Ivan Provorov was drafted in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft with the 7th overall pick. He was the second defenceman off the board, behind Noah Hanafin, in a draft class that featured proven NHL defencement Zach Werenski, Thomas Chabot, and Travis Dermott among others.
With that kind of draft capital, there are certain expectations.
Provorov has proven to be very capable as a blueliner, mixing grit with a bit of offensive upside to have become a trusted member of the Philadelphia Flyers’ D-corps. While he’s had some inconsistencies throughout his young career, one thing has remained incredible steady. Ivan Provorov plays games.
Since entering the league at the beginning of the 2016-17 campaign, Provorov has played in every single Flyers game. In total, that mark reached 331 on Wednesday when the Flyers beat the New York Rangers 4-3. According to Flyers beat writer Sam Charchidi, that sets the record for the most amount of consecutive games played for a defenceman to start their career… for one team.
Kind of a specific record, but it’s cool nonetheless. It simply indicates that the Flyers have gotten a ton of run out of their 1st round pick already. While he’s not quite the playmaker Zach Werenski is, who was drafted with the next pick, he definitely does his part.
Provorov’s 331 consecutive games is the 6th longest active Ironman streak, trailing only Keith Yandle (884), Patrick Marleau (871), Phil Kessel (863), Brent Burns (558), and Connor Brown (339).
(H/T Sam Charchidi)
