe\u2019s going to be big and strong enough in a couple years. He\u2019s going to be one of those guys truly who\u2019s going to be really good in the middle and we may want to keep him there.\u201d<\/p>","summary":"German Rubtsov is eyeing bigger things entering his first full season in North America, but where will he be in 2017-18? By Tom Dougherty<\/p>","format":"filtered_html","safe_value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Ask any prospect at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> development camp what their goals come September\u2019s NHL training camp are and it\u2019s hard to find an offbeat answer.<\/p>\n\u201cIt\u2019s a trick question, right?\u201d German Rubtsov said last Friday through an interpreter, Flyers skating coach Slava Kouznetsov. \u201cEverybody wants to play in the NHL.\u201d<\/p>\nWhen training camp breaks in October, the Flyers have three options for Rubtsov:<\/p>\nThe 2016 first-round pick can play in the NHL.<\/p>\nHe can return to the Chicoutimi Saguen\u00e9ens of the QMJHL.<\/p>\nOr he can play in the AHL since the Flyers drafted him out of Russia.<\/p>\n\u201cPlaying in Chicoutimi, I felt comfortable,\u201d he said. \u201cEvery game was a point or point plus, thanks to my partners as well. Before that, I played KHL. I think I\u2019m ready to try the league.\u201d<\/p>\nWhich league?<\/p>\n\u201cThe<\/em> league,\u201d Rubtsov said. \u201cBig.\u201d<\/p>\nThe 19-year-old Rubtsov likely won't be donning the orange and black in the fall. That should not come to a surprise to anyone.<\/p>\nWith the drafting Nolan Patrick last month and the arrival of Oskar Lindblom from Sweden, the forward competition is already as competitive as it\u2019s been in a while.<\/p>\nEven with the 51 combined games Rubtsov played in 2016-17 between the KHL, MHL, QMJHL and 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships, more minor league seasoning will be needed.<\/p>\nWhether that will be in Chicoutimi or Lehigh Valley remains unanswered for now.<\/p>\n\u201cI don\u2019t know the answer to that,\u201d Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said. \u201cTo me, it\u2019s not fair to make a decision predetermined right now, \u2018OK, he\u2019s going here, he\u2019s going there.\u2019<\/p>\n\u201cWe\u2019ll leave that door open in terms of NHL. I\u2019d probably say it\u2019s a long shot. But American League or junior, we\u2019ll see as we go along here where the best place for him to develop is.\u201d<\/p>\nRubtsov attended his first development camp last weekend. He was unable to attend last summer\u2019s camp because of his contract obligations with the KHL\u2019s HC Vityaz.<\/p>\nThere was some controversy surrounding Rubtsov and the Russian under-18 team prospects going into the 2016 NHL draft. Team Russia was banned from the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championships because of a meldonium doping scandal.<\/p>\nAfter being drafted, Rubtsov insisted that he and his teammates unknowingly took a banned substance. Hextall further investigated the situation and still felt comfortable selecting the center, who also had two years left on his contract with Vityaz.<\/p>\nThe original plan was for Rubtsov to stay in the KHL until his contract expired before coming to North America, but he struggled in the KHL and was too advanced for the MHL.<\/p>\nEventually, Rubtsov\u2019s agent, Mark Gandler, negotiated a release from his contract with Vityaz on Jan. 9, and Rubtsov joined the Saguen\u00e9ens, who owned his CHL rights.<\/p>\nRubtsov didn\u2019t debut with Chicoutimi until Jan. 19 because of a broken nose.<\/p>\n\u201cThe moving to the United States was the first thing,\u201d Rubtsov said. \u201cIn Chicoutimi, the first couple of games were not comfortable. Then everything came to normal.<\/p>\n\u201cI feel comfortable. Being in the United States before and playing in Canada helped, so I\u2019m feeling pretty comfortable [now] and everything is pretty much good.\u201d<\/p>\nThe difference between the Rubtsov in the KHL and the Rubtsov in the QMJHL was noticable. He struggled to get minutes in the KHL, averaging 6:33 in 15 games and failed to register a point. He had just five shots and won 31.8 percent of his faceoffs.<\/p>\nHe was a point-per-game player in the MHL, a Russian junior league, recording 15 points in 15 games with the Russkie Vityazi Chekhov. That was the player he resembled more in the Q.   Rubtsov made an immediate impact with the Saguen\u00e9ens. He picked up two assists and fired six shots on goal in his first game, and he picked up nine points in his first six games.   \u201cWhen you see a kid playing with his peers, it\u2019s a lot different than playing in the KHL,\u201d Hextall said. \u201cYou saw it a little bit with Ruby. Ruby goes from KHL and all of a sudden, he goes to Chicoutimi with his own age group and you\u2019re like, \u2018Woah.\u2019   \u201cWe certainly weren\u2019t surprised by that.\u201d   The Chekhov, Russia, native missed Chicoutimi\u2019s final six games of the regular season and then its postseason because of a fractured hand. He finished his brief QMJHL stint with racking up 22 points in 16 games \u2014 nine goals, five power-play markers, 13 assists with six multi-point games and was held scoreless just three times.   Last season, Rubtsov dealt with a broken nose and a fractured hand at the end of the campaign. He said he dealt with injuries in the KHL as well and played through them.   \u201cI played until I wasn\u2019t able to hold the stick,\u201d Rubtsov said. \u201cWhen the hand completely gave up that\u2019s when I came [to Philadelphia for surgery].\u201d   \u201cThat's kind of what you want,\" Hextall said. \"You want guys who will push themselves and do what they can to try to be the best they can and try to help the team win. It certainly comes into the mix in terms of the character of a player and person.\u201d   When the Flyers drafted Rubtsov last summer, their forward prospect group was not as deep as it is now. Hextall added seven forwards in 2016, including five of his first six picks. Last month, he added seven more, including three in the top 35.   So the question with Rubtsov, does he still project as a center with the Flyers? He played both center and wing last season in Chicoutimi. The versatility at his age is attractive.   \u201cThere are certain guys in the middle you want to move out of the middle because when they get to the NHL level, maybe their sense isn\u2019t quite high enough or their size or there\u2019s a blemish,\u201d Hextall said. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t have that blemish. He\u2019s a smart player, he skates well.   \u201cHe\u2019s going to be big and strong enough in a couple years. He\u2019s going to be one of those guys truly who\u2019s going to be really good in the middle and we may want to keep him there.\u201d<\/p>\n","safe_summary":"German Rubtsov is eyeing bigger things entering his first full season in North America, but where will he be in 2017-18? By Tom Dougherty<\/p>\n"}]},"field_author_reference":{"und":[{"tid":"1321"}]},"field_bean_single_col":{"und":[{"target_id":"2456"}]},"field_chrome_page":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_date_published":{"und":[{"value":"2017-07-13 16:15:00","timezone":"America\/New_York","timezone_db":"UTC","date_type":"datetime"}]},"field_hero_image_credit":{"und":[{"value":"Tom Dougherty\/CSNPhilly.com","format":null,"safe_value":"Tom Dougherty\/CSNPhilly.com"}]},"field_image":{"und":[{"fid":"475886","uid":"266","filename":"tom-dougherty-german-rubtsov.jpg","uri":"public:\/\/2017\/07\/13\/tom-dougherty-german-rubtsov.jpg","filemime":"image\/jpeg","filesize":"202712","status":"1","timestamp":"1499996289","origname":"tom-dougherty-german-rubtsov.jpg","type":"image","field_file_image_alt_text":[],"field_file_image_title_text":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]","default":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]"},"description":{"value":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!","default":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!"},"abstract":{"value":""},"keywords":{"value":""},"robots":{"value":{"index":0,"follow":0,"noindex":0,"nofollow":0,"noarchive":0,"nosnippet":0,"noodp":0,"noydir":0,"noimageindex":0,"notranslate":0}},"news_keywords":{"value":""},"standout":{"value":""},"rating":{"value":""},"referrer":{"value":""},"rights":{"value":""},"image_src":{"value":""},"canonical":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"shortlink":{"value":"[current-page:url:unaliased]","default":"[current-page:url:unaliased]"},"original-source":{"value":""},"prev":{"value":""},"next":{"value":""},"content-language":{"value":""},"geo.position":{"value":""},"geo.placename":{"value":""},"geo.region":{"value":""},"icbm":{"value":""},"refresh":{"value":""},"revisit-after":{"value":"","period":""},"pragma":{"value":""},"cache-control":{"value":""},"expires":{"value":""},"og:type":{"value":"article","default":"article"},"og:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"og:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"og:determiner":{"value":""},"og:description":{"value":""},"og:updated_time":{"value":""},"og:see_also":{"value":""},"og:image":{"value":""},"og:image:url":{"value":""},"og:image:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:image:type":{"value":""},"og:image:width":{"value":""},"og:image:height":{"value":""},"og:latitude":{"value":""},"og:longitude":{"value":""},"og:street_address":{"value":""},"og:locality":{"value":""},"og:region":{"value":""},"og:postal_code":{"value":""},"og:country_name":{"value":""},"og:email":{"value":""},"og:phone_number":{"value":""},"og:fax_number":{"value":""},"og:locale":{"value":""},"og:locale:alternate":{"value":""},"article:author":{"value":""},"article:publisher":{"value":""},"article:section":{"value":""},"article:tag":{"value":""},"article:published_time":{"value":""},"article:modified_time":{"value":""},"article:expiration_time":{"value":""},"profile:first_name":{"value":""},"profile:last_name":{"value":""},"profile:username":{"value":""},"profile:gender":{"value":""},"og:audio":{"value":""},"og:audio:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:audio:type":{"value":""},"book:author":{"value":""},"book:isbn":{"value":""},"book:release_date":{"value":""},"book:tag":{"value":""},"og:video:url":{"value":""},"og:video:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:video:width":{"value":""},"og:video:height":{"value":""},"og:video:type":{"value":""},"video:actor":{"value":""},"video:actor:role":{"value":""},"video:director":{"value":""},"video:writer":{"value":""},"video:duration":{"value":""},"video:release_date":{"value":""},"video:tag":{"value":""},"video:series":{"value":""},"twitter:card":{"value":"summary","default":"summary"},"twitter:creator":{"value":""},"twitter:creator:id":{"value":""},"twitter:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"twitter:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"twitter:description":{"value":""},"twitter:image":{"value":""},"twitter:image:width":{"value":""},"twitter:image:height":{"value":""},"twitter:image:alt":{"value":""},"twitter:image0":{"value":""},"twitter:image1":{"value":""},"twitter:image2":{"value":""},"twitter:image3":{"value":""},"twitter:player":{"value":""},"twitter:player:width":{"value":""},"twitter:player:height":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream:content_type":{"value":""},"twitter:app:country":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:label1":{"value":""},"twitter:data1":{"value":""},"twitter:label2":{"value":""},"twitter:data2":{"value":""}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"metadata":{"height":360,"width":640},"height":"360","width":"640","alt":"","title":""}]},"field_league":{"und":[{"tid":"196"}]},"field_section":{"und":[{"tid":"201"}]},"field_short_title":{"und":[{"value":"Finally with age group, Flyers prospect German Rubtsov eyeing bigger things","format":null,"safe_value":"Finally with age group, Flyers prospect German Rubtsov eyeing bigger things"}]},"field_sponsor":[],"field_sport":{"und":[{"tid":"191"}]},"field_tags":{"und":[{"tid":"6201"},{"tid":"5391"},{"tid":"18276"},{"tid":"466"},{"tid":"2966"},{"tid":"3091"}]},"field_team":{"und":[{"tid":"141"}]},"field_top_story":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_video_autoplay":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_videos":{"und":[{"target_id":"537641"}]},"field_tags_hide":[],"field_video_automute":[],"field_editorial_category":[],"field_allow_lld_domains":[],"field_enable_stanza":[],"field_exclude_from_yahoo":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"German Rubtsov still eyeing Flyers despite long odds"},"news_keywords":{"value":"German Rubtsov, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers, German Rubtsov Flyers, Flyers top prospects, Ron Hextall, Nolan Patrick, Flyers development camp, Flyers draft German Rubtsov, German Rubtsov NHL"}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"name":"tdougherty","picture":"0","data":"b:0;"},"access":true},{"target_id":"538336","entity":{"vid":"564891","uid":"156","title":"Just a teenager, Carter Hart already mentally fit for Flyers' future","log":"","status":"1","comment":"0","promote":"0","sticky":"0","nid":"538336","type":"article","language":"und","created":"1499750468","changed":"1531160805","tnid":"0","translate":"0","published":"1499778000","revision_timestamp":"1531160805","revision_uid":"156","body":{"und":[{"value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 The last time Carter Hart recalls becoming irritated on the ice, he was 10 years old. He was in his first year of playing goaltender after previously playing forward.<\/p>His dad, John Hart, was his coach and his current sports psychologist, John Stevenson, was then his goalie coach. What transpired may have resembled a more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=vbAEj8o1SY8\" target=\"_blank\">PG version of this<\/a>.<\/p>\u201cThis one kid kept crashing into my crease,\u201d Hart said, \u201cso my dad was on the bench coaching and he\u2019s just like, \u2018Just give it to this kid.\u2019 So I just started blockering him.<\/p>\u201cI actually didn\u2019t know to blocker a kid, they consider it a weapon [and it\u2019s] a five-game suspension. So I got a five-game suspension when I was 10 years old.\u201d<\/p>Eight years later, Hart finds himself as one of the most anticipated goaltending prospects the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\" target=\"_blank\">Flyers<\/a> have ever had, perhaps even more than the person who drafted him, Ron Hextall.<\/p>There was Pete Peeters in the late 1970s and Pelle Lindbergh in the \u201880s. Hextall, of course, in the late \u201880s. The Flyers\u2019 history of drafting goalies is an urban legend.<\/p>Not many swooned over the likes of Dominic Roussel and Neil Little.<\/p>Hart is a different breed of goaltender. The Flyers made him the first goalie drafted in 2016 when they selected him 48th overall. He won the CHL Goaltender of the Year his draft year.<\/p>Last season, he posted superior numbers but didn\u2019t recapture his crown. Owen Sound\u2019s Michael McNiven won the title. Politics was likely involved. No goalie has ever won it twice.<\/p>Still, Hart won the Del Wilson Memorial Trophy as the WHL\u2019s Goaltender of the Year for the second consecutive season and was twice named the Vaughn CHL Goaltender of the Week.<\/p>When sports psychologist and an 18-year-old come up in the same sentence, it may carry a negative connotation. Some may trigger the alarms. It shouldn\u2019t, especially for a goalie.<\/p>Mental toughness is as essential to goaltending as hand-eye coordination is to hitting a baseball. If any conclusion can be drawn from Hart having one, it should be positive. <\/p>Stevenson is a registered psychologist based in Edmonton, Alberta. He runs Zone Performance Psychology with his wife, Jaci Stevenson, and is a former scout for the Oilers.<\/p>The relationship between Hart and Stevenson goes back to when Hart was 10 when he was encouraged by his dad to blocker the kid crashing his crease. Stevenson was originally his goalie coach before transitioning into psychology full-time. Hart describes himself as laid-back whose \u201cenergy levels have dropped\u201d in the eight years since. On the ice, he carries a calm demeanor \u2014 he doesn\u2019t get mad and doesn\u2019t consider himself to be vocal.<\/p>Perhaps some tricks he\u2019s applicated from working with Stevenson, who also works with Washington Capitals goalie Braden Holtby, the 2016 Vezina Trophy winner. As a former goalie coach, Stevenson would try to get in Hart\u2019s head to mess with him, according to Hart, which taught the Sherwood Park, Alberta, native to control what he can control.<\/p>\u201cI talk to him on a regular basis,\u201d Hart said Friday of Stevenson. \u201cI\u2019ve learned a lot on the mental side of things. The mental game is huge. It\u2019s probably 90 percent of the position, really. If you believe you can do it, you can. That\u2019s the mindset you have to have, you have to believe in yourself. You really have to believe in yourself and trust everything that you do.\u201d<\/p>Holtby has been working with Stevenson since he was 15 years old. The Capitals\u2019 goaltender told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/sports\/capitals\/braden-holtby-at-peace-in-the-crease\/2015\/04\/24\/7cd9ad6a-e9b7-11e4-9a6a-c1ab95a0600b_story.html\" target=\"_blank\">The Washington Post<\/em><\/a> in 2015 that he didn\u2019t realize how important Stevenson has been to him in his professional life until his first year away from him.<\/p>\u201cThat\u2019s when I really found out how crucial that experience I had with him was,\u201d he told the Post. \u201cKind of take it for granted when it\u2019s right there at your fingertips, and once it\u2019s gone, you have to start doing it on your own. It makes it harder, but you learn it even more.\u201d<\/p>While Holtby and Hart share the same psychologist, Holtby isn\u2019t the goalie Hart admires most, though he did call Holtby \u201cone of the most mentally tough guys in the business.\u201d Hart said he\u2019s met Holtby a few times through Stevenson, and Holtby texted him after the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships. The goalie he models his game after is Carey Price.<\/p>\u201cHe\u2019s very efficient,\u201d Hart said of Price. \u201cHe\u2019s one of the best skaters in the game. He makes things simple and makes difficult saves look easy. I really admire the way he skates. That\u2019s one of the biggest things for me is being a good skater. If you can\u2019t skate, you can\u2019t play.<\/p>\u201cYou have to be an elite-level skater to play in the NHL. \u2026 I think Price is the most elite skater in the league.\u201d<\/p>Hart turns 19 on Aug. 13 and is not eligible for the AHL. It\u2019s either one more year in Everett or breaking training camp with the Flyers. \u201cObviously, it doesn\u2019t happen often for 19-year-old goalies,\u201d he said. That\u2019s his goal, but the numbers game dictates his October destination. Brian Elliott and Michal Neuvirth are the Flyers\u2019 goalies for the next two years.<\/p>In 2016-17, Hart posted a 32-11-6 record in 54 games last season with the Silvertips. He led the WHL in goals-against average (1.99), save percentage (.927) and shutouts (nine). He had a shutout streak of 193 minutes and 38 seconds during the record season.<\/p>After his season ended in Everett, Hart joined the Lehigh Valley Phantoms during AHL playoffs largely as a third goalie with Anthony Stolarz injured. Then Alex Lyon suffered an injury in Game 2 of their first-round series with the Hershey Bears. Hart found himself on the bench backing up Martin Ouellette for Game 3. The Phantoms rode Ouellette for Games 4 and 5 with Mark Dekanich backing up. Lehigh Valley lost in five games.<\/p>Hart never played.<\/p>\u201cI thought maybe against Hershey when I backed up, maybe see what happens,\u201d he said.<\/p>Hextall drafted his fifth goalie in his fourth draft last month as Flyers general manager, selecting Russian netminder Kirill Ustimenko in the third round. With Ustimenko in the fold, the Flyers now have nine goalies in the organization.<\/p>\u201cIt doesn\u2019t really matter. It\u2019s just goalie depth,\u201d Hart said. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing wrong with having goalie depth because you never know what happens. The position of goaltending can be tough and tough on the body. \u2026 It\u2019s a long year. Seventy-two games in the WHL, 76 games in the American League and obviously 82 in The Show.<\/p>\u201cIt doesn't bother me. Just got to worry about yourself.\u201d<\/p>","summary":"Is Carter Hart the Flyers' goalie of the future? The teenager is already mentally fit for the pressure of being in an NHL net. By Tom Dougherty<\/p>","format":"filtered_html","safe_value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 The last time Carter Hart recalls becoming irritated on the ice, he was 10 years old. He was in his first year of playing goaltender after previously playing forward.<\/p>\nHis dad, John Hart, was his coach and his current sports psychologist, John Stevenson, was then his goalie coach. What transpired may have resembled a more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=vbAEj8o1SY8\" target=\"_blank\">PG version of this<\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cThis one kid kept crashing into my crease,\u201d Hart said, \u201cso my dad was on the bench coaching and he\u2019s just like, \u2018Just give it to this kid.\u2019 So I just started blockering him.<\/p>\n\u201cI actually didn\u2019t know to blocker a kid, they consider it a weapon [and it\u2019s] a five-game suspension. So I got a five-game suspension when I was 10 years old.\u201d<\/p>\nEight years later, Hart finds himself as one of the most anticipated goaltending prospects the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\" target=\"_blank\">Flyers<\/a> have ever had, perhaps even more than the person who drafted him, Ron Hextall.<\/p>\nThere was Pete Peeters in the late 1970s and Pelle Lindbergh in the \u201880s. Hextall, of course, in the late \u201880s. The Flyers\u2019 history of drafting goalies is an urban legend.<\/p>\nNot many swooned over the likes of Dominic Roussel and Neil Little.<\/p>\nHart is a different breed of goaltender. The Flyers made him the first goalie drafted in 2016 when they selected him 48th overall. He won the CHL Goaltender of the Year his draft year.<\/p>\nLast season, he posted superior numbers but didn\u2019t recapture his crown. Owen Sound\u2019s Michael McNiven won the title. Politics was likely involved. No goalie has ever won it twice.<\/p>\nStill, Hart won the Del Wilson Memorial Trophy as the WHL\u2019s Goaltender of the Year for the second consecutive season and was twice named the Vaughn CHL Goaltender of the Week.<\/p>\nWhen sports psychologist and an 18-year-old come up in the same sentence, it may carry a negative connotation. Some may trigger the alarms. It shouldn\u2019t, especially for a goalie.<\/p>\nMental toughness is as essential to goaltending as hand-eye coordination is to hitting a baseball. If any conclusion can be drawn from Hart having one, it should be positive. <\/p>\nStevenson is a registered psychologist based in Edmonton, Alberta. He runs Zone Performance Psychology with his wife, Jaci Stevenson, and is a former scout for the Oilers.<\/p>\nThe relationship between Hart and Stevenson goes back to when Hart was 10 when he was encouraged by his dad to blocker the kid crashing his crease. Stevenson was originally his goalie coach before transitioning into psychology full-time. Hart describes himself as laid-back whose \u201cenergy levels have dropped\u201d in the eight years since. On the ice, he carries a calm demeanor \u2014 he doesn\u2019t get mad and doesn\u2019t consider himself to be vocal.<\/p>\nPerhaps some tricks he\u2019s applicated from working with Stevenson, who also works with Washington Capitals goalie Braden Holtby, the 2016 Vezina Trophy winner. As a former goalie coach, Stevenson would try to get in Hart\u2019s head to mess with him, according to Hart, which taught the Sherwood Park, Alberta, native to control what he can control.<\/p>\n\u201cI talk to him on a regular basis,\u201d Hart said Friday of Stevenson. \u201cI\u2019ve learned a lot on the mental side of things. The mental game is huge. It\u2019s probably 90 percent of the position, really. If you believe you can do it, you can. That\u2019s the mindset you have to have, you have to believe in yourself. You really have to believe in yourself and trust everything that you do.\u201d<\/p>\nHoltby has been working with Stevenson since he was 15 years old. The Capitals\u2019 goaltender told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/sports\/capitals\/braden-holtby-at-peace-in-the-crease\/2015\/04\/24\/7cd9ad6a-e9b7-11e4-9a6a-c1ab95a0600b_story.html\" target=\"_blank\">The Washington Post<\/em><\/a> in 2015 that he didn\u2019t realize how important Stevenson has been to him in his professional life until his first year away from him.<\/p>\n\u201cThat\u2019s when I really found out how crucial that experience I had with him was,\u201d he told the Post. \u201cKind of take it for granted when it\u2019s right there at your fingertips, and once it\u2019s gone, you have to start doing it on your own. It makes it harder, but you learn it even more.\u201d<\/p>\nWhile Holtby and Hart share the same psychologist, Holtby isn\u2019t the goalie Hart admires most, though he did call Holtby \u201cone of the most mentally tough guys in the business.\u201d Hart said he\u2019s met Holtby a few times through Stevenson, and Holtby texted him after the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships. The goalie he models his game after is Carey Price.<\/p>\n\u201cHe\u2019s very efficient,\u201d Hart said of Price. \u201cHe\u2019s one of the best skaters in the game. He makes things simple and makes difficult saves look easy. I really admire the way he skates. That\u2019s one of the biggest things for me is being a good skater. If you can\u2019t skate, you can\u2019t play.<\/p>\n\u201cYou have to be an elite-level skater to play in the NHL. \u2026 I think Price is the most elite skater in the league.\u201d<\/p>\nHart turns 19 on Aug. 13 and is not eligible for the AHL. It\u2019s either one more year in Everett or breaking training camp with the Flyers. \u201cObviously, it doesn\u2019t happen often for 19-year-old goalies,\u201d he said. That\u2019s his goal, but the numbers game dictates his October destination. Brian Elliott and Michal Neuvirth are the Flyers\u2019 goalies for the next two years.<\/p>\nIn 2016-17, Hart posted a 32-11-6 record in 54 games last season with the Silvertips. He led the WHL in goals-against average (1.99), save percentage (.927) and shutouts (nine). He had a shutout streak of 193 minutes and 38 seconds during the record season.