Friedman Takes Major Strides In Third Pro Season

For many players in the pro hockey realm honing their craft in the American Hockey League (AHL), that third season as a pro could be the defining moment of their career.

It's typically the final season of their entry-level contract, and could be seen as a make-or-break year for those hoping their hard work in the minors pays off in the form of a serious look at the NHL level.

While it's easy now to say that Mark Friedman's third year of pro hockey was a resounding success and a major step forward, it shouldn't overshadow the amount of work he's had to put in to get his game to the point where it is now. His 61 points (10 goals, 51 assists) in 186 games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms rank second among defensemen in the franchise's six-year history.

"Personally, I thought my year was probably the best so far since I've started playing pro hockey," Friedman said after his 2019-20 season with the Phantoms came to an end following the cancellation of the remainder of their AHL season. "I really felt comfortable with my game, on and off the ice."

He certainly struggled at the pro level in his rookie season - and Friedman admitted as much. Adapting to the way head coach Scott Gordon wanted his defensemen to play was a challenge for him.

And that's fine. It's not an easy transition to the pro game, initially, for most rookies. Friedman was no different when he entered the Flyers organization's AHL affiliate in Lehigh Valley for the 2017-18 season after a one-game look at the tail end of the previous year.

Fast forward to the beginning of the 2019-20 season, and Friedman's approach to his third year pro was different than his first two. And for good reason, showing maturity not only in his game but also away from the rink on a personal level.

"My whole outlook coming into this year - without being a bad teammate - was to focus more on myself and not worrying what's around me."

Acclimated to Gordon's system, Friedman's comfort level allowed him to focus more on the finer details of his game this season with the Phantoms - and it showed.

According to Brad Keffer, who does a great job tracking Phantoms games, Friedman's advanced stats show he was arguably the Phantoms' top defenseman this past season while at 5-on-5.

Friedman's 5v5 shot impacts with LV this season: +2.77% CF rel, +5.21% SCF rel, +4.21% HDCF rel.

Keffer also noted Friedman was one of just two defensemen to break 50% in scoring chances for (Friedman 51.84, Wotherspoon 50.84.)

It wasn't just at even strength that Friedman excelled in the AHL this past season either. He also took on a much larger role on special teams, becoming a go-to guy in all situations while also being routinely matched up against the opposition's top offensive players.

"I just felt comfortable with the coaches and what they expect from me in an everyday situation," Friedman explained. "I'm not the biggest guy on the ice, so it's not usually easy for me to defend, but I have to use my assets - my speed, puck smarts, positioning. Yeah, that's what really made me more comfortable [this year]."

Friedman's strong play in the AHL, combined with an injury on defense at the NHL level, gave Friedman the opportunity to get his first extended look at the NHL level when he appeared in five games in a span of nine days in January - including his first career NHL point when his shot was re-directed in by Connor Bunnaman (his 1st NHL goal).

"I thought I had a good showing," Friedman said reflecting on his NHL time this season. "Obviously I wasn't 100% comfortable. I mean I was comfortable being there, but there were some things I was kind of hesitant about. Not really showing my true game, not getting up in the play as much as I'd like. I was just trying to keep it simple, get the puck up the boards and keep my job as simple and easy as I could."

The former Bowling Green State product wasn't the only one who thought he performed admirably in his NHL call up. The Flyers' coaching staff were praising his efforts when speaking to the media about Friedman's performance as well.

Friedman said he spoke often with Flyers' assistant coach Mike Yeo while he was in the NHL, and was getting great feedback too.

"He said just keep doing what you're doing. You're getting the trust from the coaching staff up here and if you do that then you'll definitely help yourself out quite a bit," Friedman explained, adding, "So, that's the goal. Just have to keep playing my game and keep doing what got me where I am."

Prior to joining his teammates for Day 1 of Flyers Summer Camp, Friedman had been working on staying in shape with his newly purchased Peloton bike and focusing on more body movement type exercises like yoga and stretching rather than weightlifting which was harder to come by with local gyms closed due to the coronavirus.  He also noted he purchased Marsblade roller skates, used in an attempt to recreate the sensation of skating and skate-strides, etc.

Now with a two-year, one-way contract extension in place, Friedman can focus on continuing to earn the trust of the NHL coaching staff in hopes of getting into game action during the Flyers' exhibition game and subsequent round-robin tournament before the playoffs begin next month.

"For me I just can never be satisfied in my game. You can obviously work on every part of it. You can never be too fast,  too strong, or too smart. I just want to get better every way I can. At the next level, I feel my speed definitely helps - my breakouts, my puck retrieval, my first pass. I'm not the biggest guy, but I like to get under the other team's skin. That's just fun for me. Hopefully it's what helps me get up there [full-time] next year."

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