In terms of drafting, the Philadelphia Flyers’ obvious strength has been their defensive pickups. It’s not hard to see why, either. With names like Shayne Gostisbehere, Robert Hagg, Travis Sanheim, Samuel Morin, Ivan Provorov and Philippe Myers, the Flyers could be on track to have one of the better homegrown defenses in the history of the NHL, depending on how developments play out.
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Even still, when faced with a run of injuries this season, the revolving door of defensemen has made the Flyers’ blue line thinner than usual. Veterans like Andrew MacDonald and Radko Gudas have missed time due to injury, and youngsters Gostisbehere and Morin have also been banged up.
The injuries even resulted in call-ups for AHL lifers Mark Alt and Will O’Neill, making for a very imbalanced defensive system.
While Philadelphia recovered somewhat during their four-day break between games last week, the one constant on the blue line this season has been the steady play of the 20-year-old Provorov. The Flyers have said the team’s systems haven’t changed with the addition of younger, more inexperienced talent to the roster, but Provorov has been a solid presence for a defensive core that had been thrown right into the fire.
“It sucks when you have injuries, but I think our team play hasn’t changed,” Provorov said at the Flyers’ morning skate last Thursday. “We’re still playing the same way. Moving the puck out of the zone fast, joining the rush as a [defensive] core.”
“I’m out there trying to help the team win in any way possible. PK, power play, even strength. So no, it hasn’t changed.”
Throughout the Flyers’ dressing room, the answer was the same. The team may have been blindsided by key injuries to its defensive core, but the game plan had not changed.
“We’re still playing the same game as we always have,” rookie defenseman Travis Sanheim said. “We have some new faces, and now we’re getting some guys back as well. I think we’re just trying to stick with the game plan. It doesn’t matter who’s in the lineup, our game plan stays the same.”
“You have to have different players step in and do the job that’s asked of them. I think at this point in time, guys have done a pretty good job of that,” head coach Dave Hakstol said. “That doesn’t change who we are, if there’s a different player or a different person in the lineup. There’s all the confidence in the world in this room that whoever that player is that’s stepping into the lineup will be ready and will be hungry to do his job for the team.”
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While Provorov isn’t new by any stretch to the Flyers’ roster, the responsibilities of the No. 1 defenseman role have clearly fallen to him. Even before this stretch, you could absolutely make the argument Provorov was the team’s top guy in terms of skill. However, the 20-year-old has been given even more responsibility in the absence of team veterans.
In the first month of the season, Provorov played 10 games with an average of 23:20 minutes of ice time a night. Since the injuries? That number has increased to an average of 28:03 minutes across five games. Thanks to the return of Gostisbehere in the past few days, Provorov’s last two games came back down to between 21 minutes and 24 minutes.
Even with the expanded role, however, Provorov says he hasn’t felt much of a difference in his game. As one would expect for a player in his second year, Provorov is more at ease on NHL ice now than in 2016-17.
“I’m more comfortable this year. Last year was my first year. I came into training camp knowing what to expect,” Provorov said. “But just overall, trying to get better as the days go on, as games go on, as practices go on.”
“I think I’m a better player than I was last year, and I think there’s no limits. I think you can get better and better as time goes on, so I think that’s my plan.”
There haven’t been many moments in Provorov’s young NHL career where he’s looked his age. One exception was the third game of Provorov’s rookie season, where he was a minus-five with a 34.8 percent Corsi-For in the Flyers’ 7-4 loss against the Blackhawks.
Since then, Provorov has exerted a calm sense of collectiveness and wisdom on and off the ice that feels very mature for a 20-year-old. Provorov finished his rookie year with a 49.1 Corsi-For percentage, below-average, but with signs of improvement along the way.
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“You don’t have to be young to make mistakes, but that doesn’t mean if you’re young you’re going to make mistakes,” Provorov said. “Everybody makes mistakes, it’s just a matter of how much you can limit those mistakes.”
“He’s obviously mature. Much more than his age,”said the 21-year-old Sanheim. “He brings a lot to the table at both ends of the ice and he’s a guy that’s relied upon in all situations. He’s gonna be a good player for a lot of years.”
It’s clear Flyers fans love Provorov’s resiliency and dedication to the cause. At even strength, Provorov leads the team in blocked shots with a massive 49 in 17 games, and he has 23 more blocked shots than the next highest defenseman in Hagg. It’s those little things that make Provorov stand out, especially given the injuries the team is fighting through.
While the injuries have given Provorov a chance to shine, the Flyers clearly want to limit them as they showcase their young defenseman.
“Injuries are not a benefit,” Hakstol said. “Every time there’s an injury obviously somebody gains more of an opportunity. Sometimes you learn some good things about players with that increased opportunities, and sometimes you learn some limits.”
Speaking to reporters last Thursday after the morning skate, Flyers general manager Ron Hextall took a similar path.
“It certainly gives you a little bit better look at some people, and I think our kids have done a pretty good job given a little heavier workload. I think there’s times it’s shown, I think there’s other times where they’ve done a good job. So, it does give you a little more information,” Hextall said. “We all know what [MacDonald] can do, we all know what [Gudas] can do. So it does give you, again, more information, but it’s certainly not what you want.”
Has Provorov stepped up in the eyes of his head coach?
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“[Provorov]’s just continuing to do what he does. He’s had a couple extra minutes, but other than that his role hasn’t changed. He’s continued where he left off from last year and the early part of this season,” Hakstol said. “As Provy always does right now, 15 games into the year, every day he tries to add just a little bit to his game and improve what he’s doing. That’s a big plus, and that’s why he’s the player that he is and he’s that important to our team.”
Maybe the most telling quote on Provorov’s growth and increased role with the team came from Hextall late in the morning skate. Though the results are there for Provorov, Hextall isn’t necessarily delighted that his young defenseman was hitting such high minutes.
“Minutes for a defenseman typically are obviously dictated on how good a player is, the game you’re in and then your injuries. So, I don’t like him playing as many minutes, personally, as he’s playing. But he’s going to be a high-minute guy, that’s reality. You want him to be a high-minute guy because he’s a good player.
“As high as they are right now, I’d probably like us to back off, but it’s a bit of a need right now. The one thing you’re getting out of that is the fact that he can play, he can play heavy minutes. And his minutes aren’t only a lot of minutes, he plays a heavy game. He plays a lot of hard minutes, PK, PP, against top lines.
“Those are hard minutes, and he plays a lot. So, he’s shown us he has the ability to handle certainly No. 1 defenseman minutes, which is obviously a positive sign especially at that age.”
Top photo: John Geliebter/USA TODAY Sports