<\/p>\nAfter his season ended in Everett, Hart joined the Lehigh Valley Phantoms during AHL playoffs largely as a third goalie with Anthony Stolarz injured. Then Alex Lyon suffered an injury in Game 2 of their first-round series with the Hershey Bears. Hart found himself on the bench backing up Martin Ouellette for Game 3. The Phantoms rode Ouellette for Games 4 and 5 with Mark Dekanich backing up. Lehigh Valley lost in five games.<\/p>\nHart never played.<\/p>\n\u201cI thought maybe against Hershey when I backed up, maybe see what happens,\u201d he said.<\/p>\nHextall drafted his fifth goalie in his fourth draft last month as Flyers general manager, selecting Russian netminder Kirill Ustimenko in the third round. With Ustimenko in the fold, the Flyers now have nine goalies in the organization.<\/p>\n\u201cIt doesn\u2019t really matter. It\u2019s just goalie depth,\u201d Hart said. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing wrong with having goalie depth because you never know what happens. The position of goaltending can be tough and tough on the body. \u2026 It\u2019s a long year. Seventy-two games in the WHL, 76 games in the American League and obviously 82 in The Show.<\/p>\n\u201cIt doesn't bother me. Just got to worry about yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n","safe_summary":"Is Carter Hart the Flyers' goalie of the future? The teenager is already mentally fit for the pressure of being in an NHL net. By Tom Dougherty<\/p>\n"}]},"field_author_reference":{"und":[{"tid":"1321"}]},"field_bean_single_col":{"und":[{"target_id":"2456"}]},"field_chrome_page":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_date_published":{"und":[{"value":"2017-07-11 13:00:00","timezone":"America\/New_York","timezone_db":"UTC","date_type":"datetime"}]},"field_hero_image_credit":{"und":[{"value":"Photo credit: Zack Hill\/Flyers","format":null,"safe_value":"Photo credit: Zack Hill\/Flyers"}]},"field_image":{"und":[{"fid":"472561","uid":"266","filename":"zack-hill-flyers-carter-hart.jpg","uri":"public:\/\/2018\/05\/02\/zack-hill-flyers-carter-hart.jpg","filemime":"image\/jpeg","filesize":"179409","status":"1","timestamp":"1525292288","origname":"zack-hill-flyers-carter-hart.jpg","type":"image","field_file_image_alt_text":{"und":[{"value":null,"format":null,"safe_value":""}]},"field_file_image_title_text":{"und":[{"value":null,"format":null,"safe_value":""}]},"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]","default":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]"},"description":{"value":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!","default":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!"},"abstract":{"value":""},"keywords":{"value":""},"robots":{"value":{"index":0,"follow":0,"noindex":0,"nofollow":0,"noarchive":0,"nosnippet":0,"noodp":0,"noydir":0,"noimageindex":0,"notranslate":0}},"news_keywords":{"value":""},"standout":{"value":""},"rating":{"value":""},"referrer":{"value":""},"rights":{"value":""},"image_src":{"value":""},"canonical":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"shortlink":{"value":"[current-page:url:unaliased]","default":"[current-page:url:unaliased]"},"original-source":{"value":""},"prev":{"value":""},"next":{"value":""},"content-language":{"value":""},"geo.position":{"value":""},"geo.placename":{"value":""},"geo.region":{"value":""},"icbm":{"value":""},"refresh":{"value":""},"revisit-after":{"value":"","period":""},"pragma":{"value":""},"cache-control":{"value":""},"expires":{"value":""},"og:type":{"value":"article","default":"article"},"og:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"og:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"og:determiner":{"value":""},"og:description":{"value":""},"og:updated_time":{"value":""},"og:see_also":{"value":""},"og:image":{"value":""},"og:image:url":{"value":""},"og:image:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:image:type":{"value":""},"og:image:width":{"value":""},"og:image:height":{"value":""},"og:latitude":{"value":""},"og:longitude":{"value":""},"og:street_address":{"value":""},"og:locality":{"value":""},"og:region":{"value":""},"og:postal_code":{"value":""},"og:country_name":{"value":""},"og:email":{"value":""},"og:phone_number":{"value":""},"og:fax_number":{"value":""},"og:locale":{"value":""},"og:locale:alternate":{"value":""},"article:author":{"value":""},"article:publisher":{"value":""},"article:section":{"value":""},"article:tag":{"value":""},"article:published_time":{"value":""},"article:modified_time":{"value":""},"article:expiration_time":{"value":""},"profile:first_name":{"value":""},"profile:last_name":{"value":""},"profile:username":{"value":""},"profile:gender":{"value":""},"og:audio":{"value":""},"og:audio:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:audio:type":{"value":""},"book:author":{"value":""},"book:isbn":{"value":""},"book:release_date":{"value":""},"book:tag":{"value":""},"og:video:url":{"value":""},"og:video:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:video:width":{"value":""},"og:video:height":{"value":""},"og:video:type":{"value":""},"video:actor":{"value":""},"video:actor:role":{"value":""},"video:director":{"value":""},"video:writer":{"value":""},"video:duration":{"value":""},"video:release_date":{"value":""},"video:tag":{"value":""},"video:series":{"value":""},"twitter:card":{"value":"summary","default":"summary"},"twitter:creator":{"value":""},"twitter:creator:id":{"value":""},"twitter:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"twitter:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"twitter:description":{"value":""},"twitter:image":{"value":""},"twitter:image:width":{"value":""},"twitter:image:height":{"value":""},"twitter:image:alt":{"value":""},"twitter:image0":{"value":""},"twitter:image1":{"value":""},"twitter:image2":{"value":""},"twitter:image3":{"value":""},"twitter:player":{"value":""},"twitter:player:width":{"value":""},"twitter:player:height":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream:content_type":{"value":""},"twitter:app:country":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:label1":{"value":""},"twitter:data1":{"value":""},"twitter:label2":{"value":""},"twitter:data2":{"value":""}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"metadata":{"height":360,"width":640},"height":"360","width":"640","alt":null,"title":null}]},"field_league":{"und":[{"tid":"196"}]},"field_section":{"und":[{"tid":"201"}]},"field_short_title":{"und":[{"value":"How teenage goalie prospect Carter Hart is already mentally fit for Flyers' future","format":null,"safe_value":"How teenage goalie prospect Carter Hart is already mentally fit for Flyers' future"}]},"field_sponsor":[],"field_sport":{"und":[{"tid":"191"}]},"field_tags":{"und":[{"tid":"5411"},{"tid":"6201"},{"tid":"18276"},{"tid":"466"},{"tid":"2966"},{"tid":"3091"}]},"field_team":{"und":[{"tid":"141"}]},"field_top_story":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_video_autoplay":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_videos":{"und":[{"target_id":"537396"}]},"field_tags_hide":{"und":[{"tid":"18276"}]},"field_video_automute":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_editorial_category":{"und":[{"value":"other_news"}]},"field_allow_lld_domains":[],"field_enable_stanza":[],"field_exclude_from_yahoo":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"Carter Hart already mentally fit for Flyers' net"},"news_keywords":{"value":"Carter Hart, Philadelphia Flyers, Tom Dougherty, Flyers prospect Carter Hart"}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"name":"JHall","picture":"0","data":"b:0;"},"access":true},{"target_id":"537591","entity":{"vid":"564031","uid":"266","title":"Pascal Laberge out to be 'the real me' following dark days from concussion","log":"","status":"1","comment":"0","promote":"0","sticky":"0","nid":"537591","type":"article","language":"und","created":"1499535853","changed":"1501550820","tnid":"0","translate":"0","published":"1499605800","revision_timestamp":"1501550820","revision_uid":"156","body":{"und":[{"value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 On a Saturday night in Victoriaville, Quebec, last October, the trajectory of Pascal Laberge\u2019s third season in the QMJHL changed in a flash and not for the better.<\/p>Six minutes into the Tigres\u2019 game against the Moncton Wildcats, Laberge was met by a thundering headshot from Zachary Malatesta as he gathered the puck at his own blue line.<\/p>Laberge lay barren on the ice while Victoriaville alternate captain James Phelan immediately jumped Malatesta, who was ejected and then suspended seven games.<\/p>\u201cYou try to avoid these concussions and when a player does a thing like that, it sure pisses you off a little bit,\u201d Laberge said Friday at development camp at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> Skate Zone. \u201cThere\u2019s always going to be some guys like that in hockey. It\u2019s just that it happened to me.\u201d<\/p>What happened to Laberge was a concussion that caused him to miss over a month before returning Nov. 25 for two games to only sit out another three games as symptoms returned.<\/p>Upon returning, Laberge labored to find the consistency and point production that led to the Flyers\u2019 selecting him with the 36th overall pick in the 2016 NHL draft.<\/p>After his symptoms subsided enough for him to come back Dec. 8, the 19-year-old forward recorded seven points in eight games in the month. In January, he tallied six points in 10 games but was held pointless during six of those games. He finished the season with 32 points.<\/p>In 2015-16, his draft year, Laberge registered 68 points in 56 games for Victoriaville. His 32 points last season was one point more than his 2014-15 rookie campaign in the QMJHL. <\/p>He ended last season with an assist in each of the Tigres\u2019 final three games and scooped up two more in four games during Victoriaville\u2019s first-round postseason exit to Chicoutimi.<\/p>Regaining confidence was a barricade for Laberge following his return from his concussion, especially when going toward the boards. \u201cYou\u2019re kind of shy to go there,\u201d he said. He often played looking over his shoulder and said it took about two months for him to fully recover.<\/p>\u201cThe first month,\u201d he said, \u201cI couldn\u2019t wake up. I had to sleep all day.\u201d<\/p>By now, Laberge\u2019s story is well known. In summer 2015, his stepmother was diagnosed with metastatic cancer and his father, prostate cancer. His stepmother died in September 2015. His dad had his prostate removed that fall. All while he was trying to get drafted.<\/p>Laberge fell to the Flyers in the second round despite being rated 28th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting Bureau. Some saw him as a late first-rounder.<\/p>One of the traits the Flyers liked about Laberge when they drafted him last summer was his perseverance, how he dealt with his family situation and also still produced on the ice.<\/p>Character is something general manager Ron Hextall values greatly. When he talks about prospects, chiefly in regards of development camp, character is one detail he preaches. <\/p>How prospects deal with adversity \u2014 albeit on the ice or off it, both are true in Laberge\u2019s case \u2014 can make them hungrier and better as a player and person, according to Hextall. <\/p>Hextall offered a guess: Last season, on the ice, was a first for Laberge. A young, talented kid who didn\u2019t have his way, who took a step back in his development and wasn\u2019t a star.<\/p>For someone his age, he has been through a lot off the ice. Last season, the concussion was just \u201canother tough time.\u201d It\u2019s getting him stronger, he said.<\/p>\u201cSometimes with my friends,\u201d Laberge said, \u201cI feel a little bit older than them.\u201d<\/p>In his second development camp, Laberge claims he\u2019s back to normal, feels good and his concussion issues are in the past. He understands how last season went means the timetable for his path to the NHL has been pushed back because of the lost time.<\/p>Laberge wants to get back to \u201cthe real me\u201d in 2017-18. With one more year of junior eligibility, he, barring any miracles, will spend another season in Victoriaville.<\/p>While Hextall\u2019s been adamant about keeping a few spots open for prospects to earn during training camp in September, it\u2019s a long shot to consider Laberge to be in that competition.<\/p>\u201cWe didn\u2019t like what he went through,\u201d Hextall said Friday. \u201cWe didn\u2019t like, at times, the level he was playing to, which wasn\u2019t at the level he\u2019s capable of. But \u2026 <\/p>\u201cYou go through adversity like that as a young man, you learn from it. You become stronger. It\u2019s like a team. Sometimes you have to lose to learn how to win.\u201d<\/p>If there\u2019s any one thing Laberge learned from last season, it\u2019s \u2026 <\/p>\u201cNext time,\u201d he said, \u201cI\u2019ll lift my head.\u201d<\/p>","summary":"After enduring yet another year filled with adversity, Pascal Laberge, 19, hopes to show the Flyers his true self in 2017-18. By Tom Dougherty<\/p>","format":"filtered_html","safe_value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 On a Saturday night in Victoriaville, Quebec, last October, the trajectory of Pascal Laberge\u2019s third season in the QMJHL changed in a flash and not for the better.<\/p>\nSix minutes into the Tigres\u2019 game against the Moncton Wildcats, Laberge was met by a thundering headshot from Zachary Malatesta as he gathered the puck at his own blue line.<\/p>\nLaberge lay barren on the ice while Victoriaville alternate captain James Phelan immediately jumped Malatesta, who was ejected and then suspended seven games.<\/p>\n\u201cYou try to avoid these concussions and when a player does a thing like that, it sure pisses you off a little bit,\u201d Laberge said Friday at development camp at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> Skate Zone. \u201cThere\u2019s always going to be some guys like that in hockey. It\u2019s just that it happened to me.\u201d<\/p>\nWhat happened to Laberge was a concussion that caused him to miss over a month before returning Nov. 25 for two games to only sit out another three games as symptoms returned.<\/p>\nUpon returning, Laberge labored to find the consistency and point production that led to the Flyers\u2019 selecting him with the 36th overall pick in the 2016 NHL draft.<\/p>\nAfter his symptoms subsided enough for him to come back Dec. 8, the 19-year-old forward recorded seven points in eight games in the month. In January, he tallied six points in 10 games but was held pointless during six of those games. He finished the season with 32 points.<\/p>\nIn 2015-16, his draft year, Laberge registered 68 points in 56 games for Victoriaville. His 32 points last season was one point more than his 2014-15 rookie campaign in the QMJHL. <\/p>\nHe ended last season with an assist in each of the Tigres\u2019 final three games and scooped up two more in four games during Victoriaville\u2019s first-round postseason exit to Chicoutimi.<\/p>\nRegaining confidence was a barricade for Laberge following his return from his concussion, especially when going toward the boards. \u201cYou\u2019re kind of shy to go there,\u201d he said. He often played looking over his shoulder and said it took about two months for him to fully recover.<\/p>\n\u201cThe first month,\u201d he said, \u201cI couldn\u2019t wake up. I had to sleep all day.\u201d<\/p>\nBy now, Laberge\u2019s story is well known. In summer 2015, his stepmother was diagnosed with metastatic cancer and his father, prostate cancer. His stepmother died in September 2015. His dad had his prostate removed that fall. All while he was trying to get drafted.<\/p>\nLaberge fell to the Flyers in the second round despite being rated 28th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting Bureau. Some saw him as a late first-rounder.<\/p>\nOne of the traits the Flyers liked about Laberge when they drafted him last summer was his perseverance, how he dealt with his family situation and also still produced on the ice.<\/p>\nCharacter is something general manager Ron Hextall values greatly. When he talks about prospects, chiefly in regards of development camp, character is one detail he preaches. <\/p>\nHow prospects deal with adversity \u2014 albeit on the ice or off it, both are true in Laberge\u2019s case \u2014 can make them hungrier and better as a player and person, according to Hextall. <\/p>\nHextall offered a guess: Last season, on the ice, was a first for Laberge. A young, talented kid who didn\u2019t have his way, who took a step back in his development and wasn\u2019t a star.<\/p>\nFor someone his age, he has been through a lot off the ice. Last season, the concussion was just \u201canother tough time.\u201d It\u2019s getting him stronger, he said.<\/p>\n\u201cSometimes with my friends,\u201d Laberge said, \u201cI feel a little bit older than them.\u201d<\/p>\nIn his second development camp, Laberge claims he\u2019s back to normal, feels good and his concussion issues are in the past. He understands how last season went means the timetable for his path to the NHL has been pushed back because of the lost time.<\/p>\nLaberge wants to get back to \u201cthe real me\u201d in 2017-18. With one more year of junior eligibility, he, barring any miracles, will spend another season in Victoriaville.<\/p>\nWhile Hextall\u2019s been adamant about keeping a few spots open for prospects to earn during training camp in September, it\u2019s a long shot to consider Laberge to be in that competition.<\/p>\n\u201cWe didn\u2019t like what he went through,\u201d Hextall said Friday. \u201cWe didn\u2019t like, at times, the level he was playing to, which wasn\u2019t at the level he\u2019s capable of. But \u2026 <\/p>\n\u201cYou go through adversity like that as a young man, you learn from it. You become stronger. It\u2019s like a team. Sometimes you have to lose to learn how to win.\u201d<\/p>\nIf there\u2019s any one thing Laberge learned from last season, it\u2019s \u2026 <\/p>\n\u201cNext time,\u201d he said, \u201cI\u2019ll lift my head.\u201d<\/p>\n","safe_summary":"After enduring yet another year filled with adversity, Pascal Laberge, 19, hopes to show the Flyers his true self in 2017-18. By Tom Dougherty<\/p>\n"}]},"field_author_reference":{"und":[{"tid":"1321"}]},"field_bean_single_col":{"und":[{"target_id":"2456"}]},"field_chrome_page":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_date_published":{"und":[{"value":"2017-07-09 13:10:00","timezone":"America\/New_York","timezone_db":"UTC","date_type":"datetime"}]},"field_hero_image_credit":{"und":[{"value":"Photo: Zack Hill\/Flyers","format":null,"safe_value":"Photo: Zack Hill\/Flyers"}]},"field_image":{"und":[{"fid":"472606","uid":"266","filename":"zack-hill-pascal-laberge.jpg","uri":"public:\/\/2017\/07\/08\/zack-hill-pascal-laberge.jpg","filemime":"image\/jpeg","filesize":"154834","status":"1","timestamp":"1499535488","origname":"zack-hill-pascal-laberge.jpg","type":"image","field_file_image_alt_text":{"und":[{"value":"Pascal Laberge, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers","format":null,"safe_value":"Pascal Laberge, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers"}]},"field_file_image_title_text":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":[],"alt":"Pascal Laberge, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers","metadata":{"height":360,"width":640},"height":"360","width":"640","title":""}]},"field_league":{"und":[{"tid":"196"}]},"field_section":{"und":[{"tid":"201"}]},"field_short_title":{"und":[{"value":"Flyers' Laberge out to be 'the real me' following dark days from concussion","format":null,"safe_value":"Flyers' Laberge out to be 'the real me' following dark days from concussion"}]},"field_sponsor":[],"field_sport":{"und":[{"tid":"191"}]},"field_tags":{"und":[{"tid":"18276"},{"tid":"5406"},{"tid":"466"},{"tid":"2966"},{"tid":"3091"}]},"field_team":{"und":[{"tid":"141"}]},"field_top_story":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_video_autoplay":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_videos":{"und":[{"target_id":"537646"}]},"field_tags_hide":{"und":[{"tid":"18276"}]},"field_video_automute":[],"field_editorial_category":[],"field_allow_lld_domains":[],"field_enable_stanza":[],"field_exclude_from_yahoo":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"Pascal Laberge out to show Flyers 'the real me'"},"news_keywords":{"value":"Pascal Laberge, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers, Pascal Laberge Flyers, Pascal Laberge concussion, Pascal Laberge head injury, Pascal Laberge hockey, Flyers top prospects"}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"name":"tdougherty","picture":"0","data":"b:0;"},"access":true},{"target_id":"539666","entity":{"vid":"566421","uid":"156","title":"Morgan Frost, the other 1st-round pick, can help Flyers, too","log":"","status":"1","comment":"0","promote":"0","sticky":"0","nid":"539666","type":"article","language":"und","created":"1500171137","changed":"1500320019","tnid":"0","translate":"0","published":"1500210000","revision_timestamp":"1500320019","revision_uid":"156","body":{"und":[{"value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Morgan Frost was teeming with nerves.<\/p>The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\" target=\"_blank\">Flyers<\/a> had just called his name on the night of the NHL draft, so emotions were running wild as he made his way to the spectacle's forefront at the United Center.<\/p>\"It was pretty crazy,\" Frost said last week. \"Walking up the stage, I thought I was going to fall over.\"<\/p>Unlike that concern, Frost has no trouble staying upright on the ice. His speed, skating and skills are what made him attractive to the Flyers, who selected the 18-year-old in the June draft with the 27th pick acquired via the Brayden Schenn trade.<\/p>With the deal, Frost became the Flyers' second first-round choice of the night, joining No. 2 overall pick Nolan Patrick. And similar to Patrick, Frost is a skilled forward that thrives when skill surrounds him. Put Frost with talent, and he'll make it better.<\/p>\"I think I'm definitely a playmaker first,\" Frost said. \"I think you're always going to see me with more assists than goals.\"<\/p>That rung true last season when Frost put up 42 assists compared to 20 goals in 67 games with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL. Alongside Bruins 2015 first-round pick Zach Senyshyn, a bona-fide goal-scoring winger, Frost dished the puck plenty and also produced a 22-assist increase from his first year of junior play.<\/p>\"Playing with a guy like Senyshyn definitely helps that stat because he's a goal scorer,\" Frost said. \"I think for me, playing with a goal scorer is part of the best thing because I'm a guy that likes to distribute. At the same time, I feel like I can contribute offensively in terms of scoring, but I'm definitely a playmaker.\"<\/p>Frost provided glimpses of that ability through a variety of drills and competition at Flyers development camp, his first real taste of the NHL.<\/p>\"It's super special,\" Frost said. \"The first step on that ice obviously meant a lot to me. It's still pretty surreal for me to be here. I'm definitely excited.\"<\/p>Now with an NHL organization, Frost hopes to grow both physically and defensively. An offensive stalwart listed at 5-foot-11, 172 pounds, Frost was able to see how he can improve those areas after spending six days with the Flyers.<\/p>\"Giving them an early view of our expectations as an organization of ways to improve their game, whether it's skill-wise or strength-wise,\" Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said of development camp.<\/p>\"Being a pro and showing them ways to develop physically and as an athlete.\"<\/p>Over time, Frost wants to show he can be an all-situation center. He feels he has already started to with the Greyhounds, who will continue to give him greater responsibilities in 2017-18, including penalty-kill minutes.<\/p>\"They kind of stressed that to me right when I got there,\" Frost said. \"I was kind of a one-dimensional player, offensive. They stressed that it wasn't all about that, it's not about scoring goals or setting up goals all the time if you're going to be on the ice for goals against. So plus-minus was something I wanted to improve on and just be harder to play against, play defense. They turned me into more of a well-rounded player.\"<\/p>Over 65 games in 2015-16, Frost was a minus-6. He went to a plus-15 in 2016-17. And while he wants to become more complete, making a difference with the puck on his stick will be his ticket to the Flyers.<\/p>\"I think that's a skill I've had ever since I was a little kid, just being able to see the ice and slow the play down a little,\" Frost said. \"But at the same time, I think that's developed with coaching and practice.\"<\/p>After getting to know the Flyers, he found new ways to work on those strengths.<\/p>\"We're watching video, watching just little things that you can do with your skates \u2014 ways to change your angle, use your edges,\" Frost said. \"That's one thing that I definitely want to do and I want to be able to accelerate better.<\/p>\"The first three steps and once I get up to speed, I'm fast and I can use my speed to my advantage.\"<\/p>And to help his teammates, too. That's what Frost does best.<\/p>","summary":"Similar to Nolan Patrick, Morgan Frost was a first-round pick of the Flyers that excels by making those around him better. By Jordan Hall<\/p>","format":"filtered_html","safe_value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Morgan Frost was teeming with nerves.<\/p>\nThe <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\" target=\"_blank\">Flyers<\/a> had just called his name on the night of the NHL draft, so emotions were running wild as he made his way to the spectacle's forefront at the United Center.<\/p>\n\"It was pretty crazy,\" Frost said last week. \"Walking up the stage, I thought I was going to fall over.\"<\/p>\nUnlike that concern, Frost has no trouble staying upright on the ice. His speed, skating and skills are what made him attractive to the Flyers, who selected the 18-year-old in the June draft with the 27th pick acquired via the Brayden Schenn trade.<\/p>\nWith the deal, Frost became the Flyers' second first-round choice of the night, joining No. 2 overall pick Nolan Patrick. And similar to Patrick, Frost is a skilled forward that thrives when skill surrounds him. Put Frost with talent, and he'll make it better.<\/p>\n\"I think I'm definitely a playmaker first,\" Frost said. \"I think you're always going to see me with more assists than goals.\"<\/p>\nThat rung true last season when Frost put up 42 assists compared to 20 goals in 67 games with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL. Alongside Bruins 2015 first-round pick Zach Senyshyn, a bona-fide goal-scoring winger, Frost dished the puck plenty and also produced a 22-assist increase from his first year of junior play.