Amid a trying start to the season, the Philadelphia Flyers have learned lots about their current team, and lots about their prospects as well. Most importantly, while dealing with a rash of injuries, the Flyers discovered that many of their top prospects are ready to do battle at the NHL level.
The emergence of 2023 first-round pick Oliver Bonk, for example, is deservedly oft-talked about. After all, the 21-year-old defenseman came into the season with only one game of NHL experience, and didn’t make the roster out of training camp initially.
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Now, he seems to be firmly entrenched as a top-four defenseman on this young Flyers team, which he’s only made younger by entering the fray.
Of course, for every player filling a big role, another player has to fill the smaller roles, and that is exactly what 2023 draft classmate Cole Knuble has done in the bottom-six for the Flyers.
Playing in what is just his first full season of professional hockey after three years in the NCAA with Notre Dame, Knuble survived just six AHL games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms before being called up by the Flyers.
Six NHL games later, and it’s looking like Knuble might never be back in the AHL.
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In his second NHL game against the Buffalo Sabres, the 22-year-old scored twice, opening the scoring and providing the dagger in the 3-1 win. Then, Knuble helped snap the three-game losing streak that followed, scoring an empty-netter to seal the deal in Sunday’s 6-3 win over the Utah Mammoth.
Rather quickly, Knuble’s hockey IQ, nose for net, speed, and forechecking have made him an indispensable piece in the Flyers’ bottom-six, a role he could occupy for the foreseeable future.
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“It’s definitely something I take pride in,” Knuble said after Monday’s Flyers practice. “You kind of evaluate your game based on certain things, like bringing energy and forechecking, maybe a couple hits. So, I think I’m getting better at it.”
After taking the time to soak in his son’s NHL debut earlier in October, former Flyers standout Mike Knuble has been giving Cole some pointers here and there as the youngster’s time with the big club continues.
“We talked about last night [vs. Utah], like learning, getting better at forechecking, and that kind of becomes your go-to, like that’s your goal,” Cole said of dad Mike. “Maybe in the past we judge games based on how much I had pop. Still want to make plays, but taking pride in the forecheck, I would say.”
Knuble has played up and down the lineup during his brief stint with the Flyers, including on the first line with Trevor Zegras and Christian Dvorak, and the fourth line with Sean Couturier and Noel Acciari.
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“That was fun last game, playing with those two,” Knuble said. “Obviously, two veterans, so it’s pretty easy to play with them. They’re predictable.”
Like Denver Barkey before him, Knuble’s combination of skill, versatility, motor, and intelligence trump his average 5-foot-10 size, and he’s fast become an important player for the Flyers, maybe sooner than most had expected.
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