Nolan Patrick, Part 2

Curufinwe

Registered User
Feb 28, 2013
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I don't think anything will happen until after Christmas. At that point Hextall could loan him to Canada for the WJC.
 

deadhead

Registered User
Feb 26, 2014
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Because Patrick is lost right now, and I don't think it's about adjusting to NHL speed anymore.
I just think he's like Giroux and Ghost last year, except he's 19 with zero NHL experience to compensate for the lose of burst and speed from his surgery.
So Hakstol/Hextall are trying to balance getting him ice time with the harm it does to the team.

Just have to be patient until he gets stronger, hopefully by January or so he'll start regaining some burst in his skating and core strength to handle traffic.
 

FlyersMania2

#FireHakstol
Jul 4, 2007
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Patrick looks like one of our best forwards when we give him 2nd line playing time. I really don't understand how it's gotten to the point where he can't buy minutes and Alt plays as much/more than Sanheim.

That's just it. There is ZERO reason this kid should look like he's digressing. He's an elite talent that needs to be cultivated appropriately. Playing him 6-8 minutes a game around guys who routinely have almost ZERO offense is not going to help his development and it just hurts us as an organization. What a joke.
 

deadhead

Registered User
Feb 26, 2014
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And he lacks strength, some of it is being young, but a lot is probably due to loss of core strength from the surgery, as any athlete will tell you, it begins with the core. And fighting along the boards is all legs and core.

Now if Patrick looks like this next year, we're f---!
But I expect him to gradually improve like Ghost and Giroux did last year and finish strong.
 

Hurricane28

Angry Flyers STH/Weather Guy
Aug 22, 2012
9,217
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South Jersey
And he lacks strength, some of it is being young, but a lot is probably due to loss of core strength from the surgery, as any athlete will tell you, it begins with the core. And fighting along the boards is all legs and core.

Now if Patrick looks like this next year, we're f---!
But I expect him to gradually improve like Ghost and Giroux did last year and finish strong.

Yeah the strength will come when he has a full summer of training. He wasn't really able to do much until mid August IIRC this past year
 
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DrinkFightFlyers

THE TORTURE NEVER STOPS
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Sep 24, 2009
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He was fine until his injury, just getting his feet under him, and then in the last game he really flashed some great stuff. Right on track - he just needs to get a run of games in without being run again.

Yeah that injury was such a bummer. Really seemed like he was on the verge of taking a big step. Given what is going on this season with the whole team, I am writing this season off for him. I don't expect him to turn it up unless the rest of the team does, and I don't see that happening. Next year is a big deal for him.
 
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FLYguy3911

Sanheim Lover
Oct 19, 2006
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He's a step behind the play physically right now. The pace looks to be overwhelming him a bit. He knows where to be on the ice and he knows where to go with the puck once he gets it but everything else is a bit slow. You can kind of see it on the PP. He'll make great passes with time and space but when he gets pressured things become more difficult for him. Offensively he can't get separation and create for himself which makes his shot pretty ineffective. The missed games certainly didn't help him and the minutes he is playing right now certainly don't help. It's incredibly hard to get into the flow of the game if you are sitting for 10 minutes at a time. I don't totally blame his minutes on Hakstol because it's hard to really bang the table for a guy who is sub-40% CF, but they need to help him out and Dale Weise isn't the help he needs. I actually think Read would help, but that ain't happening.
 
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NYCFlyer

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Nov 23, 2002
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Patrick looks like one of our best forwards when we give him 2nd line playing time. I really don't understand how it's gotten to the point where he can't buy minutes and Alt plays as much/more than Sanheim.
I have watched or been at every game and I can remember only 2 shifts that he looked like one of our best forwards. He looks tentative and slow. In hindsight I just don't think he is ready physically. Then he starts pressing makes mistakes and starts pressing harder. He was a superstar in junior and this is probably really really tough on him. He hasn't earned more minutes and I don't see any reason to give him more until he looks more physically ready.
 