<\/p>\n\"Playing with a guy like Senyshyn definitely helps that stat because he's a goal scorer,\" Frost said. \"I think for me, playing with a goal scorer is part of the best thing because I'm a guy that likes to distribute. At the same time, I feel like I can contribute offensively in terms of scoring, but I'm definitely a playmaker.\"<\/p>\nFrost provided glimpses of that ability through a variety of drills and competition at Flyers development camp, his first real taste of the NHL.<\/p>\n\"It's super special,\" Frost said. \"The first step on that ice obviously meant a lot to me. It's still pretty surreal for me to be here. I'm definitely excited.\"<\/p>\nNow with an NHL organization, Frost hopes to grow both physically and defensively. An offensive stalwart listed at 5-foot-11, 172 pounds, Frost was able to see how he can improve those areas after spending six days with the Flyers.<\/p>\n\"Giving them an early view of our expectations as an organization of ways to improve their game, whether it's skill-wise or strength-wise,\" Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said of development camp.<\/p>\n\"Being a pro and showing them ways to develop physically and as an athlete.\"<\/p>\nOver time, Frost wants to show he can be an all-situation center. He feels he has already started to with the Greyhounds, who will continue to give him greater responsibilities in 2017-18, including penalty-kill minutes.<\/p>\n\"They kind of stressed that to me right when I got there,\" Frost said. \"I was kind of a one-dimensional player, offensive. They stressed that it wasn't all about that, it's not about scoring goals or setting up goals all the time if you're going to be on the ice for goals against. So plus-minus was something I wanted to improve on and just be harder to play against, play defense. They turned me into more of a well-rounded player.\"<\/p>\nOver 65 games in 2015-16, Frost was a minus-6. He went to a plus-15 in 2016-17. And while he wants to become more complete, making a difference with the puck on his stick will be his ticket to the Flyers.<\/p>\n\"I think that's a skill I've had ever since I was a little kid, just being able to see the ice and slow the play down a little,\" Frost said. \"But at the same time, I think that's developed with coaching and practice.\"<\/p>\nAfter getting to know the Flyers, he found new ways to work on those strengths.<\/p>\n\"We're watching video, watching just little things that you can do with your skates \u2014 ways to change your angle, use your edges,\" Frost said. \"That's one thing that I definitely want to do and I want to be able to accelerate better.<\/p>\n\"The first three steps and once I get up to speed, I'm fast and I can use my speed to my advantage.\"<\/p>\nAnd to help his teammates, too. That's what Frost does best.<\/p>\n","safe_summary":"Similar to Nolan Patrick, Morgan Frost was a first-round pick of the Flyers that excels by making those around him better. By Jordan Hall<\/p>\n"}]},"field_author_reference":{"und":[{"tid":"1056"}]},"field_bean_single_col":{"und":[{"target_id":"2456"}]},"field_chrome_page":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_date_published":{"und":[{"value":"2017-07-16 13:00:00","timezone":"America\/New_York","timezone_db":"UTC","date_type":"datetime"}]},"field_hero_image_credit":{"und":[{"value":"Photo credit: Zack Hill\/Flyers","format":null,"safe_value":"Photo credit: Zack Hill\/Flyers"}]},"field_image":{"und":[{"fid":"476586","uid":"156","filename":"zack-hill-flyers-morgan-frost.jpg","uri":"public:\/\/2017\/07\/15\/zack-hill-flyers-morgan-frost.jpg","filemime":"image\/jpeg","filesize":"316920","status":"1","timestamp":"1500171137","origname":"zack-hill-flyers-morgan-frost.jpg","type":"image","field_file_image_alt_text":{"und":[{"value":"Morgan Frost, Philadelphia Flyers","format":null,"safe_value":"Morgan Frost, Philadelphia Flyers"}]},"field_file_image_title_text":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]","default":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]"},"description":{"value":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!","default":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!"},"abstract":{"value":""},"keywords":{"value":""},"robots":{"value":{"index":0,"follow":0,"noindex":0,"nofollow":0,"noarchive":0,"nosnippet":0,"noodp":0,"noydir":0,"noimageindex":0,"notranslate":0}},"news_keywords":{"value":""},"standout":{"value":""},"rating":{"value":""},"referrer":{"value":""},"rights":{"value":""},"image_src":{"value":""},"canonical":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"shortlink":{"value":"[current-page:url:unaliased]","default":"[current-page:url:unaliased]"},"original-source":{"value":""},"prev":{"value":""},"next":{"value":""},"content-language":{"value":""},"geo.position":{"value":""},"geo.placename":{"value":""},"geo.region":{"value":""},"icbm":{"value":""},"refresh":{"value":""},"revisit-after":{"value":"","period":""},"pragma":{"value":""},"cache-control":{"value":""},"expires":{"value":""},"og:type":{"value":"article","default":"article"},"og:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"og:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"og:determiner":{"value":""},"og:description":{"value":""},"og:updated_time":{"value":""},"og:see_also":{"value":""},"og:image":{"value":""},"og:image:url":{"value":""},"og:image:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:image:type":{"value":""},"og:image:width":{"value":""},"og:image:height":{"value":""},"og:latitude":{"value":""},"og:longitude":{"value":""},"og:street_address":{"value":""},"og:locality":{"value":""},"og:region":{"value":""},"og:postal_code":{"value":""},"og:country_name":{"value":""},"og:email":{"value":""},"og:phone_number":{"value":""},"og:fax_number":{"value":""},"og:locale":{"value":""},"og:locale:alternate":{"value":""},"article:author":{"value":""},"article:publisher":{"value":""},"article:section":{"value":""},"article:tag":{"value":""},"article:published_time":{"value":""},"article:modified_time":{"value":""},"article:expiration_time":{"value":""},"profile:first_name":{"value":""},"profile:last_name":{"value":""},"profile:username":{"value":""},"profile:gender":{"value":""},"og:audio":{"value":""},"og:audio:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:audio:type":{"value":""},"book:author":{"value":""},"book:isbn":{"value":""},"book:release_date":{"value":""},"book:tag":{"value":""},"og:video:url":{"value":""},"og:video:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:video:width":{"value":""},"og:video:height":{"value":""},"og:video:type":{"value":""},"video:actor":{"value":""},"video:actor:role":{"value":""},"video:director":{"value":""},"video:writer":{"value":""},"video:duration":{"value":""},"video:release_date":{"value":""},"video:tag":{"value":""},"video:series":{"value":""},"twitter:card":{"value":"summary","default":"summary"},"twitter:creator":{"value":""},"twitter:creator:id":{"value":""},"twitter:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"twitter:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"twitter:description":{"value":""},"twitter:image":{"value":""},"twitter:image:width":{"value":""},"twitter:image:height":{"value":""},"twitter:image:alt":{"value":""},"twitter:image0":{"value":""},"twitter:image1":{"value":""},"twitter:image2":{"value":""},"twitter:image3":{"value":""},"twitter:player":{"value":""},"twitter:player:width":{"value":""},"twitter:player:height":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream:content_type":{"value":""},"twitter:app:country":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:label1":{"value":""},"twitter:data1":{"value":""},"twitter:label2":{"value":""},"twitter:data2":{"value":""}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"alt":"Morgan Frost, Philadelphia Flyers","metadata":{"height":382,"width":640},"height":"382","width":"640","title":""}]},"field_league":{"und":[{"tid":"196"}]},"field_section":{"und":[{"tid":"201"}]},"field_short_title":{"und":[{"value":"The other 1st-round pick, Morgan Frost can help Flyers, too","format":null,"safe_value":"The other 1st-round pick, Morgan Frost can help Flyers, too"}]},"field_sponsor":[],"field_sport":{"und":[{"tid":"191"}]},"field_tags":{"und":[{"tid":"6201"},{"tid":"18276"},{"tid":"506"},{"tid":"19506"},{"tid":"466"}]},"field_team":{"und":[{"tid":"141"}]},"field_top_story":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_video_autoplay":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_videos":{"und":[{"target_id":"532906"}]},"field_tags_hide":{"und":[{"tid":"18276"}]},"field_video_automute":[],"field_editorial_category":[],"field_allow_lld_domains":[],"field_enable_stanza":[],"field_exclude_from_yahoo":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"news_keywords":{"value":"Morgan Frost, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers development camp, Flyers prospects"}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"name":"JHall","picture":"0","data":"b:0;"},"access":true},{"target_id":"539336","entity":{"vid":"565986","uid":"266","title":"After popping at world juniors, Mikhail Vorobyev sees 'good opportunity' with Phantoms","log":"","status":"1","comment":"0","promote":"0","sticky":"0","nid":"539336","type":"article","language":"und","created":"1500066760","changed":"1501259318","tnid":"0","translate":"0","published":"1500123600","revision_timestamp":"1501259318","revision_uid":"266","body":{"und":[{"value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Not many people knew who Mikhail Vorobyev was when the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships began last December.<\/p>They found out quick who he was by the end.<\/p>Vorobyev led the tournament with 10 assists in seven games for Team Russia, which captured the bronze medal. He didn\u2019t register a goal but his 10 points were third most.<\/p>\u201cVorobyev popped at the world juniors when he\u2019s playing with his peers,\u201d <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> general manager Ron Hextall said recently during development camp at Flyers Skate Zone.<\/p>\u201cOur guys really liked him his draft year. We got him in the fourth round probably because he was in Russia. He was hidden a little bit.\u201d<\/p>After one full season playing in the KHL for Salavat Yulaev Ufa, Vorobyev signed his entry-level contract with the Flyers in late April. The 20-year-old center will spend the 2017-18 season with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms as part of an interesting forward group.<\/p>Lehigh Valley finished as the second-best AHL team last season with 101 points in the regular season, but it lost to the Hershey Bears in five games during the first round of the playoffs.<\/p>This season, Vorobyev figures to have a spot in the regular lineup, but the forward competition in the AHL could be as competitive as it will be with the Flyers.<\/p>Still, Vorobyev believed coming overseas was for his best interests.<\/p>\u201cIf you want to continue development,\u201d Vorobyev said through an interpreter, Flyers skating coach Slava Kouznetsov, \u201cthis is a good opportunity to get better. In Russia, I think I reached up. That\u2019s why I\u2019m switching to North America to get better than I already am.\u201d<\/p>It may take Vorobyev a while to get accumulated to the North American lifestyle, especially since he doesn\u2019t speak English, but having Radel Fazleev at Lehigh Valley should help.<\/p>Fazleev is entering his second season in the AHL. He\u2019s been in North America full-time since 2013-14, his first season in the WHL.<\/p>At development camp, Vorobyev had three other Russians \u2014 Fazleev, German Rubtsov and camp invite Ivan Kosorenkov \u2014 and Maksim Sushko, who\u2019s from Belarus but speaks Russian, to lean on. Fazleev was the only development camp veteran of the bunch.<\/p>Like Rubtsov last summer, Vorobyev wasn\u2019t able to attend development camp in 2015 and 2016 because of his contract obligations in the KHL. Having Kouznetsov around also helps.<\/p>\"It is a big help,\u201d Vorobyev said. \u201cI'm feeling much more comfortable. The guys are helpful. It's easier to have conversation. They explain the rules, especially the guys who were here the previous years.\u201d<\/p>The adjustment for Vorobyev will come largely off the ice. The Salavat, Russia, native doesn\u2019t view the smaller rink as an obstacle, but it usually is for Europeans and Russians.<\/p>\"When I traveled with the Russian team, I always liked to play on the smaller surface,\u201d Vorobyev said. \u201cI like it. There's no adjustment, basically.\"<\/p>Vorobyev isn\u2019t the only player coming overseas this season for the Flyers. Oskar Lindblom, a 2014 fifth-round pick, believes the biggest transition for him will be the rink size.<\/p>\u201cThat\u2019s the big thing,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a little bit faster over here, so you have to think a little faster and be ready out there. Otherwise, you're going to get hit or not make the play.\"<\/p>Both Vorobyev and Lindblom were middle-round picks. Lindblom\u2019s ascension has caught the eyes of the Flyers and their fans. Lindblom is expected to be a Flyer in 2017-18.<\/p>While Lindblom has earned the hype, Vorobyev\u2019s progression has been interesting too. Both are examples of how far the Flyers\u2019 scouting department has come in recent years.<\/p>Vorobyev earned a steady role in the KHL last season after splitting the 2015-16 season with Salavat Yulaev and Tolpar Ufa of the MHL.<\/p>For the average folk, Vorobyev\u2019s numbers last season will not turn any heads. He had just three goals and 11 points in 44 games for Salavat Yulaev, but with young players in the KHL, it\u2019s hard to judge strictly on statistics. What should be of note is the ice time.<\/p>During the regular season, Vorobyev averaged 9:47. That number shot up to 13:29 per game in five postseason contests. That signals his Salavat Yulaev coaches trusted him enough to play him.<\/p>It's easy to see the difference with Vorobyev and Rubtsov. Vorobyev carved out a spot on his team at 19 and 20 years old. Rubtsov couldn\u2019t crack his KHL lineup.<\/p>Both are now in North America. The Flyers have three options with Rubtsov: QMJHL, AHL and NHL. They technically have two choices with Vorobyev, but he\u2019ll be in the AHL.<\/p>\u201cThe Russians are a little bit of a different animal because if you\u2019re playing in the KHL,\u201d Hextall said, \u201cyou got a young kid playing against men in a top league and keep them down on the fourth line and give him seven minutes. It\u2019s hard to show a whole lot in seven minutes.\u201d<\/p>Vorobyev has added at least 13 pounds since the Flyers drafted him in the fourth round of the 2015 NHL draft. He\u2019s currently listed at 6-foot-2, 207 pounds.<\/p>\u201cIf you look at his weight, his body makeup, it\u2019s changed quite a bit since we drafted him,\u201d Hextall said, \u201cand again, he popped at the world juniors last year. Quite honestly, if you asked our scouts, I don\u2019t think they\u2019d be too surprised.\u201d<\/p>The world junior performance was Vorobyev\u2019s coming out party in North America. He was exciting to watch on a Russian team that also featured Rubtsov, who struggled in the tournament. Vorobyev displayed playmaking and vision not many ever he knew he had.<\/p>Vorobyev did most of his damage setting his teammates up from behind the net and said at development camp behind the net is an area he\u2019s comfortable.<\/p>\u201cBehind the net, I felt comfortable and got points off feeding the puck to the slot,\u201d Vorobyev said. \u201cIf my partners did not score, I wouldn\u2019t get assists. It is pride [to lead the tournament in assists], but the partners, that\u2019s who I relied on.\u201d<\/p>","summary":"After breaking onto the scene at the world juniors, Mikhail Vorobyev sees a \"good opportunity\" in North America with the Phantoms. By Tom Dougherty<\/p>","format":"filtered_html","safe_value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Not many people knew who Mikhail Vorobyev was when the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships began last December.<\/p>\nThey found out quick who he was by the end.<\/p>\nVorobyev led the tournament with 10 assists in seven games for Team Russia, which captured the bronze medal. He didn\u2019t register a goal but his 10 points were third most.<\/p>\n\u201cVorobyev popped at the world juniors when he\u2019s playing with his peers,\u201d <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> general manager Ron Hextall said recently during development camp at Flyers Skate Zone.<\/p>\n\u201cOur guys really liked him his draft year. We got him in the fourth round probably because he was in Russia. He was hidden a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\nAfter one full season playing in the KHL for Salavat Yulaev Ufa, Vorobyev signed his entry-level contract with the Flyers in late April. The 20-year-old center will spend the 2017-18 season with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms as part of an interesting forward group.<\/p>\nLehigh Valley finished as the second-best AHL team last season with 101 points in the regular season, but it lost to the Hershey Bears in five games during the first round of the playoffs.<\/p>\nThis season, Vorobyev figures to have a spot in the regular lineup, but the forward competition in the AHL could be as competitive as it will be with the Flyers.<\/p>\nStill, Vorobyev believed coming overseas was for his best interests.<\/p>\n\u201cIf you want to continue development,\u201d Vorobyev said through an interpreter, Flyers skating coach Slava Kouznetsov, \u201cthis is a good opportunity to get better. In Russia, I think I reached up. That\u2019s why I\u2019m switching to North America to get better than I already am.\u201d<\/p>\nIt may take Vorobyev a while to get accumulated to the North American lifestyle, especially since he doesn\u2019t speak English, but having Radel Fazleev at Lehigh Valley should help.<\/p>\nFazleev is entering his second season in the AHL. He\u2019s been in North America full-time since 2013-14, his first season in the WHL.<\/p>\nAt development camp, Vorobyev had three other Russians \u2014 Fazleev, German Rubtsov and camp invite Ivan Kosorenkov \u2014 and Maksim Sushko, who\u2019s from Belarus but speaks Russian, to lean on. Fazleev was the only development camp veteran of the bunch.<\/p>\nLike Rubtsov last summer, Vorobyev wasn\u2019t able to attend development camp in 2015 and 2016 because of his contract obligations in the KHL. Having Kouznetsov around also helps.<\/p>\n\"It is a big help,\u201d Vorobyev said. \u201cI'm feeling much more comfortable. The guys are helpful. It's easier to have conversation. They explain the rules, especially the guys who were here the previous years.\u201d<\/p>\nThe adjustment for Vorobyev will come largely off the ice. The Salavat, Russia, native doesn\u2019t view the smaller rink as an obstacle, but it usually is for Europeans and Russians.<\/p>\n\"When I traveled with the Russian team, I always liked to play on the smaller surface,\u201d Vorobyev said. \u201cI like it. There's no adjustment, basically.\"<\/p>\nVorobyev isn\u2019t the only player coming overseas this season for the Flyers. Oskar Lindblom, a 2014 fifth-round pick, believes the biggest transition for him will be the rink size.<\/p>\n\u201cThat\u2019s the big thing,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a little bit faster over here, so you have to think a little faster and be ready out there. Otherwise, you're going to get hit or not make the play.\"<\/p>\nBoth Vorobyev and Lindblom were middle-round picks. Lindblom\u2019s ascension has caught the eyes of the Flyers and their fans. Lindblom is expected to be a Flyer in 2017-18.<\/p>\nWhile Lindblom has earned the hype, Vorobyev\u2019s progression has been interesting too. Both are examples of how far the Flyers\u2019 scouting department has come in recent years.<\/p>\nVorobyev earned a steady role in the KHL last season after splitting the 2015-16 season with Salavat Yulaev and Tolpar Ufa of the MHL.<\/p>\nFor the average folk, Vorobyev\u2019s numbers last season will not turn any heads. He had just three goals and 11 points in 44 games for Salavat Yulaev, but with young players in the KHL, it\u2019s hard to judge strictly on statistics. What should be of note is the ice time.<\/p>\nDuring the regular season, Vorobyev averaged 9:47. That number shot up to 13:29 per game in five postseason contests. That signals his Salavat Yulaev coaches trusted him enough to play him.<\/p>\nIt's easy to see the difference with Vorobyev and Rubtsov. Vorobyev carved out a spot on his team at 19 and 20 years old. Rubtsov couldn\u2019t crack his KHL lineup.<\/p>\nBoth are now in North America. The Flyers have three options with Rubtsov: QMJHL, AHL and NHL. They technically have two choices with Vorobyev, but he\u2019ll be in the AHL.<\/p>\n\u201cThe Russians are a little bit of a different animal because if you\u2019re playing in the KHL,\u201d Hextall said, \u201cyou got a young kid playing against men in a top league and keep them down on the fourth line and give him seven minutes. It\u2019s hard to show a whole lot in seven minutes.\u201d<\/p>\nVorobyev has added at least 13 pounds since the Flyers drafted him in the fourth round of the 2015 NHL draft. He\u2019s currently listed at 6-foot-2, 207 pounds.<\/p>\n\u201cIf you look at his weight, his body makeup, it\u2019s changed quite a bit since we drafted him,\u201d Hextall said, \u201cand again, he popped at the world juniors last year. Quite honestly, if you asked our scouts, I don\u2019t think they\u2019d be too surprised.\u201d<\/p>\nThe world junior performance was Vorobyev\u2019s coming out party in North America. He was exciting to watch on a Russian team that also featured Rubtsov, who struggled in the tournament. Vorobyev displayed playmaking and vision not many ever he knew he had.<\/p>\nVorobyev did most of his damage setting his teammates up from behind the net and said at development camp behind the net is an area he\u2019s comfortable.<\/p>\n\u201cBehind the net, I felt comfortable and got points off feeding the puck to the slot,\u201d Vorobyev said. \u201cIf my partners did not score, I wouldn\u2019t get assists. It is pride [to lead the tournament in assists], but the partners, that\u2019s who I relied on.\u201d<\/p>\n","safe_summary":"After breaking onto the scene at the world juniors, Mikhail Vorobyev sees a \"good opportunity\" in North America with the Phantoms. By Tom Dougherty<\/p>\n"}]},"field_author_reference":{"und":[{"tid":"1321"}]},"field_bean_single_col":{"und":[{"target_id":"2456"}]},"field_chrome_page":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_date_published":{"und":[{"value":"2017-07-15 13:00:00","timezone":"America\/New_York","timezone_db":"UTC","date_type":"datetime"}]},"field_hero_image_credit":{"und":[{"value":"Tom Dougherty\/CSNPhilly.com","format":null,"safe_value":"Tom Dougherty\/CSNPhilly.com"}]},"field_image":{"und":[{"fid":"472531","uid":"266","filename":"tom-dougherty-mikhail-vorobyev-3.jpg","uri":"public:\/\/2017\/07\/14\/tom-dougherty-mikhail-vorobyev-3.jpg","filemime":"image\/jpeg","filesize":"177970","status":"1","timestamp":"1500066760","origname":"tom-dougherty-mikhail-vorobyev-3.jpg","type":"image","field_file_image_alt_text":[],"field_file_image_title_text":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]","default":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]"},"description":{"value":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!","default":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!"},"abstract":{"value":""},"keywords":{"value":""},"robots":{"value":{"index":0,"follow":0,"noindex":0,"nofollow":0,"noarchive":0,"nosnippet":0,"noodp":0,"noydir":0,"noimageindex":0,"notranslate":0}},"news_keywords":{"value":""},"standout":{"value":""},"rating":{"value":""},"referrer":{"value":""},"rights":{"value":""},"image_src":{"value":""},"canonical":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"shortlink":{"value":"[current-page:url:unaliased]","default":"[current-page:url:unaliased]"},"original-source":{"value":""},"prev":{"value":""},"next":{"value":""},"content-language":{"value":""},"geo.position":{"value":""},"geo.placename":{"value":""},"geo.region":{"value":""},"icbm":{"value":""},"refresh":{"value":""},"revisit-after":{"value":"","period":""},"pragma":{"value":""},"cache-control":{"value":""},"expires":{"value":""},"og:type":{"value":"article","default":"article"},"og:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"og:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"og:determiner":{"value":""},"og:description":{"value":""},"og:updated_time":{"value":""},"og:see_also":{"value":""},"og:image":{"value":""},"og:image:url":{"value":""},"og:image:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:image:type":{"value":""},"og:image:width":{"value":""},"og:image:height":{"value":""},"og:latitude":{"value":""},"og:longitude":{"value":""},"og:street_address":{"value":""},"og:locality":{"value":""},"og:region":{"value":""},"og:postal_code":{"value":""},"og:country_name":{"value":""},"og:email":{"value":""},"og:phone_number":{"value":""},"og:fax_number":{"value":""},"og:locale":{"value":""},"og:locale:alternate":{"value":""},"article:author":{"value":""},"article:publisher":{"value":""},"article:section":{"value":""},"article:tag":{"value":""},"article:published_time":{"value":""},"article:modified_time":{"value":""},"article:expiration_time":{"value":""},"profile:first_name":{"value":""},"profile:last_name":{"value":""},"profile:username":{"value":""},"profile:gender":{"value":""},"og:audio":{"value":""},"og:audio:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:audio:type":{"value":""},"book:author":{"value":""},"book:isbn":{"value":""},"book:release_date":{"value":""},"book:tag":{"value":""},"og:video:url":{"value":""},"og:video:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:video:width":{"value":""},"og:video:height":{"value":""},"og:video:type":{"value":""},"video:actor":{"value":""},"video:actor:role":{"value":""},"video:director":{"value":""},"video:writer":{"value":""},"video:duration":{"value":""},"video:release_date":{"value":""},"video:tag":{"value":""},"video:series":{"value":""},"twitter:card":{"value":"summary","default":"summary"},"twitter:creator":{"value":""},"twitter:creator:id":{"value":""},"twitter:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"twitter:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"twitter:description":{"value":""},"twitter:image":{"value":""},"twitter:image:width":{"value":""},"twitter:image:height":{"value":""},"twitter:image:alt":{"value":""},"twitter:image0":{"value":""},"twitter:image1":{"value":""},"twitter:image2":{"value":""},"twitter:image3":{"value":""},"twitter:player":{"value":""},"twitter:player:width":{"value":""},"twitter:player:height":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream:content_type":{"value":""},"twitter:app:country":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:label1":{"value":""},"twitter:data1":{"value":""},"twitter:label2":{"value":""},"twitter:data2":{"value":""}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"metadata":{"height":360,"width":640},"height":"360","width":"640","alt":"","title":""}]},"field_league":{"und":[{"tid":"196"}]},"field_section":{"und":[{"tid":"201"}]},"field_short_title":{"und":[{"value":"After popping at WJCs, Mikhail Vorobyev sees 'good opportunity' with Phantoms","format":null,"safe_value":"After popping at WJCs, Mikhail Vorobyev sees 'good opportunity' with Phantoms"}]},"field_sponsor":[],"field_sport":{"und":[{"tid":"191"}]},"field_tags":{"und":[{"tid":"6201"},{"tid":"18276"},{"tid":"20111"},{"tid":"466"},{"tid":"3091"}]},"field_team":{"und":[{"tid":"141"}]},"field_top_story":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_video_autoplay":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_videos":{"und":[{"target_id":"537636"}]},"field_tags_hide":{"und":[{"tid":"18276"}]},"field_video_automute":[],"field_editorial_category":[],"field_allow_lld_domains":[],"field_enable_stanza":[],"field_exclude_from_yahoo":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"Mikhail Vorobyev sees 'good opportunity' with Flyers, Phantoms"},"news_keywords":{"value":"Mikhail Vorobyev, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers, Mikhail Vorobyev Flyers, Flyers draft Mikhail Vorobyev, Flyers sign Mikhail Vorobyev"}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"name":"tdougherty","picture":"0","data":"b:0;"},"access":true}]},"field_primary_display":[],"field_section":[],"field_show":[],"field_sport":[],"field_tags":[],"field_team":[],"field_author_reference":[],"field_archive":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_mc_auto_mute":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_mc_cont_play":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_mc_media_file_title":[],"field_mc_vod_player_id":[],"field_media_file_id":[],"field_mediacard_autoplay":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_display_desktop_large_only":[],"field_hide_on_mobile":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","entity_view_prepared":true},"#items":[{"target_id":"538021","entity":{"vid":"564531","uid":"266","title":"On his own time, Oskar Lindblom puts himself right there with Flyers","log":"","status":"1","comment":"0","promote":"0","sticky":"0","nid":"538021","type":"article","language":"und","created":"1499654903","changed":"1499791976","tnid":"0","translate":"0","published":"1499691600","revision_timestamp":"1499791976","revision_uid":"266","body":{"und":[{"value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Oskar Lindblom would take 10 minutes out of his own time and hit the ice early before practice. In Sweden, there was no high-level skating whiz to seek out on staff.   