ALLENTOWN – It wasn’t a happy ending to the Rookie Series for the Flyers but at least they had a chance to chart the progress of some of their young talent.
At the top of the list might be Nikita Grebenkin, who scored the overtime winner in Friday night’s 4-3 win and came back with two assists in Saturday’s 5-2 loss to New York at PPL Center. The Rookie Series ended in a 1-1 split.
In the second period, the Flyers managed to get their first two goals of the game. Unfortunately for them, they allowed three.
Jackson Dorrington’s goal just 51 seconds into the second period gave New York a 2-0 lead. His shot eluded starting goaltender Carson Bjarnason.
The Flyers responded with a goal from defenseman Ethan Samson at 5:10 but the Rangers restored the two-goal margin off a power-play shot by Jaroslav Chmelar at 11:14. That came against the Flyers’ second goalie, Joey Costanzo.
Once again the Flyers bounced back on a goal by Alexis Gendron at 15:09. Not to be outdone, the Rangers scored again at 17:19 on a goal by Noah Laba.
A goal by Morrow was the only scoring of a penalty-filled first period. The power-play goal came at 5:46 when Morrow was able to make his way down the slot and beat Bjarnason.
Phantoms coach John Snowden, who ran the bench for the Flyers rookies in each of the games, said he was satisfied with the overall work of his players.
“I didn’t think it was a great hockey game by either side,” he said. “It was kind of sloppy but kind of what you would expect. Ba”ck-to-back games, haven’t done it for months. I thought it was a pretty physical game. It was good to see some of our guys stick their faces in there.”
One player who really caught Snowden’s eye was Nikita Grebenkin, who had the winning goal in Friday night’s 4-3 overtime victory and two more primary assists on Saturday.
“He plays with a ton of bite,” Snowden said. “He’s a highly skilled player. He is not easy to play against. He’s going to come off the bench and he’s going to cross-check you. And he sticks his nose in there, makes contact, sticks his nose in there to create space. I thought he was good in both games. I think he thrives in those environments.”
Grebenkin goes 6-foot-2, 210 pounds and isn’t shy about tossing his weight around.
“I help with my team, shoot, score,” he said in halting English. “Two (assists) help but I want to score. Today I had moments with the puck but did not score.
“I do want to play in the NHL this season.”
>Dorwart in contention
One of Philadelphia’s rookie players, Karsen Dorwart, has been mentioned as a possibility for making the Flyers sometime during the season.
He knows this year’s training camp is a good proving ground for staking that claim.
Some publications have Dorwart ranked among the Flyers’ top 12 forwards.
“I think last spring was kind of huge for me,” Dorwart said. “Kind of out of the mindset that ‘whoa, this is the NHL.’ My goal is to make the team. That’s what I wanted to do all summer, that’s what I want to do now. Just doing everything I can in these couple games. Going to training to prove I should make the team.”
“If he’s explaining something to me, I try to go out and correct it right away. I think there was a bit of a learning curve today, adjusting to new systems, new linemates and such.”
Dorwart, 6-foot-1, 194 pounds, who went undrafted by NHL teams, changed direction and played three years for Michigan State. Last season he got into five games with the Flyers and wants to pick up where he left off.
This preseason will give him a chance to prove he still belong.
He played a role in Friday night’s 4-3 overtime win over the Rangers in the first game of the Rookie Series. He had two assists in the game, including the overtime game winner by Nikita Grebenkin.
“I think it’s been a lot of fun, the last couple days just getting ready,” Dorwart said. “It’s nice to play a game right away. Obviously it’s worked you worked for all summer. Just playing with the guys was a blast today.”
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