A hat trick against Kazakhstan in the World Junior Championship opened a lot of eyes to Joel Farabee. After the tournament ended, the Flyers’ 2018 first-round pick went on a huge run and racked up 13 goals and 12 assists in 21 games to end his freshman season at Boston University. He was Hockey East’s Rookie of the Year.

Turns out it will be his only season at Boston University. Farabee signed an entry-level contract with the Flyers that will begin next season.

Early on this season it looked like Farabee would need more time. He ended up leading the Terriers in scoring and finished third in the nation among freshmen in points with 36. In late January, Farabee wasn’t so sure if he’d sign this quickly.

“We kind of have to see what happens,” he told the Courier-Post a couple months ago. “It’s kind of more on them than me, when they want me and what I have to do to get there. I want to say that after this year I want to sign but at the end of the day I don’t think I’ll be playing in Philly next year. Maybe with Lehigh, but I still have college to come back to and have a good second year. Kind of just wait and see what happens.”

Farabee, a 6-foot-1, 170-pound winger, certainly has the dazzing skills and speed the Flyers could use. How quickly he joins the NHL team will be an interesting process to watch. It’s likely he begins his career in the American Hockey League with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

The Cicero, New York native is nursing a small injury and, if he rehabs in time, will join the Phantoms on an amateur tryout for the duration of this season.

Selected 14th overall in last June’s draft, Farabee figures to be one of the keystone players to the Flyers’ future whenever he’s NHL ready.

“Joel is a highly competitive kid. He’s a proud player,” first-year Boston University coach Albie O’Connell told the Courier-Post in January. “If he’s not doing something well, he corrects it and tries to work on it because he wants to be the best. He has that mentality where he wants more minutes every night. We see gains, little gains with some guys, big gains, but for the most part for guys like Joel the time that he’s here some of the most important time is not just spent on the ice but in the weight room, in the classroom and having demands on him. It’s some of the other things that go into going to college and doing those things that makes you prepared for life and for playing. Sky’s the limit for him. Physically he needs some work, some time. I think his mind is there. His skillset is there. His game is evolving. He’s not quite to that level yet but he’s that talented. He’s not totally seasoned but he’s gonna be good in time.”

Dave Isaac; @davegisaac; 856-486-2479; disaac@gannett.com