Actually, there was no skating coach period.   \"Do your own thing and try to be better every day,\" Lindblom said. \"That's the only thing you can do.   \"You have to put yourself into it.\"   And so he did.   It's what makes the fifth-round pick's ascension that more grandiose. Lindblom is no longer a raw wonder with skating deficiencies. Those 10 minutes have added up into a refined and rising prospect, attracting <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> fans in bunches last weekend.   Everyone knows Lindblom now.   \"We picked Oskar, he went back to Europe, nobody even talks about him,\" Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said Friday at development camp. \"What does he do? He just gets better and better and better.\"   Lindblom's climb has nearly reached the Flyers. The 6-foot-2, 192-pound winger signed his entry-level contract in May and turns 21 in August. He earned 2016-17 Swedish Hockey League Forward of the Year honors playing for Bryn\u00e4s IF. Over 52 regular-season games, Lindblom accumulated 47 points on 22 goals and 25 assists, then added 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in 20 playoff games.   How in the world did all that slip to the fifth round of the 2014 draft?   \"Oskar going into his draft year, he was thought to be a first-round pick, maybe top-15 pick that year,\" Hextall said. \"He didn't have a great year, some things didn't go his way, whatever, you look back and these kids are really young.   \"Some of these kids make a lot of progress in a couple years and I think Oskar is one of those guys. His skating, you look at certain players, they don't have a great stride and their skating can certainly get better, but there's a bit of ceiling there. With Oskar, it was more of a strength issue and that's what's come on with him. It's been a couple of years, he's gotten a lot stronger and you can just tell when you see him out on the ice there.\"   Not many would have predicted this, though. Lindblom, a humbled youngster from Sweden with long blonde hair, even surprised himself last season.   \"A little bit,\" he said. \"I just wanted to be a leading guy on our team, but I didn't think I was going to score that much or have that many points. The longer the season got, I got more confident in my play. It felt good.\"   So how did Lindblom develop so vastly? For one, it's come from his own motivation. He knew he had to become stronger, and he has. He knew his skating had to improve, so he worked on it. His hands had to be better, and now they are.   A lot of the credit goes to Lindblom.   \"Take the hat off to the kid, too, because he put a lot of work in,\" Hextall said. \"When you improve that much, he put a lot of work in.\"   Secondly, Lindblom embodies the importance of development camp. He valued the instruction from NHL coaches and implemented what he learned moving forward.   A significant influence in Lindblom's development has been Flyers skating coach Slava Kouznetsov.   \"We've got some drills over here from Slava,\" Lindblom said. \"Try to do small stuff like in the gym. Just the small stuff to do to get better \u2014 that's what you need to do.   \"My legs are much stronger now and my technique has been a little better. Those two things I think have been most important.\"   If Hextall had a development camp manual, Lindblom would be in it.   \"We have Slava here \u2014 he's instructed to give things to take home,\" Hextall said. \"And if they work on those every day, even if it's only five minutes, I guarantee you over the course of the year, they'll get better. Oskar's a great example.\"   Lindblom said his plans are to head home following development camp and then return in mid-August \"just to get ready and get comfortable.\" With the Flyers in need of scoring, specifically production from the wing, Lindblom has become the organization's most anticipated prospect not named Nolan Patrick. He'll be in September's training camp with more than a fighter's chance to win a roster spot.   \"He had a real good year last year and he's certainly put himself on the map for everybody, but he still has to come in and get it done,\" Hextall said. \"He has to prove he makes us a better team.\"   Lindblom, of all people, doesn't expect anything handed to him.   \"It's going to be a big challenge for me,\" Lindblom said. \"It's going to be tough work to get to where I want to be.   \"Like everybody else, you have to earn the spot and battle for it.\"   A fifth-round pick is well aware.   \"I just think about it by myself, like fifth-rounder, I just felt like I can play and I can be on this level,\" Lindblom said. \"So I'm just trying to push myself every day and be better. Now I've signed here and just have to do my best now to get there. That's what I want \u2014 play in the NHL, of course.\"   Putting in 10 extra minutes by himself has him right there.<\/p>","summary":"Knocking on the NHL's door, Oskar Lindblom's ascension into one of the Flyers' most anticipated prospects is a large part of his own. By Jordan Hall<\/p>","format":"filtered_html","safe_value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Oskar Lindblom would take 10 minutes out of his own time and hit the ice early before practice. In Sweden, there was no high-level skating whiz to seek out on staff.   Actually, there was no skating coach period.   \"Do your own thing and try to be better every day,\" Lindblom said. \"That's the only thing you can do.   \"You have to put yourself into it.\"   And so he did.   It's what makes the fifth-round pick's ascension that more grandiose. Lindblom is no longer a raw wonder with skating deficiencies. Those 10 minutes have added up into a refined and rising prospect, attracting <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> fans in bunches last weekend.   Everyone knows Lindblom now.   \"We picked Oskar, he went back to Europe, nobody even talks about him,\" Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said Friday at development camp. \"What does he do? He just gets better and better and better.\"   Lindblom's climb has nearly reached the Flyers. The 6-foot-2, 192-pound winger signed his entry-level contract in May and turns 21 in August. He earned 2016-17 Swedish Hockey League Forward of the Year honors playing for Bryn\u00e4s IF. Over 52 regular-season games, Lindblom accumulated 47 points on 22 goals and 25 assists, then added 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in 20 playoff games.   How in the world did all that slip to the fifth round of the 2014 draft?   \"Oskar going into his draft year, he was thought to be a first-round pick, maybe top-15 pick that year,\" Hextall said. \"He didn't have a great year, some things didn't go his way, whatever, you look back and these kids are really young.   \"Some of these kids make a lot of progress in a couple years and I think Oskar is one of those guys. His skating, you look at certain players, they don't have a great stride and their skating can certainly get better, but there's a bit of ceiling there. With Oskar, it was more of a strength issue and that's what's come on with him. It's been a couple of years, he's gotten a lot stronger and you can just tell when you see him out on the ice there.\"   Not many would have predicted this, though. Lindblom, a humbled youngster from Sweden with long blonde hair, even surprised himself last season.   \"A little bit,\" he said. \"I just wanted to be a leading guy on our team, but I didn't think I was going to score that much or have that many points. The longer the season got, I got more confident in my play. It felt good.\"   So how did Lindblom develop so vastly? For one, it's come from his own motivation. He knew he had to become stronger, and he has. He knew his skating had to improve, so he worked on it. His hands had to be better, and now they are.   A lot of the credit goes to Lindblom.   \"Take the hat off to the kid, too, because he put a lot of work in,\" Hextall said. \"When you improve that much, he put a lot of work in.\"   Secondly, Lindblom embodies the importance of development camp. He valued the instruction from NHL coaches and implemented what he learned moving forward.   A significant influence in Lindblom's development has been Flyers skating coach Slava Kouznetsov.   \"We've got some drills over here from Slava,\" Lindblom said. \"Try to do small stuff like in the gym. Just the small stuff to do to get better \u2014 that's what you need to do.   \"My legs are much stronger now and my technique has been a little better. Those two things I think have been most important.\"   If Hextall had a development camp manual, Lindblom would be in it.   \"We have Slava here \u2014 he's instructed to give things to take home,\" Hextall said. \"And if they work on those every day, even if it's only five minutes, I guarantee you over the course of the year, they'll get better. Oskar's a great example.\"   Lindblom said his plans are to head home following development camp and then return in mid-August \"just to get ready and get comfortable.\" With the Flyers in need of scoring, specifically production from the wing, Lindblom has become the organization's most anticipated prospect not named Nolan Patrick. He'll be in September's training camp with more than a fighter's chance to win a roster spot.   \"He had a real good year last year and he's certainly put himself on the map for everybody, but he still has to come in and get it done,\" Hextall said. \"He has to prove he makes us a better team.\"   Lindblom, of all people, doesn't expect anything handed to him.   \"It's going to be a big challenge for me,\" Lindblom said. \"It's going to be tough work to get to where I want to be.   \"Like everybody else, you have to earn the spot and battle for it.\"   A fifth-round pick is well aware.   \"I just think about it by myself, like fifth-rounder, I just felt like I can play and I can be on this level,\" Lindblom said. \"So I'm just trying to push myself every day and be better. Now I've signed here and just have to do my best now to get there. That's what I want \u2014 play in the NHL, of course.\"   Putting in 10 extra minutes by himself has him right there.<\/p>\n","safe_summary":"Knocking on the NHL's door, Oskar Lindblom's ascension into one of the Flyers' most anticipated prospects is a large part of his own. By Jordan Hall<\/p>\n"}]},"field_author_reference":{"und":[{"tid":"1056"}]},"field_bean_single_col":{"und":[{"target_id":"2456"}]},"field_chrome_page":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_date_published":{"und":[{"value":"2017-07-10 13:00:00","timezone":"America\/New_York","timezone_db":"UTC","date_type":"datetime"}]},"field_hero_image_credit":{"und":[{"value":"Photo credit: Zack Hill\/Flyers","format":null,"safe_value":"Photo credit: Zack Hill\/Flyers"}]},"field_image":{"und":[{"fid":"472556","uid":"266","filename":"zack-hill-flyers-oskar-lindblom.jpg","uri":"public:\/\/2017\/07\/09\/zack-hill-flyers-oskar-lindblom.jpg","filemime":"image\/jpeg","filesize":"206840","status":"1","timestamp":"1499654903","origname":"zack-hill-flyers-oskar-lindblom.jpg","type":"image","field_file_image_alt_text":[],"field_file_image_title_text":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]","default":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]"},"description":{"value":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!","default":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!"},"abstract":{"value":""},"keywords":{"value":""},"robots":{"value":{"index":0,"follow":0,"noindex":0,"nofollow":0,"noarchive":0,"nosnippet":0,"noodp":0,"noydir":0,"noimageindex":0,"notranslate":0}},"news_keywords":{"value":""},"standout":{"value":""},"rating":{"value":""},"referrer":{"value":""},"rights":{"value":""},"image_src":{"value":""},"canonical":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"shortlink":{"value":"[current-page:url:unaliased]","default":"[current-page:url:unaliased]"},"original-source":{"value":""},"prev":{"value":""},"next":{"value":""},"content-language":{"value":""},"geo.position":{"value":""},"geo.placename":{"value":""},"geo.region":{"value":""},"icbm":{"value":""},"refresh":{"value":""},"revisit-after":{"value":"","period":""},"pragma":{"value":""},"cache-control":{"value":""},"expires":{"value":""},"og:type":{"value":"article","default":"article"},"og:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"og:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"og:determiner":{"value":""},"og:description":{"value":""},"og:updated_time":{"value":""},"og:see_also":{"value":""},"og:image":{"value":""},"og:image:url":{"value":""},"og:image:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:image:type":{"value":""},"og:image:width":{"value":""},"og:image:height":{"value":""},"og:latitude":{"value":""},"og:longitude":{"value":""},"og:street_address":{"value":""},"og:locality":{"value":""},"og:region":{"value":""},"og:postal_code":{"value":""},"og:country_name":{"value":""},"og:email":{"value":""},"og:phone_number":{"value":""},"og:fax_number":{"value":""},"og:locale":{"value":""},"og:locale:alternate":{"value":""},"article:author":{"value":""},"article:publisher":{"value":""},"article:section":{"value":""},"article:tag":{"value":""},"article:published_time":{"value":""},"article:modified_time":{"value":""},"article:expiration_time":{"value":""},"profile:first_name":{"value":""},"profile:last_name":{"value":""},"profile:username":{"value":""},"profile:gender":{"value":""},"og:audio":{"value":""},"og:audio:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:audio:type":{"value":""},"book:author":{"value":""},"book:isbn":{"value":""},"book:release_date":{"value":""},"book:tag":{"value":""},"og:video:url":{"value":""},"og:video:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:video:width":{"value":""},"og:video:height":{"value":""},"og:video:type":{"value":""},"video:actor":{"value":""},"video:actor:role":{"value":""},"video:director":{"value":""},"video:writer":{"value":""},"video:duration":{"value":""},"video:release_date":{"value":""},"video:tag":{"value":""},"video:series":{"value":""},"twitter:card":{"value":"summary","default":"summary"},"twitter:creator":{"value":""},"twitter:creator:id":{"value":""},"twitter:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"twitter:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"twitter:description":{"value":""},"twitter:image":{"value":""},"twitter:image:width":{"value":""},"twitter:image:height":{"value":""},"twitter:image:alt":{"value":""},"twitter:image0":{"value":""},"twitter:image1":{"value":""},"twitter:image2":{"value":""},"twitter:image3":{"value":""},"twitter:player":{"value":""},"twitter:player:width":{"value":""},"twitter:player:height":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream:content_type":{"value":""},"twitter:app:country":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:label1":{"value":""},"twitter:data1":{"value":""},"twitter:label2":{"value":""},"twitter:data2":{"value":""}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"metadata":{"height":360,"width":640},"height":"360","width":"640","alt":"","title":""}]},"field_league":{"und":[{"tid":"196"}]},"field_section":{"und":[{"tid":"201"}]},"field_short_title":{"und":[{"value":"On his own time, Oskar Lindblom puts himself right there with Flyers","format":null,"safe_value":"On his own time, Oskar Lindblom puts himself right there with Flyers"}]},"field_sponsor":[],"field_sport":{"und":[{"tid":"191"}]},"field_tags":{"und":[{"tid":"6201"},{"tid":"18276"},{"tid":"506"},{"tid":"10166"},{"tid":"466"},{"tid":"2966"}]},"field_team":{"und":[{"tid":"141"}]},"field_top_story":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_video_autoplay":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_videos":{"und":[{"target_id":"537346"}]},"field_tags_hide":{"und":[{"tid":"18276"}]},"field_video_automute":[],"field_editorial_category":[],"field_allow_lld_domains":[],"field_enable_stanza":[],"field_exclude_from_yahoo":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"Oskar Lindblom puts himself with Flyers on own time"},"news_keywords":{"value":"Oskar Lindblom, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers, Oskar Lindblom Flyers, Flyers sign Oskar Lindblom, Ron Hextall, Oskar Lindblom hockey"}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"name":"tdougherty","picture":"0","data":"b:0;"},"access":true},{"target_id":"539281","entity":{"vid":"565926","uid":"156","title":"Travis Sanheim welcomes competition, 'coming to make the Flyers'","log":"","status":"1","comment":"0","promote":"0","sticky":"0","nid":"539281","type":"article","language":"und","created":"1500056265","changed":"1500155401","tnid":"0","translate":"0","published":"1500056580","revision_timestamp":"1500155401","revision_uid":"266","body":{"und":[{"value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 At development camp, Travis Sanheim was almost too developed.<\/p>He would skate through drills so naturally and fluidly, he could have been an instructor.<\/p>Unintentionally, he was in a way.<\/p>\"It's definitely a teaching camp,\" Sanheim said last week. \"Even the development coaches have talked to me, making sure I slow stuff down and show the younger guys how to do it properly, not necessarily doing everything at full speed.\"<\/p>Sanheim understood the importance of leading by example at his fourth development camp, but there was no reason to feel sorry for appearing ahead of the curve.<\/p>That's where Sanheim is.<\/p>Which made for a slight paradox over the six-day course. Undoubtedly, the 21-year-old defenseman wanted to be among the organization's prospects, sharpening and sculpting his game just like the rest.<\/p>But there's no question Sanheim's yearning for a much different camp \u2014 September with the big boys, because he's now one of them.<\/p>\"I feel like I'm ready, I'm going to compete for a spot,\" Sanheim said. \"Until somebody tells me differently, that's my goal. I'm coming to make the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\" target=\"_blank\">Flyers<\/a>.\"<\/p>Under general manager Ron Hextall's philosophy of earn what you get, Sanheim will have his chance. But is there room? The Flyers are at a numbers crunch on the blue line. There is expected to be two spots open, presumably for Robert Hagg and Sam Morin, both of whom acquitted themselves well during their April NHL debuts.<\/p>Sanheim isn't conceding anything, though.<\/p>\"It's going to come down to camp,\" he said.<\/p>\"This year, obviously there's going to be some spots available, and we're going to be fighting for the job.\"<\/p>It's hard to deny his readiness. The 2014 first-round pick has done what has been necessary through his development path. He's added noticeable strength, going from around 172 pounds when drafted to a sturdy 200 currently.<\/p>\"I watched Travis Sanheim \u2014 you see him, his first development camp he looked like a young boy,\" Hextall said. \"And you look at him now, and he almost looks like a man. He's just more upright, you can tell his body is more linked up, he's got a stronger core, he's more upright when he skates.\"<\/p>The 6-foot-4 Sanheim weighed the same at 2016 development camp, a possible sign he's where he needs to be physically. Hextall believes weight must still be gained and Sanheim doesn't disagree, but did point out how he fared just fine last season in his first full year with AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley.<\/p>\"Obviously, I'm going to want to continue to keep gaining strength and add that to my game, but I played pro this year and it didn't faze me at all,\" he said. \"The strength, I think I was right there with everyone else, was able to compete and battle in 1-on-1s against pro players.\"<\/p>With the Phantoms, his defensive principles and two-way awareness took positive strides over time. Offense has always been Sanheim's game. In his final two junior seasons, he totaled 133 points in 119 regular-season games. That was against kids in the WHL.<\/p>In 2016-17, he saw the change against men in the AHL. He managed to collect 37 points (10 goals, 27 assists) in 76 games for a plus-7 rating and knows he can do more, but the AHL helped him focus on picking his spots.<\/p>\"I went over numerous video sessions with the coaches, watching clips of stuff that if I was to look at it now, it would just look silly,\" Sanheim said with a laugh. \"I'm standing on top of the goalie in the crease, there's just no need for that as a defenseman and especially at the pro level.<\/p>\"I wasn't able to do the same things that I was able to do in junior. I had to learn some valuable lessons in the first few months, but I think towards the end of the season, you could see that I had gained my confidence again and was starting to play the game that I wanted to play.<\/p>\"I know to play at this next level, I'm going to have to be just as good in my D-zone as I am in the offensive zone, so for me, if I'm not contributing offensively, I just want to make sure I'm bringing the full two-way game.\"<\/p>Hextall noticed Sanheim's adjustment period.<\/p>\"He did a really good job last year from start to finish \u2014 got a lot better,\" he said. \"The adjustment on the first month, month and a half, where he was going too much up ice, a little bit irresponsible and all of a sudden, a month, month and a half in, figured that part out. That was a huge step for him. He got better, he got better throughout the year and he needs to continue on that.\"<\/p>As pleased as Hextall has been with the development, it sounds like Sanheim's jump to the NHL will ultimately come down to the aforementioned size and opportunity.<\/p>\"You go from an American League level to trying to make the NHL team, there's a speed, a strength thing that wounds up another two notches,\" Hextall said. \"He just has to continue to do what he's doing and get better every day.<\/p>\"Your reaction time to closing on a guy, whether to close or not close, everything gets ramped up. It's the whole mind, the hockey sense, the strength, the being in the proper position, because if you're caught out of position at the NHL level and it's an elite player, you're in big trouble. In the American League, you can get away with it.<\/p>\"There's still some fine-tuning that he needs to do and all those young defensemen need to do, and we'll see where we're at in September.\"<\/p>Sanheim knows where he wants to be. And he's not just saying it \u2014 he believes it.<\/p>\"I'm going to obviously do what they tell me,\" he said, \"but I'm coming to camp to make the team.\"<\/p>","summary":"If there isn't a spot open on the Flyers' defense for Travis Sanheim in 2017-18, he's ready to make himself one. By Jordan Hall<\/p>","format":"filtered_html","safe_value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 At development camp, Travis Sanheim was almost too developed.<\/p>\nHe would skate through drills so naturally and fluidly, he could have been an instructor.<\/p>\nUnintentionally, he was in a way.<\/p>\n\"It's definitely a teaching camp,\" Sanheim said last week. \"Even the development coaches have talked to me, making sure I slow stuff down and show the younger guys how to do it properly, not necessarily doing everything at full speed.\"<\/p>\nSanheim understood the importance of leading by example at his fourth development camp, but there was no reason to feel sorry for appearing ahead of the curve.<\/p>\nThat's where Sanheim is.<\/p>\nWhich made for a slight paradox over the six-day course. Undoubtedly, the 21-year-old defenseman wanted to be among the organization's prospects, sharpening and sculpting his game just like the rest.<\/p>\nBut there's no question Sanheim's yearning for a much different camp \u2014 September with the big boys, because he's now one of them.<\/p>\n\"I feel like I'm ready, I'm going to compete for a spot,\" Sanheim said. \"Until somebody tells me differently, that's my goal. I'm coming to make the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\" target=\"_blank\">Flyers<\/a>.