The Philadelphia Flyers had a string of good luck on Saturday April 29, 2017. They moved up 11 slots to the 2nd overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, and drafted a stud in Nolan Patrick. This was a life changing turn of events for this proud franchise. Patrick was a beast in Junior hockey while playing for the Brandon Wheat Kings. He razzled and dazzled opponents, and torched opposing Goaltenders on a nightly basis when he was healthy.
Following his last two off-seasons of soft training due to two sports hernia procedures in both off-seasons. Patrick finally had a full off-season where he could train as hard as he wanted to. He left us little doubt why he wouldn’t continue his success from the latter parts of the 2017-18 season, in which he tallied 17 points in his final 25 games of the Regular Season.
Unfortunately, Patrick had a few bouts with injuries in his 2018-19 campaign, and these injuries happened to come at the wrong time. He was making huge strides with his game, and it was apparent he was gaining confidence at the NHL level. 40 games before the All-Star break, Patrick only tallied 9 points, since then he has tallied 21 points. It appears that Patrick excels in the second half of the season. For the season thus far, he has equaled his totals from last season (13g,17a).
Patrick does a lot of things well on the ice. His ability to shut down top lines, as he thinks Defense first. Playing on the top line with JVR, and Giroux, Patrick is faced with facing top line after top line on most nights. He closes gaps on players, much like Sean Couturier does so well. Moreover, Patrick has career highs in Hits (72), TK (39), and Blocks (26). Mind you there are still 3 games left to play.
The Former Brandon Wheat King product, Patrick has great vision, and gets into the open areas of the ice. One area of his game that needs improvement, however, is finishing. Yes, he has been snake bit at times with hitting posts, but Patrick has to finish the play more often. Sometimes he thinks pass first, as opposed to just shooting the biscuit at the net. This will come in time, and I’m confident that this will come over time. It took Couturier time to develop his game the way it has, and the same will follow suit with Patrick.
The skies the limit for Patrick, as he is just so darn talented. He is a giddy kid, good character guy in the locker room, as he has been singing Lionel Richie’s big hit, “All Night Long,” throughout the course of the season. Moreover, Patrick stated to me in an interview in 2017 before the Flyers drafted him, “To the fans, I’m a passionate guy. I want to win. I know they want to win. You’re getting an energy type player who works very hard. I stop at nothing, and just want to succeed.” Well, Patrick is a man of his word, as he has provided the orange and black with a ton of energy throughout the course of the season. I hate to say this, but having the patience with this young man will have huge dividends in the future for the Flyers.
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
