What is now two nights ago, the Calgary Flames acquired Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost. A wild timeline of events that started with Andrei Kuzmenko being scratched late led to a decent-sized trade between the Flames and the Philadelphia Flyers. The Flames parted with the already mentioned Kuzmenko alongside Jakob Pelletier and their own 2025 second and 2028 seventh-round picks.
Farabee and Frost were both players who seemed to hit the doghouse in Philadelphia and weren’t being used to their best abilities. Change of scenery was a rumoured move, and Calgary picked up both. We already covered Frost and what he’ll bring for the Flames yesterday. Now, let’s take a look at Joel Farabee.
Joel Farabee’s career so far
Development through the USNTDP system
Born in New York, it was no surprise that Farabee was headed down the USHL/College route. He started by lighting up AAA hockey at the ages of 14 and 15 years old. By the time he was 16, Farabee was already in the USHL and with the USNTDP.
In 2016–17, Farabee played a total of 94 games with the USNTDP. 30 with the USHL team, 42 with the U17 team, and 22 with the U18 team. In the USHL, he produced 12 goals and 23 points, placing him sixth in scoring for the team. U17 is where he had his best performance of 17 goals and 31 points while leading the squad in production. As mentioned, he saw the least amount of time with the U18 team but still put up eight goals and 19 points in those 22 games. He was obviously very far down the list in team scoring but was among the top in points per game.
The following season—his draft year—was crucial for Farabee. He played a similar number of games with the USNTDP as the prior season, with 88 overall in 2017–18. Of that, 26 came with the USHL team, where he took massive strides, putting up 15 goals and 40 points, behind only Jack Hughes and Oliver Wahlstrom in team scoring.
Farabee’s season with the U18 team was arguably better, receiving the honour of captain as well. In 62 games with the team, he found the back of the net 33 times and totalled 76 points. This time, he was only out-produced by Wahlstrom, but Hughes’ point per game was almost at two.
Drafted by the Flyers and college performance
Farabee’s performance with the USNTDP led him to be a prospect to look out for in the first round. He saw his name called in the first half of the first round at 14th overall by the Philadelphia Flyers at the 2018 NHL entry draft. Joining a Flyers team that was middling out, he became a part of a young core of guys you might remember from NHL 17-19 in Nolan Patrick, German Rubstov, Isaac Ratcliffe, and, of course, Morgan Frost.
Alongside being drafted, Farabee made a committment to Boston University to play his D+1 season. Being put in a position to succeed, he flourished with the Terriers. In 37 games, he was just shy of a point per game with 17 goals and 36 points. He led the whole team in points, with Dante Fabbro in second.
Farabee represented his home country of the USA at the World Juniors that season. He suited up for all of the red, white, and blue’s seven games, scoring five points for fifth on the team. The States would lose in the finals to an underdog in Finland and claim silver.
Headed to the pros
Although he wasn’t on the opening night roster for the Flyers in 2019–20, Farabee made his debut shortly after the season started. On October 21, 2019, he would play his first NHL game against the Vegas Golden Knights. It would take until game six of his career against the New Jersey Devils for him to score his first NHL goal.
By March, Farabee was sent back down to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms for a week stint. Throughout the season, he produced three goals and four points in five games with the Phantoms. With the Flyers, he would finish with 21 points in 52 games before the season was cut short. When playing resumed for playoffs in the bubble, he had five points in 12 games before the Flyers were eliminated by the New York Islanders in seven games.
In the shortened 2021 season, Farabee would see heavy improvement. In only three more games, he would have 12 more goals and seven more points. A total of 20 goals and 38 points in 55 games. A pace of 30 goals and 56 points across a full 82 games. The Flyers would struggle and miss the playoffs, but a 21-year-old Farabee was a bright spot.
That offseason—on September 2, 2021—Farabee would sign a six-year deal worth $5M per year, which is the deal he is currently on. The next two seasons would see regression in his production.
The 2021–22 season wasn’t the brightest, as he would face injury and production drop. In 63 games, he put up three fewer goals and four fewer points for 17 goals and 34 points overall. Not terrible but not what the Flyers were hoping for. The 2022–23 year was worse, with him playing a whole 82 games but only producing 15 goals and 39 points. He did have surgery on his neck so that definitely played a factor this season.
Thankfully, Farabee bounced back in 2023–24. Across another full 82-game season, he got back to 20 goals and hit 50 points for the first time in his career. Not bad for a guy who was freshly 24 years old. Things were looking up and going in the direction that he and the Flyers wanted.
However, things became bad again this season. Farabee’s favour with the Flyers continued to drop. His production did as well. He was losing his spot in the Flyers lineup and his average time on ice dropped a whole minute in comparison to 2023–24. At the point we are currently at, he only has eight goals and 19 points in 50 games for the worst pace of his career.