\"<\/p>\nUnder general manager Ron Hextall's philosophy of earn what you get, Sanheim will have his chance. But is there room? The Flyers are at a numbers crunch on the blue line. There is expected to be two spots open, presumably for Robert Hagg and Sam Morin, both of whom acquitted themselves well during their April NHL debuts.<\/p>\nSanheim isn't conceding anything, though.<\/p>\n\"It's going to come down to camp,\" he said.<\/p>\n\"This year, obviously there's going to be some spots available, and we're going to be fighting for the job.\"<\/p>\nIt's hard to deny his readiness. The 2014 first-round pick has done what has been necessary through his development path. He's added noticeable strength, going from around 172 pounds when drafted to a sturdy 200 currently.<\/p>\n\"I watched Travis Sanheim \u2014 you see him, his first development camp he looked like a young boy,\" Hextall said. \"And you look at him now, and he almost looks like a man. He's just more upright, you can tell his body is more linked up, he's got a stronger core, he's more upright when he skates.\"<\/p>\nThe 6-foot-4 Sanheim weighed the same at 2016 development camp, a possible sign he's where he needs to be physically. Hextall believes weight must still be gained and Sanheim doesn't disagree, but did point out how he fared just fine last season in his first full year with AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley.<\/p>\n\"Obviously, I'm going to want to continue to keep gaining strength and add that to my game, but I played pro this year and it didn't faze me at all,\" he said. \"The strength, I think I was right there with everyone else, was able to compete and battle in 1-on-1s against pro players.\"<\/p>\nWith the Phantoms, his defensive principles and two-way awareness took positive strides over time. Offense has always been Sanheim's game. In his final two junior seasons, he totaled 133 points in 119 regular-season games. That was against kids in the WHL.<\/p>\nIn 2016-17, he saw the change against men in the AHL. He managed to collect 37 points (10 goals, 27 assists) in 76 games for a plus-7 rating and knows he can do more, but the AHL helped him focus on picking his spots.<\/p>\n\"I went over numerous video sessions with the coaches, watching clips of stuff that if I was to look at it now, it would just look silly,\" Sanheim said with a laugh. \"I'm standing on top of the goalie in the crease, there's just no need for that as a defenseman and especially at the pro level.<\/p>\n\"I wasn't able to do the same things that I was able to do in junior. I had to learn some valuable lessons in the first few months, but I think towards the end of the season, you could see that I had gained my confidence again and was starting to play the game that I wanted to play.<\/p>\n\"I know to play at this next level, I'm going to have to be just as good in my D-zone as I am in the offensive zone, so for me, if I'm not contributing offensively, I just want to make sure I'm bringing the full two-way game.\"<\/p>\nHextall noticed Sanheim's adjustment period.<\/p>\n\"He did a really good job last year from start to finish \u2014 got a lot better,\" he said. \"The adjustment on the first month, month and a half, where he was going too much up ice, a little bit irresponsible and all of a sudden, a month, month and a half in, figured that part out. That was a huge step for him. He got better, he got better throughout the year and he needs to continue on that.\"<\/p>\nAs pleased as Hextall has been with the development, it sounds like Sanheim's jump to the NHL will ultimately come down to the aforementioned size and opportunity.<\/p>\n\"You go from an American League level to trying to make the NHL team, there's a speed, a strength thing that wounds up another two notches,\" Hextall said. \"He just has to continue to do what he's doing and get better every day.<\/p>\n\"Your reaction time to closing on a guy, whether to close or not close, everything gets ramped up. It's the whole mind, the hockey sense, the strength, the being in the proper position, because if you're caught out of position at the NHL level and it's an elite player, you're in big trouble. In the American League, you can get away with it.<\/p>\n\"There's still some fine-tuning that he needs to do and all those young defensemen need to do, and we'll see where we're at in September.\"<\/p>\nSanheim knows where he wants to be. And he's not just saying it \u2014 he believes it.<\/p>\n\"I'm going to obviously do what they tell me,\" he said, \"but I'm coming to camp to make the team.\"<\/p>\n","safe_summary":"If there isn't a spot open on the Flyers' defense for Travis Sanheim in 2017-18, he's ready to make himself one. By Jordan Hall<\/p>\n"}]},"field_author_reference":{"und":[{"tid":"1056"}]},"field_bean_single_col":{"und":[{"target_id":"2456"}]},"field_chrome_page":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_date_published":{"und":[{"value":"2017-07-14 18:23:00","timezone":"America\/New_York","timezone_db":"UTC","date_type":"datetime"}]},"field_hero_image_credit":{"und":[{"value":"Photo credit: Zack Hill\/Flyers","format":null,"safe_value":"Photo credit: Zack Hill\/Flyers"}]},"field_image":{"und":[{"fid":"474286","uid":"156","filename":"zack-hill-travis-sanheim.jpg","uri":"public:\/\/2017\/07\/14\/zack-hill-travis-sanheim.jpg","filemime":"image\/jpeg","filesize":"290788","status":"1","timestamp":"1500056265","origname":"zack-hill-travis-sanheim.jpg","type":"image","field_file_image_alt_text":[],"field_file_image_title_text":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]","default":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]"},"description":{"value":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!","default":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!"},"abstract":{"value":""},"keywords":{"value":""},"robots":{"value":{"index":0,"follow":0,"noindex":0,"nofollow":0,"noarchive":0,"nosnippet":0,"noodp":0,"noydir":0,"noimageindex":0,"notranslate":0}},"news_keywords":{"value":""},"standout":{"value":""},"rating":{"value":""},"referrer":{"value":""},"rights":{"value":""},"image_src":{"value":""},"canonical":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"shortlink":{"value":"[current-page:url:unaliased]","default":"[current-page:url:unaliased]"},"original-source":{"value":""},"prev":{"value":""},"next":{"value":""},"content-language":{"value":""},"geo.position":{"value":""},"geo.placename":{"value":""},"geo.region":{"value":""},"icbm":{"value":""},"refresh":{"value":""},"revisit-after":{"value":"","period":""},"pragma":{"value":""},"cache-control":{"value":""},"expires":{"value":""},"og:type":{"value":"article","default":"article"},"og:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"og:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"og:determiner":{"value":""},"og:description":{"value":""},"og:updated_time":{"value":""},"og:see_also":{"value":""},"og:image":{"value":""},"og:image:url":{"value":""},"og:image:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:image:type":{"value":""},"og:image:width":{"value":""},"og:image:height":{"value":""},"og:latitude":{"value":""},"og:longitude":{"value":""},"og:street_address":{"value":""},"og:locality":{"value":""},"og:region":{"value":""},"og:postal_code":{"value":""},"og:country_name":{"value":""},"og:email":{"value":""},"og:phone_number":{"value":""},"og:fax_number":{"value":""},"og:locale":{"value":""},"og:locale:alternate":{"value":""},"article:author":{"value":""},"article:publisher":{"value":""},"article:section":{"value":""},"article:tag":{"value":""},"article:published_time":{"value":""},"article:modified_time":{"value":""},"article:expiration_time":{"value":""},"profile:first_name":{"value":""},"profile:last_name":{"value":""},"profile:username":{"value":""},"profile:gender":{"value":""},"og:audio":{"value":""},"og:audio:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:audio:type":{"value":""},"book:author":{"value":""},"book:isbn":{"value":""},"book:release_date":{"value":""},"book:tag":{"value":""},"og:video:url":{"value":""},"og:video:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:video:width":{"value":""},"og:video:height":{"value":""},"og:video:type":{"value":""},"video:actor":{"value":""},"video:actor:role":{"value":""},"video:director":{"value":""},"video:writer":{"value":""},"video:duration":{"value":""},"video:release_date":{"value":""},"video:tag":{"value":""},"video:series":{"value":""},"twitter:card":{"value":"summary","default":"summary"},"twitter:creator":{"value":""},"twitter:creator:id":{"value":""},"twitter:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"twitter:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"twitter:description":{"value":""},"twitter:image":{"value":""},"twitter:image:width":{"value":""},"twitter:image:height":{"value":""},"twitter:image:alt":{"value":""},"twitter:image0":{"value":""},"twitter:image1":{"value":""},"twitter:image2":{"value":""},"twitter:image3":{"value":""},"twitter:player":{"value":""},"twitter:player:width":{"value":""},"twitter:player:height":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream:content_type":{"value":""},"twitter:app:country":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:label1":{"value":""},"twitter:data1":{"value":""},"twitter:label2":{"value":""},"twitter:data2":{"value":""}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"metadata":{"height":353,"width":640},"height":"353","width":"640","alt":"","title":""}]},"field_league":{"und":[{"tid":"196"}]},"field_section":{"und":[{"tid":"201"}]},"field_short_title":{"und":[{"value":"Travis Sanheim welcomes competition, 'coming to make the Flyers'","format":null,"safe_value":"Travis Sanheim welcomes competition, 'coming to make the Flyers'"}]},"field_sponsor":[],"field_sport":{"und":[{"tid":"191"}]},"field_tags":{"und":[{"tid":"6201"},{"tid":"18276"},{"tid":"506"},{"tid":"466"},{"tid":"2966"},{"tid":"6606"}]},"field_team":{"und":[{"tid":"141"}]},"field_top_story":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_video_autoplay":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_videos":{"und":[{"target_id":"537651"}]},"field_tags_hide":{"und":[{"tid":"18276"}]},"field_video_automute":[],"field_editorial_category":[],"field_allow_lld_domains":[],"field_enable_stanza":[],"field_exclude_from_yahoo":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"Travis Sanheim 'coming to make the Flyers'"},"news_keywords":{"value":"Travis Sanheim, Philadelphia Flyers, Jordan Hall, Flyers development camp, Flyers prospects"}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"name":"JHall","picture":"0","data":"b:0;"},"access":true},{"target_id":"539771","entity":{"vid":"566531","uid":"266","title":"Phil Myers, bulked up and healthy, pledges this Flyers training camp will be different","log":"","status":"1","comment":"0","promote":"0","sticky":"0","nid":"539771","type":"article","language":"und","created":"1500221167","changed":"1501550565","tnid":"0","translate":"0","published":"1500291000","revision_timestamp":"1501550565","revision_uid":"156","body":{"und":[{"value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Standing at his stall at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> Skate Zone during last weekend\u2019s development camp, defenseman Phil Myers towered over everyone else, but there was one noticeable difference.<\/p>Myers added about 10 pounds of muscle over the summer, and it shows. On the ice, he looked out of place. He belonged with the orange and black on his sweater. No doubt.<\/p>It just didn\u2019t look as if he needed to be on the same sheet with his peers anymore. Perhaps it was the benefits of a full summer of training. Injuries derailed his training last summer.<\/p>\u201cI had the same surgery as (Shayne) Gostisbehere,\u201d Myers said. \u201cHe had one hip, and Sam Morin, all of those guys got the same thing I did.\u201d<\/p>There was a sprained knee suffered at the 2016 Memorial Cup. There was a pubic plate detachment and a torn labrum in his left hip. He underwent hip surgery on June 22, 2016. The recovery wiped out Myers\u2019 summer training. On Sept. 26, 2016, he was medically cleared to return. The next night, he dove into the fray against the New York Islanders.<\/p>How did it go? Myers finished as a plus-two with three hits and a blocked shot in 22:39.<\/p>\u201cI felt out of shape, obviously, last year,\u201d he said. \u201cThe day after I got cleared, I jumped into a preseason game. It jumped up pretty quick. \u2026 This summer is going to be different.\u201d<\/p>The Flyers insist development camp is not for evaluation. That may be true. Its purpose is to teach prospects how to work and live as a professional hockey player. No matter how much Myers looked like a pro amid his peers, it will not impact his odds come September's training camp when spots are earned in a competitive environment.   Myers, 20, is graduating to the professional ranks this season, and where he plays will be up to him. The Flyers have two openings on their blue line, and general manager Ron Hextall is leaving them up for prospects to grab. Robert Hagg and Morin are the front runners.   Don\u2019t count Myers out just yet.   The Moncton, New Brunswick, native was among the Flyers\u2019 final cuts last October. He stuck around longer than many expected and that was without any summer training.   His training this summer has been broken down into phases. The first phase was bulking up and putting on muscle. Mission accomplished. The next phase, according to Myers, is \u201cheavier stuff,\u201d which he said is strength training. His plan is to stay in the Philadelphia area for two weeks after development camp to train and come back 10 days early to skate before the big camp begins in September.   \u201cYou get stronger and faster,\u201d Myers said. \u201cI\u2019m going to focus on what I can do and what I can control. That\u2019s what I did last year. I just took as much in as possible and tried to get ready as fast as I could because I didn\u2019t really have a lot of time. This year, I have much more time so I\u2019m taking things much more slowly and more controlled.\u201d   Last season was another in which Myers trended upward, though it was one mired with injuries; he suffered whiplash in October and a concussion against Team USA at the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships. Myers, the only undrafted player on Team Canada\u2019s roster, was arguably the team\u2019s best defenseman before the concussion. His play at the world juniors led to TSN\u2019s Bob McKenzie tweeting Myers \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TSNBobMcKenzie\/status\/819558090211094528\">looks NHL ready, or close to it<\/a>.\u201d   The smooth-skating 6-foot-5 blueliner registered double-digit goals (10) and 35 points in 34 regular-season games with Rouyn-Noranda of the QMJHL in 2016-17. He ended the regular season on a five-game point streak. He added nine points in 13 playoff games. He finished his QMJHL career with 29 goals and 92 points in 203 games. Like Carter Hart, Myers joined the Phantoms once his season ended but didn\u2019t play.   \u201cThe injury struggles that he, unfortunately, went through there, those are all opportunities to learn and grow,\u201d Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol said. \u201cYou can see the growth in Phil off-ice when you look at his stature. You just want to see him come into camp and come in and compete as hard as he did last year and improve on the results from last year.\u201d   Myers may be at a disadvantage come September. Because of last year's injury-ridden season and the fact that he's coming straight from junior, he may be a few legs behind Hagg, Morin and even Travis Sanheim, who was at his fourth development camp last weekend <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\/travis-sanheim-welcomes-competition-coming-make-flyers\">(see story)<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.    While every player\u2019s developmental path is different, Myers has to beat out at least two players with professional experience already and two \u2014 Hagg and Morin \u2014 who looked the part during their NHL debuts in April. It\u2019s a safe bet that Myers begins at Lehigh Valley.   \u201cIf he comes in and he\u2019s the best guy or we feel he\u2019s the best guy,\u201d Hextall said of Myers, \u201che\u2019s going to play. The other guys, whenever you played in the American League, you have a leg up. You expect those guys to come in and be a little more NHL ready than a kid coming right out of junior, but the players are going to dictate who\u2019s on our team.\u201d<\/p>","summary":"With a full summer of training behind him, Phil Myers said this September's training camp will be different than last year's. By Tom Dougherty<\/p>","format":"filtered_html","safe_value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Standing at his stall at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> Skate Zone during last weekend\u2019s development camp, defenseman Phil Myers towered over everyone else, but there was one noticeable difference.<\/p>\nMyers added about 10 pounds of muscle over the summer, and it shows. On the ice, he looked out of place. He belonged with the orange and black on his sweater. No doubt.<\/p>\nIt just didn\u2019t look as if he needed to be on the same sheet with his peers anymore. Perhaps it was the benefits of a full summer of training. Injuries derailed his training last summer.<\/p>\n\u201cI had the same surgery as (Shayne) Gostisbehere,\u201d Myers said. \u201cHe had one hip, and Sam Morin, all of those guys got the same thing I did.\u201d<\/p>\nThere was a sprained knee suffered at the 2016 Memorial Cup. There was a pubic plate detachment and a torn labrum in his left hip. He underwent hip surgery on June 22, 2016. The recovery wiped out Myers\u2019 summer training. On Sept. 26, 2016, he was medically cleared to return. The next night, he dove into the fray against the New York Islanders.<\/p>\nHow did it go? Myers finished as a plus-two with three hits and a blocked shot in 22:39.<\/p>\n\u201cI felt out of shape, obviously, last year,\u201d he said. \u201cThe day after I got cleared, I jumped into a preseason game. It jumped up pretty quick. \u2026 This summer is going to be different.\u201d<\/p>\nThe Flyers insist development camp is not for evaluation. That may be true. Its purpose is to teach prospects how to work and live as a professional hockey player. No matter how much Myers looked like a pro amid his peers, it will not impact his odds come September's training camp when spots are earned in a competitive environment.   Myers, 20, is graduating to the professional ranks this season, and where he plays will be up to him. The Flyers have two openings on their blue line, and general manager Ron Hextall is leaving them up for prospects to grab. Robert Hagg and Morin are the front runners.   Don\u2019t count Myers out just yet.   The Moncton, New Brunswick, native was among the Flyers\u2019 final cuts last October. He stuck around longer than many expected and that was without any summer training.   His training this summer has been broken down into phases. The first phase was bulking up and putting on muscle. Mission accomplished. The next phase, according to Myers, is \u201cheavier stuff,\u201d which he said is strength training. His plan is to stay in the Philadelphia area for two weeks after development camp to train and come back 10 days early to skate before the big camp begins in September.   \u201cYou get stronger and faster,\u201d Myers said. \u201cI\u2019m going to focus on what I can do and what I can control. That\u2019s what I did last year. I just took as much in as possible and tried to get ready as fast as I could because I didn\u2019t really have a lot of time. This year, I have much more time so I\u2019m taking things much more slowly and more controlled.\u201d   Last season was another in which Myers trended upward, though it was one mired with injuries; he suffered whiplash in October and a concussion against Team USA at the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships. Myers, the only undrafted player on Team Canada\u2019s roster, was arguably the team\u2019s best defenseman before the concussion. His play at the world juniors led to TSN\u2019s Bob McKenzie tweeting Myers \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TSNBobMcKenzie\/status\/819558090211094528\">looks NHL ready, or close to it<\/a>.\u201d   The smooth-skating 6-foot-5 blueliner registered double-digit goals (10) and 35 points in 34 regular-season games with Rouyn-Noranda of the QMJHL in 2016-17. He ended the regular season on a five-game point streak. He added nine points in 13 playoff games. He finished his QMJHL career with 29 goals and 92 points in 203 games. Like Carter Hart, Myers joined the Phantoms once his season ended but didn\u2019t play.   \u201cThe injury struggles that he, unfortunately, went through there, those are all opportunities to learn and grow,\u201d Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol said. \u201cYou can see the growth in Phil off-ice when you look at his stature. You just want to see him come into camp and come in and compete as hard as he did last year and improve on the results from last year.\u201d   Myers may be at a disadvantage come September. Because of last year's injury-ridden season and the fact that he's coming straight from junior, he may be a few legs behind Hagg, Morin and even Travis Sanheim, who was at his fourth development camp last weekend <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\/travis-sanheim-welcomes-competition-coming-make-flyers\">(see story)<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.    While every player\u2019s developmental path is different, Myers has to beat out at least two players with professional experience already and two \u2014 Hagg and Morin \u2014 who looked the part during their NHL debuts in April. It\u2019s a safe bet that Myers begins at Lehigh Valley.   \u201cIf he comes in and he\u2019s the best guy or we feel he\u2019s the best guy,\u201d Hextall said of Myers, \u201che\u2019s going to play. The other guys, whenever you played in the American League, you have a leg up. You expect those guys to come in and be a little more NHL ready than a kid coming right out of junior, but the players are going to dictate who\u2019s on our team.\u201d<\/p>\n","safe_summary":"With a full summer of training behind him, Phil Myers said this September's training camp will be different than last year's. By Tom Dougherty<\/p>\n"}]},"field_author_reference":{"und":[{"tid":"1321"}]},"field_bean_single_col":{"und":[{"target_id":"2456"}]},"field_chrome_page":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_date_published":{"und":[{"value":"2017-07-17 11:30:00","timezone":"America\/New_York","timezone_db":"UTC","date_type":"datetime"}]},"field_hero_image_credit":{"und":[{"value":"AP Images","format":null,"safe_value":"AP Images"}]},"field_image":{"und":[{"fid":"476841","uid":"266","filename":"ap-phil-myers-flyers-devils.jpg","uri":"public:\/\/2017\/07\/16\/ap-phil-myers-flyers-devils.jpg","filemime":"image\/jpeg","filesize":"209957","status":"1","timestamp":"1500221083","origname":"ap-phil-myers-flyers-devils.jpg","type":"image","field_file_image_alt_text":{"und":[{"value":"Phil Myers, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers, Phil Myers Flyers","format":null,"safe_value":"Phil Myers, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers, Phil Myers Flyers"}]},"field_file_image_title_text":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","alt":"Phil Myers, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers, Phil Myers Flyers","metadata":{"height":360,"width":640},"height":"360","width":"640","title":""}]},"field_league":{"und":[{"tid":"196"}]},"field_section":{"und":[{"tid":"201"}]},"field_short_title":{"und":[{"value":"Phil Myers, bulked up, pledges this Flyers training camp will be different","format":null,"safe_value":"Phil Myers, bulked up, pledges this Flyers training camp will be different"}]},"field_sponsor":[],"field_sport":{"und":[{"tid":"191"}]},"field_tags":{"und":[{"tid":"6201"},{"tid":"18276"},{"tid":"20171"},{"tid":"466"},{"tid":"3091"}]},"field_team":{"und":[{"tid":"141"}]},"field_top_story":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_video_autoplay":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_videos":{"und":[{"target_id":"539891"}]},"field_tags_hide":[],"field_video_automute":[],"field_editorial_category":[],"field_allow_lld_domains":[],"field_enable_stanza":[],"field_exclude_from_yahoo":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"Phil Myers pledges Flyers' training camp will be different"},"news_keywords":{"value":"Phil Myers, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers, Philippe Myers, Phil Myers Flyers, Philippe Myers Flyers, Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Ron Hextall, Flyers sign Philippe Myers, Phil Myers injuries, Philippe Myers injuries"}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"name":"tdougherty","picture":"0","data":"b:0;"},"access":true},{"target_id":"539011","entity":{"vid":"565616","uid":"266","title":"Finally with his age group, German Rubtsov now eyeing bigger things","log":"","status":"1","comment":"0","promote":"0","sticky":"0","nid":"539011","type":"article","language":"und","created":"1499959003","changed":"1501550692","tnid":"0","translate":"0","published":"1499962500","revision_timestamp":"1501550692","revision_uid":"156","body":{"und":[{"value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Ask any prospect at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> development camp what their goals come September\u2019s NHL training camp are and it\u2019s hard to find an offbeat answer.<\/p>\u201cIt\u2019s a trick question, right?\u201d German Rubtsov said last Friday through an interpreter, Flyers skating coach Slava Kouznetsov. \u201cEverybody wants to play in the NHL.\u201d<\/p>When training camp breaks in October, the Flyers have three options for Rubtsov:<\/p>The 2016 first-round pick can play in the NHL.<\/p>He can return to the Chicoutimi Saguen\u00e9ens of the QMJHL.<\/p>Or he can play in the AHL since the Flyers drafted him out of Russia.<\/p>\u201cPlaying in Chicoutimi, I felt comfortable,\u201d he said. \u201cEvery game was a point or point plus, thanks to my partners as well. Before that, I played KHL. I think I\u2019m ready to try the league.\u201d<\/p>Which league?<\/p>\u201cThe<\/em> league,\u201d Rubtsov said. \u201cBig.\u201d<\/p>The 19-year-old Rubtsov likely won't be donning the orange and black in the fall. That should not come to a surprise to anyone.<\/p>With the drafting Nolan Patrick last month and the arrival of Oskar Lindblom from Sweden, the forward competition is already as competitive as it\u2019s been in a while.<\/p>Even with the 51 combined games Rubtsov played in 2016-17 between the KHL, MHL, QMJHL and 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships, more minor league seasoning will be needed.<\/p>Whether that will be in Chicoutimi or Lehigh Valley remains unanswered for now.