VOORHEES, N.J. — Defenseman Ivan Provorov and forward Travis Konecny have made the Flyers' roster.
General manager Ron Hextall made the announcement Monday afternoon at Skate Zone.
Konecny led all Flyers in preseason with six points (three goals). Provorov was the most dynamic defenseman, start to finish, throughout training camp.
This will be the first time the Flyers begin the season with two 19-year-old rookies since 1984-85, when they opened with Derrick Smith and Pete Zezel. Smith and Zezel were on the Flyers' roster the entire year.
The full roster will be turned in to the NHL on Tuesday at 5 p.m.
Hextall said he informed both players last night.
Because of Michael Del Zotto's likely going on LTIR, the roster will change on Wednesday morning.
Provorov is currently paired with veteran defenseman Mark Streit, while Konency has given some offensive jolt on Sean Couturier’s line with Jakub Voracek.
“You watching the way Jake and Coots have been playing [with him]?” Hextall asked. “They are playing well. Travis has been a good fit there. Jake is really on his game and Coots' game in Boston, he was as good a player on the ice as both teams.
“Travis has been a nice fit there and Ivan has been a good fit on the back end. Those kids, they made this team on their own. They are not on the team because anyone felt like [it was] politically or anything else. These kids made the team on merit. The plan right now is to keep them the whole year.”
The last part of that quote is significant. Hextall stated twice in camp he doesn’t like the nine-game NHL tryout before a club has to commit to carrying a teenager or send him back to junior.
He said before camp if both players were to make the roster, they had to make it for all 82 games.
“This isn’t a nine-game tryout or six-game tryout,” Hextall reiterated on Monday. “Those two kids are on this team right now. And at this point, we expect them to be here all year. They’ve done a good job. They worked hard all summer.”
When the Flyers sent Provorov back to Brandon (WHL) last fall, the message to him was become the best defenseman in junior hockey. Provorov did just that, winning CHL Defenseman of the Year. Hextall said he gave the same advice to Konecny, who compiled 101 points (two clubs) last season in the OHL.
“Going into camp, you thought Ivan had a good shot and Travis had a shot,” Hextall said. “He’s done a real good job. Full marks to them.”
Players said the two of them bring energy and enthusiasm.
“You look at Provorov, he sets his own pace,” Voracek said. “Not everybody can do that. Only a few forwards and defense in the league can do that. A 19-year-old is pretty impressive. ... His poise with the puck is impressive.
“You look at Koney, that guy is a machine. He skates all the time. It’s real important to have that guy on the line. If you have a game when you don’t feel well or not skating well enough, he is going to help you out.”
Hextall says the energy both players bring can help a club like the Flyers, who are in transition.
“In a perfect world, you have a couple young kids on your team every year,” he said. “There’s a certain enthusiasm and energy they bring.
“When you become an older player and watch your players and how excited they are to play their first NHL game to see all the new rinks to play every night to be in the NHL, it’s refreshing ...”
Although Brayden Schenn will start the season with a three-game suspension, Hextall insisted that didn’t play into the decision.
“If I felt like if either player wasn’t ready to be here the whole year, they wouldn’t be here right now,” Hextall said. “I would have sucked it up and played without — even though Schenner’s suspended.
“This is not, ‘OK, Schenner’s suspended so let’s keep Travis because Schenner’s suspended.’ No, I don’t think about things like that and I don’t think it’s fair for a young player. Our whole thing with Travis or Ivan is, ‘Are they ready to be here the whole year?’ We feel like they are.”
Waivers
Hextall said forward Jordan Weal has cleared waivers and was assigned to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
