Today, the Philadelphia Flyers have recalled Mikhail Vorobyev and sent down German Rubtsov to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, ending Rubtsov’s stint with the Flyers for now. The idea behind sending down Rubtsov to the Phantoms is so he can develop more on the offensive side of the puck. Rubtsov has played three games with Philadelphia this season; at the New Jersey Devils, home against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and home against the Carolina Hurricanes.
In three games, German Rubtsov has yet to log the first point of his NHL career. The left-handed center has only taken one shot this season, which was in his first game against the New Jersey Devils against MacKenzie Blackwood. He also logged the most time on the ice that game in New Jersey, playing eight minutes. Rubtsov has shown some good progress at the faceoff dot against the Devils and the Carolina Hurricanes, winning above 50% of his draws in those games. He struggled against the Toronto Maple Leafs, not winning a faceoff in three chances.
In five games, Mikhail Vorobyev has tallied a point. His first and only point this season was during the home win against the Las Vegas Golden Knights when Ivan Provorov scored in the second period to put the Philadelphia Flyers up, 3-0. Vorobyev generally sees about nine minutes of ice time but hasn’t been as physical as Rubtsov was during his time on the Flyers. Just two of the five games Vorobyev has played in shows a faceoff win advantage, which was against the Columbus Blue Jackets and New York Islanders. In this recall, Vorobyev is going to have to improve to keep playing time in Philadelphia.
Last season, through fifteen games, Mikhail Vorobyev was credited with two points. One assist in even-strength hockey against the Las Vegas Golden Knights and an even-strength goal against the Colorado Avalanche. In those games, he was on the ice for anywhere between 11-14 minutes, which was tapered by his sixth game to about eight. Vorobyev had about four good games in the faceoff circle last season when comparing his bigger sample size of play, again finding success against the New York Islanders.
With the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, German Rubtsov was handling the puck in all kinds of situations. With his limited time on the fourth-line with the Philadelphia Flyers, he isn’t getting the proper time to develop. Sending Rubtsov back to the Phantoms allows him more time to develop a bigger role. I think he has played as well as Mikhail Vorobyev this season, given both players’ small sample sizes to compare. Vorobyev just needs to improve with his consistency of play.
Next, the Philadelphia Flyers are home at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania against the Montreal Canadiens. This game takes place on Thursday, November 7th at 7:00 pm. Thank you for reading and be sure to give a follow for more Flyers coverage at EricReesePSN on Twitter and Instagram!
