Flyers Prospect Update: Cam York

It was quite a whirlwind of a hockey season for Cam York in 2020-21.

From the beginning of his second season at the University of Michigan, to captaining Team USA to gold at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championships (WJC) and making the jump to pro hockey - not only in the American Hockey League (AHL) but also making his NHL debut with the Philadelphia Flyers - York certainly got the full hockey experience this past year, not to mention numerous periods of quarantining both before and after switching teams (& countries) throughout the season.

"It was pretty overwhelming," York told InsideAHLHockey.com in a 1-on-1 interview after the season had ended. "It was a crazy journey for me, and one that was a lot different than other guys, which kind of made it special."

While with Michigan, York dominated the play and was a key cog in the team's success - tallying 20 points in 24 games while also being equally as solid defensively and playing a near penalty-free season (four PIM).

He was also a key component of Team USA at the WJC, anchoring the blue line and chipping in with six points (one goal, five assists) in seven games from December 25th to Jan 5th before later returning to school and finishing his collegiate season with Michigan. If not for a COVID-related issue with the Wolverines in the NCAA tournament that caused them to withdraw, it's possible York and his collegiate teammates would have been competing for a national championship.

Instead, York turned pro, signing his entry-level deal with the Flyers on April 1st before making his pro debut in the AHL with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms three weeks later in a 6-1 loss at home against Hershey - not an ideal setting for York's first pro game in what was the Phantoms' first game back from their own COVID-related outbreak which saw multiple positive cases amongst the team and its staff extend their hiatus from game action to 16 days.

READ ALSO: York's Pro Debut A Product Of Circumstance

"The first few games... obviously coming to a new team and you got a locker room of new guys, it's a lot different and it takes time to kind of feel like... like you're part of the team," York said of his transition to the Phantoms. "And yeah, that took me a little bit of time, but I think it was my third or fourth game, I started to feel normal again, and feel back to myself. And once I did that, the game came easy."

After three games without a point on the stat sheet as a pro, York's offensive game erupted in late April in New Jersey against the Binghamton Devils where he tallied a goal and two assists in the first period to put the Phantoms ahead 5-1 in the opening 20 minutes (although the Phantoms ended up just barely hanging on to a 6-5 win).

The following weekend at home, against rival Hershey, York set up a Tyson Foerster power play goal in the second period before completing a designed set-play breakaway goal on a man advantage in the third for what ended up being the game-winner in a 5-3 decision over the Bears.

The five combined points in two games for York, along with the ever present impression that things were really starting to click for him at the pro game, signaled it was time - at the tail end of a lost season for the NHL club - to get the organization's 1st-round pick from 2019 (14th overall) a taste of the NHL.

York didn't look too out of place in his three-game stint with the Flyers, besides the obvious adjustments young players need to make at the pro level - something the future Flyers hopeful was quick to point out.

"Like I said, once I get in a groove, and I'm comfortable, my game is the same. It always is," York told InsideAHLHockey.com. "I feel like I'm a consistent player. That's one of my biggest attributes I feel like. That's been my bread and butter pretty much since day one. Once I got used to the speed and the size of the guys at the AHL level and NHL level, I felt pretty comfortable with that."

All in all, it was a pretty productive year for York despite a lot of missed time quarantining throughout his various journeys between Michigan and Edmonton for the WJC and then from Michigan to Pennsylvania for his transition to pro hockey.

"I think the biggest thing, at the pro level, the guys are just really big and strong. And, for me, I want to physically get a lot stronger this off-season," York said, explaining, "Not necessarily put on a ton of weight, because I want to be quick and fast, and that's a big part of my game. Just becoming a stronger player, being a little bit harder to play against, is one of the things I want to focus on."

"Other than that, like I felt good. I felt comfortable. I felt that I belonged at that level," York told InsideAHLHockey.com, adding, "my game suits well to the pro level with my speed and my skills. It's a lot different than college, in my opinion, but I was happy with how I adapted. I was able to do it pretty quickly, just with the circumstances that I was in."

York wasn't the only one happy with how his year turned out.

"They were happy," York said when asked what kind of feedback he got from the Flyers staff/management. "We all know what I need to do over the summer and that's to get stronger, but I had a difficult road. And everyone was understanding of that.  I made the most out of it."

While the acquisitions over the summer, particularly the addition of Keith Yandle, might have York on the outside looking in in terms of making the NHL roster right out of training camp this fall, perhaps top pairing minutes in the AHL with Lehigh Valley to start the season - where he can be on the top power play unit and play a much larger role while honing his game and adapting fully to the pro game - might be the best course of action.

It'll certainly be interesting to see how York looks coming into the beginning of development camp this weekend and moving ahead into main camp how he fares with the likes of NHL players.

"Looking back, it was a really good experience. I learned a lot. I played hockey at a lot of different levels. Now I know what I need to work on, and get better at, so I'm looking forward to that. And, you know, just really, really excited for what's to come here."