PHANTOMS: Postseason experience should accelerate Sanheim, Lyon progress – Burlington County Times

ALLENTOWN, Pa. When it comes to Ron Hextalls long-term rebuilding plan, Flyers fans have just one question: How long?

The consensus is multiple years, and it all depends on how fast kids like defenseman Travis Sanheim and goaltender Alex Lyon develop.

We already know about Ivan Provorov and Travis Konecny. They were splendid in their rookie seasons with the Flyers. And two older rookies, 24-year-olds Jordan Weal and Mike Vecchione, could be well on their way to regular jobs in the NHL.

But the progress of hopefuls such as Sanheim, Lyon, Sam Morin and Robert Hagg is still a bit up in the air. The learning curve could be accelerated by the Phantoms' appearance in the American Hockey League playoffs.

Sanheim could be the one who bears the most watching.

The first-round (17th overall) draft pick in 2014 has been lauded for his overall game, particularly in the area of transition play, since he became property of the Flyers.

In fact, he was named best defenseman at the 2014 IIHF World U18 Championships, after leading all backliners with six points in seven games.

Since then, its been a steady rise through the ranks, including 162 points in 186 games with the Calgary Hitmen (WHL) and a stellar 10-27-37 campaign in the recently concluded Phantoms season.

So while the prime objective of this postseason is to achieve as much team success as possible, analyzing the individual play of talents such as Sanheim also carries high priority status.

The 21-year-old native of Elkhorn, Manitoba, understands that.

Obviously, teams look at playoff experience, proven winners, Sanheim said after Friday nights 1-0 overtime loss to Hershey in Game 1 at the PPL Center. Thats something were trying to build toward. We didnt want this result tonight.

Some believe Sanheim, with his smooth, effortless skating stride and above-average two-way play, could be ready for the big time when Flyers training camp opens in September.

Hextall will be watching Sanheims efforts with particular attention.

This is the pinnacle of the season, right here in the playoffs, Hextall said. Guys are performing their best right now. Theyre giving themselves a leg up in September.

Coach Scott Gordon said Sanheim began the season believing that, with the teams blessing, he had to be an offensive force. But then he realized he had to put more focus on the defensive side of the puck.

Gordon was discussing the play of Phil Myers in junior hockey, how he was playing big minutes and perhaps not giving everything he had at both ends of the rink, but the same might have applied to Sanheim.

The kids come in from junior and there are things in their game that they have to get out as pros, he said. Phil went from 27 to 30 minutes a night (with his junior team, Rouyn-Noranda of the QMJHL) and, when you play that much, you will find shortcuts to take. Those become habits.

We saw that with Travis at the beginning of the year. He was asked to get offense for the team (at Calgary), so he was up on the play all the time, milling around an opponents net. As a result, almost neglecting the defense part of it. To his credit, after about three weeks of that, we didnt see it the rest of the year.

Meanwhile, Lyon, a free-agent signing out of Yale, caught everyone a little by surprise with his first year of play with the Phantoms.

Basically, he wrested the starting job away from Anthony Stolarz, considered by many to be a contender for duty with the Flyers next season. Stolarz spent the better part of two months with the Flyers as backup to Steve Mason while Michal Neuvirth recovered from a knee injury.

But when Stolarz returned to Allentown, Lyon didnt just step aside and hand back the No. 1 job. Now hes getting a chance to prove that was no fluke by performing under fire, like he did Friday night when he kept the Bears off the scoreboard for the first 60 minutes and then some.

We really liked Alex; we went after him hard, Hextall said. There was a lot of interest in him (from other NHL teams), obviously.

"We liked the way he played, we liked the professionalism, his preparation for a game, the way he played a game. Very solid technically.

Am I surprised by the good year he had? No. The part you dont know about a college kid, he hasnt played a ton of hockey. How was it going to go as the season progressed? He didnt fall, so he did a good job.

Lyon appreciates this opportunity.

While youngsters such as Carter Hart and Felix Sandstrom might be ranked higher on the organizational goalie depth chart, theres nothing that says Lyon cant climb past those guys in the next little while.

A big playoffs here would help the cause.

I think anybody who was in the building tonight would say thats an NHL atmosphere, said the 24-year-old Lyon, who went 17-14-5 with a 2.74 goals-against average and .912 save percentage. (Hextall) is exactly right. Im going to learn as much as I can in this stretch. And try to have a little fun. Its going to be a very valuable experience.

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PHANTOMS: Postseason experience should accelerate Sanheim, Lyon progress - Burlington County Times