Breaking.. Konecny out Jarvis in for Canada tonight…
OK, Flyers fans, here’s a trivia question for you:
What do these NHL players have in common?
Brock Faber
Matthew Beniers
Ryan Johnson
Bobby Brink
Matthew Boldy
Alex Turcotte
Cam York
Cole Caufield
Trevor Zegras
Jake Sanderson
Spencer Knight
Dustin Wolf
The answer will appear at the end of this blog. Don’t cheat and skip ahead.
Yeah I know you’re going to, but it’ll be more fun if you don’t…
After my recent Flyers blog of keep/trade/cut, I found it very surprising and interesting who Flyers fans see as the building blocks/part of the team’s future…. I’ve been around the city long enough to know that Flyers fans know what they’re talking about. Any one of you could write this blog… I am quite honored and humbled that you all are ok with me writing it…seriously.
And let me tell you what else….I wasn’t the only one who found your keep/trade/cut thoughts interesting…. Many key people in Flyersland (management, coaches, players) check out this space often, and they aren’t shy to talk to me about a comment I made, or more often a comment one of you made…
So I thought if the season winds down here, we should maybe take a closer look at certain players and how they fit into the future plans…
Let’s start with one of the players from the list above, Cam York.
Cam is one of many Flyers who were drafted in the first round of the NHL draft. York played with US Hockey Development, as well as powerhouse University of Michigan. The Flyers picking York was not without controversy. I know I don’t even have to write this on this blog, but I will in case someone’s been living under a rock……The former GM took Cam York and passed on Cole Caufield.
That’s how highly people thought of Cam York around here. At the time, I remember not being too happy about that decision myself because I REALLY liked Cole Caulfield…nothing against Cam.
Anyway, the Flyers picked him as a definite cornerstone player and did a pretty good job at letting him develop in college in the minors….. defensemen take a long time to develop and due to the flyers mediocrity he had time…
But let’s look at the critics for a second…
Things I’ve heard about Cam from all over the Internet from Flyers’ fans.
1. His “laid back” demeanor is too California for Philly.
Ek… I don’t buy this one. I know he has that look to him, but he’s not laid back on the ice. You don’t play for the University of Michigan unless you were tough as nails. He competes hard.
2. He hasn’t developed the way we expected.
Ek… this one I can kind of understand because others from his draft class, even other defensemen, are ahead of him in their development. Injuries have stopped momentum for him a bit, but you’re starting to see him translate his talents to the NHL level..
1. He’s good; he’s just not great. Where we drafted him, he should be great.
Ek….OK, true enough; however, he’s a 1/2 D who really needs a solid defensive partner to allow him to do what he does best. Remember where Travis Sanheim was at this point in his career. He was kind of all over the map, and many would’ve traded him 20 months ago. I would go as far as to say York is pretty on schedule, considering the team, he plays with, and the lack of solid, defensive-minded partners.
Do you have other concerns? Please put them in the comments along with any praise you have for Cam York….
Trivia Question answer:
The list of players above is a list of the players on Team USA’s roster for the 2021 World Junior Championships who are in the NHL.. It is quite a strong list of players, even some who are playing tonight in the USA Best on Best….Cam York was solid in that tournament and paired on the top pairing with a very solid Brock Faber. This enabled York to jump into the play like we see Sanheim during this year. By the way, that US team won the gold medal over Canada in the final. NHL network replayed that game this morning and I watched Cam York. He didn’t look soft or laid back at all…. And if you don’t believe me, ask Team USA coaches who, despite all those soon-to-be NHL players on the roster, chose the USA Captain to be: Cam York.
What say you?
Should the Flyers keep Cam York and make him a building block…or cut bait?
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