Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Fletcher says fans can expect to see York
Management is eager to see rookie phenom Cam York play at Lehigh Valley and with the Flyers, the expectations for the newly signed two-way defenseman who turned pro in search of another challenge.
But York, the 14th overall selection in the 2019 draft, isn’t being hailed as the Flyers’ savior despite two solid seasons at Michigan and a headliner stint captaining Team USA in the World Junior Championships.
“It’s not a race,” Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher said Saturday. “He’s a very mature player for his age. He’s a young man that excelled at college and does a lot of things well. For me, it’s just more about getting some playing reps. And really, we need Cam to be a good player for us next year. We want him to challenge and push for a spot on the roster.”
The 20-year-old York has yet to be cleared to practice for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in this, the age of COVID. That’s because his sophomore season ended suddenly,
the Wolverines disqualified from the NCAA tournament before their first game due to positive tests.
“It was pretty unfortunate the way that my Michigan career ended for me,” York said. “It’s not how I wanted it to end. We had a really good chance of winning a championship, and that’s what I went there to do. Unfortunately, it just didn’t pan out. It just wasn’t meant to be. But I felt like I was ready for the next challenge. College was getting to the point where games were a little bit too easy for me, I think. I really wanted to challenge myself.”
York, who signed a three-year entry-level contract, can look forward to being challenged with the Flyers, who are bereft of reliable defensemen outside of Ivan Provorov. Fletcher didn’t hesitate in saying York would play both for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and the Flyers this season.
“Cam moves the puck really well,” Fletcher said. “Strong in retrievals and a guy inside the offensive zone that can move the puck and see the ice. He has the ability to play the power play. He’s one of the modernera defensemen that we’ve seen so many of enter the NHL over the last decade.
“He’s going to start at Lehigh Valley. We’ll get him some games there, let him get some experience at the professional level and we’ll just take things a day at a time. Obviously, we’ll see how our season progresses. We’ll see how he does. But absolutely he can play some games.”
There’s still a chance the Flyers could swing a trade for a veteran defender ahead of the April 12 deadline. David Savard (6-2, 229) of Columbus and Mattias Ekholm (64, 215) and Ryan Ellis (5-10, 180) of Nashville are popular trade rumor guesses for defensemen.
Fletcher said the next five games will determine whether they’re
buyers, sellers or bystanders.
“We’ll see,” Fletcher said. “These are all critical games. We put ourselves in a position where we’re chasing to get back into the playoffs. We have time to get back in. But at the risk of understatement, this week is a massive week for us, in particular the next four days.
“The trade market is still fairly undefined at this point. There are a lot of teams that are either just in or just out and are waiting to see how the next few games go before they settle on a path for the next week.”
Regardless of what happens at the trade deadline, the Flyers want to see exactly what they have in York. Just 5-11, 172-pounds, he almost certainly will need to bulk up to hang with the big guys.
“I feel like I have a really good stick,” York said. “I don’t necessarily
use my body a lot. I’m not going to lay guys out. But I’m able to skate with the best of them and use my stick really effectively. And I feel like that’s how I’m able just to break up plays really quickly and get the puck in our forwards’ hands so they can go do their thing.
“Even though I’m not the biggest guy, I find ways to get the puck in and out of my zone.”
In January, York gave the Flyers a glimpse of what he can do, captaining Team USA to a 2-0 win over Team Canada in the gold-medal game at the 2021 World Juniors. Fletcher thought Canada was better skilled and had more depth than the U.S.
“That was maybe one of Cam’s best games I’ve ever seen him play,” Fletcher said. “I thought he defended really well. He moved the puck, and he was very assertive out there.”