<\/p>\u201cI don\u2019t know the answer to that,\u201d Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said. \u201cTo me, it\u2019s not fair to make a decision predetermined right now, \u2018OK, he\u2019s going here, he\u2019s going there.\u2019<\/p>\u201cWe\u2019ll leave that door open in terms of NHL. I\u2019d probably say it\u2019s a long shot. But American League or junior, we\u2019ll see as we go along here where the best place for him to develop is.\u201d<\/p>Rubtsov attended his first development camp last weekend. He was unable to attend last summer\u2019s camp because of his contract obligations with the KHL\u2019s HC Vityaz.<\/p>There was some controversy surrounding Rubtsov and the Russian under-18 team prospects going into the 2016 NHL draft. Team Russia was banned from the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championships because of a meldonium doping scandal.<\/p>After being drafted, Rubtsov insisted that he and his teammates unknowingly took a banned substance. Hextall further investigated the situation and still felt comfortable selecting the center, who also<\/span> had two years left on his contract with Vityaz.<\/p>The original plan was for Rubtsov to stay in the KHL until his contract expired before coming to North America, but he struggled in the KHL and was too advanced for the MHL.<\/p>Eventually, Rubtsov\u2019s agent, Mark Gandler, negotiated a release from his contract with Vityaz on Jan. 9, and Rubtsov joined the Saguen\u00e9ens, who owned his CHL rights.<\/p>Rubtsov didn\u2019t debut with Chicoutimi until Jan. 19 because of a broken nose.<\/p>\u201cThe moving to the United States was the first thing,\u201d Rubtsov said. \u201cIn Chicoutimi, the first couple of games were not comfortable. Then everything came to normal.<\/p>\u201cI feel comfortable. Being in the United States before and playing in Canada helped, so I\u2019m feeling pretty comfortable [now] and everything is pretty much good.\u201d<\/p>The difference between the Rubtsov in the KHL and the Rubtsov in the QMJHL was noticable. He struggled to get minutes in the KHL, averaging 6:33 in 15 games and failed to register a point. He had just five shots and won 31.8 percent of his faceoffs.<\/p>He was a point-per-game player in the MHL, a Russian junior league, recording 15 points in 15 games with the Russkie Vityazi Chekhov. That was the player he resembled more in the Q.   Rubtsov made an immediate impact with the Saguen\u00e9ens. He picked up two assists and fired six shots on goal in his first game, and he picked up nine points in his first six games.   \u201cWhen you see a kid playing with his peers, it\u2019s a lot different than playing in the KHL,\u201d Hextall said. \u201cYou saw it a little bit with Ruby. Ruby goes from KHL and all of a sudden, he goes to Chicoutimi with his own age group and you\u2019re like, \u2018Woah.\u2019   \u201cWe certainly weren\u2019t surprised by that.\u201d   The Chekhov, Russia, native missed Chicoutimi\u2019s final six games of the regular season and then its postseason because of a fractured hand. He finished his brief QMJHL stint with racking up 22 points in 16 games \u2014 nine goals, five power-play markers, 13 assists with six multi-point games and was held scoreless just three times.   Last season, Rubtsov dealt with a broken nose and a fractured hand at the end of the campaign. He said he dealt with injuries in the KHL as well and played through them.   \u201cI played until I wasn\u2019t able to hold the stick,\u201d Rubtsov said. \u201cWhen the hand completely gave up that\u2019s when I came [to Philadelphia for surgery].\u201d   \u201cThat's kind of what you want,\" Hextall said. \"You want guys who will push themselves and do what they can to try to be the best they can and try to help the team win. It certainly comes into the mix in terms of the character of a player and person.\u201d   When the Flyers drafted Rubtsov last summer, their forward prospect group was not as deep as it is now. Hextall added seven forwards in 2016, including five of his first six picks. Last month, he added seven more, including three in the top 35.   So the question with Rubtsov, does he still project as a center with the Flyers? He played both center and wing last season in Chicoutimi. The versatility at his age is attractive.   \u201cThere are certain guys in the middle you want to move out of the middle because when they get to the NHL level, maybe their sense isn\u2019t quite high enough or their size or there\u2019s a blemish,\u201d Hextall said. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t have that blemish. He\u2019s a smart player, he skates well.   \u201cHe\u2019s going to be big and strong enough in a couple years. He\u2019s going to be one of those guys truly who\u2019s going to be really good in the middle and we may want to keep him there.\u201d<\/p>","summary":"German Rubtsov is eyeing bigger things entering his first full season in North America, but where will he be in 2017-18? By Tom Dougherty<\/p>","format":"filtered_html","safe_value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Ask any prospect at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> development camp what their goals come September\u2019s NHL training camp are and it\u2019s hard to find an offbeat answer.<\/p>\n\u201cIt\u2019s a trick question, right?\u201d German Rubtsov said last Friday through an interpreter, Flyers skating coach Slava Kouznetsov. \u201cEverybody wants to play in the NHL.\u201d<\/p>\nWhen training camp breaks in October, the Flyers have three options for Rubtsov:<\/p>\nThe 2016 first-round pick can play in the NHL.<\/p>\nHe can return to the Chicoutimi Saguen\u00e9ens of the QMJHL.<\/p>\nOr he can play in the AHL since the Flyers drafted him out of Russia.<\/p>\n\u201cPlaying in Chicoutimi, I felt comfortable,\u201d he said. \u201cEvery game was a point or point plus, thanks to my partners as well. Before that, I played KHL. I think I\u2019m ready to try the league.\u201d<\/p>\nWhich league?<\/p>\n\u201cThe<\/em> league,\u201d Rubtsov said. \u201cBig.\u201d<\/p>\nThe 19-year-old Rubtsov likely won't be donning the orange and black in the fall. That should not come to a surprise to anyone.<\/p>\nWith the drafting Nolan Patrick last month and the arrival of Oskar Lindblom from Sweden, the forward competition is already as competitive as it\u2019s been in a while.<\/p>\nEven with the 51 combined games Rubtsov played in 2016-17 between the KHL, MHL, QMJHL and 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships, more minor league seasoning will be needed.<\/p>\nWhether that will be in Chicoutimi or Lehigh Valley remains unanswered for now.<\/p>\n\u201cI don\u2019t know the answer to that,\u201d Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said. \u201cTo me, it\u2019s not fair to make a decision predetermined right now, \u2018OK, he\u2019s going here, he\u2019s going there.\u2019<\/p>\n\u201cWe\u2019ll leave that door open in terms of NHL. I\u2019d probably say it\u2019s a long shot. But American League or junior, we\u2019ll see as we go along here where the best place for him to develop is.\u201d<\/p>\nRubtsov attended his first development camp last weekend. He was unable to attend last summer\u2019s camp because of his contract obligations with the KHL\u2019s HC Vityaz.<\/p>\nThere was some controversy surrounding Rubtsov and the Russian under-18 team prospects going into the 2016 NHL draft. Team Russia was banned from the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championships because of a meldonium doping scandal.<\/p>\nAfter being drafted, Rubtsov insisted that he and his teammates unknowingly took a banned substance. Hextall further investigated the situation and still felt comfortable selecting the center, who also had two years left on his contract with Vityaz.<\/p>\nThe original plan was for Rubtsov to stay in the KHL until his contract expired before coming to North America, but he struggled in the KHL and was too advanced for the MHL.<\/p>\nEventually, Rubtsov\u2019s agent, Mark Gandler, negotiated a release from his contract with Vityaz on Jan. 9, and Rubtsov joined the Saguen\u00e9ens, who owned his CHL rights.<\/p>\nRubtsov didn\u2019t debut with Chicoutimi until Jan. 19 because of a broken nose.<\/p>\n\u201cThe moving to the United States was the first thing,\u201d Rubtsov said. \u201cIn Chicoutimi, the first couple of games were not comfortable. Then everything came to normal.<\/p>\n\u201cI feel comfortable. Being in the United States before and playing in Canada helped, so I\u2019m feeling pretty comfortable [now] and everything is pretty much good.\u201d<\/p>\nThe difference between the Rubtsov in the KHL and the Rubtsov in the QMJHL was noticable. He struggled to get minutes in the KHL, averaging 6:33 in 15 games and failed to register a point. He had just five shots and won 31.8 percent of his faceoffs.<\/p>\nHe was a point-per-game player in the MHL, a Russian junior league, recording 15 points in 15 games with the Russkie Vityazi Chekhov. That was the player he resembled more in the Q.   Rubtsov made an immediate impact with the Saguen\u00e9ens. He picked up two assists and fired six shots on goal in his first game, and he picked up nine points in his first six games.   \u201cWhen you see a kid playing with his peers, it\u2019s a lot different than playing in the KHL,\u201d Hextall said. \u201cYou saw it a little bit with Ruby. Ruby goes from KHL and all of a sudden, he goes to Chicoutimi with his own age group and you\u2019re like, \u2018Woah.\u2019   \u201cWe certainly weren\u2019t surprised by that.\u201d   The Chekhov, Russia, native missed Chicoutimi\u2019s final six games of the regular season and then its postseason because of a fractured hand. He finished his brief QMJHL stint with racking up 22 points in 16 games \u2014 nine goals, five power-play markers, 13 assists with six multi-point games and was held scoreless just three times.   Last season, Rubtsov dealt with a broken nose and a fractured hand at the end of the campaign. He said he dealt with injuries in the KHL as well and played through them.   \u201cI played until I wasn\u2019t able to hold the stick,\u201d Rubtsov said. \u201cWhen the hand completely gave up that\u2019s when I came [to Philadelphia for surgery].\u201d   \u201cThat's kind of what you want,\" Hextall said. \"You want guys who will push themselves and do what they can to try to be the best they can and try to help the team win. It certainly comes into the mix in terms of the character of a player and person.\u201d   When the Flyers drafted Rubtsov last summer, their forward prospect group was not as deep as it is now. Hextall added seven forwards in 2016, including five of his first six picks. Last month, he added seven more, including three in the top 35.   So the question with Rubtsov, does he still project as a center with the Flyers? He played both center and wing last season in Chicoutimi. The versatility at his age is attractive.   \u201cThere are certain guys in the middle you want to move out of the middle because when they get to the NHL level, maybe their sense isn\u2019t quite high enough or their size or there\u2019s a blemish,\u201d Hextall said. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t have that blemish. He\u2019s a smart player, he skates well.   \u201cHe\u2019s going to be big and strong enough in a couple years. He\u2019s going to be one of those guys truly who\u2019s going to be really good in the middle and we may want to keep him there.\u201d<\/p>\n","safe_summary":"German Rubtsov is eyeing bigger things entering his first full season in North America, but where will he be in 2017-18? By Tom Dougherty<\/p>\n"}]},"field_author_reference":{"und":[{"tid":"1321"}]},"field_bean_single_col":{"und":[{"target_id":"2456"}]},"field_chrome_page":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_date_published":{"und":[{"value":"2017-07-13 16:15:00","timezone":"America\/New_York","timezone_db":"UTC","date_type":"datetime"}]},"field_hero_image_credit":{"und":[{"value":"Tom Dougherty\/CSNPhilly.com","format":null,"safe_value":"Tom Dougherty\/CSNPhilly.com"}]},"field_image":{"und":[{"fid":"475886","uid":"266","filename":"tom-dougherty-german-rubtsov.jpg","uri":"public:\/\/2017\/07\/13\/tom-dougherty-german-rubtsov.jpg","filemime":"image\/jpeg","filesize":"202712","status":"1","timestamp":"1499996289","origname":"tom-dougherty-german-rubtsov.jpg","type":"image","field_file_image_alt_text":[],"field_file_image_title_text":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]","default":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]"},"description":{"value":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!","default":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!"},"abstract":{"value":""},"keywords":{"value":""},"robots":{"value":{"index":0,"follow":0,"noindex":0,"nofollow":0,"noarchive":0,"nosnippet":0,"noodp":0,"noydir":0,"noimageindex":0,"notranslate":0}},"news_keywords":{"value":""},"standout":{"value":""},"rating":{"value":""},"referrer":{"value":""},"rights":{"value":""},"image_src":{"value":""},"canonical":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"shortlink":{"value":"[current-page:url:unaliased]","default":"[current-page:url:unaliased]"},"original-source":{"value":""},"prev":{"value":""},"next":{"value":""},"content-language":{"value":""},"geo.position":{"value":""},"geo.placename":{"value":""},"geo.region":{"value":""},"icbm":{"value":""},"refresh":{"value":""},"revisit-after":{"value":"","period":""},"pragma":{"value":""},"cache-control":{"value":""},"expires":{"value":""},"og:type":{"value":"article","default":"article"},"og:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"og:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"og:determiner":{"value":""},"og:description":{"value":""},"og:updated_time":{"value":""},"og:see_also":{"value":""},"og:image":{"value":""},"og:image:url":{"value":""},"og:image:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:image:type":{"value":""},"og:image:width":{"value":""},"og:image:height":{"value":""},"og:latitude":{"value":""},"og:longitude":{"value":""},"og:street_address":{"value":""},"og:locality":{"value":""},"og:region":{"value":""},"og:postal_code":{"value":""},"og:country_name":{"value":""},"og:email":{"value":""},"og:phone_number":{"value":""},"og:fax_number":{"value":""},"og:locale":{"value":""},"og:locale:alternate":{"value":""},"article:author":{"value":""},"article:publisher":{"value":""},"article:section":{"value":""},"article:tag":{"value":""},"article:published_time":{"value":""},"article:modified_time":{"value":""},"article:expiration_time":{"value":""},"profile:first_name":{"value":""},"profile:last_name":{"value":""},"profile:username":{"value":""},"profile:gender":{"value":""},"og:audio":{"value":""},"og:audio:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:audio:type":{"value":""},"book:author":{"value":""},"book:isbn":{"value":""},"book:release_date":{"value":""},"book:tag":{"value":""},"og:video:url":{"value":""},"og:video:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:video:width":{"value":""},"og:video:height":{"value":""},"og:video:type":{"value":""},"video:actor":{"value":""},"video:actor:role":{"value":""},"video:director":{"value":""},"video:writer":{"value":""},"video:duration":{"value":""},"video:release_date":{"value":""},"video:tag":{"value":""},"video:series":{"value":""},"twitter:card":{"value":"summary","default":"summary"},"twitter:creator":{"value":""},"twitter:creator:id":{"value":""},"twitter:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"twitter:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"twitter:description":{"value":""},"twitter:image":{"value":""},"twitter:image:width":{"value":""},"twitter:image:height":{"value":""},"twitter:image:alt":{"value":""},"twitter:image0":{"value":""},"twitter:image1":{"value":""},"twitter:image2":{"value":""},"twitter:image3":{"value":""},"twitter:player":{"value":""},"twitter:player:width":{"value":""},"twitter:player:height":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream:content_type":{"value":""},"twitter:app:country":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:label1":{"value":""},"twitter:data1":{"value":""},"twitter:label2":{"value":""},"twitter:data2":{"value":""}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"metadata":{"height":360,"width":640},"height":"360","width":"640","alt":"","title":""}]},"field_league":{"und":[{"tid":"196"}]},"field_section":{"und":[{"tid":"201"}]},"field_short_title":{"und":[{"value":"Finally with age group, Flyers prospect German Rubtsov eyeing bigger things","format":null,"safe_value":"Finally with age group, Flyers prospect German Rubtsov eyeing bigger things"}]},"field_sponsor":[],"field_sport":{"und":[{"tid":"191"}]},"field_tags":{"und":[{"tid":"6201"},{"tid":"5391"},{"tid":"18276"},{"tid":"466"},{"tid":"2966"},{"tid":"3091"}]},"field_team":{"und":[{"tid":"141"}]},"field_top_story":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_video_autoplay":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_videos":{"und":[{"target_id":"537641"}]},"field_tags_hide":[],"field_video_automute":[],"field_editorial_category":[],"field_allow_lld_domains":[],"field_enable_stanza":[],"field_exclude_from_yahoo":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"German Rubtsov still eyeing Flyers despite long odds"},"news_keywords":{"value":"German Rubtsov, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers, German Rubtsov Flyers, Flyers top prospects, Ron Hextall, Nolan Patrick, Flyers development camp, Flyers draft German Rubtsov, German Rubtsov NHL"}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"name":"tdougherty","picture":"0","data":"b:0;"},"access":true},{"target_id":"538336","entity":{"vid":"564891","uid":"156","title":"Just a teenager, Carter Hart already mentally fit for Flyers' future","log":"","status":"1","comment":"0","promote":"0","sticky":"0","nid":"538336","type":"article","language":"und","created":"1499750468","changed":"1531160805","tnid":"0","translate":"0","published":"1499778000","revision_timestamp":"1531160805","revision_uid":"156","body":{"und":[{"value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 The last time Carter Hart recalls becoming irritated on the ice, he was 10 years old. He was in his first year of playing goaltender after previously playing forward.<\/p>His dad, John Hart, was his coach and his current sports psychologist, John Stevenson, was then his goalie coach. What transpired may have resembled a more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=vbAEj8o1SY8\" target=\"_blank\">PG version of this<\/a>.<\/p>\u201cThis one kid kept crashing into my crease,\u201d Hart said, \u201cso my dad was on the bench coaching and he\u2019s just like, \u2018Just give it to this kid.\u2019 So I just started blockering him.<\/p>\u201cI actually didn\u2019t know to blocker a kid, they consider it a weapon [and it\u2019s] a five-game suspension. So I got a five-game suspension when I was 10 years old.\u201d<\/p>Eight years later, Hart finds himself as one of the most anticipated goaltending prospects the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\" target=\"_blank\">Flyers<\/a> have ever had, perhaps even more than the person who drafted him, Ron Hextall.<\/p>There was Pete Peeters in the late 1970s and Pelle Lindbergh in the \u201880s. Hextall, of course, in the late \u201880s. The Flyers\u2019 history of drafting goalies is an urban legend.<\/p>Not many swooned over the likes of Dominic Roussel and Neil Little.<\/p>Hart is a different breed of goaltender. The Flyers made him the first goalie drafted in 2016 when they selected him 48th overall. He won the CHL Goaltender of the Year his draft year.<\/p>Last season, he posted superior numbers but didn\u2019t recapture his crown. Owen Sound\u2019s Michael McNiven won the title. Politics was likely involved. No goalie has ever won it twice.<\/p>Still, Hart won the Del Wilson Memorial Trophy as the WHL\u2019s Goaltender of the Year for the second consecutive season and was twice named the Vaughn CHL Goaltender of the Week.<\/p>When sports psychologist and an 18-year-old come up in the same sentence, it may carry a negative connotation. Some may trigger the alarms. It shouldn\u2019t, especially for a goalie.<\/p>Mental toughness is as essential to goaltending as hand-eye coordination is to hitting a baseball. If any conclusion can be drawn from Hart having one, it should be positive. <\/p>Stevenson is a registered psychologist based in Edmonton, Alberta. He runs Zone Performance Psychology with his wife, Jaci Stevenson, and is a former scout for the Oilers.<\/p>The relationship between Hart and Stevenson goes back to when Hart was 10 when he was encouraged by his dad to blocker the kid crashing his crease. Stevenson was originally his goalie coach before transitioning into psychology full-time. Hart describes himself as laid-back whose \u201cenergy levels have dropped\u201d in the eight years since. On the ice, he carries a calm demeanor \u2014 he doesn\u2019t get mad and doesn\u2019t consider himself to be vocal.<\/p>Perhaps some tricks he\u2019s applicated from working with Stevenson, who also works with Washington Capitals goalie Braden Holtby, the 2016 Vezina Trophy winner. As a former goalie coach, Stevenson would try to get in Hart\u2019s head to mess with him, according to Hart, which taught the Sherwood Park, Alberta, native to control what he can control.<\/p>\u201cI talk to him on a regular basis,\u201d Hart said Friday of Stevenson. \u201cI\u2019ve learned a lot on the mental side of things. The mental game is huge. It\u2019s probably 90 percent of the position, really. If you believe you can do it, you can. That\u2019s the mindset you have to have, you have to believe in yourself. You really have to believe in yourself and trust everything that you do.\u201d<\/p>Holtby has been working with Stevenson since he was 15 years old. The Capitals\u2019 goaltender told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/sports\/capitals\/braden-holtby-at-peace-in-the-crease\/2015\/04\/24\/7cd9ad6a-e9b7-11e4-9a6a-c1ab95a0600b_story.html\" target=\"_blank\">The Washington Post<\/em><\/a> in 2015 that he didn\u2019t realize how important Stevenson has been to him in his professional life until his first year away from him.<\/p>\u201cThat\u2019s when I really found out how crucial that experience I had with him was,\u201d he told the Post. \u201cKind of take it for granted when it\u2019s right there at your fingertips, and once it\u2019s gone, you have to start doing it on your own. It makes it harder, but you learn it even more.\u201d<\/p>While Holtby and Hart share the same psychologist, Holtby isn\u2019t the goalie Hart admires most, though he did call Holtby \u201cone of the most mentally tough guys in the business.\u201d Hart said he\u2019s met Holtby a few times through Stevenson, and Holtby texted him after the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships. The goalie he models his game after is Carey Price.<\/p>\u201cHe\u2019s very efficient,\u201d Hart said of Price. \u201cHe\u2019s one of the best skaters in the game. He makes things simple and makes difficult saves look easy. I really admire the way he skates. That\u2019s one of the biggest things for me is being a good skater. If you can\u2019t skate, you can\u2019t play.<\/p>\u201cYou have to be an elite-level skater to play in the NHL. \u2026 I think Price is the most elite skater in the league.\u201d<\/p>Hart turns 19 on Aug. 13 and is not eligible for the AHL. It\u2019s either one more year in Everett or breaking training camp with the Flyers. \u201cObviously, it doesn\u2019t happen often for 19-year-old goalies,\u201d he said. That\u2019s his goal, but the numbers game dictates his October destination. Brian Elliott and Michal Neuvirth are the Flyers\u2019 goalies for the next two years.<\/p>In 2016-17, Hart posted a 32-11-6 record in 54 games last season with the Silvertips. He led the WHL in goals-against average (1.99), save percentage (.927) and shutouts (nine). He had a shutout streak of 193 minutes and 38 seconds during the record season.<\/p>After his season ended in Everett, Hart joined the Lehigh Valley Phantoms during AHL playoffs largely as a third goalie with Anthony Stolarz injured. Then Alex Lyon suffered an injury in Game 2 of their first-round series with the Hershey Bears. Hart found himself on the bench backing up Martin Ouellette for Game 3. The Phantoms rode Ouellette for Games 4 and 5 with Mark Dekanich backing up. Lehigh Valley lost in five games.<\/p>Hart never played.<\/p>\u201cI thought maybe against Hershey when I backed up, maybe see what happens,\u201d he said.<\/p>Hextall drafted his fifth goalie in his fourth draft last month as Flyers general manager, selecting Russian netminder Kirill Ustimenko in the third round. With Ustimenko in the fold, the Flyers now have nine goalies in the organization.<\/p>\u201cIt doesn\u2019t really matter. It\u2019s just goalie depth,\u201d Hart said. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing wrong with having goalie depth because you never know what happens. The position of goaltending can be tough and tough on the body. \u2026 It\u2019s a long year. Seventy-two games in the WHL, 76 games in the American League and obviously 82 in The Show.<\/p>\u201cIt doesn't bother me. Just got to worry about yourself.\u201d<\/p>","summary":"Is Carter Hart the Flyers' goalie of the future? The teenager is already mentally fit for the pressure of being in an NHL net. By Tom Dougherty<\/p>","format":"filtered_html","safe_value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 The last time Carter Hart recalls becoming irritated on the ice, he was 10 years old. He was in his first year of playing goaltender after previously playing forward.<\/p>\nHis dad, John Hart, was his coach and his current sports psychologist, John Stevenson, was then his goalie coach. What transpired may have resembled a more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=vbAEj8o1SY8\" target=\"_blank\">PG version of this<\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cThis one kid kept crashing into my crease,\u201d Hart said, \u201cso my dad was on the bench coaching and he\u2019s just like, \u2018Just give it to this kid.\u2019 So I just started blockering him.<\/p>\n\u201cI actually didn\u2019t know to blocker a kid, they consider it a weapon [and it\u2019s] a five-game suspension. So I got a five-game suspension when I was 10 years old.\u201d<\/p>\nEight years later, Hart finds himself as one of the most anticipated goaltending prospects the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\" target=\"_blank\">Flyers<\/a> have ever had, perhaps even more than the person who drafted him, Ron Hextall.<\/p>\nThere was Pete Peeters in the late 1970s and Pelle Lindbergh in the \u201880s. Hextall, of course, in the late \u201880s. The Flyers\u2019 history of drafting goalies is an urban legend.<\/p>\nNot many swooned over the likes of Dominic Roussel and Neil Little.