The Flyers salary cap situation gets a little breather with Cote’s 500k immediately coming off the books. With the team’s acquisiton of Jody Shelley and re-signing of Daniel Carcillo, Cote’s role for this upcoming season would have been in an Adirondack jersey anyway.

Now, Riley Cote, 28, will be an assistant coach in Adirondack aside Greg Gilbert and Kjell Samuelsson.

Cote has spent the last six years in the Flyers organization. Cote has played in 156 games for the orange and black, tallying just 1 goal and 6 assists for 7 points. Cote totaled 411 penalty minutes with the team.

The Philadelphia Flyers have announced today that they have traded defenseman Ryan Parent to the Nashville Predators for the rights to UFA Dan Hamhuis and a conditional pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

Now that the serious part is over, WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! How Holmgren got anything for a stay-at-home defenseman who can’t play the body and can’t clear the zone is beyond me. Even if Hamhuis doesn’t sign here, this is an automatic win, as Laviolette might actually play the 3rd pairing now!

Breaking it down, this creates an interesting situation regarding the contract status of Braydon Coburn. Coburn, who started this season horribly, really didn’t show up until the playoffs. For a young guy who has great raw tools, he hasn’t put it together yet to become the elite defenseman that the Atlanta Thrashers originally envisioned him as in 2003. He’s rumored to be seeking more than $3 million per year. If this is after the 2007-08 season, then it’s plausible, but his play has gone the other way since then. Holmgren needs to find a way to get him back below that price, as he still needs time to develop and mature. He certainly hasn’t hit his prime yet, and I don’t really want him to hit it somewhere else.

In addition, the Flyers will now look to get Hamhuis under contract, which will be interesting given the rest of the contracts already tied up on the backend. I would imagine that Hamhuis is going to get the contract that Coburn is looking for, which means Coburn is either gone, or is going to have to come back at a discount. In addition, Hamhuis probably needs to slot somewhere in the top 4, and also find PK time. Considering that he and Timonen played in Nashville, perhaps this is the future pairing? With Hamhuis playing the shut-down role, Timonen could regain some of that offensive prowess he had coming over from Nashville.

And finally, Ryan Parent packs his bags and returns to the organization that spent a first round pick on him in 2005. Having watched him consistently have forwards skate by him score during his tenure with the Phantoms, I’m not sad to see him go at all. I never thought the guy was any good given the role he was supposed to play, and the physical skill set he possesses. Maybe he’ll put some things together in Nashville, but he was never anything more than a body on IR or a 6th defenseman playing 5 minutes a game.

Emery’s play through the season was solid enough to carry the Flyers through the early part of the season. A hip injury sidelined him around the holiday break, but he came back to play after that. The same hip injury would eventually claim his season prior to the Olympic Break, leaving the Flyers without their starting goaltender, scrambling to find a netminder to plug the gaping hole in net. Brian Boucher, certainly a name familiar to Flyers’ fans, was signed as the backup this season after serving as Evgeni Nabokov’s backup for the past two seasons in San Jose. Boucher actually signed with the Philadelphia Phantoms prior to the 2007-08 season, and performed well enough to be plucked from the team by San Jose, right before the AHL playoffs. Boucher had to carry the team during Emery’s absence, but was saddled with a few losses during the team’s dull showing in December. Boucher now finds himself the starter for the rest of the season now that Michael Leighton is gone for essentially the season.

If you still followed the team in 2006-07, you might have caught a glimpse of Michael Leighton. Originally drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks, Leighton saw time during Chicago’s low days, where Eric Daze led the team in scoring, despite playing in only about 45 games due to back problems. Leighton would have stops in the Buffalo Sabres and Nashville Predators organizations before finally being claimed off of waivers by the Flyers. Leighton had a good first stint with the Flyers, winning a couple of games in an otherwise dismal season. He had a solid few games with the Phantoms before the Montreal Canadiens plucked him off of waivers. Leighton spent the past two seasons in the Carolina Hurricanes organization, being named AHL goaltender of the year in 2007-08, also making a record 98 saves against the Phantoms (irony) in a 5-overtime game in the playoffs. Ryan Potulny (remember him?) would score in that overtime to end that game. Leighton spent 2008-09 as Cam Ward’s backup, seeing about 20 games and performing well enough to keep the job for this season. Leighton initially stumbled out of the gates, getting lit up by the Flyers in a 6-1 loss that Andy and I attended. Leighton would eventually be on waivers by December, where the Flyers snatched him away, obviously having seen his previous body of work.

If I told you Michael Leighton would be the starter for the Philadelphia Flyers a year ago, you’d laugh at me. If I told you he’d have a save percentage hovering around 92%, you’d spit whatever you’re drinking out in my face. If I told you his injury probably would seal another first round exit this season in the playoffs, you’d probably be on the floor already laughing. Welcome to reality. Leighton’s play with the Flyers has been remarkable, as he’s virtually saved (oh look, a pun) the season for the Flyers with his inspired play. While some fans have done nothing but spend 3 months trying to discredit his great play, he’s won 16 games in the meantime. Still prone to the occasional bad goal, Leighton’s relaxed play was very evident, as he made some huge saves, and displayed a flashy glove hand when needed. He provided the stability in net that the Flyers hoped to have with Emery in net. During the game in Nashville, Leighton made contact with Steve Sullivan, and subsequently sprained his ankle, while will sideline him for the rest of the season (insert sad face).

