Ivan Provorov

Provorov was his usual workhorse self a season ago for the Flyers, averaging north of 24 minutes per game (24:53) for a fifth straight year. While the playing time was great, Provorov's minus-20 rating was not. Some of that was undoubtedly the result of how poorly Philadelphia played as a team, but Provorov has not taken the step forward the last couple years that many expected. The arrival of Tony DeAngelo figures to limit Provorov's opportunities with the man advantage, which will likely impact his point total. A defenseman who posts 30-plus points and adds over 200 combined hits and blocks is a worthy late-round fantasy pick, but expecting mid-round production from Provorov is pushing it given the circumstances.

The fact Provorov posted a plus-four rating for a dysfunctional Flyers team last season is a very good sign. He added 26 points in 56 games while averaging exactly 25 minutes of ice time per contest while chipping in 10 power-play points. The young Russian may not have had the breakout campaign many were predicting, but Provorov's 2020-21 wasn't nearly as bad as some made it out to be. The Flyers completely remade their blue line this summer, adding Ryan Ellis, Rasmus Ristolainen and Keith Yandle. Those additions, Yandle in particular, could limit Provorov's power-play time this coming year and his fantasy production would suffer as a result. Consider Provorov a mid-tier fantasy option at this point with upside for more.

Provorov has become a workhorse for the Flyers. The 23-year-old blueliner averaged around 25 minutes of ice time for the second straight season in 2019-20, and finished 17th in Norris Trophy voting. He did everything for the Flyers last year -- scoring goals, quarterbacking the power play, blocking shots, delivering hits -- and vaulted himself into near-elite status as a multi-category fantasy unicorn on defense. There will be even more even-strength minutes available for Provorov in 2020-21 following the unexpected retirement of Matt Niskanen, and that will offset any special-teams ice time he might lose to Shayne Gostisbehere, Erik Gustafsson or Travis Sanheim. Provorov finished 26th in points, 25th in shots and 8th in ice time among defensemen last year -- numbers he could easily improve on during the upcoming campaign. He'll be a rock-solid secondary fantasy option among defenseman this year.

Provorov followed up his breakout sophomore campaign with a disappointing third NHL season in 2018-19. In 82 games, the left-handed Russian recorded seven goals and 26 points while posting a minus-16 rating -- he had 17 goals and 41 points with a plus-17 rating in the same number of games in 2017-18. Owners should have expected some regression in scoring after he submitted an 8.4 shooting percentage in 2017-18, but Provorov also had 58 fewer shots on goal last year. The good news is he did start getting more shots on net following the All-Star break, but it didn't result in more scoring. Still only 22, Provorov is a candidate for a bounceback season in 2019-20, but owners shouldn't expect him to reach his 2017-18 totals. Somewhere around 10 goals and 30-to-35 points is a more realistic projection for the 2015 first-round pick.

The Russian defenseman took another big step forward in his development during his sophomore campaign. Playing in all 82 games for a second straight season, Provorov scored 17 goals and 41 points while posting a plus-17 rating (an improvement of 24). His shooting percentage jumped nearly five percent, but his shots, shot attempts and minutes also increased, indicating his improvement wasn't all pure luck. While Shayne Gostisbehere is viewed by many as the Flyers No. 1 defenseman, and for good reason, Provorov actually played nearly three more minutes per game than “Ghost” and was utilized more often at even strength. Gostisbehere gobbling up all the minutes on the power play somewhat limits Provorov's fantasy ceiling, but the 21-year-old is still and up-and-coming commodity that any owner should target in the middle rounds.

Provorov was expected to impress once he reached the NHL, and he didn't disappoint, instantly stepping into a major role that saw him average almost 22 minutes of ice time and play in all 82 games -- a gig that resulted in 30 points, most of which came at even strength. His power-play production probably won't see a spike with the Flyers’ second unit again looking like it may tend toward mediocrity, but the 2015 draft’s No. 7 overall pick is already a well-rounded NHL defenseman. He dishes out hits, he blocks shots, he takes shots, and he makes smart passes -- what more can you ask for in a 20-year-old? it'll be huge for his team if the Russian blueliner can take a step forward in 2017-18, as the Flyers need their youngsters to come into their own if they want to reverse last season’s struggles, and the smart money’s on Provorov to come through.

Already a highly regarded prospect after a point-per-game debut in the WHL two years ago, which caused the Flyers to use the seventh overall pick in the 2015 draft on him, Provorov came into last season with great expectations – and exceeded them. He bettered the previous season’s marks with 21 goals and 73 points, finishing tied for third on the Brandon Wheat Kings in the latter category, and his plus-64 rating led the entire circuit (although, to be fair, the top five players on the list were all Wheat Kings). He enters the new season looking for a job in the NHL as the Flyers continue bringing along their new generation of high-upside blueliners – Shayne Gostisbehere, Provorov and Samuel Morin. Obviously, the talent is all there, but it’s asking a lot for the 19-year-old Provorov to deliver anything resembling the sort of instant offensive impact we saw from Gostisbehere last year.