The Philadelphia Flyers don’t look to be in the business of adding players to the roster right now as much as they are focused on subtraction.
The biggest caveat of Ivan Provorov’s departure was the fact that he left a crater-sized hole on the back end, and there doesn’t seem to be anyone ready to take on the 23-24-25 minutes a night that he shouldered since his sophomore season. It will be a team-effort for the foreseeable future.
However in saying that, his departure opens the door for prospects like Ronnie Attard, Emil Andrae, and Egor Zamula, with the biggest beneficiary being Cam York.
The first-round selection from the 2019 NHL Entry Draft has yet to reach his stride, however he shown enough to give the Flyers’ brass the confidence in rolling him out on the top pair at the ripe-old age of 22.
Trading Provorov was a necessity for a variety of reasons. 1) he ran his course after 7 seasons with the club, 2) there was definitely some fracture between team and player, 3) he had been on the block for 3-4 years already, and 4) he was unlikely to re-sign in the future but also no need to keep him around during a rebuild.
With the Flyers aggressively shopping Tony DeAngelo at the moment, there’s a very good chance that at some point during this offseason, the only remnants of last season’s defense will be York, Travis Sanheim, Rasmus Ristolainen, and Nick Seeler. The prospects will have the chance to win a spot or two and the Flyers will definitely be looking to add some depth pieces in the offseason, but nothing overly egregious either.
Cam York started his junior career with the U.S. National U17 team in the USHL in 2017-18 and played until he committed to the University of Michigan ahead of the 2019-20 season. In 3 years down in the USHL, York went from 7 points in 20 games to 7 points in 13 games to 33 points in 28 games during his draft year.
He spent 2 years at Michigan where he scored 16 points in 2019-20 and then improved to the tune of 20 points in 24 games the following year. He signed his ELC at the end of March, played in 8 games for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms where he tallied 5 points, before making 3 appearances for the Flyers, going without a point but averaged 19:47 TOI.
He started the 2021-22 season in the minors before making the jump to the NHL in January. He scored 2 goals and 12 points in 34 games for the Phantoms, while scoring 3 goals and 10 points in 30 games for the Flyers, averaging 19:05 TOI during that span but 21:19 in his final 11 games – where he recorded 5 points as well. All signs pointed to York being a stapled fixture ahead of the 2022-23 season opener, however that was under Mike Yeo’s interim-tag.
The Flyers cut York relatively early during training camp and sent him to the minors to marinate before a call-up at a later time. York made some costly mistakes at the onset of camp, but Tortorella’s tough-love approach worked wonders because he really did listen to what his head coach had to say and performed admirably in such a short span of games for the Phantoms. He scored 3 goals and 13 points in 20 games and was called up in December before becoming an everyday player.
When recounting his experiences during the off-season, York was a little star-struck and perhaps a little intimidated by the hiring of the fiery head coach.
“I was thinking about that the other day,” York said in an interview with The Athletic. “I mean, maybe with the new coaching staff coming in, maybe I was a little intimidated by who was behind the bench. I’m not sure. I just didn’t feel right. I felt like I was playing summer hockey still.
”I wasn’t shocked, but I was kind of alarmed — it was weird — when I heard that he was being (named) the head coach. I knew that I would have to be really good defensively with him or else I probably wasn’t going to play.”
Tortorella is well aware of his reputation as a hard-nosed and tough head coach, who could perhaps border on the extremes at times.
“I think every player thinks if you make a mistake, the coach is gonna lean on you. And with me, I think even more so,” Tortorella said. “Listen, I’ve made mistakes along the way. There’s a reputation (of what) people think I am as a coach. I don’t agree with it, (but) I can’t fight the perception of it all. They have to experience me as a coach to understand what I am as a coach, and I hope it’s in a positive way.”
On why he might’ve struggled so quickly into training camp, York said, “I think going into it, I knew that I had to be so perfect defensively. Obviously, with Torts, that was kind of the only thing on my mind, I feel like,” York said. “That might have been why I got off to a rough start. I was thinking so much about defense and trying to be perfect, that I think it kinda affected me a little bit.”
Tortorella shortly after York’s demotion said, “He just lied in the weeds for me throughout camp and throughout exhibition and all that. I didn’t even know who he was.
“I don’t think we got to the abilities where he could help us right now with our defensive core. I think it’s him learning, first of all, wanting to be a guy that’s going to make a difference, and then being the player to make a difference.
“I think everybody got up in a little bit of dander because we were sending Yorkie down there. ‘We don’t like him,’ or whatever it may be. It was the right thing for him at that time.”
Tortorella also said, “Mistakes are part of the game. “If you’re making mistakes, then you’re not treading water, you’re trying to make a difference. That’s the way I feel about it. I want these guys to try to make a difference.”
York also chimed in on his experience after being cut by the Flyers and playing in his first game with the Phantoms instead.
“I think the day I got sent down, I was like, ‘OK, like, let’s get back to what we did before,’ and I think as soon as Game 1 rolled around, I felt like I was much better in that area.”
