Prospect Profile: Cole Bardreau
With the injuries, rehabs from those injuries and missed games behind him, Cole Bardreau is ready to take the next step in his pro hockey career - inch his way closer to his NHL debut.
"Not having to rehab anything was nice," Bardreau told Inside AHL Hockey following the Philadelphia Flyers' first on-ice day of training camp. I got some time at home to see the family and relax a little bit, then I spent the majority of the summer here which was nice. Kind of get acclimated with everyone - the staff, the facility. Get used to it coming into camp. It was nice."
Bardreau took a step forward in his development last season with the Flyers' AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley Phantoms. His offensive point totals were down from his rookie season despite appearing in 18 more games, but his physical, grind it out, abrasive style and overall more consistent play certainly grabbed the attention of Flyers GM Ron Hextall.
Hextall has gone on to mention Cole Bardreau in several of his offseason and pre-training camp interviews with the local Philadelphia media. In fact, the Flyers organization was active in pursuing Bardreau long before he joined the Lehigh Valley Phantoms at the tail end of the 2014-15 season following his collegiate career with Cornell.
It's clear Hextall likes what he sees in him. That rough and tumble style of play embodies how the Flyers played during Hextall's playing days. Perhaps Bardreau's hard-nosed, old-school hockey mentality gives Hexy fond memories of the Broad Street Bullies days? It's anyone's guess.
Of course, Bardreau's goal - like any other player in an NHL training camp - is to push to make the NHL roster out of camp. Even if the odds are stacked against him for making the NHL roster for opening night, a good showing in the preseason and in camp can go a long way later on down the line when mid-season injuries and trades create open roster spots.
"Obviously I think it's everyone's goal in here to make the team out of camp, and if not there's something wrong," Bardreau explained. "I'm pretty realistic - with looking at the numbers - how things are going to fall. At the same time, I think my physicality and the way I play is kind of something you need and they don't have a lot of in the system."
"I think that if I can keep bringing that and show it at a consistent level, hopefully I'll get my sniff this year."
It's most likely Bardreau will return to Lehigh Valley for the start of the 2017-18 season, where he was an alternate captain last season alongside alternate captain Taylor Leier and team captain Colin McDonald. (EDIT: Some other players rotated in and wore the 'A' throughout the season). He's certainly looking forward to the start of the season with the moves that the Flyers made to provide the AHL club with another strong, on paper, roster.
"The guys we lost - the Miele's, the Zengerele's, Weal, Laughton we probably won't have - those guys will be tough to replace. But they did a great job bringing in guys like Varone, Vecchione and these new Russians coming in. I think we should have another really good team that's at the top of the league. Hopefully this year we can stay healthy toward the end of the year and like you said continue to build off of (last year)."
While Bardreau's game isn't often able to be showcased in practice, it's the preseason games that give him the best chance to be noticed and make an impression. And he's more than certainly aware of that.
"You watch me in practice, I don't think that... I like to call myself a gamer obviously. That's where my real assets come out. I'm chomping at the bit to get out there, be physical and try to run some people over."