The Flyers shopped Farabee around, but reportedly, no one wanted to take on his contract. That was until the Flames acquired him two nights ago. Now, he has been given a fresh start to rejuvenate his career.
Joel Farabee’s underlying numbers
Going to HockeyViz.com, let’s take a look at Farabee’s 5v5 isolated impact chart throughout his career so far. For these charts, a more positive xGF value means a player is producing more offence for their team, while a more negative xGA value means they are preventing offence against them.
Farabee is an interesting player when it comes to the analytical side of the game. Upon entering the league, he was the exact opposite of an analytical darling. Minus numbers in the offensive end, plus numbers in the defensive end, negative results. Since entering the league, he has not been able to post good results in the defensive zone, getting scores above a +5.0% xGA the last three years.
The past two seasons have seen improvement in his offensive numbers. His career-best came last season at +2.7 xGF, with lots of offensive chances being generated on the high left side. This season, he’s taken a step back, but a positive score is still a positive score.
How Joel Farabee will fit in with the Flames
I think Farabee will benefit the most from a change of scenery between him and Frost. With a chance to be given a consistent role and time on ice, there’s potential for the 24-year-old to flourish in the Flaming C.
Farabee is an intriguing player
To me, Farabee comes as a very interesting piece for the Flames. There’s no particular talent of his that fully sticks out as how you break him out, unlike Frost with his playmaking. Farabee brings a lot of good in many areas. I think if you have to list him as anything, it’s as a power forward.
Although he was known for his speed as a prospect, Farabee isn’t too fast in The Show. He brings an above-average speed that can definitely be utilized in the transition game. Random bursts lead to scoring chances from time to time. Offensive talents include a pretty good shot and decent playmaking ability. There’s nothing to really wow you, but it’s all put together pretty nicely.
I think if anything is a focus to unlock in him, it’s his grit, energy, and IQ. He brings lots of possible traits that you’d want in a forward for all situations. There’s potential to allow him to be unlocked physically. You can already see him go net-front sometimes and be in position to deflect the puck. He’s always had a pretty good time at creating chances, whether that’s through effort or a smart placement of his body.
At his best, Farabee does a really good job of placing himself in positions to score or have his team get a nice chance at scoring. He’ll quietly move into a spot that can give him an opportunity to rip a shot past the goalie or redirect the puck into the net. He attempts to go into open space to receive the puck and then does the best he can with the situation he is given.
Sometimes, you’ll be able to see him move the puck with pressure and then create a solid scoring chance for his team. The ability to find passing lanes for himself and his teammates is one you can see he has. When he’s going, Farabee is on.
He has a sense of the game that can be tapped into in a new environment. You can see him place himself into positions to receive a pass and lead to a strong shooting opportunity. On the other hand, you might see him move with the puck to generate a passing or shooting lane.
Effort into driving the net is a trait that Farabee possesses, and he needs to be able to put the finishing touches on it. Battling out with opponents for opportunity to redirect or keep control of the puck is what you like to see from him. Overall, I believe he has a good idea of where to go and what to do to score.
It’ll come down to how the Flames want to utilize him. I could see him ending up a completely different player than the path that was originally planned in Philadelphia. He definitely has a scoring touch, judging by the fact he’s had two 20-goal seasons—three if you go by scoring pace.
There’s an ability to combat offensive touch and sense with effort and physicality. They just need to unlock it all. Farabee struggled with consistency in Philadelphia. You have to hope he can find it in Calgary. The $5M for three more years isn’t a pretty contract with the production he’s currently at. However, there’s potential to make him worth it.
He’s not a blank canvas, but he’s more of a project than Frost. The Flames have to be able to fix his finishing issues and have him tap into his effort more.
Where does Joel Farabee fit into the Flames lineup?
With Farabee, I think we can expect a solid addition to the middle six. In a realistic expectation, we are looking at a guy who’s gonna score around 15-20 goals and 40 points for the Flames. To finish the year, it may be hard to bounce back from his brutal start, but 40 could still be in play.
Best case scenario, the Flames are able to tap into the potential that the Flyers struggled to, and we see a 60+ point winger unlocked in Calgary.
Farabee should be a good option for the Flames in the middle-six to chip in for 15+ goals and 40+ points a year when the contention window is fully open.
An interesting addition to the Flames
Joel Farabee is the type of add the Flames shouldn’t mind making at all. They are taking him in at his lowest value and hoping he can at least return to a form that he is only one season removed from. He’s still somewhat young at 24 years old and has some potential left. An inconsistent curve of production has been Farabee’s career so far but he’s been good for about 40 points when fully healthy.
As someone who should hopefully become at least a middle-six winger with 15 goals and 40 points a year, Farabee is a good bet for the Flames. He’s shown promise throughout his career and has potential to flourish. If they unlock him fully, maybe we see a forward good enough for 60+ points a year, but time will be short.
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