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Flyers' Aube-Kubel looking to work on defense

Speedy right winger Nicolas Aube-Kubel, selected by the Flyers in the second round of the 2014 draft, said he benefited from an AHL stint with Lehigh Valley late last season.

Speedy right winger Nicolas Aube-Kubel, selected by the Flyers in the second round of the 2014 draft, said he benefited from an AHL stint with Lehigh Valley late last season.

"The six games I played with the Phantoms helped a lot," Aube-Kubel said after the first day of the Flyers' development camp Friday at the Skate Zone in Voorhees. "I think I know what to expect for next year, and it also helps me to know what to do this summer."

Playing for Val d'Or in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Aube-Kubel had 38 goals and 84 points in 61 games last season. He then had two goals and an assist while playing three games for the Phantoms.

Aube-Kubel, 20, who figures to be a Phantoms regular in 2016-17, knows the Flyers need scoring. He said he doesn't want to set a time line for when he hopes to reach the big-league team until he plays a full season in the AHL.

The Quebec native said that scoring goals "comes natural" to him and that he needs to continue improving on defense to play in the NHL.

Teaching camp

General manager Ron Hextall said he wants camp participants to "walk away better players in a week but probably more realistically walk away with some fundamentals to work on for the rest of the summer. . . . Whether it's your stride or the way you carry the puck, so when the season comes it's second nature."

Hextall said that it's difficult for players to "focus on a weakness when you're in your season because you're trying to win games," and that development camp gives the coaches time to address the prospects' shortcomings and give them drills to work on.

Quotable

Right winger Pascal Laberge, a second-round selection last month, on his first camp: "It's pretty fun to play with some older guys and compare yourself to these guys. My goal is to just make a good impression."

Breakaways

Defenseman Sam Morin was ill and missed the first day of camp. . . . To get to know each other, the prospects played chip-and-putt in Voorhees on Wednesday. . . . Jake Voracek, coming off a disappointing season, has lost 11 pounds and is down to 208. . . . Camp resumes Friday with goalies on the ice at 8:30 a.m.