Philadelphia Flyers F Roman Lyubimov the Stalking Horse of Camp
Russian free agent forward Roman Lyubimov has put in some impressive performances in Philadelphia Flyers camp, albeit mostly under the radar
It wasn’t at all clear why the Philadelphia Flyers tracked down and signed 24-year old Russian forward Roman Lyubimov this offseason. After all, the Flyers were already overflowing with competition for their bottom-6 forwards.
While 24 is still on the younger side, he’s doesn’t have the traits that grab your attention. He was never drafted by any NHL team, and has never appeared on the radar of North American fans. Furthermore, he’s a low scoring player, never topping 14 points in a KHL season.
That, and he doesn’t really speak English. While so much ink has been spilled over Ivan Provorov and Travis Konecny, maybe that explains why not many are talking about Lyubimov.
For his part, Lyubimov is all-in on his NHL gambit. He has no intention of this being a one-and-done experiment, a la Evgeny Medvedev. That dedication is showing on the ice. His tenacity on the ice has already caught the eye of Flyers brass. That battling and skating also led to an assist on the Flyers first goal last night.
Additionally, he has shown serious speed and quickness. He touts his defensive prowess and has compared his game to Sean Couturier, but he’s much quicker afoot than Coots.
Finally, Lyubimov is already getting time on the penalty kill in preseason games. For a defensive-minded bottom-6 forward, having the coach’s trust to kill penalties is essential.
Initially I presumed Lyubimov to be bound for the Phantoms this season. Instead, I think he has made a very good case to be with the Philadelphia Flyers when the season starts. Last night he and his linemates of other NHL hopefuls, Taylor Leier and Jordan Weal, had a dominant game. They scored the goal shown above, and dominated the shot count.
A lot of young Flyers have shown pretty well this preseason. The Flyers likely still have 5 forward cuts to make, and Weal, Leier, Lyubimov, Scott Laughton, Colin McDonald, and Chris VandeVelde are all on the edge. Presuming only one of that gang makes the Flyers opening day roster, I think I might like the quiet, fast, determined Russian to have that honor.
More from Broad Street Buzz
This article originally appeared on 
