Flying Under The Radar - Rookie Camp Standouts

The Philadelphia Flyers prospects assembled Monday in preparation for Wednesday's 'Rookie Game' against the New York Islanders, giving the younger players a chance to get acquainted with how an NHL camp is run.

While big name prospects like Nolan Patrick and Travis Sanheim are making their first push towards an NHL roster spot with the Flyers, others have flown under the radar and really impressed the coaching staff this week.

One player drawing a lot of praise this week is defenseman Mark Friedman, who will be entering his first full season of pro hockey this fall in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The Flyers' 3rd round pick in 2014 showed marked improvement each year during his tenure with Bowling Green State University in the collegiate ranks and joined the Phantoms this past spring - making his pro debut April 15th in Binghamton during the team's regular season finale.

"Playing that game was huge for me to fit in with the speed and all of that," Friedman said Wednesday night. "I felt good with my game that I played [back in April], and I had a really good summer. So it's been good."

Friedman tallied an assist in that AHL debut, making sharp plays across all facets of the game. It's certainly something he has been building upon judging by his eye-opening performance this week during the Flyers' rookie camp - culminated by Wednesday's scrimmage where he was one of the game's top players.

"He's a competitor," Phantoms head coach Scott Gordon said of Friedman, who was joined behind the bench by Kerry Huffman Wednesday night. "We started to see him in practice in the last month and a half of the season that he came in for. There's no question that he has NHL speed."

Not only did Friedman tally a second period goal on a quick one-timer off a feed from Mikhail Vorobyev, but the undersized blue liner was also very noticeable in the physicality department - laying out hits at will and separating opposing forwards from pucks. Don't let his 5-10, 192 pound frame make you think he's incapable of playing a physical brand of hockey.

The fact that Gordon was pleased with Friedman's camp so far and aspects of his game he displayed in the rookie game against the Islanders has to bode well for Friedman as he tries to make Gordon's roster in the AHL later this month.

In fact, the roster situation with all of these prospect defensemen and where they will end up is one of the most intriguing storylines to watch develop as main training camp begins on the ice Friday.

There are a total of 18 defensemen signed either on an NHL contract (one-way and two-way) or AHL deal (similarly one-way and two-way).

Flyers

Shayne Gostisbehere, Radko Gudas, Andrew MacDonald, Brandon Manning and Ivan Provorov

On The Bubble (2 of 3 make Flyers?)

Robert Hagg, Sam Morin, Travis Sanheim

Phantoms

Mark Alt, T.J. Brennan, Mark Friedman, Max Lamarche (AHL), Phil Myers, Will O'Neill and Reece Willcox

Reading (ECHL)

James de Haas (AHL), Frank Hora (AHL) and Nolan Zajac (AHL)