If one game can be taken for anything concrete, the Philadelphia Flyers may have found themselves a useful new piece on defense with prospect Ty Murchison.
Murchison, 22, played 14:56 in a successful NHL debut that ended in a 4-1 win over the San Jose Sharks, and he earned every minute, including the one he played on the penalty kill.
This decision from the Flyers was less a pat on the back for hard work and strong performances in the AHL with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, and more of a belief that one of their young players who was playing well earned an NHL opportunity and a chance to stick.
Egor Zamula sat in the press box as Murchison, freshly called up from the AHL, took his place in the lineup.
Emil Andrae, Adam Ginning, and now Murchison have all gotten in over Zamula at different points this season, and the latter's extremely poor skating and lack of mobility may have been the difference-maker in favor of Murchison.
'My Heart Was Beating About a Hundred Beats Per Minute': Ty Murchison on His Flyers Call UpOn Sunday, Ty Murchison sat in Lehigh Valley’s facility thinking it would be a normal morning—practice, meetings, the routine that has been both comfort and crucible for a 22-year-old defenseman trying to force his way into the conversation.
"He can skate really well. That's what I like about him, and he's competitive," Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet remarked after the win. "I thought he did a great job for us tonight. I think he backed in a couple of times, but that's normal and we'll work with him on that."
"He's a good skater, and he's got some stiffness to him. That's what I like. When you have defense that can skate and have stiffness to 'em - I think he went into the corner one time, not scared, and took a hit from [Ryan Reaves], kind of went at it with him. That's a good luxury to have."
As Tocchet mentioned, Murchison was a little tentative at times, but it was normal for him to do that in his first NHL game.
One such instance was when Macklin Celebrini was driving down the wing on the rush with Murchison in defense, and the former Arizona State rearguard backed off and showed respect to the Sharks star instead of facing up.
That allowed Celebrini and the Sharks the space to create a dangerous scoring chance, but Flyers goalie Dan Vladar was well equipped to handle the task without much fanfare.
Flyers Acquire New Prospect Defender From LightningThe Flyers have made a small trade with the Lightning. As for a better play, Murchison lost ground defending against Sharks winger William Eklund in the first period, and, while inches away from being whistled for a hooking penalty, Murchison stopped reaching with his stick and instead used his body to finish the Swedish winger into the wall, recording one of his defense-leading three hits.
No penalty was called, of course, and the Flyers managed to kill that play then and there.
Diving into some advanced analytics, Murchison's NHL debut was ultimately an even performance. The 22-year-old was outshot 10-7 at 5-on-5 and out-chanced 4-3, according to Natural Stat Trick, but that's hardly a bad showing from a first-timer.
"Just the speed. The speed is definitely a step up," Murchison said, reflecting on his NHL debut. "Coach Reirden has been amazing with helping me out with video and subtle stuff on the bench, and I'm asking a ton of questions and he's always got great answers."
Now that he's got a game - and a solid one - under his belt, Murchison is poised to continue playing for the Flyers at the NHL level, at least until Rasmus Ristolainen returns from injury.
That said, it's become clear the Flyers' former fifth-round pick has leapfrogged Ginning and Zamula if and when the Flyers need another left-shot defender.
