Rookie defensive battle heats up amid OT win over the Rangers
PHILADELPHIA » Now seven days shy of their season opener in San Jose, with roster decisions beginning to look a little clearer, not much has been settled on the Flyers’ blue line. Not for a lack of competition, either.
With two exhibition games remaining and with a 4-3 overtime win over the Rangers Tuesday night at the Wells Fargo Center, the three defensive prospects fighting for spots in training camp aren’t going away.
Sam Morin and Robert Hagg continued their steady play Tuesday, providing more information to the Flyers’ coaches. Morin, known more for his nastiness, potted his first goal with a quick wrist shot, had a crushing hit and then a fight all in the first period.
“The game now is too quick now for a slapshot,” Morin said of his wrister. “The release is everything. I remember when I came my first year, I was taking those big slappers. They were like, ‘You can’t do that here because guys are going to block it.’”
Then there’s the fleet Travis Sanheim, who after a rough start to camp, made his statement Monday in New York with a two-goal game and then recovered Tuesday after a patchy opening period.
Sanheim isn’t going into the sunset quietly, leaving open the increasing possibility that the Flyers could break camp with three rookie defensemen.
They have to pare down to a 23man roster by Tuesday, and head coach Dave Hakstol believes it’ll go down to the wire.
Flyers general manager Ron Hextall, while generally conservative with his prospects, has repeatedly said if a kid proves he’s ready, he’d find a spot for him.
Hextall did that last season when many expected just one of either Travis Konecny or Ivan Provorov to make the big club. Both Konecny and Provorov forced Hextall’s hand with strong training camps, and Hextall kept the two 19-year-olds around.
This summer, Hextall said he wasn’t going to block any of his prospects from earning spots. He felt there were several players in the Flyers’ system ready to make the jump, and wanted to have an honest competition in camp. It’s been just that.
“I think all the young guys who are coming in are having good camps,” said Konecny, who scored the overtime winner. “You go to bed and you start looking at the roster, all these guys have put themselves in good opportunities to impress the staff.”
The Flyers have two spots open on defense, and barring injuries, two of Hagg, Morin and Sanheim will be with the team in Southern California next Wednesday.
Now the question turns to whether a third will be there, too.
The front-runners heading into camp were Hagg and Morin, who both made their NHL debuts in April. They haven’t done much to suggest they’re not ready, and with Sanheim’s three goals, all three are putting together strong cases for forming an improved Flyers blue line this fall.
In this victorious Rangers rematch, Sanheim, 21, didn’t flash his offensive prowess that made him such a captivating player in the Western Hockey League like he had on Monday. Instead he showed maturity to recover after a bumpy period. A Sanheim turnover in the trapezoid led to the Rangers’ first goal, but he then settled down.
“I think he went out and played the next shift, which is what you want to see from him,” Hakstol said of Sanheim. “There were some mistakes made out there, but that’s also part of the game. It’s how you respond and how you go out and fix it as you go forward.”
Morin and Hagg, the Flyers’ first two draft picks in 2013, are both defensively reliable. Morin, a hulking 6-foot-7, brings some mean to the table, while Hagg is a dependable two-way blueliner.
Both again escaped another test unscathed. Neither Morin nor Hagg had any blemishes against the Rangers that should change the conversation in the final week. Hagg, who had been paired with Provorov, who was off Tuesday, was partnered with Andrew MacDonald in the sixth preseason game and had a good showing.
“Those guys have to play their role,” Hakstol said. “It’s real simple. Do the things that you do well and that’s what those guys have been doing.”
Has Hagg and Morin done enough to hold off Sanheim?
Have all three shown enough to push Brandon Manning or MacDonald out?
However the final week plays out, the kids are all right. Hextall’s decision won’t be easy.
“(Morin’s) in a battle with a mix of eight right now,” Hakstol said. “He played well. The other seven guys are doing a good job. I know the focus is always on the young guys, but it’s a group of eight. It’s been a pretty competitive camp for those eight guys.”