Joel Farabee

Joel Farabee (born February 25, 2000) is an American professional ice hockey player who is a left winger for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). Farabee was drafted in the first round, 14th overall at the 2018 NHL entry draft by the Philadelphia Flyers.

Growing up in Cicero, New York, Farabee competed with the Syracuse Nationals, Buffalo Jr Sabres, and Selects Hockey Academy at South Kent School. He joined the USA Hockey National Team Development Program in the United States Hockey League (USHL) before committing to play NCAA Division I ice hockey with the Boston University Terriers men's ice hockey team. During his time in college, Farabee tied for second in goals and third in points amongst rookies while leading the Terriers in goals, points, power-play goals, shorthanded goals, game-winning goals, plus-minus, and shots. In recognition of his efforts, Farabee received the Tim Taylor Award as college hockey's Rookie of the Year, Hockey East Rookie of the Year, and was selected for the Hockey East All-Rookie Team.

Early life Farabee was born on February 25, 2000, to business owner Dave and nursing supervisor Pam Farabee in Cicero, New York. Farabee credits his older brothers Jake and Jesse for inspiring his love of ice hockey saying, "I always watched them. They were on older teams. They inspired me to want to get to that level." He also credited his grandfather as being a role model for him growing up. Farabee's grandfather Joe Klodzen was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB), but never made the major league roster and competed in their minor league system. As his father was born and raised in Philadelphia, Farabee grew up a fan of Philadelphia sports teams including the Philadelphia Eagles.

Playing career

Amateur As a child, Farabee competed with the Syracuse Nationals at the Bell Capital Cup in Ottawa before playing above his year level with the Buffalo Jr Sabres at the Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. During the Bell Capital Cup, he led the team with six goals and one power play point. In the ninth grade, when Farabee was recruited to play junior hockey in the Selects Hockey Academy at South Kent School, his family began taking his future career in hockey seriously. Farabee was chosen to captain the team in his second year by coach Seth Appert as a result of his "competitive, all-around game that belies his size."

Farabee played one season with the Boston University Terriers men's ice hockey team, recording 36 points in 37 games. He finished the 2018–19 season tied for second in goals and third in points amongst rookies while leading the Terriers in goals, points, power-play goals, shorthanded goals, game-winning goals, plus-minus, and shots. In recognition of his efforts, Farabee received the Tim Taylor Award as college hockey's Rookie of the Year, and was selected for the Hockey East All-Rookie Team.

Leading up to the 2018 NHL entry draft, Farabee was ranked 12th amongst all North American skaters by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau. He was listed as and was measured at 4 percent body fat during the NHL Scouting Combine. Speaking afterwards, Farabee said he was hoping to be drafted by Philadelphia because he was a fan of the Flyers growing up.

Professional Farabee signed an entry-level contract with the Philadelphia Flyers on March 25, 2019, after his freshman season at Boston University. After being a healthy scratch during the Flyers' season opener in Prague, he was reassigned to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, to begin the season. He played four games with the Phantoms, recording three goals and one assist, before being recalled to the NHL for his debut. When reflecting on his early time in the professional league, Farabee said it helped him gain more confidence and comfortable with his stickhandling. As a result of his play, Farabee was honored as PSECU Player of the Week.

