Hockey was back in Philadelphia Monday night and Flyers fans couldn’t have been happier. The Orange and Black took to the ice for the first time in a while as they hosted the New York Islanders in a preseason tilt. Unfortunately, things didn’t go exactly the way the Flyers wanted them too. The Orange and Black dropped their preseason opener to Barry Trotz and the Islanders by a final score of 3-1. Never mind the score though; Lots of Flyers made a good first impression including newbie center, Kevin Hayes, who donned a Flyers sweater for the first time ever last night. Playing in a game for the first time in a while means players sometimes take a little while to get the feel for things again. That wasn’t the case for Hayes as he looked like he was in midseason form.
Assessment Of Kevin Hayes:
When the Flyers officially inked Center Kevin Hayes to a seven year-fifty million dollar deal back in June, Flyers fans immediately went up in arms. Without even seeing what he brings to the ice, the negativity had already begun. Overrated and overpaid were two words that were often used when talking about the 27-year-old center. Without even playing a game for the Flyers, people were already doubting him. Luckily, the negativity has died down over the past few months and people are now actually willing to give him a chance. Last night, he showed Flyers fans just how valuable he really is.
In last nights’ preseason opener, Flyers fans saw a line that consisted of James van Riemsdyk, Kevin Hayes, and Jake Voracek. Not only will we likely see this line some more during preseason action, but there’s also a strong possibility we’ll see those three together to start the regular season, and rightfully so. The Flyers top line really stood out on the ice, thanks in large part to Kevin Hayes.
Hayes deserves at least an A- rating for his performance in last nights’ game. He and his linemates made things happen all night long, often spending time in the offensive zone. The one thing that really stood out was how well Hayes protected the puck, which is a direct result of his imposing size.
Hayes collects a preseason apple!
Hayes also played a significant part in the “offensive scheme” of things. Early on in the second period, a play unfolded where Hayes was entering the offensive zone where he corralled a pass from Jake Voracek that was behind him. Hayes got control of the puck, proceeded to skate up with it and then fed it to Voracek who made a nice pass to James van Riemsdyk. JVR was able to sneak the puck past the goalie to tie the game at 1-1. It was nice to see Hayes pick up an apple on that goal.
Finally, the Flyers’ penalty kill was put to work five times last night, and they managed to kill off all five. Hayes, who no doubt will play a big role in the penalty kill this season, was very noticeable on the ice when the Flyers were a man down. That’s one reason why Chuck Fletcher signed him. Not only is he a solid 2C; he can also play a big part on special teams. The Flyers penalty kill finished 25th (78.5%) overall last year, which just simply isn’t good enough. Hopefully, with the addition of Hayes, that ranking will improve.
Vigneault’s Take
Overall, it was solid first game for Hayes in an Orange and Black jersey. First impressions are always important and Hayes sure did impress Head Coach Alain Vigneault in his first game as a Flyer. While he admitted that Hayes’ line still needed work, he was quite impressed with what he saw from the line of van Riemsdyk, Hayes and Voracek.
” I kind of said I like those three and that effort from that line,” said Vigneault. “I expect more and more will come as their timing gets better. They spent a lot of time in the offensive zone and didn’t get probably as much as they would have liked. But their time spent in the offensive zone was good”.
For Kevin Hayes, things are just getting started for him, and that’s something Flyers fans should be extremely excited about. The sky is the limit for the 6’5″, 216 lb center. Expect a big season for one of Gritty’s biggest fans.
