Philly Leader

Joel Farabee set new career highs in the 2023-24 season with 22 goals and 50 points. During the pre-All-Star Break portion of the season, Farabee was neck-and-neck with Travis Konecny as the Flyers' most consistent player over the first four months.

Among Farabee's 22 goals, six represented the first goal scored by either team in a given game. He led the Flyers in that department through the All-Star break and was among the NHL league leaders up to that point. Eventually, Farabee was surpassed by Konecny (seven first-goal markers for the season) but still finished second on the club.

Farabee's production in the pre-All-Star portion of the season was consistent. This period included separate point streaks of seven straight games (January 12 to January 23, five goals and ten points), five consecutive games (October 19 to October 28, three goals and five points), and a four-game streak (December 7 to December 14, three goals and four points). He also had runs of five points in five games (December 19 to December 28) followed shortly thereafter by five points in three games (December 31 to January 31).

During that stretch, Farabee saw multi-situation usage and was especially effective at five-on-five.

"I think one of the things that I pride myself on is being able to play many different spots and things like that, but obviously personally, I'd love to be solidified in the top six and play as much as I can," Farabee said.

For the second straight season, Farabee dressed in all 82 regular-season games for the Flyers. It is noteworthy that he dealt with offseason neck surgery before the 2022-23 campaign. In contrast, he looked much more like the player the Flyers expect -- and need him to be -- during the first half of 2023-24.

However, Farabee's production wasn’t as consistent in the final 32 games of the season (five goals, five assists, ten points). He was moved down in line rotation as the season progressed and saw somewhat reduced ice time (16:05 average through 50 games, decreasing to an average of 15:36 from March until season’s end).

As with most Flyers players, Farabee found goals hard to come by down the stretch. He generated a dramatic two-goal game in Boston on March 16 during a narrow loss.

"It's a long season and things change; guys are playing well at certain times. It's not something that I need to lock into one spot or anything like that. Whatever role I'm given that night, I really just try to do it to the best of my ability," Farabee said on Exit Day.

Because Farabee debuted in professional hockey at age nineteen following just one collegiate season at Boston University, it is easy to forget sometimes that he's still relatively young. He turned twenty-four on February 25.

Reflecting on his performance over different parts of this past season raises questions about what changed for him later on. One significant factor was his positioning; over his first fifty games he consistently got himself into low-slot/netfront areas but did so less frequently over subsequent months.

On Exit Day, Farabee expressed disappointment with his late-season performance.

"Personally, I would have liked to help a lot more and produce more but the past is past. It sucks. I take a lot of responsibility for a lot of that stuff. I definitely need to be a lot better," he said.

Overall though, Farabee's campaign marked progress from his post-surgery previous season. The Flyers will look for him regain his early-season form going into next year’s competition.