A bright side to delayed arrival of Rubtsov

German Rubtsov, the shifty center who was the Flyers' top draft pick last month, is not at the team's development camp in Voorhees and hasn't been able to get an early start on what should be a long NHL career.

Contractual obligations have him stuck in Russia. Those obligations could have him playing in Russia's KHL for two years before he is competing in North America, whether it's with the Flyers or the AHL's Phantoms.

But that may not be such a bad thing.

For one, assuming Rubtsov can't get out of his contract (he's trying), he will be playing against men, and that will expedite his development.

For another, he is playing on a low-level Russian team, which means he will be getting lots of ice time.

In a perfect world, the Flyers would like to have the 6-foot-1, 185-pound Rubtsov at development camp, getting acclimated to his surroundings and the smaller rinks, getting to know some of his future teammates, and learning about training techniques, nutrition, and the organization's philosophy.

"From a selfish standpoint, you'd like to have your guys where you can have eyes on them and our development guys can work with them," Flyers scouting director Chris Pryor said. "But the KHL is a good level of hockey. It's a good situation for him. We're comfortable with where he's at. He's going to play and get some quality ice time."

Playing more years in the KHL after being drafted does not stunt a player's growth, history tells us.

It worked for Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, and Evgeny Kuznetsov. Ditto Nicolay Kulemin, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Pavel Datsyuk, among many others.

Rubtsov, who will be taking English lessons while in Russia, has an advantage over most 18-year-olds. Most players at that age are one-dimensional. Rubtsov, according to scouting reports, has an off-the-charts hockey IQ and is just as effective on the defensive end. That should speed his development.

"He's really defensively conscious on the ice. He's responsible, and he plays a good two-way game," said Pryor, who estimates he watched Rubtsov in person about eight times last year. "He has an extremely good work ethic. He's a good character kid, and he's got some offense in his game. He's really well-rounded, which is what made him attractive."

Flyers scout Ken Hoodikoff and player-development coach John Riley will attend some of Rubtsov's games in Russia, "and we're hopeful he'll be on a lot of under-20 teams and playing in a lot of tournaments that our people will be attending," Pryor said. "Hopefully he'll have an opportunity to make the World Junior team. There's a tournament in the end of August, there's one in early November, you've got the World Juniors over the holidays, and then you have another under-20 tournament in February, so there's quite a few tournaments.

"We'll have eyes on him," Pryor added. "We'll see him as much as we see our kids here [in North America]."

Pryor was asked whether he'd be surprised if the pass-first Rubtsov would be ready to play in the NHL when his KHL contract expires in two years.

"He's still a young guy and, as with all our kids, we're not going to rush anybody," Pryor said. "If he plays with the men's team and gets quality ice time and continues to develop, we'll see where he's at in two years. We'll just keep monitoring his progress and see where he's at."

And hope they have uncovered a young Datsyuk - and gladly settle for another Kuznetsov.

scarchidi@phillynews.com

@BroadStBull www.philly.com/flyersblog