Things are looking up for the Philadelphia Flyers. The team may have missed out on the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season, but they have a wealth of young talent in-house, especially at the blue line.

With youngsters like Samuel Morin, Shayne Gostisbehere, Robert Hagg and Travis Sanheim, there is no reason to believe that the far below-average defense of the Flyers won’t improve over the next couple years. Add Ivan Provorov to the mix, the Flyers’ seventh overall pick in this year’s draft, and you can even argue that the Flyers’ defense will become one of the elite groups in the NHL.

There are even some who believe that Provorov could crack the Flyers’ lineup as soon as this season. Including himself.

Provorov recently said at the Flyers’ development camp, “I think I’m a complete player and I think I’ll be able to adjust to the speed and physical play.”

While his confidence and eagerness is exciting, it can only do him aid for the Flyers to keep him in the minors for at least another year to further his development. Flyers’ GM Ron Hextall is a firm believer that player development takes time and is more than willing to keep the young guns in the minors until he has undisputed evidence that his guys are ready for action with the big club.

Look at guys like Brayden Schenn and Sean Couturier. While they have been serviceable players for the Flyers in recent years, you have to wonder how different things would be had they spent more time in the minors to polish their game. They were rushed up and turned out to be decent players, but they could’ve been really good players using Hexy’s logic.

Forward Scott Laughton knows a thing or two about the importance of development. Drafted in 2012, people have been clamoring for the Flyers to bring him in as a regular on the lineup.

After two years of seasoning his game with the Oshawa Generals, he was finally given a chance with the Flyers in 2014. While he didn’t play necessarily poorly during his time with the Flyers, he certainly didn’t play great, so back to the minors he went for more seasoning.

That’s what the Flyers don’t want happening with Provorov. While Provorov is more NHL-ready than just about any of the Flyers’ current prospects, it’s only beneficial to keep him in the minors at least until he makes it 100% obvious that he’s ready to be brought up. So far he’s shown signs, but that doesn’t mean the Flyers shouldn’t play it safe. It can only help him in the long run.