It was a tough year for Joel Farabee, Yung Beez, The Beezer, Delco Joel. Months before the season started, Farabee underwent disc replacement surgery in his neck, making him only the third NHL player to undergo that specific procedure. He lost the entire off season recovering, and was unable to adequately train and prepare for the regular season in what should’ve been a huge year for his development. That lack of preparation showed, and his play left a lot to be desired.
Still, it wasn’t all bad news: he played a full 82 games for the first time and set a new career high in points. From mid-March to the end of the season he scored 12 points, including six goals, over a 15 game span. If that late-season version of Joel Farabee is the one we get for all of 2023-24–after a full summer of training and no further injury–then things look bright.
One thing to draw attention to is Farabee’s penalty minutes. He’s shown he’s not afraid to drop the gloves and fight, though ideally he’s using those hands to score goals and not as meatgrinders. It’s possible that physicality stems from scoring frustration and we’ll see less of it next season, but boy would he quickly become a fan favorite if he can fight and score goals. Would prefer the goals though, personally–let Nic Deslauriers handle the rough stuff.
The Flyers were not good offensively this year, but they were a little improved with Farabee on the ice. You can see that he helped the team generate more chances around the net and from the circles, rather than just from the outside. That’s something to watch next year: his ability to get into those dirty areas and force scoring opportunities, which is a play style the Flyers need more of.
Yikes. Farabee could almost be forgiven for the lack of offense as he re-acclimated to NHL speed without a proper off season, but his defense was not good on a team already not good at defense. He wasn’t able to keep opponents to the outside, and as a result allowed a lot of scoring opportunities in close. Definitely an area of his game you hope to see polished next season.
Three Questions
Did they live up to expectations?
Short answer: no, which is disappointing. But how high were expectations coming off neck surgery, really? If you measure Farabee’s season by pre-injury expectations then yes, 2022-23 was a failure–but if you factor in the recovery and re-acclimation to the NHL without a proper off season, then this year wasn’t a total disaster. It was also the first time in Farabee’s career that he played a full 82 game season, and that level of physical conditioning isn’t easy to maintain without adequate pre-season preparation.
Around the trade deadline, Coach Tortorella made some perhaps unfair remarks about Farabee’s play, and rumors cropped up about malcontent and a desire to be traded. Torts and Farabee apparently had some talks to get on the same page, and from March through the end of the season, things seemed like they began to click for Farabee and he finished strong. That’s good news, because…
What can we expect from them next season?
If expectations were high before he got injured, they are now through the roof. A full off season of preparation and a year of working with his no-longer-new head coach means 2023-24 is Farabee’s chance to prove he can be a true top-six player on a contending hockey team. He’s signed through 2028 at a reasonable $5 million AAV and is 23 years old–in theory, he could still be here when the Flyers return to perennial playoff status.
If the rebuild is going to take longer than anticipated, though? A bounce back season would boost Farabee’s trade value, and he could easily bring back several prime assets. A mid-20s player signed to a team-friendly contract for several years with top-six upside? Yeah, teams would come calling for that–though I fully expect Farabee to remain in Philadelphia.
How do we grade their 2022-23 season?
I’m kind of grading this one on a curve. Farabee’s two years removed from 20 goals in 55 games during his second year in the NHL, and that player’s likely still in there–he’s just been injured at the worst possible stages of his development. If he’s healthy and plays a full 82 games next year, I think he cracks 30 goals. But, as this is the 2022-23 season we’re talking about, that is what I have to grade on, and ultimately Farabee’s play left room for improvement–improvement he is fully capable of.
C+
