Tournament Gives Flyers Prospects a Chance to Shine

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(Kevin Durso/Sports Talk Philly)

By Dan Heaning, Sports Talk Philly staff writer 

The Philadelphia Flyers concluded their on-ice portion of development camp today with a 3-on-3 tournament pitting four squads of prospects against one another.

The multitude of games took place at the Flyers Skate Zone in Voorhees, N.J. and split the rink in two which allowed two games to go on simultaneously.

When all was said and done, Team White notably comprised of German RubtsovMikhail Vorobyev, Radel Fazleev and Maksim Sushko won the tournament after an exciting final tilt against Team Black, which went into 2-on-2 double overtime, by a score of 2-1, with Linus Hogberg scoring the game-winning goal.

While Team Black didn't finish first, it may have showcased the most standout players. Philippe Myers dominated the 2-on-2 overtimes by using both his size and skating abilities to shield the puck and create offensive opportunities like when he quickly fed Matthew Strome for an in-close opportunity after catching the Team White duo napping.

Felix Sandstrom was the standout goalie on the afternoon as he shutout Team Orange, which featured the likes of Oskar Lindblom and Mike Vecchione. Sandstrom showed off his superior post-to-post play on multiple cross ice passes and flashed the leather on Rubtsov in the early game. 

Noah Cates also had a strong tournament and was a part of one of the weirdest plays of the day. When David Kase tied up the game between Team Gray and Team Black with Matej Tomek pulled, the continuous play coupled with Tomek's lack of urgency in getting back to the crease allowed Cates to score the game-winning goal into the empty net. 

Isaac Ratcliffe was also another interesting player to watch. He used his 6'6' frame often and took full advantage of his reach advantage on most players in both offensive and defensive situations. Most notably, his skating looked far better than advertised which is encouraging for such a sizeable player.

On the other hand, Strome's skating was not on-par with Ratcliffe's. He looked slow hitting his strides. However, this shouldn't be discouraging as most larger players need time to work on their skating and Strome's skating was known to need major improvement.

Travis Sanheim of Team Gray had a dominant day as well. Sanheim scored four goals on the day, just one short of the lead held by Olle Lycksell, including a two-goal effort in Team Gray's ill-fated comeback attempt against Team Black. Sanheim's skating drew comparisons to Ivan Provorov's, notably by Flyers beat writer Dave Isaac.


Sanheim also showed off his abilities to score off the rush and with a menacing shot. 

Morgan Frost's offensive skills were on display as well as he created a number of great scoring chances. An interesting note on Frost was his sneaky ability to steal the puck away from opposing players. Case in point: in a play for the puck, Frost used his speed to get in close on Ratcliffe and usurp the disc away from the burly winger. Frost appears quite comfortable with his 5'10 frame and uses his strengths such as speed and smooth skating to aid in defensive situations.

Some notes on other notable prospects:

Vorobyev wasn't on the scoresheet, but was a physical presence throughout the day. Rubtsov was a beast in terms of skating and creating plays. He and Myers went toe-to-toe in the final with neither giving up much ground. 

Lindblom may have only scored one goal but was noticeable all day. 

Kase scored four goals on the afternoon as he builds his case to be a prospect fans should be on the lookout for.

Meanwhile, Ivan Kosorenkov sent a nasty snapshot above Sandstrom's blocker for his only goal on the day. It is noteworthy as it would have beaten any NHL goaltender.

Lastly, out of all the goaltender prospects, Darion Hanson had the best goals-against average. In a tournament including Carter Hart and Sandstrom that is quite impressive and general manager Ron Hextall should consider giving both he and Kosorenkov contracts.

Flyers Development Camp will conclude tomorrow with the annual Trial at the Isle in Stone Harbor, N.J. While Nolan Patrick will not participate in the event, he will be available during the autograph portion of the day. The Trial on the Isle is scheduled to begin at 9:15 a.m. and conclude with a volleyball tournament at 3:30 p.m.

Here are the complete results of the three-on-three tournament.

Round Robin

Gray 5, Orange 4

White 4, Black 1

Black 4, Orange 0

White 4, Gray 3

Black 5, Gray 4

White 4, Orange 1

Playoffs

Third place – Orange 3, Gray 1

Championship – White 2, Black 1 (2OT)

Goal Scorers

Orange

Olle Lycksell – 5

Mark Friedman – 1

Cam Lee – 1

Oskar Lindblom – 1

Wade Allison – 1

Black

Nicolas Aube-Kubel – 3

David Bernhardt – 2

Brendan Warren – 2

Philippe Myers – 1

Matthew Strome – 1

Noah Cates – 1

Isaac Ratcliffe – 1

White

Radel Fazleev – 3

German Rubtsov – 3

Linus Hogberg – 3

Maksim Sushko – 2

David Drake – 1

Tanner Laczynski – 1

Ivan Kosorenkov – 1

Gray

Travis Sanheim – 4

David Kase – 4

Wyatt Kalynuk – 2

Connor Bunnaman – 1

Derek Lodermeier – 1

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