Upon making his NHL debut with the Flyers on October 21, 2019, against the Vegas Golden Knights, Farabee subsequently became the first Flyers player in franchise history to be born in the 2000s. Four days later, Farabee scored his first career NHL goal and assist against the Chicago Blackhawks but both were overturned due to teammate Kevin Hayes being offside. He officially earned his first NHL point later that game as an assist on Hayes’ third-period goal. It was not until the following month, however, that Farabee would record his first official goal in a 4–3 shootout win against the New Jersey Devils. Upon receiving a rebound from Michael Raffl, Farabee said he "closed his eyes" before shooting the puck into the net. Farabee remained with the Flyers before being suspended three games for interference during a contest against the Winnipeg Jets on December 15. Farabee making a play on the puck next to goalie Joey Daccord of the Seattle Kraken in 2023. After playing in 37 games with the Flyers, recording three goals and nine assists, Farabee was loaned to the Phantoms on January 15, 2020. He was recalled periodically throughout the second half of the season as a replacement for injured players, including James van Riemsdyk. By the conclusion of the shortened 2019–20 regular season, Farabee recorded 21 points through 52 games. As the Flyers beat the Lightning, he scored the game-winning goal against the Montreal Canadiens in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round Playoffs. After playing well following his jump to the first line in the round-robin finale with Jakub Voráček (undisclosed issue) out, Farabee stayed with Claude Giroux and Sean Couturier in Game 1. He remained with the team during their playoff berth as they lost in the Eastern Conference Second Round against the New York Islanders. During the series, Farabee suffered a hit to the head and neck from Adam Pelech in Game 5 and was forced to sit out for the two remaining games to recover.

Farabee returned to the Flyers' training camp for the 2020–21 season having gained nine pounds and stating he felt "a lot more confident." He made his season debut on January 13 against the Pittsburgh Penguins, during which he tied a franchise record for most points in a season-opener by scoring four points in the 6–3 win. Later that month, Farabee scored his first NHL hat trick in a 4–3 overtime win against the Islanders, becoming the second youngest Flyers player to achieve this feat during the regular season. He finished the season with 20 goals and 18 assists for a career high 38 points.

Following his career-best season, Farabee signed a six-year, $30 million contract extension with the Flyers on September 2, 2021. With the off-season acquisition of Cam Atkinson, Farabee began the season on a high-scoring line alongside him and Derick Brassard. However, after experiencing a pointless drought through eight games, Farabee was placed on a line with Scott Laughton for a game against the Carolina Hurricanes.

In January 2025, Farabee joined teammate Scott Laughton as a Flyers' Pride ambassador for their annual pride night game. However, Laughton was unable to play on the night of the game due to personal matters and Farabee took on the role by himself.

During the 2024–25 season, his sixth with the Flyers, Farabee was traded along with Morgan Frost to the Calgary Flames in exchange for Andrei Kuzmenko, Jakob Pelletier and two draft picks on January 30, 2025.

Playing style Farabee says he models his playing style after Tampa Bay Lightning forward Jake Guentzel. The comparisons were focused on their skating ability, playmaking, and hockey IQ.

International play

Farabee has represented the United States at various international competitions at the junior level. His first time representing the United States internationally was at the 2017 IIHF World U18 Championships in Slovakia. He played in seven games, recording six points, as the team went on to win a gold medal. The following year, Farabee competed at the 2018 IIHF World U18 Championships, where he recorded four goals and four assists for eight points in seven games to lead the team to a silver medal. During a game against Kazakhstan on December 28, 2018, Farabee recorded a natural hat-trick in the first period to lead the United States to an 8–2 win. He ended the tournament with five points in seven games as the United States earned another silver medal.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2016–17 U.S. National Development Team USHL 30 12 11 23 22 — — — — — 2017–18 U.S. National Development Team USHL 26 15 25 40 18 — — — — — 2018–19 Boston University HE 37 17 19 36 57 — — — — — 2019–20 Lehigh Valley Phantoms AHL 5 3 1 4 2 — — — — — 2019–20 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 52 8 13 21 39 12 3 2 5 4 2020–21 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 55 20 18 38 28 — — — — — 2021–22 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 63 17 17 34 50 — — — — — 2022–23 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 82 15 24 39 41 — — — — — 2023–24 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 82 22 28 50 37 — — — — — 2024–25 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 50 8 11 19 26 — — — — —2024–25Calgary Flames NHL 31 3 3 6 8 — — — — — 2025–26 Calgary Flames NHL 82 20 18 38 28 — — — — —NHL totals 497 113 132 245 257 12 3 2 5 4

International

Awards and honors Award Year RefCollege Hockey East All-Rookie Team 2019 Hockey East Rookie of the Year 2019 Tim Taylor Award 2019 Philadelphia Flyers Pelle Lindbergh Memorial Trophy 2021