Everyone loves Ivan Provorov. It’s impossible not to: he’s a rookie defenseman who is a massive part of the Philadelphia Flyers, averaging 20:56 a game – the most on the team already.
Throw in 15 points in 34 games, and the fact that he’s all of 19 years old, and wow, what a player already, right?
As it would turn out, Provorov isn’t the only rookie defender having a good year. Someone else is Jakob Chychrun, drafted just six months ago, and already a regular NHLer – even if he isn’t playing quite the minutes Provorov is.
Elliotte Friedman’s 30 Thoughts highlighted the two, and specifically, their different approaches to the game. The best part, though, was this Provorov quote (#22):
“I’m trying not to get excited about individual plays. I want to think, ‘I should make good plays because I belong here.’”
If that’s his thought process, then it’s easy to see why his NHL career is already off to such a great start: because he’s exactly right. He does belong here.
That’s a level of maturity that can be difficult to find in a lot of players; with Provorov, it just helps further show how special a player he is.
