Philadelphia Flyers: Joel Farabee Has Philadelphia in His Blood
2018 first-round pick Joel Farabee had ties to Philly even before being drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers
When Philadelphia Flyers general manager Ron Hextall announced that the team had selected left winger Joel Farabee with the team’s first-round pick, he was following the script that he had written in his head.
Farabee’s father grew up in Warminster, Bucks County in Pennsylvania. While Joel grew up in Cicero, New York, his dad’s influence proves you can take the boy out of Philly, but you can’t take the Philly out of the boy. Farabee grew up watching the Flyers, not the Islanders, Rangers or Sabres. He is also a big fan of the Philadelphia Phillies.
"“Actually, I’m not going to lie, when I came to the draft, I wanted to go 14 to Philly. I think that’s pretty cool that happened.” – Farabee"
While others compare the first-round pick to Bruins forward Brad Marchand, he sees itself more as a younger Jake Guentzel. Farabee won’t get the chance to join in on the Flyers-Penguins rivalry right away. He is headed to Boston University for the near future.
Joel Farabee: Future Plans
The Flyers are hoping that he puts on a little weight at college. At just 6’0″ and 168 pounds, he is on the small side for the NHL. Hextall was not concerned by his size, noting that he had plenty of speed and skill to offset his size.
The scouting report before the draft was that Farabee was a dangerous two-way forward that used his legs and his hockey smarts to make something happen almost every time he is on the ice, Farabee had 31 goals in 58 games for the USA Hockey National Team Development Program.
There is one big problem that Farabee will face when he joins the Flyers-his jersey number. He currently wears number 28. While the Flyers will most certainly welcome Farabee, it is doubtful that Flyers captain Claude Giroux will give up his jersey number for the extremely talented youngster.
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The young forward should fit right in with the Flyers. After all, Farabee has Philadelphia in his blood.