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Prospect Watch: Nathan Behm
Photo Credit: Kamloops Blazers X Page
Most leagues around the world are now close to a dozen or so games into their respective seasons. With being said, one name that has surprised me thus far is Nathan Behm, who plays for the Western Hockey League’s Kamloops Blazers. Nathan, who is 2025 Draft eligible prospect, is a 6’2, 198-pound winger who can line up on either side of the face-off dot and be equally effective, so much so that he has managed to come out this season and set the officials scoresheet on fire. Netting eleven goals and seven assists for an impressive total of 18 points in only eleven games played! And, to put into perspective just how good his production has been this year, his goal-a-game average finds him only trailing the diminutive dynamo Cameron Schmidt of the Vancouver Giants, who has tallied 12 goals this year for supremacy of the WHL leaderboard. Here’s the catch, though. Schmidt was/is viewed by many as a projected first-round NHL draft pick for some time now.
So, you have to figure when you’re playing that close to greatness, it can only mean that your stock should be on the rise. That’s why if Nathan can keep this pace up, I would not be surprised if he hears his name being called somewhere in the second round of this upcoming summers draft.
Now that I have your attention, let’s break down Nathan’s game. As I already stated when I provided you with his height and weight above, Behm is a player who already possesses NHL size and strength. And it’s that combo that allows Nathan to push his opponents off the puck during scrums in the corner. Where he then, effortlessly creates distance from them with just a few short powerful strides. But that’s not all; because of his lanky frame, Nathan wields what to some would seem to be an unusually long stick, but to him, it fits just right. And with it, Behm can stretch out and receive a leading pass on a fast break that is saucered to where only he can get it, which often leaves him off to the races.
And my oh my, what a talent he is in the offensive zone. Whether he is setting up around the face dots or in tight around the goal mouth Nathan just has a knack for knowing where the puck is going to end up. So that he can put home a nice juicy rebound or set himself up to perform his (what should be patent pending) finishing move, which I call the “Turn and Burn.” Where if you’re not familiar with it, Nathan will set up with his back to the goalie; then, upon receiving the pass, Behm blindly completes a 180-degree turn only to blast it past the goaltender’s glove or blocker.
I’m telling you guys. Behm has the kind of scoring touch that NHL scouts fall in love with, and with any hope, maybe your favorite NHL team will be the one lucky enough to get to draft him.
Is it too Early for the Flyers to Start to Re-Evaluate Their Options in Net?
HERE WE GO AGAIN….Well, folks, I know we are only a couple of games into the season, but with the Flyers giving up a combined 16 GOALS in the last three games, it appears once again that Philadelphia may have a problem in net.
For far too long now, the Philadelphia Flyers have been without a franchise goaltender. To the point that I would say the last real one they had was Ron Hextall, and he last played for the Orange and Black in the 1998-1999 season. That’s 25 years ago! So, to say that the Flyers have struggled to find Hexy’s replacement would be an understatement, especially when you factor in that they have started a total of 33 goaltenders since that time.
Still, that’s not to say that they didn’t have at least one goalie during that time that could have turned out to be “The Guy.” I mean, they convinced Sergei Bobrovsky to come over from Russia when he was just 22 years old. But they, of course, managed to piss him off by signing Ilya Bryzgalov to a nine-year deal worth an unheard-of $51 million that forced Bob out of town. Where since then, he only managed to win a Stanley Cup and a couple of Vezina Trophies. Not to mention the fact that he should quickly move into the top ten in all-time wins this season, considering that he is currently sitting at 398 career victories.
But, enough about the past, let us talk about the present. Now, I don’t have a problem with the young Sam Ersson. In fact, I commend him for stepping up last season after the sudden departure of Carter Hart. And for his efforts already this season where he managed to start back right where he left off by making some huge stops, especially in the first period of the first game this season while the Flyers were still trying to get their skates under them. The question is, do you think he is the long-term answer in net? I would say NO! While I do believe he is serviceable for the time being, I’m not ready to turn the net over to him for the next ten years.
