VOROBYOV: A HIDDEN GEM?
None of the three KHL-affiliated players for whom the Philadelphia Flyers hold NHL rights were in attendance at the team's recent Development Camp. That is not unusual and not necessarily an indication that the player is not interested in eventually playing in the NHL.
Speaking to
Russian outlet vyborSports.ru, Flyers 2015 fourth-round pick
Mikhail Vorobyov said that he was excited to be drafted by Philadelphia although he did not attend the NHL Draft or the team's camp in Voorhees. Although he is unlikely to play in North America for several years, the player said he'd like in the near future to visit with the team and become acquainted with the people and training facilities.
"I want to go - to see there, to meet with the leadership," Vorobyov told vyborSports.
Vorobyov said it was a Russian Under-18 national squad teammate, captain
Yegor Rykov, who called him up and was the first to inform Vorobyov that he had been drafted by the Flyers. Vorobyov said he was mildly surprised but he had talked to scouts from many different NHL organizations over the past year and the Flyers and Vancouver Canucks were the ones with whom he'd the most contact.
The player was asked if he considered coming overseas -- either last year or now that he's been drafted -- to play Canadian junior hockey. Although there were overtures from CHL clubs, Vorobyov wanted to remain home. The big center, who turned 18 on January 5th, was ultimately not selected in the CHL Import Draft.
"Yes, there were such thoughts [to play North American junior hockey], but I talked to my parents, agent and coach we came to the decision that it is better to stay in Russia," Vorobyov said. "What's the difference where to play? The main thing - to work on yourself and [develop]."
Vorobyov, a center who is listed at 6-foot-2 and 198 pounds, is considered an above-average two-way forward for a teenager. The main knock on him is his skating.
Flyers scout
Todd Hearty,
speaking to McKeen's, likened Vorobyov's game and upside to that of Minnesota Wild 2015 first-round pick
Joel Eriksson Ek. Hearty also said that he feels the skating concerns for Vorobyov are greatly overblown.
“He needs half a step, which is just strength,” Hearty told McKeen's. “He’s a two-way center with size. He’s big and he’s skilled. I look at him, and I don’t see a huge, huge difference between him and Ek."
A year ago, similar concerns were widespread for Flyers 2014 fifth-round pick
Oskar Lindblom. Within one year, the Swedish power forward's skating has improved immensely as he has continued to fill out and worked hard on that aspect of his game. The Flyers, including Russian-based scout
Ken Hoodikoff and the Quebec-based Hearty, collectively feel that Vorobyov's skating will be fine as he develops and his overall upside made him a high-yield pick even in the second round (where the Flyers did not own a pick after trading up in the first round to take
Travis Konecny) let alone the fourth.
Although the Flyers took three players ahead of Vorobyov -- goaltenders
Felix Sandström and
Matej Tomek in the third round and big forward
Samuel Dove-McFalls with their first of two fourth-round picks -- Hearty told McKeen's the organization had an eye on Vorobyov all along and took a bit of an educated guess that he might still be available just outside the top 100 picks (the Flyers took him 104th overall).
“We had Vorobyov really high,” Hearty said. ”We had quite a distance with no picks from 24 to 70 ... we had to take a goalie in the third … and Vorobyov just kept falling for whatever reason. We got to the 90′s, and we got a deal where we could move back to 98 and get another pick, so we took Dove-McFalls, just because we thought the Russian factor might still come into effect, and (Vorobyov) was still there when we picked.”
Vorobyov, who hails from Ufa and whose KHL rights belong to Salavat Yulaev Ufa, played all of last season for the club's junior affiliate in the MHL, Tolpar Ufa. He could split time between the two teams in 2015-16.
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TODAY IN FLYERS HISTORY FROM FlyersAlumni.org
1996: The Flyers sign unrestricted free agent forward
Daniel Lacroix to a two-year contract.
1997: The Flyers re-sign Phantoms goaltender
Neil Little (one year) and forward
Craig Darby (two years) to new contracts.
1998: The Flyers agree to a restructured contract with goaltender
Ron Hextall through the 1998-99 season. The team also re-signs Phantoms players
Paul Healey (two years) and
Jeff Lank (two years) to new contracts.
2003: The Flyers sign 2002 first-round draft pick
Joni Pitkänen to a three-year contract.
2008: The Flyers announce the hiring of
Eric Desjardins as a player development coach.
2009: The Flyers sign veteran forward
Krys Kolanos as a free agent.
2010: The Flyers sign veteran defenseman
Dan Jancevski as a free agent.
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