Philadelphia Flyers' Matt Read a Breakout Star?

It’s clear that the Philadelphia Flyers aren’t doing well. This isn’t news to anyone, but Flyers fans are good about doing one thing, and that’s having hope in their team. The one good thing to look forward to is Ilya Bryzgalov continuing to play strong. He has so far proven himself worthy of his contract, for the most part, but he needs the defense to back him up. So what about the offense?

Claude Giroux has started out slow, and Danny Briere’s injury has affected his ability to take a face-off, but second year Flyer right winger Matt Read is starting to break out as a fan favorite. Read’s talents and potential were not as praised last season as other rookies, which is odd considering that he led the Flyers rookies last season with 47 points (24 goals and 23 assists).

Read scored only one more time than he assisted his teammates.  He’s definitely a team player that wants to ensure not only his own success but the whole team’s success. He also only sat out a handful of games last season and so far has been in every game with the Flyers in the current season. Read’s not a young player so he’s been good about not taking dumb penalties.  He only logged 12 minutes last season and has only had one minor penalty so far. While his teammates like Tye McGinn and Luke Schenn get caught in fights and get five minute penalties, the Flyers really need to look to a disciplined player like Read.

Read is also a very underrated player, even though his experience in collegiate hockey and his talents on the ice have proven otherwise. Hopefully that will change once the season picks up a bit more. He did gain a lot of recognition during the Flyers and Florida Panthers game last weekend by scoring his first career hat trick. That was the only game he has scored any goals in so far, but if his last season stats are any indication of what he’s capable of, it could be a breakout season for him.

So is Read going to be a breakout star this season? I would say yes. Sean Couturier is in a sophomore slump, and Brayden Schenn doesn’t know how to keep his head up or how not take penalties, so Read will be a key asset to the team this year. Plus he’s getting some decent ice time so we are bound to see him scoring some more goals this season.

Deanna Vasso is a Flyers contributor for www.rantsports.com. You can follow her on Twitter @Dmvasso.