Ivan Provorov is no Sure Thing for Flyers Roster

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

Ask anyone in the WHL who has watched the Brandon Wheat Kings over the last year since Ivan Provorov was drafted by the Flyers. Ask scouts from around the NHL. Ask Flyers fans. They'll all tell you the same thing.

Ivan Provorov is ready for the jump to the NHL.

The Flyers top prospect will garner a lot of attention early in the preseason as he begins his quest to make the Flyers roster and despite so many believing the defenseman is NHL ready, only one opinion matters: GM Ron Hextall.

It is for that reason that Provorov is no sure thing to make the Flyers final roster.

From afar, Provorov has really nothing left to accomplish at the junior level. If anything, his age, 19, is a barrier at this point, because there are only two options for the defenseman — either make the NHL roster or return to juniors. 

That makes Provorov's few short weeks of camp ahead all the more important. The Flyers can't do with Provorov what they did with Shayne Gostisbehere last year, move the defenseman to the AHL for a few weeks until a spot opens up. It's all or nothing.

Provorov will have to beat out some veteran players to do that, among them Andrew MacDonald, Radko Gudas, Mark Streit and Nick Schultz. With Gostisbehere and Michael Del Zotto as locks, and don't forget to add Brandon Manning to the mix either, the Flyers have seven defenseman that could easily be ahead of Provorov already, meaning he would have to elevate his game to surpass two of them, or force Hextall's hand in making a move.

Provorov received a long look in camp a season ago before being sent back to juniors. The 2015 first-round pick took that as a learning experience in two different ways.

First, there was his play in the WHL, where he showed continued growth and became one of the best junior defenseman in hockey, taking home the CHL Defenseman of the Year award.

"For me, I tried to focus on getting better and stronger and that's what I did," Provorov said on Tuesday after the first day of rookie camp. "Took one day at a time and I'm just excited to be here and get going."

Secondly, with this being Provorov's second pro camp, he turns to his experiences last season as a method of learning as well, and feels more prepared for what is to come.

"I'm way more comfortable this year," Provorov said. "Last year was my first year and I didn't really know what to expect. This year I know what to expect."

With the World Cup of Hockey still ongoing as the Flyers begin camp, the door is open for rookie to get some playing time. This is not lost on Dave Hakstol, who wants to see players earn the opportunity to make the final roster.

"Without a doubt, I believe there's more opportunity for guys to get some game action or possibly some extra action in the preseason that maybe wouldn't have been afforded to them," Hakstol said. "I think it's the same for everybody. You have to earn the opportunities that you get. There is more opportunity there because of some of the guys at the World Cup, but at the same time, you just have to continue to earn the next opportunity."

With the excitement of having hockey back, that's not lost on Provorov.

"It's the beginning of the season," Provorov said. "Everyone wants to get going and show what they can do."

The first-rounder will have his chance soon enough.