Impressive showing for Flyers' prospect

BRAYDON COBURN first got a glimpse of current teammate Shayne Gostisbehere in 2012, before the Flyers even drafted "Ghost," when he was the defensive partner of Coburn's younger brother, Greg, at Union College.

Coburn, the longest-tenured Flyer, would take a ride to see Union whenever time permitted in his busy NHL schedule, especially if the Flying Dutchmen dipped through Princeton.

Last night, Coburn had a front-row ticket to watch the future of the Flyers' blue line - alternating shifts between the pairing of Gostisbehere and Samuel Morin.

Coburn already can notice a marked difference in Gostisbehere. He sees a player mature enough to recognize that the flashy, end-to-end rushes that made Gostisbehere the most outstanding player during the NCAA's Frozen Four won't work in the NHL.

At this level, the players are just too big, too fast, too experienced to dance around every time.

"He was kind of all over the place in college. And it worked," Coburn said. "In college, he played a little different game than he will here. But I've been impressed with his positional play up here and how he's picked up our system that quickly."

Gostisbehere, 21, adjusted to the steep learning curve from his first preseason game on Monday night and bounced back with an impressive power-play goal last night in the Flyers' 4-0 exhibition shutout of the Devils at the Wells Fargo Center.

Gostisbehere's strike helped the Flyers begin the preseason on a ridiculous 7-for-12 clip at home on the power play.

In that sequence, first-round pick Scott Laughton worked the puck to Jason Akeson, who moved it cross-ice to Gostisbehere for a high-rising slap shot. That series of quick passes - and result - was the first tangible realization of dreams team brass has had since that 2012 draft day.

"My only thought was to make sure that it wouldn't be blocked," Gostisbehere said, not even knowing it was Devils starter Cory Schneider who he blew it by until he got back to the bench.

The Flyers have known about Gostisbehere's silky-smooth offensive and transition game for years, but they're learning more and more about his play without the puck. His grade so far has probably been better than expected - even though he admitted Monday night's win over Washington, in which he was a minus-1, was an "eye-opener."

His defensive play has primarily been the focus in working with Phantoms head coach Terry Murray. At 5-11, Gostisbehere isn't going to outmuscle anyone in pro hockey. He can, however, outwit players with sound positioning and an active stick.

"I feel like [my defensive game] has been good," Gostisbehere said. "I've been picking up sticks and I've just got to focus on outsmarting people. Of course, they're going to be bigger than me, but stepping in front of them, they're not going to get the puck."

The 5-11, 160-pound Gostisbehere also can rely on help from his partner to get the puck moving up ice. That's what he did last night with 6-7, first-round pick Morin.

"They say there's a language barrier between me and him, but I think we talk hockey pretty well," Gostisbehere said. "He's the big bruiser in the corner. I'll just be there to pick up the puck when it squirts out of the corner."

The catch for Gostisbehere - and the Flyers - is that no matter how strong he looks, how much he pushes the envelope in preseason, there isn't much room to be had on the NHL roster. The Flyers already have seven healthy, bonafide NHL defensemen and a few others, like Oliver Lauridsen and Brandon Manning, who have NHL experience.

Plus, it works against general manager Ron Hextall's organizational philosophy that all prospects can be better served by beginning their career in the AHL.

That's fine with Gostisbehere. For now, he's happy to be making conversation.

"Whatever they have planned for me, I'm all ears," Gostisbehere said. "We definitely knew being the younger guys, he said we're pretty much going to have to make a huge impression here. He's the boss and he's got a plan for us. He tells us to jump and we just say, 'How high?' "

For the second game in a row, the loudest boos at Wells Fargo Center were reserved for the guys in neon orange apparel who replaced the "ice girls" . . . After a quiet start to the preseason, first-round pick Scott Laughton rebounded with a three-point night, including a goal and two assists. He also had four shots on goal . . . Goaltenders Steve Mason (8 saves) and Rob Zepp (16 saves) split the game evenly . . . A preseason rarity: an exhibition without a single fight.