Five Flyers Observations : Mikhail Vorobyov & Carter Hart Shine In Their Debuts For The Flyers


Hockey has returned to the City of Brotherly Love. The Flyers opened up the Wells Fargo Center with a win against the New York Islanders “B” team by the score of 3 to 1.

 

The Flyers got two power-play goals by Shayne Gostisbehere and another by Mikhail Vorobyov. Carter Hart was a perfect 11 for 11 in his debut in the orange and black. Michal Neuvirth stopped 8 of the 9 shots he faced also.




Here are four more observations from the Flyers 3 to 1 win against the Islanders…

 

Mikhail Vorobyov

If you would have judged the game by the first shift, Vorobyov would have had a bad night. But, a first bad shift did not stop Vorobyov tonight. After losing a defensive zone draw, Mikhail took a weak penalty after losing the draw. Not a great start for a kid trying to make the best of this opportunity.

 

However, Vorobyov came back in a big way after that shift. Vorobyov scored a goal and added a tremendous two-way game the rest of the night. But, it was his work off the puck that really shined.

 

Vorobyov was a terror in all three zones of the ice. Where-ever the puck was, it seemed Vorobyov was also there. He also showed off his tremendous hockey IQ with smart and skillful plays. Biggest and brightest star of the night to me.




Carter Hart

This will not be the last time you will hear me talk about Carter Hart. Hart, who is the Flyers best goal-tending prospect and probably the leagues best goalie prospect, made his Flyers debut tonight. And, Hart did not disappointment.

 

After an easy glove save to start his debut, Hart was tested and pressured the rest of the night. But, Hart was up for the task and showed his worth. It concluded with a flurry of quick reaction saves as time expired in the game.

 

Now, tonight’s mini performance will not get Carter Hart in a Flyers uniform faster. However, it showed that this kid is something special and the Flyers have a good one on their hands. Something the Flyers haven’t said since GM Ron Hextall retired in 1999.




Special Teams

One thing that needed improvement in the offseason for the Flyers was special teams. The Flyers have always been known as one of the leagues best power-play teams. However, last year they struggled. To fix this, GM Ron Hextall went out and got one of the leagues best net-front presences, James van Riemsdyk, to help aide the power-play struggles.

 

Now, the Flyers problem wasn’t on the top unit. Wayne Simmonds is also one of the leagues best too. But, the reasoning behind the van Riemsdyk signing was it makes both units better.

 

However, the more glaring Flyers problem is their penalty kill. The Flyers haven’t had a decent penalty kill since the Ken Hitchcock era back in the early 2000. But, that looks to be changing.

 

More and more Flyers are stepping up in more ways than one to help the Flyers horrible penalty kill. Scott Laughton and once again, Mikhail Vorobyov, shined as a pair tonight. If the Flyers can become at least average, it will go a-long way in improving this team.




Roster Cuts

The Flyers trimmed their roster down to 53 players before tonights game. After morning practice, the Flyers sent Matthew Strome, Maksim Sushko, and Wyatte Wylie back to their respective junior teams. All three guys were never in contention for a roster spot.

 

They also released goalie Liam Hughes from his professional tryout. Hughes was in camp to give the Flyers an even 6 goalies. Liam got great experience in his time here and he gave the Flyers faithful a pretty cool site.

 

Hughes wore dark navy with green highlighted pads in camp. To go along with his black pants and black jersey, he looked like the dark knight.




Result : Flyers 3 – Islanders 1 , WIN

Record : 1 – 1 – 0

Next Game : 9/18 New York Islanders, Brooklyn NY, 7:00pm




By Brandon Sommermann | September 17, 2018