Patience Is a Virtue for Flyers’ Patrick
Not many things have gone according to plan this season, Flyers fans.
Though the team’s play has started to improve prior to the bye week and carried that play through an impressive eight game winning streak, the Flyers have seen several worst-case scenarios play out throughout this season. One of those worst-case things have been the team’s young players collectively taking a step backward this season. Ivan Provorov’s usually dependable all-around game has alluded him most of this season, while Shayne Gostisbehere hasn’t been able to replicate his offensive and powerplay wizardry of seasons past. Travis Konecny and Oskar Lindblom haven’t fared much better in way of producing consistent, top six production either.
Nolan Patrick has found himself in the same boat as the others, as the 20-year-old forward once again spent some time on the mend earlier this season with upper-body injuries in October and January before returning to more inconsistency shortly thereafter.
We know that player development is never linear and a steady upward trajectory. We know that players of all talent levels experience peaks and valleys at the highest level. Patrick’s struggles appear like the ones that Sean Couturier experienced early in his career.
In Couturier’s second year in the league, he averaged 15:53 TOI and posted a 0.33 points-per-game average. He played just 46 games due to the lockout shortened season that year. To this point, Patrick will appear in more games, but at present, they’ve produced around the same numbers. The second-year pro is averaging 14:41 TOI and has posted 0.41points-per-game average to date. This isn’t an apples to apples comparison, as Couturier has always been asked to fulfill more of a pivot, checking-line role first, while Patrick has been asked to skate in a scoring line role for the better part of his professional career.
However, their inconsistencies have been similar. Couturier was once a player that enjoyed point-collecting surges for a stretch but could never maintain any offensive consistency. His strong two-way play was always a nice fallback, as he still was contributing to the team in the some capacity. It took some time for his game to fully evolve into what it is today. The team remained patient with him and were eventually rewarded.
What Patrick needs from the Flyers is the same kind of patience they were willing to give Couturier. Expanding his role gradually, elevating his responsibility and ice time when he is skating well in games, and perhaps most importantly, allowing him to play without the worry of being reprimanded for making mistakes could all prove to be fruitful for the team soon.
In the meantime, it’ll be imperative for Patrick to continue a strong second half of this season and look to find consistency, both with and without the puck. The youngster has shown much of the offensive brilliance that we once saw from Couturier at the same age in spurts.
While it’s certainly understandable to get upset about how this season has gone, it remains vital to the team’s success – both now and in the future – for the Flyers to remember just what player development entails. Even when that development gets rocky along the way.
Featured Image: Francois Lacasse_NHLI via Getty Images
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Categorized:Flyers