With all that in the rearview mirror, York quickly ingratiated himself to the Flyers lineup with a goal in his 3rd game and 8 points in his first 12 games, while averaging 18:32 TOI. He wasn’t given top-pair duties right away, but it didn’t take him long either. For a span of 11 games, York averaged close to 21 minutes a night (20:48), eclipsing 22+ minutes on 5 occasions.
He struggled a little bit after that as he recorded just 3 points in his next 13 games and his ice time dropped to 18:19, which only had him eclipsing 20+ minutes on 2 occasions – 23:56 against the Edmonton Oilers and 20:12 against the New York Rangers, which was an overtime game.
He took it in stride and finished the last 18 games with 7 points and an ATOI of 20:39, which encompassed 8 games of over 22 minutes, including a career-high 25:22 against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
For reference, the average ice time of Flyers defenseman from York’s season debut on the 9th of December:
Ivan Provorov: 22:43
Tony DeAngelo 20:43
Travis Sanheim: 20:15
Cam York: 19:39
Rasmus Ristolainen: 19:28
Nick Seeler: 14;36
Average ice time of Flyers defenseman in the final 18 games of the season:
Ivan Provorov: 22:29 (18 games)
Cam York: 20:39 (18)
Rasmus Ristolainen: 20:31 (17)
Travis Sanheim: 20:19 (18)
Tony DeAngelo: 20:09 (11)
Nick Seeler: 14:25 (16)
With Provorov out of the equation, Tortorella running different schemes at the end of the season that best suited the players he expects to play a large role in 2023-24, and also equating the possible departure of DeAngelo; York looks primed to be the de-facto number one.
The last thing the Flyers want is to pull another Provorov and let the young defenseman suffer with mid-tier and middling partners that will keep him from realizing his full potential. It’s not clear how they’re going to go about their defense heading into the new season, but one has to wonder if he’ll be paired up Travis Sanheim moving forward.
Ristolainen, Seeler, and DeAngelo don’t seem like good fits for York, let alone top-pairing defenseman. Then you’re left with the rookies in Attard, Zamula, and anyone else vying for a job from the Phantoms, and then you’re also considering the depth additions from the free agent market, which would be a second-pairing defenseman at best.
We also don’t have much information on Sean Walker, but he went from averaging 18:50 TOI in 2019-20 to 18:10 in 2020-21 to 14:50 in 2022-23. If he figures into the plans for next season, his ceiling would be second pairing with an actual third pair utilization.
The Flyers won’t necessarily have a true delineation between top pair, second pair, and third pair. There isn’t a true standout defenseman outside of York that could anchor a pairing on their own, let alone see upwards of 22+ minutes – outside of Sanheim, who could very well be York’s partner.
Sanheim on paper should be at the top of the hierarchy, but he hasn’t been able to showcase his talents on a consistent basis since entering the league. He had a decent showing in his rookie year with a 49-game stint where he registered 10 points and averaged 15:35 TOI. He then had a fantastic sophomore season where he scored a still-career-high 9 goals, 26 assists, and 35 points, while averaging 19:34.
His ATOI has increased since then with 20:09 in 2019-20, 21:53 in 2020-21, 22:58 in 2021-22, and 20:24 last year, however his overall performance has been inconsistent. He had a decent 2019-20 with 25 points, then had a middling 2020-21 with just 15 points in 55 games, had a bad start to his 2021-22 season but ended it as the Flyers’ best defenseman. Sanheim signed an 8-year extension right before puck-drop for the season opener and had a roller coaster of a season.
Sanheim rode the pine a few times, was called out by his head coach on several occasions, and his points came in stretches but sporadically at best. When he’s at his best, he is moving his feet exceptionally well, going end-to-end with ease, able to exit the zone without trouble, joins in on odd-man rushes as the trailer-man, and has the capabilities of executing offensively as perhaps the best option on the back end.
However, there’s been too many occasions – and long stretches – where Sanheim’s confidence wavers and he’s making poor passing decisions, turning it over behind his own cage or in his own zone, and was a ghost in the offensive end.
His contract makes things that much harder for fans to stomach his performance, however now he has the opportunity to shine without Provorov ahead of him on the totem pole anymore.
Sanheim is the only other defenseman capable of playing 22-23-24 minutes a night on a consistent basis and will be relied upon heavily heading into the new season for his two-way game that earned him the prestigious contract.
York, on the other hand, is just 3 years into his NHL-career and has yet to hit the 100-game mark (87). This time around, he will be a fixture from start to finish – barring injuries – and will be relied upon in many different situations like being the team’s PP1 quarterback, first option in 3-on-3 overtime, some penalty killing duties, and hopefully the ability to exit the zone 5-on-5 with relative ease.
He has the poise, the confidence, and the wherewithal to be exactly what the Flyers were hoping for out of him when they selected him 14th overall ahead of Cole Caufield.
The defense of the Flyers is paper thin right now and York is going to be a key contributor for years to come under John Tortorella and company. Tortorella was blown away by his commitment, dedication, and not sulking after being sent down so early.
The back end is ripe for the taking, and York looks like the de-facto number one for the foreseeable future.
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