We will save that discussion for another day, though, because in my mind, the more immediate question that needs to be answered is what the team should do with the colossal netminder Ivan Fedotov. After most of us gave up on the idea that this 6’7 goalkeeper (whom the team drafted way back in 2015) would ever come over and join this team, he finally did at the end of last season. And the scary thing is that after having him start in just three games (and winning none of them) for the team last season the Flyers felt confident enough to ink him this summer to a two-year $6.5 million deal. Despite Ivan averaging a horrendous 4.95 goals against average and an abysmal .811 save percentage in those three games.
Now, before you come to his defense, let me remind you that Ivan is no kid. He is a 27-year-old man who, previous to joining the Flyers, has played in a part of seven seasons in Russia’s top professional league, the KHL. Where he won both their league championship and their version of the Vezina Trophy after being voted the league’s top-rated goaltender. And, in my defense, I’ve been advocating for some time now that it may take Fedotov some time to get use to the smaller/faster North American-style ice surface. But I have to say that he’s had a whole off-season and multiple preseason games to do that, so by now, a goaltender with his championship pedigree should have figured it out.
But instead, here we are once again talking about the Flyers having goaltending issues. This of course, is being made apparent after Ivan has now started in two games this season, and he is averaging an embarrassing 6.09 goals against average and a .818 save percentage.
I’ve played the goaltending position for over 30 years now, and I have coached the position as well. And to me, Fedotov, who previously relied heavily on his enormous size to help him in net, cannot seem to react fast enough to the speed and overall talent that he is now facing in the NHL. And because of that, he has been unable to stop simple shots coming in from the point and is having trouble controlling very manageable rebounds. I don’t know why this would come as such a surprise to some, considering the KHL is widely overrated. Case in point: last season, one of the KHL’s top five scorers was 32-year-old Jordan Weal—a guy who never amounted to much more than a call-up option during his time with the Flyers.
So, now looking back, Fedotov (despite his age and prior accomplishments) probably should have been made to prove himself in the AHL first before being given millions of dollars and being gifted a free pass to play in the NHL, all because the Flyers had a glaring hole in the blue paint with Carter Hart not returning.
Still think I’m crazy? Well, I urge you to browse both the Daily Faceoff and Bleacher Report articles provided below that rank each NHL team’s Goaltender Tandems prior to this season. You will see that they ranked the Flyers dead last in one and 31st in the other.
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10138840-power-ranking-every-nhl-teams-goalie-tandem-for-2024-25
https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/ranking-all-32-nhl-goalie-tandems-for-2024-25
Ready yet to admit the Flyers might have jumped the gun a little bit when they signed the three-game NHL veteran to such a lucrative deal? I thought so.
Let’s look at their other options if Fedotov continues his downward spiral. Well, you can forget about Cal Petersen and the $5 million salary cap hit he carries if he rejoins the Flyers in the NHL. They don’t have the cap space nor the need for another floundering goalie. They did sign former Shark’s netminder Eetu Makiniemi to a deal out of training camp, but let’s be honest, he was brought in just in case their 22-year-old goaltending prospect Alexei Kolosov decided not to return to play in the AHL.
So, let’s talk about him for a moment. Alexei was drafted in the third round of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft and since then has been making quite the name for himself playing in parts of the last four seasons in the KHL. In fact, he became a gamer, a guy the Dinamo Minsk were able to count on to log a lot of minutes in net. But I don’t think he expected Fedotov to sign as well, hence why he was so willing to openly voice his displeasure on how he thinks the organization treated him when he first came over last season before the Phantoms’ playoff run.
We’re not going to dive into all that drama, though. Instead, I’ll just state that I think Kolosov needs to play as many games as possible. He is still developing and, therefore, needs the brunt of the workload that is going to be given to him at the AHL level. However, they might not have much of a choice if Fedotov continues to struggle. If that is indeed the case I wouldn’t be surprised to hear Kolosov’s name being put on the call-up list, for he did play pretty solid in the few preseason games that he managed to show up for.
How will this all play out? Well, we will just have to wait and see. All I know is the Flyers won’t likely want to do anything too drastic, seeing the team just utilized a 2nd and a 3rd round pick on goalies Carson Bjarnason and Yegor Zavragin in 2023, and both are developing fast.
With the Recent Events Happening in Philly Sports, I think it’s time this City Shift it’s Focus to the Flyers.
With the Mets bringing an early end to Red October and the Eagles already suffering multiple injuries to key players, I think it might be time for fans of this great sports city to shift their focus to the Flyers because, for the first time in a long time the Orange and Black are going to be putting out an opening night roster worthy of us getting excited about!