So now, the season rests on Boucher’s shoulders. He’s shown the ability to just go nuts and have huge hot streaks, so the Flyers are rolling the dice and are hoping for the best with Boucher. The more interesting picture is his backup, and who exactly it will be. Typical Philly luck will probably see Boucher suffer an injury or something else crazy, so this is a bit more important than it seems. Johan Backlund, who has had the best seat in the house to watch Greg Gilbert’s horrid coaching this season, is currently hurt and isn’t available to be the backup. Backlund has had a decent first season in North America, giving the Phantoms to win every night. John Grahame was signed to a PTO for some reason this season down in Adirondack, but was signed by Colorado for some reason. Yes, I know his mom works in the front office. Unfortunately, stopping pucks isn’t as easy as having your mom work in the front office.

Jeremy Duchesne, who was probably the worst of the Flyers’ goaltending prospects at the season, has had a pretty good season that has seen him play a couple of games in the AHL, securing a shutout. He finally had somewhat consistent play in the ECHL this year. I certainly wouldn’t want to dump an NHL playoff series on him, but he’s the best option right now over everything else we have. Michael Teslak, who probably was above Duchesne at the start of this season, has had a horrible year, and hasn’t sniffed a save percentage over 90% this season. Not good. Teslak is currently part of a mashup of goaltenders in Adirondack. Kris Mayotte, who is horrible (I’ve seen him play in person) is currently the backup right now. He’s marginal in the ECHL, and for some reason keeps getting signed to PTOs. For some reason, the Phantoms are trying to find someone worse than Grahame. Eeek. The current starter is Carter Hutton, who I’ll cover in another article. He’s on an ATO out of college. So you can see, fun times in Philadelphia goaltending today! Godspeed Michael Leighton.

Tweet]]> http://webelieveinorange.com/blog/2010/03/21/can-i-has-goaltender/feed/ 1 http://webelieveinorange.com/blog/2010/02/16/an-idea-for-next-years-sweaters/ http://webelieveinorange.com/blog/2010/02/16/an-idea-for-next-years-sweaters/#comments Tue, 16 Feb 2010 05:55:15 +0000 Anthony http://webelieveinorange.com/blog/?p=645 So we never really go off the beaten path and do feature stuff here. Time to kick that to the curb. Have I ever mentioned my love for hockey sweaters? Perhaps my collection of over 100 of them speaks for itself on that issue, but I’m faced with a daunting task. I have to buy a Flyers jersey FOR SOMEONE ELSE OTHER THAN ME. Gasp! The girlfriend is slowly becoming a Flyers fan (not a puck bunny, under strict orders from Geleff), and it’s time to get her some orange and black. After deciding on purchasing an orange sweater, it got me thinking. With the team sporting the orange full-time, the Winter Classic sweater likely taking over on the road, what becomes of the 3rd jersey? To get some of you that read to comment on an article for once, I’m taking suggestions as to who should go on the back of my own orange sweater that has been blank for far too long. Leading candidate is JVR. The girlfriend wants Carcillo because “he kicks people’s asses”. Looks like I’m doing it right.

Seriously, how can you not love this

The best decision this season wasn’t trading for Pronger. It wasn’t losing Jones (BECAUSE NOW MY TWO JONESEY JERSEYS ARE WORTHLESS THX DEAN LOMBARDI). It wasn’t creating this blog. It was clearly dumping the black as a home jersey and installing this beauty full-time. For a team that was the “Orange and the Black”, they seemingly went Eric Lindros crazy in the early part of this decade and make the black sweater the full time home jersey. Introducing an orange alternate was nice, since that jersey was beautiful, but you look at the glory days of this team, and they’re predominately orange. Back in 2001-02 when the black took over as the home, 8 other teams also sported black home jerseys, making us look so original.

I was hoping for a return to orange when the Rbk Edge re-design hit, but all we got was another crappy black jersey. Finally having some sense, the organization brought back the classic 70′s jersey as an alternate. The white nameplate was a homage to the early part of the decade, where the team wore them during game that were on national television so fans could identify the players. It might have looked strange at first, but it’s a great little nod to the glory days of this team. The Islanders do the same thing with their shoulder patch, giving a shout out to their 4 cup wins in the 80s. Little stuff like this is awesome to me. I hope this jersey doesn’t ever change. It’s perfect for the Rbk Edge template, and seems to sell well. It’s so nice to be able to wear and buy orange Flyers stuff now.

