Donnellon: Provorov's game belies his age

HE STEPPED gingerly onto the Skate Zone ice just before 11, his first few strides resembling those of a current Hall of Famer, not a teenager who dreams of becoming one.

Ivan Provorov had logged more than 50 minutes of ice time over two games in two nights, grueling minutes of penalty-killing and power play, playing with this guy one night, that guy the next. It was a test, simply, the most recent in a camp filled with them, designed by Flyers brass to gauge how ready their 19-year-old man-child is for a top-rung NHL role, for the rigors and pressures of an 82-game NHL season.

"He played some pretty heavy minutes two nights ago," Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said after the Wednesday morning skate. "So there's a physical and a mental challenge in coming back the next night. Especially since he played in a lot of situations the night before. So you just look for him to be able to go out and do things consistently and efficiently. And I thought for the most part he was able to do that last night."

Hakstol was far from alone in that thought. One by one, from Wayne Simmonds to Andrew MacDonald, Flyers veterans have been impressed by Provorov's heady, detail-oriented play, which belies his age but not his journey.

Any casual Flyers fan already knows the journey by heart. At the urging of his businessman father Vladimir and the mixed-emotional blessing of his cardiologist mother Venera, Provorov moved to the United States at age 13 alone, without any mastery of English, and with one goal: to become an NHL player.

Think about that for a moment. Carson Wentz, seemingly mature beyond his 23 years, arranged for his older brother and sister-in-law to join him this season to help with the transition from life in North Dakota. Provorov is four years younger than Wentz is.

It was high risk, high reward. You don't get do-overs if it doesn't work out, don't get your youth back, don't get that time you could have spent with your mother, your father, a younger sister and a little brother who, when he left, was just 2. My 16-year-old nephew just spent a year on his own in Spain and came back five inches taller with a deepened voice. So imagine Venera Provorov watching her son leave home at 13 for, well . . . for good.

"Yeah, it was tough," her son said after Wednesday's skate. "But she knew that was the best thing for me."

It fueled a determination to make it worthwhile, to strive for great over good enough as the journey took him to places such as Wilkes-Barre and Cedar Rapids and Brandon, immersed him into a North American culture to such a degree that, six years later, he speaks one perfectly constructed sentence in English with just the twinge of a Russian accent, and the next with a slight Canadian one.

"Russia's always going to be home," he said. "But I feel like I have two cultures in me now. I've been over here for a long time. So I'm comfortable there and here."

A few minutes before, in the same room, another Russian, Roman Lyubimova, spoke of his roll of the dice coming here from the KHL.

"I come here with my family. My wife, my daughter. I have a big dream to play here, and I will do all to play here," he said.

He is 24, signed as a defensive specialist. Plans for Provorov are much bigger. Drafted seventh overall in 2015, he is the most prominent prospect among a deep and talented group of young defensemen that are collectively inching closer to playing in Philadelphia.

Flyers general manager Ron Hextall has preached patience almost to a fault with all of them, and just a few months ago it appeared a foregone conclusion that Provorov would begin the season with his junior team in Brandon.

No more. His odyssey to get here, the guts and commitment it took to try, have given him a calm and confidence on the ice that belie his years on Earth. A big NBA fan, he loves LeBron James but likens his game to that of an elite point guard. "Guys like Jason Williams. Or Chris Paul, Kyrie Irving, those guys. Allen Iverson."

I suggested that Iverson was more than a point guard. Or less of one. "He's a great scorer, though," Provorov said. "I love making plays. But when I have to shoot I'll shoot too."

Really, his age and size, his combo platter of speed, smarts, skill and vision - well, what about 20-year-old Ben Simmons?

Or Wentz, for that matter.

It's amazing to think that three young players described in such similar manners have arrived simultaneously to a place not known for its good fortune. But here they are and here we are, eager to get this next era started, eager for our own risk-reward journey to get legs.

I asked Provorov what he knew about Philadelphia already.

"To be honest, I haven't really gotten a chance to take a few days and drive around," he said. "Hopefully, I can make the team and do that soon. Right now all I know is they're passionate."

It's a good start.

@samdonnellon

Columns: ph.ly/Donnellon