Flyers Sign Ivan Provorov

The Philadelphia Flyers have signed defenseman Ivan Provorov to a three year entry level contract. The contract has a $925,000 cap hit per season.

Provorov was taken seventh overall by the Flyers in  the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. The defenseman is 18 years old and played last season in the Western Hockey League. He helped the Brandon Wheat Kings to reach the WHL finals, where they lost to the Kelowna Rockets. In 60 regular season games last year, Provorov had 15 goals, 46 assists, 61 points and 42 penalty minutes. The 61 points led all rookie WHL defensemen and ranked him fourth in scoring among all WHL defensemen.

In 2013-14, he played for the Cedar Rapids Roughriders of the USHL. During that season with the Roughriders, Provorov had six goals, 13 assists and 19 points in 56 games played. Provorov represented Russia in the U18 World Junior Championships. He also played for the U20 World Junior Championships, where he won a silver medal.

Provorov was ranked seventh among North American skaters heading into the draft according to the Central Scouting Final Rankings. He was ranked second among North American defensemen in the NHL Central Scouting Final Rankings. The defenseman has good hockey sense and sees the ice well. He can score some goals, but will also setup his teammates to score. Provorov plays a physical game and is good on his skates.

He is composed with the puck and is accurate with his shot, creating chances either on the power play or the penalty kill. He plays an all around game and doesn’t just focus on his offense. The 18-year-old is a complete defenseman, who can score goals and executes plays. Provorov also knows how to use his teammates to create something or get out of trouble, according to eliteprospects.com.

Provorov will get a long look at both the Flyers development camp and throughout training camp. He’ll be competing with defensemen that are older and have more experience than him. The Flyers blue line is a little crowded with eight guys that have NHL contracts. If Provorov doesn’t make the Flyers this season, then he will have to spend the entire season with the Wheat Kings since he isn’t eligible to play in the American Hockey League. If he spends the season with the Wheat Kings then his contract would slide to the next year.

The fans can see the new defensive prospect at the Flyers Development Camp, which will be held in Voorhees, NJ from July 7-July 12. He’ll be joined by some of the Flyers top defensive prospects such as Travis Sanheim, Samuel Morin, Shayne Gostisbehere and Robert Haag.