Flyers' Nolan Patrick is fully healthy, but won't be rushed to NHL

The Philadelphia Flyers are committed to Nolan Patrick for the long haul.

Just because the club used their second overall pick on the 6-foot-2 center doesn't necessarily mean he's a lock to make the team out of training camp. That's despite the fact that general manager Ron Hextall said Patrick's 100 percent healthy after undergoing his second abdominal surgery in a year less than two weeks before June's draft, Sam Carchidi of Philly.com reports.

"He's cleared and good to go," Hextall said earlier in the week.

Hextall was up-front with reporters when asked whether he'd be disappointed if Patrick didn't make the Flyers and was sent back to the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League for another year.

"Absolutely not. If he needs time, he needs time," Hextall said. "We're going to have Nolan Patrick for the next 10, 15 years, not one day or one month or two months. We're looking at the next 15 years and what's best for Nolan Patrick. If it's best to go back to Brandon, then he'll go back to Brandon. If it's best to stay here, he'll stay here."

Patrick was limited to just 33 games last year with the Wheat Kings, scoring 20 goals and adding 26 assists. Had injuries not been a concern, he very well could have been chosen first overall.

"Again, he's got to come in and prove it. I will not be disappointed if he doesn't make our team. I don't have any expectations on whether he will or he won't. He's got to come in and show us he makes us a better team," Hextall added.

Patrick's first chance at impressing Hextall first-hand will come Sept. 11, when all Flyers rookies will hit the ice.

The most recent second overall pick to not play a single game in their first eligible NHL season was defenseman Ryan Murray, who was selected with the second pick by Columbus in 2012.

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