<\/p>\nHart is a different breed of goaltender. The Flyers made him the first goalie drafted in 2016 when they selected him 48th overall. He won the CHL Goaltender of the Year his draft year.<\/p>\nLast season, he posted superior numbers but didn\u2019t recapture his crown. Owen Sound\u2019s Michael McNiven won the title. Politics was likely involved. No goalie has ever won it twice.<\/p>\nStill, Hart won the Del Wilson Memorial Trophy as the WHL\u2019s Goaltender of the Year for the second consecutive season and was twice named the Vaughn CHL Goaltender of the Week.<\/p>\nWhen sports psychologist and an 18-year-old come up in the same sentence, it may carry a negative connotation. Some may trigger the alarms. It shouldn\u2019t, especially for a goalie.<\/p>\nMental toughness is as essential to goaltending as hand-eye coordination is to hitting a baseball. If any conclusion can be drawn from Hart having one, it should be positive. <\/p>\nStevenson is a registered psychologist based in Edmonton, Alberta. He runs Zone Performance Psychology with his wife, Jaci Stevenson, and is a former scout for the Oilers.<\/p>\nThe relationship between Hart and Stevenson goes back to when Hart was 10 when he was encouraged by his dad to blocker the kid crashing his crease. Stevenson was originally his goalie coach before transitioning into psychology full-time. Hart describes himself as laid-back whose \u201cenergy levels have dropped\u201d in the eight years since. On the ice, he carries a calm demeanor \u2014 he doesn\u2019t get mad and doesn\u2019t consider himself to be vocal.<\/p>\nPerhaps some tricks he\u2019s applicated from working with Stevenson, who also works with Washington Capitals goalie Braden Holtby, the 2016 Vezina Trophy winner. As a former goalie coach, Stevenson would try to get in Hart\u2019s head to mess with him, according to Hart, which taught the Sherwood Park, Alberta, native to control what he can control.<\/p>\n\u201cI talk to him on a regular basis,\u201d Hart said Friday of Stevenson. \u201cI\u2019ve learned a lot on the mental side of things. The mental game is huge. It\u2019s probably 90 percent of the position, really. If you believe you can do it, you can. That\u2019s the mindset you have to have, you have to believe in yourself. You really have to believe in yourself and trust everything that you do.\u201d<\/p>\nHoltby has been working with Stevenson since he was 15 years old. The Capitals\u2019 goaltender told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/sports\/capitals\/braden-holtby-at-peace-in-the-crease\/2015\/04\/24\/7cd9ad6a-e9b7-11e4-9a6a-c1ab95a0600b_story.html\" target=\"_blank\">The Washington Post<\/em><\/a> in 2015 that he didn\u2019t realize how important Stevenson has been to him in his professional life until his first year away from him.<\/p>\n\u201cThat\u2019s when I really found out how crucial that experience I had with him was,\u201d he told the Post. \u201cKind of take it for granted when it\u2019s right there at your fingertips, and once it\u2019s gone, you have to start doing it on your own. It makes it harder, but you learn it even more.\u201d<\/p>\nWhile Holtby and Hart share the same psychologist, Holtby isn\u2019t the goalie Hart admires most, though he did call Holtby \u201cone of the most mentally tough guys in the business.\u201d Hart said he\u2019s met Holtby a few times through Stevenson, and Holtby texted him after the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships. The goalie he models his game after is Carey Price.<\/p>\n\u201cHe\u2019s very efficient,\u201d Hart said of Price. \u201cHe\u2019s one of the best skaters in the game. He makes things simple and makes difficult saves look easy. I really admire the way he skates. That\u2019s one of the biggest things for me is being a good skater. If you can\u2019t skate, you can\u2019t play.<\/p>\n\u201cYou have to be an elite-level skater to play in the NHL. \u2026 I think Price is the most elite skater in the league.\u201d<\/p>\nHart turns 19 on Aug. 13 and is not eligible for the AHL. It\u2019s either one more year in Everett or breaking training camp with the Flyers. \u201cObviously, it doesn\u2019t happen often for 19-year-old goalies,\u201d he said. That\u2019s his goal, but the numbers game dictates his October destination. Brian Elliott and Michal Neuvirth are the Flyers\u2019 goalies for the next two years.<\/p>\nIn 2016-17, Hart posted a 32-11-6 record in 54 games last season with the Silvertips. He led the WHL in goals-against average (1.99), save percentage (.927) and shutouts (nine). He had a shutout streak of 193 minutes and 38 seconds during the record season.<\/p>\nAfter his season ended in Everett, Hart joined the Lehigh Valley Phantoms during AHL playoffs largely as a third goalie with Anthony Stolarz injured. Then Alex Lyon suffered an injury in Game 2 of their first-round series with the Hershey Bears. Hart found himself on the bench backing up Martin Ouellette for Game 3. The Phantoms rode Ouellette for Games 4 and 5 with Mark Dekanich backing up. Lehigh Valley lost in five games.<\/p>\nHart never played.<\/p>\n\u201cI thought maybe against Hershey when I backed up, maybe see what happens,\u201d he said.<\/p>\nHextall drafted his fifth goalie in his fourth draft last month as Flyers general manager, selecting Russian netminder Kirill Ustimenko in the third round. With Ustimenko in the fold, the Flyers now have nine goalies in the organization.<\/p>\n\u201cIt doesn\u2019t really matter. It\u2019s just goalie depth,\u201d Hart said. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing wrong with having goalie depth because you never know what happens. The position of goaltending can be tough and tough on the body. \u2026 It\u2019s a long year. Seventy-two games in the WHL, 76 games in the American League and obviously 82 in The Show.<\/p>\n\u201cIt doesn't bother me. Just got to worry about yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n","safe_summary":"Is Carter Hart the Flyers' goalie of the future? The teenager is already mentally fit for the pressure of being in an NHL net. By Tom Dougherty<\/p>\n"}]},"field_author_reference":{"und":[{"tid":"1321"}]},"field_bean_single_col":{"und":[{"target_id":"2456"}]},"field_chrome_page":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_date_published":{"und":[{"value":"2017-07-11 13:00:00","timezone":"America\/New_York","timezone_db":"UTC","date_type":"datetime"}]},"field_hero_image_credit":{"und":[{"value":"Photo credit: Zack Hill\/Flyers","format":null,"safe_value":"Photo credit: Zack Hill\/Flyers"}]},"field_image":{"und":[{"fid":"472561","uid":"266","filename":"zack-hill-flyers-carter-hart.jpg","uri":"public:\/\/2018\/05\/02\/zack-hill-flyers-carter-hart.jpg","filemime":"image\/jpeg","filesize":"179409","status":"1","timestamp":"1525292288","origname":"zack-hill-flyers-carter-hart.jpg","type":"image","field_file_image_alt_text":{"und":[{"value":null,"format":null,"safe_value":""}]},"field_file_image_title_text":{"und":[{"value":null,"format":null,"safe_value":""}]},"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]","default":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]"},"description":{"value":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!","default":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!"},"abstract":{"value":""},"keywords":{"value":""},"robots":{"value":{"index":0,"follow":0,"noindex":0,"nofollow":0,"noarchive":0,"nosnippet":0,"noodp":0,"noydir":0,"noimageindex":0,"notranslate":0}},"news_keywords":{"value":""},"standout":{"value":""},"rating":{"value":""},"referrer":{"value":""},"rights":{"value":""},"image_src":{"value":""},"canonical":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"shortlink":{"value":"[current-page:url:unaliased]","default":"[current-page:url:unaliased]"},"original-source":{"value":""},"prev":{"value":""},"next":{"value":""},"content-language":{"value":""},"geo.position":{"value":""},"geo.placename":{"value":""},"geo.region":{"value":""},"icbm":{"value":""},"refresh":{"value":""},"revisit-after":{"value":"","period":""},"pragma":{"value":""},"cache-control":{"value":""},"expires":{"value":""},"og:type":{"value":"article","default":"article"},"og:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"og:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"og:determiner":{"value":""},"og:description":{"value":""},"og:updated_time":{"value":""},"og:see_also":{"value":""},"og:image":{"value":""},"og:image:url":{"value":""},"og:image:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:image:type":{"value":""},"og:image:width":{"value":""},"og:image:height":{"value":""},"og:latitude":{"value":""},"og:longitude":{"value":""},"og:street_address":{"value":""},"og:locality":{"value":""},"og:region":{"value":""},"og:postal_code":{"value":""},"og:country_name":{"value":""},"og:email":{"value":""},"og:phone_number":{"value":""},"og:fax_number":{"value":""},"og:locale":{"value":""},"og:locale:alternate":{"value":""},"article:author":{"value":""},"article:publisher":{"value":""},"article:section":{"value":""},"article:tag":{"value":""},"article:published_time":{"value":""},"article:modified_time":{"value":""},"article:expiration_time":{"value":""},"profile:first_name":{"value":""},"profile:last_name":{"value":""},"profile:username":{"value":""},"profile:gender":{"value":""},"og:audio":{"value":""},"og:audio:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:audio:type":{"value":""},"book:author":{"value":""},"book:isbn":{"value":""},"book:release_date":{"value":""},"book:tag":{"value":""},"og:video:url":{"value":""},"og:video:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:video:width":{"value":""},"og:video:height":{"value":""},"og:video:type":{"value":""},"video:actor":{"value":""},"video:actor:role":{"value":""},"video:director":{"value":""},"video:writer":{"value":""},"video:duration":{"value":""},"video:release_date":{"value":""},"video:tag":{"value":""},"video:series":{"value":""},"twitter:card":{"value":"summary","default":"summary"},"twitter:creator":{"value":""},"twitter:creator:id":{"value":""},"twitter:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"twitter:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"twitter:description":{"value":""},"twitter:image":{"value":""},"twitter:image:width":{"value":""},"twitter:image:height":{"value":""},"twitter:image:alt":{"value":""},"twitter:image0":{"value":""},"twitter:image1":{"value":""},"twitter:image2":{"value":""},"twitter:image3":{"value":""},"twitter:player":{"value":""},"twitter:player:width":{"value":""},"twitter:player:height":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream:content_type":{"value":""},"twitter:app:country":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:label1":{"value":""},"twitter:data1":{"value":""},"twitter:label2":{"value":""},"twitter:data2":{"value":""}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"metadata":{"height":360,"width":640},"height":"360","width":"640","alt":null,"title":null}]},"field_league":{"und":[{"tid":"196"}]},"field_section":{"und":[{"tid":"201"}]},"field_short_title":{"und":[{"value":"How teenage goalie prospect Carter Hart is already mentally fit for Flyers' future","format":null,"safe_value":"How teenage goalie prospect Carter Hart is already mentally fit for Flyers' future"}]},"field_sponsor":[],"field_sport":{"und":[{"tid":"191"}]},"field_tags":{"und":[{"tid":"5411"},{"tid":"6201"},{"tid":"18276"},{"tid":"466"},{"tid":"2966"},{"tid":"3091"}]},"field_team":{"und":[{"tid":"141"}]},"field_top_story":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_video_autoplay":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_videos":{"und":[{"target_id":"537396"}]},"field_tags_hide":{"und":[{"tid":"18276"}]},"field_video_automute":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_editorial_category":{"und":[{"value":"other_news"}]},"field_allow_lld_domains":[],"field_enable_stanza":[],"field_exclude_from_yahoo":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"Carter Hart already mentally fit for Flyers' net"},"news_keywords":{"value":"Carter Hart, Philadelphia Flyers, Tom Dougherty, Flyers prospect Carter Hart"}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"name":"JHall","picture":"0","data":"b:0;"},"access":true},{"target_id":"537591","entity":{"vid":"564031","uid":"266","title":"Pascal Laberge out to be 'the real me' following dark days from concussion","log":"","status":"1","comment":"0","promote":"0","sticky":"0","nid":"537591","type":"article","language":"und","created":"1499535853","changed":"1501550820","tnid":"0","translate":"0","published":"1499605800","revision_timestamp":"1501550820","revision_uid":"156","body":{"und":[{"value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 On a Saturday night in Victoriaville, Quebec, last October, the trajectory of Pascal Laberge\u2019s third season in the QMJHL changed in a flash and not for the better.<\/p>Six minutes into the Tigres\u2019 game against the Moncton Wildcats, Laberge was met by a thundering headshot from Zachary Malatesta as he gathered the puck at his own blue line.<\/p>Laberge lay barren on the ice while Victoriaville alternate captain James Phelan immediately jumped Malatesta, who was ejected and then suspended seven games.<\/p>\u201cYou try to avoid these concussions and when a player does a thing like that, it sure pisses you off a little bit,\u201d Laberge said Friday at development camp at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> Skate Zone. \u201cThere\u2019s always going to be some guys like that in hockey. It\u2019s just that it happened to me.\u201d<\/p>What happened to Laberge was a concussion that caused him to miss over a month before returning Nov. 25 for two games to only sit out another three games as symptoms returned.<\/p>Upon returning, Laberge labored to find the consistency and point production that led to the Flyers\u2019 selecting him with the 36th overall pick in the 2016 NHL draft.<\/p>After his symptoms subsided enough for him to come back Dec. 8, the 19-year-old forward recorded seven points in eight games in the month. In January, he tallied six points in 10 games but was held pointless during six of those games. He finished the season with 32 points.<\/p>In 2015-16, his draft year, Laberge registered 68 points in 56 games for Victoriaville. His 32 points last season was one point more than his 2014-15 rookie campaign in the QMJHL. <\/p>He ended last season with an assist in each of the Tigres\u2019 final three games and scooped up two more in four games during Victoriaville\u2019s first-round postseason exit to Chicoutimi.<\/p>Regaining confidence was a barricade for Laberge following his return from his concussion, especially when going toward the boards. \u201cYou\u2019re kind of shy to go there,\u201d he said. He often played looking over his shoulder and said it took about two months for him to fully recover.<\/p>\u201cThe first month,\u201d he said, \u201cI couldn\u2019t wake up. I had to sleep all day.\u201d<\/p>By now, Laberge\u2019s story is well known. In summer 2015, his stepmother was diagnosed with metastatic cancer and his father, prostate cancer. His stepmother died in September 2015. His dad had his prostate removed that fall. All while he was trying to get drafted.<\/p>Laberge fell to the Flyers in the second round despite being rated 28th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting Bureau. Some saw him as a late first-rounder.<\/p>One of the traits the Flyers liked about Laberge when they drafted him last summer was his perseverance, how he dealt with his family situation and also still produced on the ice.<\/p>Character is something general manager Ron Hextall values greatly. When he talks about prospects, chiefly in regards of development camp, character is one detail he preaches. <\/p>How prospects deal with adversity \u2014 albeit on the ice or off it, both are true in Laberge\u2019s case \u2014 can make them hungrier and better as a player and person, according to Hextall. <\/p>Hextall offered a guess: Last season, on the ice, was a first for Laberge. A young, talented kid who didn\u2019t have his way, who took a step back in his development and wasn\u2019t a star.<\/p>For someone his age, he has been through a lot off the ice. Last season, the concussion was just \u201canother tough time.\u201d It\u2019s getting him stronger, he said.<\/p>\u201cSometimes with my friends,\u201d Laberge said, \u201cI feel a little bit older than them.\u201d<\/p>In his second development camp, Laberge claims he\u2019s back to normal, feels good and his concussion issues are in the past. He understands how last season went means the timetable for his path to the NHL has been pushed back because of the lost time.<\/p>Laberge wants to get back to \u201cthe real me\u201d in 2017-18. With one more year of junior eligibility, he, barring any miracles, will spend another season in Victoriaville.<\/p>While Hextall\u2019s been adamant about keeping a few spots open for prospects to earn during training camp in September, it\u2019s a long shot to consider Laberge to be in that competition.<\/p>\u201cWe didn\u2019t like what he went through,\u201d Hextall said Friday. \u201cWe didn\u2019t like, at times, the level he was playing to, which wasn\u2019t at the level he\u2019s capable of. But \u2026 <\/p>\u201cYou go through adversity like that as a young man, you learn from it. You become stronger. It\u2019s like a team. Sometimes you have to lose to learn how to win.\u201d<\/p>If there\u2019s any one thing Laberge learned from last season, it\u2019s \u2026 <\/p>\u201cNext time,\u201d he said, \u201cI\u2019ll lift my head.\u201d<\/p>","summary":"After enduring yet another year filled with adversity, Pascal Laberge, 19, hopes to show the Flyers his true self in 2017-18. By Tom Dougherty<\/p>","format":"filtered_html","safe_value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 On a Saturday night in Victoriaville, Quebec, last October, the trajectory of Pascal Laberge\u2019s third season in the QMJHL changed in a flash and not for the better.<\/p>\nSix minutes into the Tigres\u2019 game against the Moncton Wildcats, Laberge was met by a thundering headshot from Zachary Malatesta as he gathered the puck at his own blue line.<\/p>\nLaberge lay barren on the ice while Victoriaville alternate captain James Phelan immediately jumped Malatesta, who was ejected and then suspended seven games.<\/p>\n\u201cYou try to avoid these concussions and when a player does a thing like that, it sure pisses you off a little bit,\u201d Laberge said Friday at development camp at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> Skate Zone. \u201cThere\u2019s always going to be some guys like that in hockey. It\u2019s just that it happened to me.\u201d<\/p>\nWhat happened to Laberge was a concussion that caused him to miss over a month before returning Nov. 25 for two games to only sit out another three games as symptoms returned.<\/p>\nUpon returning, Laberge labored to find the consistency and point production that led to the Flyers\u2019 selecting him with the 36th overall pick in the 2016 NHL draft.<\/p>\nAfter his symptoms subsided enough for him to come back Dec. 8, the 19-year-old forward recorded seven points in eight games in the month. In January, he tallied six points in 10 games but was held pointless during six of those games. He finished the season with 32 points.<\/p>\nIn 2015-16, his draft year, Laberge registered 68 points in 56 games for Victoriaville. His 32 points last season was one point more than his 2014-15 rookie campaign in the QMJHL. <\/p>\nHe ended last season with an assist in each of the Tigres\u2019 final three games and scooped up two more in four games during Victoriaville\u2019s first-round postseason exit to Chicoutimi.<\/p>\nRegaining confidence was a barricade for Laberge following his return from his concussion, especially when going toward the boards. \u201cYou\u2019re kind of shy to go there,\u201d he said. He often played looking over his shoulder and said it took about two months for him to fully recover.<\/p>\n\u201cThe first month,\u201d he said, \u201cI couldn\u2019t wake up. I had to sleep all day.\u201d<\/p>\nBy now, Laberge\u2019s story is well known. In summer 2015, his stepmother was diagnosed with metastatic cancer and his father, prostate cancer. His stepmother died in September 2015. His dad had his prostate removed that fall. All while he was trying to get drafted.<\/p>\nLaberge fell to the Flyers in the second round despite being rated 28th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting Bureau. Some saw him as a late first-rounder.<\/p>\nOne of the traits the Flyers liked about Laberge when they drafted him last summer was his perseverance, how he dealt with his family situation and also still produced on the ice.<\/p>\nCharacter is something general manager Ron Hextall values greatly. When he talks about prospects, chiefly in regards of development camp, character is one detail he preaches. <\/p>\nHow prospects deal with adversity \u2014 albeit on the ice or off it, both are true in Laberge\u2019s case \u2014 can make them hungrier and better as a player and person, according to Hextall. <\/p>\nHextall offered a guess: Last season, on the ice, was a first for Laberge. A young, talented kid who didn\u2019t have his way, who took a step back in his development and wasn\u2019t a star.<\/p>\nFor someone his age, he has been through a lot off the ice. Last season, the concussion was just \u201canother tough time.\u201d It\u2019s getting him stronger, he said.<\/p>\n\u201cSometimes with my friends,\u201d Laberge said, \u201cI feel a little bit older than them.\u201d<\/p>\nIn his second development camp, Laberge claims he\u2019s back to normal, feels good and his concussion issues are in the past. He understands how last season went means the timetable for his path to the NHL has been pushed back because of the lost time.<\/p>\nLaberge wants to get back to \u201cthe real me\u201d in 2017-18. With one more year of junior eligibility, he, barring any miracles, will spend another season in Victoriaville.<\/p>\nWhile Hextall\u2019s been adamant about keeping a few spots open for prospects to earn during training camp in September, it\u2019s a long shot to consider Laberge to be in that competition.<\/p>\n\u201cWe didn\u2019t like what he went through,\u201d Hextall said Friday. \u201cWe didn\u2019t like, at times, the level he was playing to, which wasn\u2019t at the level he\u2019s capable of. But \u2026 <\/p>\n\u201cYou go through adversity like that as a young man, you learn from it. You become stronger. It\u2019s like a team. Sometimes you have to lose to learn how to win.\u201d<\/p>\nIf there\u2019s any one thing Laberge learned from last season, it\u2019s \u2026 <\/p>\n\u201cNext time,\u201d he said, \u201cI\u2019ll lift my head.\u201d<\/p>\n","safe_summary":"After enduring yet another year filled with adversity, Pascal Laberge, 19, hopes to show the Flyers his true self in 2017-18. By Tom Dougherty<\/p>\n"}]},"field_author_reference":{"und":[{"tid":"1321"}]},"field_bean_single_col":{"und":[{"target_id":"2456"}]},"field_chrome_page":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_date_published":{"und":[{"value":"2017-07-09 13:10:00","timezone":"America\/New_York","timezone_db":"UTC","date_type":"datetime"}]},"field_hero_image_credit":{"und":[{"value":"Photo: Zack Hill\/Flyers","format":null,"safe_value":"Photo: Zack Hill\/Flyers"}]},"field_image":{"und":[{"fid":"472606","uid":"266","filename":"zack-hill-pascal-laberge.jpg","uri":"public:\/\/2017\/07\/08\/zack-hill-pascal-laberge.jpg","filemime":"image\/jpeg","filesize":"154834","status":"1","timestamp":"1499535488","origname":"zack-hill-pascal-laberge.jpg","type":"image","field_file_image_alt_text":{"und":[{"value":"Pascal Laberge, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers","format":null,"safe_value":"Pascal Laberge, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers"}]},"field_file_image_title_text":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":[],"alt":"Pascal Laberge, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers","metadata":{"height":360,"width":640},"height":"360","width":"640","title":""}]},"field_league":{"und":[{"tid":"196"}]},"field_section":{"und":[{"tid":"201"}]},"field_short_title":{"und":[{"value":"Flyers' Laberge out to be 'the real me' following dark days from concussion","format":null,"safe_value":"Flyers' Laberge out to be 'the real me' following dark days from concussion"}]},"field_sponsor":[],"field_sport":{"und":[{"tid":"191"}]},"field_tags":{"und":[{"tid":"18276"},{"tid":"5406"},{"tid":"466"},{"tid":"2966"},{"tid":"3091"}]},"field_team":{"und":[{"tid":"141"}]},"field_top_story":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_video_autoplay":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_videos":{"und":[{"target_id":"537646"}]},"field_tags_hide":{"und":[{"tid":"18276"}]},"field_video_automute":[],"field_editorial_category":[],"field_allow_lld_domains":[],"field_enable_stanza":[],"field_exclude_from_yahoo":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"Pascal Laberge out to show Flyers 'the real me'"},"news_keywords":{"value":"Pascal Laberge, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers, Pascal Laberge Flyers, Pascal Laberge concussion, Pascal Laberge head injury, Pascal Laberge hockey, Flyers top prospects"}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"name":"tdougherty","picture":"0","data":"b:0;"},"access":true},{"target_id":"539666","entity":{"vid":"566421","uid":"156","title":"Morgan Frost, the other 1st-round pick, can help Flyers, too","log":"","status":"1","comment":"0","promote":"0","sticky":"0","nid":"539666","type":"article","language":"und","created":"1500171137","changed":"1500320019","tnid":"0","translate":"0","published":"1500210000","revision_timestamp":"1500320019","revision_uid":"156","body":{"und":[{"value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Morgan Frost was teeming with nerves.<\/p>The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\" target=\"_blank\">Flyers<\/a> had just called his name on the night of the NHL draft, so emotions were running wild as he made his way to the spectacle's forefront at the United Center.<\/p>\"It was pretty crazy,\" Frost said last week. \"Walking up the stage, I thought I was going to fall over.\"<\/p>Unlike that concern, Frost has no trouble staying upright on the ice. His speed, skating and skills are what made him attractive to the Flyers, who selected the 18-year-old in the June draft with the 27th pick acquired via the Brayden Schenn trade.<\/p>With the deal, Frost became the Flyers' second first-round choice of the night, joining No. 2 overall pick Nolan Patrick. And similar to Patrick, Frost is a skilled forward that thrives when skill surrounds him. Put Frost with talent, and he'll make it better.<\/p>\"I think I'm definitely a playmaker first,\" Frost said. \"I think you're always going to see me with more assists than goals.