Section 215
Fansided

Philadelphia Sports: Section 215 top 25 Philadelphia athletes revealed

By Chuck Booth

Jan 11, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard T.J. McConnell (1) celebrates with center Joel Embiid (21) after his game winning shot against the New York Knicks at Wells Fargo Center. The Philadelphia 76ers won 98-97. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 11, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard T.J. McConnell (1) celebrates with center Joel Embiid (21) after his game winning shot against the New York Knicks at Wells Fargo Center. The Philadelphia 76ers won 98-97. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 25, 2017; Columbus, OH, USA; Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov (9) clears the puck against the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first period at Nationwide Arena. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /

Number 17: Ivan Provorov – Defenseman, Philadelphia Flyers

The future of the Philadelphia Flyers defense has arrived in the form of a Russian wonderboy. His name is Ivan Provorov, and he has made his presence known in the National Hockey League. Provorov is the youngest of the future Flyer’s defense core, and it seems likely he will be the best. I ranked Provorov in my top 15 for Philadelphia athletes based on his current skill but also looking at his limitless potential. At just 20 years old Provorov has become one of, if not the best defenseman on the Flyers roster.

While his plus-minus may not look that way, being a minus 9 player. But for the majority of the season, Provorov has been paired with the human traffic cone, Andrew MacDonald, which would impair the growth of almost any other prospect. But Provorov has taken the challenge of being paired with a 30-year-old AHLer in stride, often making up for the mental lapses that AMac often has.

Despite the limit in talent around him, Provorov is making a case to be considered for the Calder Memorial Trophy. The trophy is locked to go to one of Auston Matthews or Patrik Laine, Provorov could still be a finalist. The defenseman ranks 10th for all rookies in assists and is second for all rookies for average time on ice per game. Finishing 17th on the list should be the lowest Provorov is ranked for a while, next season when the Flyers have added some more depth on defense with potential call-ups like Sam Morin, Travis Sanheim, or Robert Hagg, and with the added offseason of training Provorov could be showing more of his elite potential.