You heard me right. For years, the Flyers had put out the same old lineup, full of over-the-hill veterans who had sadly grown accustomed to mediocrity and, therefore, were ok with missing out on the playoffs if that meant that they could get an early jump on their golf game.
But ever since the organization finally wised up and replaced some of the stagnant problems up front with the likes of the now Head Coach John Tortorella, General Manager Danny Briere, and President of Hockey OPS Keith Jones, things have started to change for the better. And that’s because since being hired, these three men have been working tirelessly to rid this team of the locker room cancers that were dragging them down and replacing them with a youthful core of players who are hungry to compete.
Successfully, I meant add because this season, the Flyers boast the fifth youngest roster in the league. This is mainly due to both their 2023 first-round pick Matvei Michkov (who is 19) and 2024 first-round pick Jett Luchanko (who is 18) making the team.
But trust me, this was not out of luck or for some silly sales gimmick to sell jerseys. These two teenagers earned their spots.
Matvei Michkov
Michkov, who is only nineteen, as I previously stated, had already played in parts of three seasons in the KHL before joining the Flyers this season. Last year, of course, was his best season in Russia’s top professional league, where he posted 19 goals and 22 assists for 41 points in 47 games played. So, of course, there was anticipation for his arrival, but I don’t think anyone could have thought he would have done as well as he did this preseason. I mean, he led the league in points, scoring an impressive 1.75 points per game, netting three goals and four assists for a total of seven points in only four games played!
Now, I know it’s only preseason, but Connor McDavid played in the same number of games this preseason and only managed to tally six points. I’M JUST SAYING.
But, as nice as his point production or play behind the net may be, for me, it’s what Michkov is able to do for others on the ice with him. For instance, if you have read any of my work before, you know I have not been the biggest Morgan Frost fan. And that’s because, to me, Morgan has never been able to live up to the hype this franchise placed on him after selecting him with one of their first-round picks in 2017. Magically, though, once placed on a line with Matvei, Frost suddenly came alive by finishing off the type of goals I haven’t seen him make since he was playing for the Soo Greyhounds back in juniors. This, I believe, should become known as the “Michkov Effect”. This means Matvei is so good that anyone you place him on a line with, he will make them instantly better. Take, for instance, Morgan. In Frost’s case, Michkov did that by setting him up with some amazing passes that he was able to put away and, with that, came a regained sense of confidence. And it’s that skill that few players truly possess that will make this team better as a whole.
Jett Luchanko
Then there’s Jett Luchanko. The player most of the so-called experts (this writer included) were screaming was the wrong pick for the team to make at thirteenth overall, especially with elite goal scorers like Cole Eiserman still on the board. But little did we know that the Flyers brass saw something in this young man. And I’m glad they did because since being drafted, I’ve noticed that there is so much more to Jett’s game than just his unmatched speed and incredible play-making ability like his pied piper-like luring talent. Let me explain. Watching him in games, I couldn’t believe how even some of the league’s most established veteran defensemen seemed so entranced by Jett. To the point that all four players on the opposition’s penalty-killing unit gravitated towards him despite Luchanko harmlessly coming down the boards, which in turn proved to be not so harmless, I guess since it left every other teammate of his wide open for a perfect scoring chance.
Hearing all this, it makes sense why Jett is set to become the youngest Flyer ever on record to play a game for this now 56-year-old franchise. The only question now is whether he can manage to stay. We all know the Flyers are loaded down with a bunch of underachieving centers right now. Therefore, Luchanko will most likely have to force the Flyers’ hand with his play for them to attempt to make room for him via a trade if he wishes to stay past the CHL’s nine-game grace period before his entry-level contract would count on the books. But I guess time will tell.
All I know is that it is refreshing to see homegrown draft picks that possess so much potential. For in just a few short games, these two players made me a believer. For, I have not seen the Flyers offense run so well since the “Legion of Doom” was patrolling this ice surface. Not to mention the spark they were able to bring to the two-time defending league’s worst power-play unit.
And, while I may not “Trust the Process” when it comes to what the Sixers or any other Philly team is doing right now, I wholeheartedly believe in this “New Era of Orange” and can’t wait to see where it takes us.