Voorhees, NJ – – Here’s what I saw. I saw the forwards, defenseman and goaltenders in drills. None of the off ice testing was done this morning. It was being set up for this afternoon. Sam Morin had an illness, Philippe Myers is getting over a hip operation and Alex Lyon was not available for interviews. Nobody was sure if he was injured but I saw him on the ice this morning. I will talk about what I saw compared to the last time I saw this player. For a few it was the first time live.
Wade Allison – 6-2, 205 – RW – 52nd overall 2016 – He chose Western Michigan because he feels comfortable there and because of coach and former Flyers assistant coach, Andy Murray. This kid is a real piece of work on and off the ice. He’s a hockey player from the moment you see him on the ice, talk to him off the ice and everything in-between. He skates really well for an emerging power forward and his strength is already above average. He shined in the one-armed stick drill. He made it look easy.
Cole Bardreau – 5-10, 193 – C – Free Agent – He plays a heavy game. Skates really well and still has that hard shot that he can snap off. A few teammates were really impressed with him.
Samuel Dove-McFalls – 6-2, 205 – LW – 98th overall in 2015 – Nobody seems to talk about him but he’s developing nicely. I really saw something I hadn’t seen before with his stick skills in a transition situation.
Travis Konecny – 5-10, 183 – RW – 24th overall in 2015 – His stick and puck skills were either the best or second best in camp so far. He looks the part, says all the right things, he’s looking better every time I see him speed-wise and just overall.
Pascal Laberge – 6-1, 162 (seems to be at least 170 now) – C – 36th overall in 2016 – He may have had the best stick and puck skills in camp today. He’s always been a high skill guy. But now with his improved strength he seems to have better endurance to make the harder flashier offensive plays. I saw his defense emerge at the U18s, a role he never played in the “Q” and he’s very happy with that part of his game.
Oskar Lindblom – 6-1, 192 – LW – 138th overall in 2014 – He looks faster and his shot has more snap to it. He was very fast when shooting off a pedestal, something players aren’t used to.
Travis Sanheim – 6-4, 201 – D – 17th overall in 2014 – He was around 172 when the Flyers drafted him. He put on all lean muscle, something Hextall really likes. His skating stride is now very strong. He was always fast but now it’s powerful.
Ivan Provorov – 6-1, 201 – D – 7th overall pick in 2015 – He was the best defenseman there. He was smooth, strong, confident and his passes were crisp and hard and his shot had some more zing to it especially when he went top shelf.
Ondrej Vala – 6-4, 216 – D – Camp Invite – He went undrafted. I first saw him at the U18s but his team was pretty bad although he looked good. He had a decent year in Kamloops, some offense but good defense. Not sure why he wasn’t drafted? It probably was his skating which needs some work on the acceleration. His burst wasn’t fantastic. His passing was excellent and he was strong on both sides.
Linus Hogberg – 6-0, 176 – D – 139th overall in 2016 – His 25 points in 39 points in Sweden against men was impressive. The kid is lanky but he has a frame to build on. He has a long skating stride that you can’t teach. He really hustles and is fast point-to-point. His shot has some power behind it. He looks lanky. The minute he starts playing it makes me think the Flyers have something here. He’ll just take some time.
Goalies tonight. That’s all for now.
Photo of Travis Sanheim.