Curufinwe

Registered User
Feb 28, 2013
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Try this pair together in a game, not just warm ups.

nolan-patrick-and-michael-raffl-of-the-philadelphia-flyers-skate-onto-picture-id883256012
 
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FatTugboatFlahr

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Apr 6, 2012
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I have watched or been at every game and I can remember only 2 shifts that he looked like one of our best forwards. He looks tentative and slow. In hindsight I just don't think he is ready physically. Then he starts pressing makes mistakes and starts pressing harder. He was a superstar in junior and this is probably really really tough on him. He hasn't earned more minutes and I don't see any reason to give him more until he looks more physically ready.

If you can only remember two shifts where he looked like one of our best forwards then I have no idea what to tell you.
 

Captain Dave Poulin

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I have watched or been at every game and I can remember only 2 shifts that he looked like one of our best forwards. He looks tentative and slow. In hindsight I just don't think he is ready physically. Then he starts pressing makes mistakes and starts pressing harder. He was a superstar in junior and this is probably really really tough on him. He hasn't earned more minutes and I don't see any reason to give him more until he looks more physically ready.

He shouldn't have to "earn" more minutes this year - they should let him get out there and just play and work on things as we go along. This season doesn't mean anything, and we all know it. That doesn't mean we just throw in the towel, that would be stupid, but he's (arguably) our most important prospect, and definitely one of the top three - we should be designing our forward play around him in the sense that we are giving him every advantage to become comfortable and be himself. They haven't been doing that. The idea that a 19-year-old rookie often playing with scrubs has to "earn" more minutes is absurd. I understand the limitations of his injury and adjustments for that are something else.
 

BillDineen

Former Flyer / Extinct Dinosaur Advisor
Aug 9, 2009
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Part of it is the surgery now, but he also needs to get stronger to play his game. You get signs that once he gets stronger he will be great in tight and along the boards. His vision is incredible.
 
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NYCFlyer

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Nov 23, 2002
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He shouldn't have to "earn" more minutes this year - they should let him get out there and just play and work on things as we go along. This season doesn't mean anything, and we all know it. That doesn't mean we just throw in the towel, that would be stupid, but he's (arguably) our most important prospect, and definitely one of the top three - we should be designing our forward play around him in the sense that we are giving him every advantage to become comfortable and be himself. They haven't been doing that. The idea that a 19-year-old rookie often playing with scrubs has to "earn" more minutes is absurd. I understand the limitations of his injury and adjustments for that are something else.
We just disagree then. I think everyone needs to earn minutes all the time. Injury fill-ins, players coming off injuries, rookies ...everyone. There is no free lunch.
 

Lindberg

Bennyflyers16 get a life
Oct 5, 2013
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We just disagree then. I think everyone needs to earn minutes all the time. Injury fill-ins, players coming off injuries, rookies ...everyone. There is no free lunch.

Must be why Lehtera and Weise has seen plenty of power play time this year.
 

Captain Dave Poulin

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Apr 30, 2015
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We just disagree then. I think everyone needs to earn minutes all the time. Injury fill-ins, players coming off injuries, rookies ...everyone. There is no free lunch.

This is the crux of the problem IMO - this characterizing it in terms of punishment and reward, because that is how I read College Dan's mindset. I just think that is way misguided and not very "modern" - I just don't think someone like NP needs that sort of treatment. Give him his minutes* and some linemates with some competence, communicate with him openly, and you will get results (i.e. development, discipline, etc.) from him.

* The exception being the limitations dictated by his recovery - the part of that which is effecting his TOI I can understand, although we don't know to what degree it is effecting things. We also don't have that many competent linemates to give him, admittedly, but he could have been spared some of this suffering, at least. What I am saying is that I understand all of these factors effecting his TOI, but I still think his usage could be a lot better. I think the coaches could be helping him more than they are.
 

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