Cam York's Pro Debut A Product Of Circumstance

ALLENTOWN, Pa. - While it was 16 days between games for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, who returned to action Wednesday night on home ice against Hershey, it was a much longer and more difficult layoff for Cam York - not to mention the fact that his next game would start his pro career.

"It was tough. A lot of video games, a lot of kind of sitting around," York said in his post-game media availability Wednesday night. "And that's obviously not what you want to do. It puts you in a tough position because you know that you have to play pro games pretty soon, and you're just sitting around doing nothing for a long period of time while other guys are working. And they're allowed to be at the rink. It's a tough position to be in."

York's sophomore season with the University of Michigan ended abruptly with the team having to forfeit their game, and a chance to continue on toward the Frozen Four, against Minnesota-Duluth due to COVID protocols. After the decision on March 26th that the Wolverines wouldn't be participating any longer, York remained at school hanging out with his friends while he mulled over his hockey future and whether to return for his third year at Michigan or head to the professional ranks.

When he came to the decision to turn pro and sign his entry-level contract with the Philadelphia Flyers, who drafted him 14th overall in the 2019 NHL Draft, his travel from Michigan to Pennsylvania required a quarantine period to comply with the NHL and AHL's COVID protocols.

Just when it appeared that York would make his pro debut in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Phantoms, multiple positive cases among the team and its staff put York's new teammates into a nine-day quarantine - again leaving York unable to skate until he was later added to the Flyers taxi squad to allow him ice to skate on in an attempt to knock off some of the rust that comes from a lengthy layoff.

"I didn't practice for probably three or four weeks," York estimated. "I was out for a really long time with Michigan and quarantining and just to wait around even longer, it was just the cherry on top of the worst case scenario."

The Phantoms ended up postponing five games in their COVID hiatus, and their return to the ice Wednesday marked York's debut in what ended up being as tough as you would imagine a first game in 16 days mid-season would be.

"It was nice to finally get my feet wet and finally play a game after being out because of COVID closures for a long time," York said, adding, "Obviously you wish it went a little bit differently but just to be able to play a game was nice and kind of start to get back into it."

It was a rough game for both York and the Phantoms as a team in what ended up being a 6-1 drudging to the Bears.

READ: GAME STORY: Hershey - 6 at Lehigh Valley - 1 (4/21/21)

York mishandled a pass coming out of the defensive zone in the first period, granted the puck was a little behind him, and the Bears quickly turned it into a goal against. He was also on the ice for a shorthanded goal against in the third period, finishing the game with one shot and a minus two on the stat sheet.

While it was a tough spot for York and the Phantoms to be in, they got their legs going in the middle frame and had some opportunities to close a 2-0 deficit - getting the first six shots of the period - before ultimately allowing goals on back-to-back shots which allowed Hershey to double their lead to 4-0 and never look back.

"I'm not going to over-evaluate Cam," head coach Scott Gordon said after Wednesday's loss. "We didn't do a lot of things... there's things we can do a lot better that are going to help our defensemen," he added.

In terms of his first impressions of York, Gordon noted he was a smooth skater and had no panic to his game.

"I think that the parts of the game that he might have struggled with tonight it's only going to get fixed just by the repetition," Gordon said of York's pro debut, a common theme for any first year player. "For me, there's not a whole lot to pick apart. I think overall he was in the right places and made, for the most part, the right plays."

As simple as it sounds, it's what York - and the entire Phantoms team - needs most right now after a lengthy layoff. The chance to play more games and have more opportunities.

As Wednesday's game transpired, York seemed to start to settle in in some aspects, and was comfortable in the offensive zone. He received plenty of power play time, and his ability to keep pucks in at the blue line led to extended looks and extra chances (as seen below) in the third period.

"Yeah, I think the speed. And Just the physicality," York said of the things he noticed quickly of his first pro game. "The guys are a lot bigger and it's a lot more of a grind game here. A lot of, you know, big dudes trying to kill you behind the net," he said with a smile, adding, "A little bit different but I'll get used to it, I'll get adjusted and make improvements."