\"<\/p>That rung true last season when Frost put up 42 assists compared to 20 goals in 67 games with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL. Alongside Bruins 2015 first-round pick Zach Senyshyn, a bona-fide goal-scoring winger, Frost dished the puck plenty and also produced a 22-assist increase from his first year of junior play.<\/p>\"Playing with a guy like Senyshyn definitely helps that stat because he's a goal scorer,\" Frost said. \"I think for me, playing with a goal scorer is part of the best thing because I'm a guy that likes to distribute. At the same time, I feel like I can contribute offensively in terms of scoring, but I'm definitely a playmaker.\"<\/p>Frost provided glimpses of that ability through a variety of drills and competition at Flyers development camp, his first real taste of the NHL.<\/p>\"It's super special,\" Frost said. \"The first step on that ice obviously meant a lot to me. It's still pretty surreal for me to be here. I'm definitely excited.\"<\/p>Now with an NHL organization, Frost hopes to grow both physically and defensively. An offensive stalwart listed at 5-foot-11, 172 pounds, Frost was able to see how he can improve those areas after spending six days with the Flyers.<\/p>\"Giving them an early view of our expectations as an organization of ways to improve their game, whether it's skill-wise or strength-wise,\" Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said of development camp.<\/p>\"Being a pro and showing them ways to develop physically and as an athlete.\"<\/p>Over time, Frost wants to show he can be an all-situation center. He feels he has already started to with the Greyhounds, who will continue to give him greater responsibilities in 2017-18, including penalty-kill minutes.<\/p>\"They kind of stressed that to me right when I got there,\" Frost said. \"I was kind of a one-dimensional player, offensive. They stressed that it wasn't all about that, it's not about scoring goals or setting up goals all the time if you're going to be on the ice for goals against. So plus-minus was something I wanted to improve on and just be harder to play against, play defense. They turned me into more of a well-rounded player.\"<\/p>Over 65 games in 2015-16, Frost was a minus-6. He went to a plus-15 in 2016-17. And while he wants to become more complete, making a difference with the puck on his stick will be his ticket to the Flyers.<\/p>\"I think that's a skill I've had ever since I was a little kid, just being able to see the ice and slow the play down a little,\" Frost said. \"But at the same time, I think that's developed with coaching and practice.\"<\/p>After getting to know the Flyers, he found new ways to work on those strengths.<\/p>\"We're watching video, watching just little things that you can do with your skates \u2014 ways to change your angle, use your edges,\" Frost said. \"That's one thing that I definitely want to do and I want to be able to accelerate better.<\/p>\"The first three steps and once I get up to speed, I'm fast and I can use my speed to my advantage.\"<\/p>And to help his teammates, too. That's what Frost does best.<\/p>","summary":"Similar to Nolan Patrick, Morgan Frost was a first-round pick of the Flyers that excels by making those around him better. By Jordan Hall<\/p>","format":"filtered_html","safe_value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Morgan Frost was teeming with nerves.<\/p>\nThe <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\" target=\"_blank\">Flyers<\/a> had just called his name on the night of the NHL draft, so emotions were running wild as he made his way to the spectacle's forefront at the United Center.<\/p>\n\"It was pretty crazy,\" Frost said last week. \"Walking up the stage, I thought I was going to fall over.\"<\/p>\nUnlike that concern, Frost has no trouble staying upright on the ice. His speed, skating and skills are what made him attractive to the Flyers, who selected the 18-year-old in the June draft with the 27th pick acquired via the Brayden Schenn trade.<\/p>\nWith the deal, Frost became the Flyers' second first-round choice of the night, joining No. 2 overall pick Nolan Patrick. And similar to Patrick, Frost is a skilled forward that thrives when skill surrounds him. Put Frost with talent, and he'll make it better.<\/p>\n\"I think I'm definitely a playmaker first,\" Frost said. \"I think you're always going to see me with more assists than goals.\"<\/p>\nThat rung true last season when Frost put up 42 assists compared to 20 goals in 67 games with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL. Alongside Bruins 2015 first-round pick Zach Senyshyn, a bona-fide goal-scoring winger, Frost dished the puck plenty and also produced a 22-assist increase from his first year of junior play.<\/p>\n\"Playing with a guy like Senyshyn definitely helps that stat because he's a goal scorer,\" Frost said. \"I think for me, playing with a goal scorer is part of the best thing because I'm a guy that likes to distribute. At the same time, I feel like I can contribute offensively in terms of scoring, but I'm definitely a playmaker.\"<\/p>\nFrost provided glimpses of that ability through a variety of drills and competition at Flyers development camp, his first real taste of the NHL.<\/p>\n\"It's super special,\" Frost said. \"The first step on that ice obviously meant a lot to me. It's still pretty surreal for me to be here. I'm definitely excited.\"<\/p>\nNow with an NHL organization, Frost hopes to grow both physically and defensively. An offensive stalwart listed at 5-foot-11, 172 pounds, Frost was able to see how he can improve those areas after spending six days with the Flyers.<\/p>\n\"Giving them an early view of our expectations as an organization of ways to improve their game, whether it's skill-wise or strength-wise,\" Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said of development camp.<\/p>\n\"Being a pro and showing them ways to develop physically and as an athlete.\"<\/p>\nOver time, Frost wants to show he can be an all-situation center. He feels he has already started to with the Greyhounds, who will continue to give him greater responsibilities in 2017-18, including penalty-kill minutes.<\/p>\n\"They kind of stressed that to me right when I got there,\" Frost said. \"I was kind of a one-dimensional player, offensive. They stressed that it wasn't all about that, it's not about scoring goals or setting up goals all the time if you're going to be on the ice for goals against. So plus-minus was something I wanted to improve on and just be harder to play against, play defense. They turned me into more of a well-rounded player.\"<\/p>\nOver 65 games in 2015-16, Frost was a minus-6. He went to a plus-15 in 2016-17. And while he wants to become more complete, making a difference with the puck on his stick will be his ticket to the Flyers.<\/p>\n\"I think that's a skill I've had ever since I was a little kid, just being able to see the ice and slow the play down a little,\" Frost said. \"But at the same time, I think that's developed with coaching and practice.\"<\/p>\nAfter getting to know the Flyers, he found new ways to work on those strengths.<\/p>\n\"We're watching video, watching just little things that you can do with your skates \u2014 ways to change your angle, use your edges,\" Frost said. \"That's one thing that I definitely want to do and I want to be able to accelerate better.<\/p>\n\"The first three steps and once I get up to speed, I'm fast and I can use my speed to my advantage.\"<\/p>\nAnd to help his teammates, too. That's what Frost does best.<\/p>\n","safe_summary":"Similar to Nolan Patrick, Morgan Frost was a first-round pick of the Flyers that excels by making those around him better. By Jordan Hall<\/p>\n"}]},"field_author_reference":{"und":[{"tid":"1056"}]},"field_bean_single_col":{"und":[{"target_id":"2456"}]},"field_chrome_page":{"und":[{"value":"0"}]},"field_date_published":{"und":[{"value":"2017-07-16 13:00:00","timezone":"America\/New_York","timezone_db":"UTC","date_type":"datetime"}]},"field_hero_image_credit":{"und":[{"value":"Photo credit: Zack Hill\/Flyers","format":null,"safe_value":"Photo credit: Zack Hill\/Flyers"}]},"field_image":{"und":[{"fid":"476586","uid":"156","filename":"zack-hill-flyers-morgan-frost.jpg","uri":"public:\/\/2017\/07\/15\/zack-hill-flyers-morgan-frost.jpg","filemime":"image\/jpeg","filesize":"316920","status":"1","timestamp":"1500171137","origname":"zack-hill-flyers-morgan-frost.jpg","type":"image","field_file_image_alt_text":{"und":[{"value":"Morgan Frost, Philadelphia Flyers","format":null,"safe_value":"Morgan Frost, Philadelphia Flyers"}]},"field_file_image_title_text":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"title":{"value":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]","default":"[current-page:title] | [current-page:pager][site:name]"},"description":{"value":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!","default":"CSN Philadelphia, your source for all Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers news, updates and more!"},"abstract":{"value":""},"keywords":{"value":""},"robots":{"value":{"index":0,"follow":0,"noindex":0,"nofollow":0,"noarchive":0,"nosnippet":0,"noodp":0,"noydir":0,"noimageindex":0,"notranslate":0}},"news_keywords":{"value":""},"standout":{"value":""},"rating":{"value":""},"referrer":{"value":""},"rights":{"value":""},"image_src":{"value":""},"canonical":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"shortlink":{"value":"[current-page:url:unaliased]","default":"[current-page:url:unaliased]"},"original-source":{"value":""},"prev":{"value":""},"next":{"value":""},"content-language":{"value":""},"geo.position":{"value":""},"geo.placename":{"value":""},"geo.region":{"value":""},"icbm":{"value":""},"refresh":{"value":""},"revisit-after":{"value":"","period":""},"pragma":{"value":""},"cache-control":{"value":""},"expires":{"value":""},"og:type":{"value":"article","default":"article"},"og:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"og:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"og:determiner":{"value":""},"og:description":{"value":""},"og:updated_time":{"value":""},"og:see_also":{"value":""},"og:image":{"value":""},"og:image:url":{"value":""},"og:image:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:image:type":{"value":""},"og:image:width":{"value":""},"og:image:height":{"value":""},"og:latitude":{"value":""},"og:longitude":{"value":""},"og:street_address":{"value":""},"og:locality":{"value":""},"og:region":{"value":""},"og:postal_code":{"value":""},"og:country_name":{"value":""},"og:email":{"value":""},"og:phone_number":{"value":""},"og:fax_number":{"value":""},"og:locale":{"value":""},"og:locale:alternate":{"value":""},"article:author":{"value":""},"article:publisher":{"value":""},"article:section":{"value":""},"article:tag":{"value":""},"article:published_time":{"value":""},"article:modified_time":{"value":""},"article:expiration_time":{"value":""},"profile:first_name":{"value":""},"profile:last_name":{"value":""},"profile:username":{"value":""},"profile:gender":{"value":""},"og:audio":{"value":""},"og:audio:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:audio:type":{"value":""},"book:author":{"value":""},"book:isbn":{"value":""},"book:release_date":{"value":""},"book:tag":{"value":""},"og:video:url":{"value":""},"og:video:secure_url":{"value":""},"og:video:width":{"value":""},"og:video:height":{"value":""},"og:video:type":{"value":""},"video:actor":{"value":""},"video:actor:role":{"value":""},"video:director":{"value":""},"video:writer":{"value":""},"video:duration":{"value":""},"video:release_date":{"value":""},"video:tag":{"value":""},"video:series":{"value":""},"twitter:card":{"value":"summary","default":"summary"},"twitter:creator":{"value":""},"twitter:creator:id":{"value":""},"twitter:url":{"value":"[current-page:url:absolute]","default":"[current-page:url:absolute]"},"twitter:title":{"value":"[current-page:title]","default":"[current-page:title]"},"twitter:description":{"value":""},"twitter:image":{"value":""},"twitter:image:width":{"value":""},"twitter:image:height":{"value":""},"twitter:image:alt":{"value":""},"twitter:image0":{"value":""},"twitter:image1":{"value":""},"twitter:image2":{"value":""},"twitter:image3":{"value":""},"twitter:player":{"value":""},"twitter:player:width":{"value":""},"twitter:player:height":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream":{"value":""},"twitter:player:stream:content_type":{"value":""},"twitter:app:country":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:iphone":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:ipad":{"value":""},"twitter:app:name:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:id:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:app:url:googleplay":{"value":""},"twitter:label1":{"value":""},"twitter:data1":{"value":""},"twitter:label2":{"value":""},"twitter:data2":{"value":""}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"alt":"Morgan Frost, Philadelphia Flyers","metadata":{"height":382,"width":640},"height":"382","width":"640","title":""}]},"field_league":{"und":[{"tid":"196"}]},"field_section":{"und":[{"tid":"201"}]},"field_short_title":{"und":[{"value":"The other 1st-round pick, Morgan Frost can help Flyers, too","format":null,"safe_value":"The other 1st-round pick, Morgan Frost can help Flyers, too"}]},"field_sponsor":[],"field_sport":{"und":[{"tid":"191"}]},"field_tags":{"und":[{"tid":"6201"},{"tid":"18276"},{"tid":"506"},{"tid":"19506"},{"tid":"466"}]},"field_team":{"und":[{"tid":"141"}]},"field_top_story":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_video_autoplay":{"und":[{"value":"1"}]},"field_videos":{"und":[{"target_id":"532906"}]},"field_tags_hide":{"und":[{"tid":"18276"}]},"field_video_automute":[],"field_editorial_category":[],"field_allow_lld_domains":[],"field_enable_stanza":[],"field_exclude_from_yahoo":[],"_drafty_revision_requested":"FIELD_LOAD_CURRENT","metatags":{"und":{"news_keywords":{"value":"Morgan Frost, Philadelphia Flyers, Flyers development camp, Flyers prospects"}}},"path":{"pathauto":"1"},"name":"JHall","picture":"0","data":"b:0;"},"access":true},{"target_id":"539336","entity":{"vid":"565986","uid":"266","title":"After popping at world juniors, Mikhail Vorobyev sees 'good opportunity' with Phantoms","log":"","status":"1","comment":"0","promote":"0","sticky":"0","nid":"539336","type":"article","language":"und","created":"1500066760","changed":"1501259318","tnid":"0","translate":"0","published":"1500123600","revision_timestamp":"1501259318","revision_uid":"266","body":{"und":[{"value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Not many people knew who Mikhail Vorobyev was when the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships began last December.<\/p>They found out quick who he was by the end.<\/p>Vorobyev led the tournament with 10 assists in seven games for Team Russia, which captured the bronze medal. He didn\u2019t register a goal but his 10 points were third most.<\/p>\u201cVorobyev popped at the world juniors when he\u2019s playing with his peers,\u201d <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> general manager Ron Hextall said recently during development camp at Flyers Skate Zone.<\/p>\u201cOur guys really liked him his draft year. We got him in the fourth round probably because he was in Russia. He was hidden a little bit.\u201d<\/p>After one full season playing in the KHL for Salavat Yulaev Ufa, Vorobyev signed his entry-level contract with the Flyers in late April. The 20-year-old center will spend the 2017-18 season with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms as part of an interesting forward group.<\/p>Lehigh Valley finished as the second-best AHL team last season with 101 points in the regular season, but it lost to the Hershey Bears in five games during the first round of the playoffs.<\/p>This season, Vorobyev figures to have a spot in the regular lineup, but the forward competition in the AHL could be as competitive as it will be with the Flyers.<\/p>Still, Vorobyev believed coming overseas was for his best interests.<\/p>\u201cIf you want to continue development,\u201d Vorobyev said through an interpreter, Flyers skating coach Slava Kouznetsov, \u201cthis is a good opportunity to get better. In Russia, I think I reached up. That\u2019s why I\u2019m switching to North America to get better than I already am.\u201d<\/p>It may take Vorobyev a while to get accumulated to the North American lifestyle, especially since he doesn\u2019t speak English, but having Radel Fazleev at Lehigh Valley should help.<\/p>Fazleev is entering his second season in the AHL. He\u2019s been in North America full-time since 2013-14, his first season in the WHL.<\/p>At development camp, Vorobyev had three other Russians \u2014 Fazleev, German Rubtsov and camp invite Ivan Kosorenkov \u2014 and Maksim Sushko, who\u2019s from Belarus but speaks Russian, to lean on. Fazleev was the only development camp veteran of the bunch.<\/p>Like Rubtsov last summer, Vorobyev wasn\u2019t able to attend development camp in 2015 and 2016 because of his contract obligations in the KHL. Having Kouznetsov around also helps.<\/p>\"It is a big help,\u201d Vorobyev said. \u201cI'm feeling much more comfortable. The guys are helpful. It's easier to have conversation. They explain the rules, especially the guys who were here the previous years.\u201d<\/p>The adjustment for Vorobyev will come largely off the ice. The Salavat, Russia, native doesn\u2019t view the smaller rink as an obstacle, but it usually is for Europeans and Russians.<\/p>\"When I traveled with the Russian team, I always liked to play on the smaller surface,\u201d Vorobyev said. \u201cI like it. There's no adjustment, basically.\"<\/p>Vorobyev isn\u2019t the only player coming overseas this season for the Flyers. Oskar Lindblom, a 2014 fifth-round pick, believes the biggest transition for him will be the rink size.<\/p>\u201cThat\u2019s the big thing,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a little bit faster over here, so you have to think a little faster and be ready out there. Otherwise, you're going to get hit or not make the play.\"<\/p>Both Vorobyev and Lindblom were middle-round picks. Lindblom\u2019s ascension has caught the eyes of the Flyers and their fans. Lindblom is expected to be a Flyer in 2017-18.<\/p>While Lindblom has earned the hype, Vorobyev\u2019s progression has been interesting too. Both are examples of how far the Flyers\u2019 scouting department has come in recent years.<\/p>Vorobyev earned a steady role in the KHL last season after splitting the 2015-16 season with Salavat Yulaev and Tolpar Ufa of the MHL.<\/p>For the average folk, Vorobyev\u2019s numbers last season will not turn any heads. He had just three goals and 11 points in 44 games for Salavat Yulaev, but with young players in the KHL, it\u2019s hard to judge strictly on statistics. What should be of note is the ice time.<\/p>During the regular season, Vorobyev averaged 9:47. That number shot up to 13:29 per game in five postseason contests. That signals his Salavat Yulaev coaches trusted him enough to play him.<\/p>It's easy to see the difference with Vorobyev and Rubtsov. Vorobyev carved out a spot on his team at 19 and 20 years old. Rubtsov couldn\u2019t crack his KHL lineup.<\/p>Both are now in North America. The Flyers have three options with Rubtsov: QMJHL, AHL and NHL. They technically have two choices with Vorobyev, but he\u2019ll be in the AHL.<\/p>\u201cThe Russians are a little bit of a different animal because if you\u2019re playing in the KHL,\u201d Hextall said, \u201cyou got a young kid playing against men in a top league and keep them down on the fourth line and give him seven minutes. It\u2019s hard to show a whole lot in seven minutes.\u201d<\/p>Vorobyev has added at least 13 pounds since the Flyers drafted him in the fourth round of the 2015 NHL draft. He\u2019s currently listed at 6-foot-2, 207 pounds.<\/p>\u201cIf you look at his weight, his body makeup, it\u2019s changed quite a bit since we drafted him,\u201d Hextall said, \u201cand again, he popped at the world juniors last year. Quite honestly, if you asked our scouts, I don\u2019t think they\u2019d be too surprised.\u201d<\/p>The world junior performance was Vorobyev\u2019s coming out party in North America. He was exciting to watch on a Russian team that also featured Rubtsov, who struggled in the tournament. Vorobyev displayed playmaking and vision not many ever he knew he had.<\/p>Vorobyev did most of his damage setting his teammates up from behind the net and said at development camp behind the net is an area he\u2019s comfortable.<\/p>\u201cBehind the net, I felt comfortable and got points off feeding the puck to the slot,\u201d Vorobyev said. \u201cIf my partners did not score, I wouldn\u2019t get assists. It is pride [to lead the tournament in assists], but the partners, that\u2019s who I relied on.\u201d<\/p>","summary":"After breaking onto the scene at the world juniors, Mikhail Vorobyev sees a \"good opportunity\" in North America with the Phantoms. By Tom Dougherty<\/p>","format":"filtered_html","safe_value":"VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 Not many people knew who Mikhail Vorobyev was when the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships began last December.<\/p>\nThey found out quick who he was by the end.<\/p>\nVorobyev led the tournament with 10 assists in seven games for Team Russia, which captured the bronze medal. He didn\u2019t register a goal but his 10 points were third most.<\/p>\n\u201cVorobyev popped at the world juniors when he\u2019s playing with his peers,\u201d <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnphilly.com\/philadelphia-flyers\">Flyers<\/a> general manager Ron Hextall said recently during development camp at Flyers Skate Zone.<\/p>\n\u201cOur guys really liked him his draft year. We got him in the fourth round probably because he was in Russia. He was hidden a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\nAfter one full season playing in the KHL for Salavat Yulaev Ufa, Vorobyev signed his entry-level contract with the Flyers in late April. The 20-year-old center will spend the 2017-18 season with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms as part of an interesting forward group.<\/p>\nLehigh Valley finished as the second-best AHL team last season with 101 points in the regular season, but it lost to the Hershey Bears in five games during the first round of the playoffs.<\/p>\nThis season, Vorobyev figures to have a spot in the regular lineup, but the forward competition in the AHL could be as competitive as it will be with the Flyers.<\/p>\nStill, Vorobyev believed coming overseas was for his best interests.<\/p>\n\u201cIf you want to continue development,\u201d Vorobyev said through an interpreter, Flyers skating coach Slava Kouznetsov, \u201cthis is a good opportunity to get better. In Russia, I think I reached up. That\u2019s why I\u2019m switching to North America to get better than I already am.\u201d<\/p>\nIt may take Vorobyev a while to get accumulated to the North American lifestyle, especially since he doesn\u2019t speak English, but having Radel Fazleev at Lehigh Valley should help.<\/p>\nFazleev is entering his second season in the AHL. He\u2019s been in North America full-time since 2013-14, his first season in the WHL.<\/p>\nAt development camp, Vorobyev had three other Russians \u2014 Fazleev, German Rubtsov and camp invite Ivan Kosorenkov \u2014 and Maksim Sushko, who\u2019s from Belarus but speaks Russian, to lean on. Fazleev was the only development camp veteran of the bunch.<\/p>\nLike Rubtsov last summer, Vorobyev wasn\u2019t able to attend development camp in 2015 and 2016 because of his contract obligations in the KHL. Having Kouznetsov around also helps.<\/p>\n\"It is a big help,\u201d Vorobyev said. \u201cI'm feeling much more comfortable. The guys are helpful. It's easier to have conversation. They explain the rules, especially the guys who were here the previous years.\u201d<\/p>\nThe adjustment for Vorobyev will come largely off the ice. The Salavat, Russia, native doesn\u2019t view the smaller rink as an obstacle, but it usually is for Europeans and Russians.<\/p>\n\"When I traveled with the Russian team, I always liked to play on the smaller surface,\u201d Vorobyev said. \u201cI like it. There's no adjustment, basically.\"<\/p>\nVorobyev isn\u2019t the only player coming overseas this season for the Flyers. Oskar Lindblom, a 2014 fifth-round pick, believes the biggest transition for him will be the rink size.<\/p>\n\u201cThat\u2019s the big thing,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a little bit faster over here, so you have to think a little faster and be ready out there. Otherwise, you're going to get hit or not make the play.\"<\/p>\nBoth Vorobyev and Lindblom were middle-round picks. Lindblom\u2019s ascension has caught the eyes of the Flyers and their fans. Lindblom is expected to be a Flyer in 2017-18.<\/p>\nWhile Lindblom has earned the hype, Vorobyev\u2019s progression has been interesting too. Both are examples of how far the Flyers\u2019 scouting department has come in recent years.<\/p>\nVorobyev earned a steady role in the KHL last season after splitting the 2015-16 season with Salavat Yulaev and Tolpar Ufa of the MHL.<\/p>\nFor the average folk, Vorobyev\u2019s numbers last season will not turn any heads. He had just three goals and 11 points in 44 games for Salavat Yulaev, but with young players in the KHL, it\u2019s hard to judge strictly on statistics. What should be of note is the ice time.<\/p>\nDuring the regular season, Vorobyev averaged 9:47. That number shot up to 13:29 per game in five postseason contests. That signals his Salavat Yulaev coaches trusted him enough to play him.<\/p>\nIt's easy to see the difference with Vorobyev and Rubtsov. Vorobyev carved out a spot on his team at 19 and 20 years old. Rubtsov couldn\u2019t crack his KHL lineup.<\/p>\nBoth are now in North America. The Flyers have three options with Rubtsov: QMJHL, AHL and NHL. They technically have two choices with Vorobyev, but he\u2019ll be in the AHL.<\/p>\n\u201cThe Russians are a little bit of a different animal because if you\u2019re playing in the KHL,\u201d Hextall said, \u201cyou got a young kid playing against men in a top league and keep them down on the fourth line and give him seven minutes. It\u2019s hard to show a whole lot in seven minutes.\u201d<\/p>\nVorobyev has added at least 13 pounds since the Flyers drafted him in the fourth round of the 2015 NHL draft. He\u2019s currently listed at 6-foot-2, 207 pounds.<\/p>\n\u201cIf you look at his weight, his body makeup, it\u2019s changed quite a bit since we drafted him,\u201d Hextall said, \u201cand again, he popped at the world juniors last year. Quite honestly, if you asked our scouts, I don\u2019t think they\u2019d be too surprised.\u201d<\/p>\nThe world junior performance was Vorobyev\u2019s coming out party in North America. He was exciting to watch on a Russian team that also featured Rubtsov, who struggled in the tournament. Vorobyev displayed playmaking and vision not many ever he knew he had.<\/p>\nVorobyev did most of