This past season wasn’t anything out of the ordinary for 25-year-old Nicolas Aube-Kubel. He played 50 games, and recorded 12 points (3G, 9A). His season obviously wasn’t a great one, but it isn’t very surprising if you look back at his earlier career records. A few things I feel as if I should acknowledge are his line mates, his presence on the ice and what he needs to fix in his game. Although Aube-Kubel’s season didn’t hold anything major, he is still an interesting player to recognize.
I feel as if a disadvantage to NAK this season could have been his lines. He commonly bounced around different line mates, which in no way can help anyone’s playing and skills. For a player like him- who’s only played 95 games since his 2018 start- it can be important to have at least one specific teammate that you’re familiar with. Even though his only NHL experience has been with the Philadelphia Flyers, every player plays the game a certain way. He’s still noticeably young, and most likely isn’t used to every player he gets paired with, or at least enough to play well each night. Another issue to recognize with his teammates, is he often played with Nolan Patrick. Now, I’m not trying to throw Patrick under the bus. In fact, I have a lot of hope for his future career in the NHL. But just by looking at his records, you can tell his season was far from the standard of a 2nd overall draft pick. So, in no way could this have been helpful if one was trying to encourage improvement from NAK. He could/should have been paired with other and more-advanced players (on the occasion), who could lead by example. The game of hockey is very much a team sport, but this didn’t always work out very well for Aube-Kubel.
Although this might sound weird, I believe an issue for NAK’s game was his presence on the ice. When thinking about what I should say about him, nothing really came to mind. This is because he doesn’t have a strong presence. There isn’t much you can point out in the player’s individual flaws, besides the lack of points. I don’t believe he stands out to anyone as a bad player or trade bait. However, he certainly doesn’t stand out as a player with hope. At the age of 25, you should start to see a player’s general rhythm of their game. Even in his AHL and junior career, he’s never been a standout player. Although his ice presence isn’t terrible, it’s certainly not great either. Even rookie Wade Allison scored 4 goals in the 14 games he played, and Aube-Kubel scored 3 in 50. I feel as if even recording a few more assists would be good for the Nicolas Aube-Kubel’s ice time. Overall, there is room for him to improve during his playing time.
As to what NAK needs to improve in his game, it’s simple- points. He collected 12 points this season, ranking 13th amongst the Philadelphia Flyers. For his position and the number of games he played, this number should 100% be higher. Even Oskar Lindblom- who was going through cancer treatment this time last year- recorded more points than him. He even spent some time on a line with James van Riemsdyk, who was 3rd for goals scored on the Flyers this season; couldn’t he have picked up a few more assists? With just a few more goals or assists, his game could seriously improve. After all, it’s not like he has lots of major giveaways or turnovers. It’s unclear to me why he didn’t put up anymore points in 50 games, but I certainly know that’s it wouldn’t be difficult for him to improve next season.
All in all, I’m not particularly worried about Nicolas Aube-Kubel. There are still lots of ways he could benefit and help the team. Maybe he’ll take a trip to Leigh Valley and spend some time with the Phantoms, allowing some more young talent to truly spark in Philadelphia. Maybe the management staff will include him in a trade for an average defenseman. Maybe he’ll come next season and collect 76 points in 82 games (and yes, I know that’s unlikely). I’m overall not upset or disappointed with Aube-Kubel’s season. He didn’t mess up our top lines and he didn’t have ambitious standards that he did not meet. At this point, everyone inside of the Philadelphia Flyers organization has room to improve, and Nicolas Aube-Kubel is no exception.
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