Screw Ryan Potulny

I’ll be honest, the black nameplate was a giant “WTF” at first glance. Then Danny Syvret scored and it was all okay. Seriously, I don’t really mind it, after buying one. If it becomes the road sweater next season, I wouldn’t care if the nameplate stayed. I really like this one for some reason, it’s grown on me immensely. Probably because I’m so sick of our old jerseys. Obviously the giant “Winter Classic 2010″ patch will be gone, which may take away Danny Carcillo’s trick sauce magic while wearing said sweater. It’ll also be nice to not be pulling the “Minnesota Wild” and having completely different home and road sweaters. Something about that orange stripe on the shoulders is awesome to me. I can’t pinpoint it. I received a Chris Pronger WC jersey for Christmas and haven’t stopped wearing it since then.

So, that leaves the black third in limbo. Who knows what’ll happen to it? I won’t shed tears if it’s scrapped. However, I’d like to see a third jersey in service next year. I’ll look over some ideas for a new black or orange third jersey.

I own both of these jerseys. Clearly someone upstairs hates me.

Sans the crazy socks and the wordmark logo, these jerseys look somewhat similar to me.  I really liked this jersey, and the inclusion of grey as an accent color. That 3d-ish logo wasn’t too shabby either. I suck at photoshop, so I’m not going to whip up some concept masterpiece, but switch the maroon for orange, and the navy for black, and that’s a slick looking jersey to me. It could use some black piping around the white shoulder stripes, and if the socks were a traditional pattern, I think it could look good. If any of our readers are photoshop-saavy, and want to explore this idea, go right ahead, but just send us the results!

High-five for crap photoshop skills

Look, I made it orange. I hope the “SENS” scrap this jersey. I love it, but it would be weird to just blatantly rip their design from them. I’d like to see something similar to this, maybe with some more conservative piping, because I think it could work. I love the tie-up collars that seemingly have faded away, yet are slowly coming back. Just a thought. I’d like this over something like that black smock Heatley currently wears with San Jose. At least show some orange flare. Again, if you have better-than-crap photoshop skills, see if this one is any good.

Rawr.

Surprise, it’s a Medicine Hat Tigers jersey. Now that the CHL has switched over the the Edge system, we get to see this masterpiece. I really like this one, and if you slapped a Flyers logo on the chest, I’d buy it. The two color stripe on the socks is an eye catcher, and its a black jersey that I actually really like. Something about jerseys with white sleeves catches me eye as well. I’m not sold on the back numbers being white (with orange being a possibility), but I think this would be a great template for a third. Considering that the black third was a recoloration of the orange sweater, could we see something like this?

Thanks for reading this little look into one of my favorite topics in the hockey world. If you’ve got any ideas, concepts, or just comments, be sure to leave them behind. I’d really like to know what the fanbase thinks about what they could potentially be purchasing at fan gear in the years to come. Oh, and help me decide on a player for my orange jersey. The damn thing has blank far too long, yet my indecisiveness to spend the money and over which player to get is not helping.

The Flyers managed to win a game down 2 goals against the Devils for the second straight game in a row, while only mustering a total of 15 shots on goal. The first period started off with those two fluky goals, but the Flyers got a huge response from former Devil Arron Asham to make it a close game. The Devils certainly squandered their fair share of scoring chances, with prized acquisition Ilya Kovalchuk “Jeff Cartering” a few shots off of the glass/wide, and Travis Zajac missing an empty net as well. The hot topic of debate was Scott Hartnell’s no-goal that would have tied the game at 2 at the end of the first. While physics may have told you that the puck was in, the NHL’s war room saw things differently. Cue the “MSG+ didn’t send the correct camera angle” theories.

Jeff Carter buried a wrister off the iron in the second to tie the game, so the no-goal didn’t exactly hinder the offense. Earlier in the day, Carter received the news that he would be a part of Team Canada, as Ryan Getzlaf suffered an ankle injury earlier this week which will put his Olympic status in doubt. The Flyers had a couple of breaks in this game, with Zach Parise missing the game completely due to an upper body injury (which isn’t good for Team USA :/). The Devils also lost Bryce Salvador early on, as he took a high stick in the defensive zone, leaving with vision problems. The Flyers played relatively disciplined, but special teams weren’t the key point of this game. Leighton coming up with the big stops certainly was the highlight of the game, with Gagne’s goal being the icing on the cake.

Upcoming notes: The Flyers play another home-and-home set against Montreal this weekend, before the Olympic break takes over. The Opening Ceremonies for the Games is tomorrow for our Olympic followers. Ray Emery will get 3 weeks, including the Olympic Break, to rest his ailing hip.

The Hurricanes have been abysmal this season, stacking their roster with veterans off of a run to the Eastern Conference Finals. That has landed them in the basement of the Eastern Conference, with many Hurricanes fans already set on drafting Taylor Hall first overall. While their play of late has been better, the team is looking to move a number of their veterans with no-trade clauses, and has somewhat started the rebuild by anointing Eric Staal captain of the team. Veteran Rod Brind’ Amour, a Philadelphia fan favorite in the 1990′s, has been among the worst in terms of plus/minus in the NHL for the past two seasons, and may be playing one of his last games in front of the Philly faithful.

The Flyers come in off of a hard-fought win over the Rangers on Thursday night. The physical play was on another level, as a number of scrums and fights broke out, and the Flyers returned to their effective intimidation style of old. However, with a number of players riding hot streaks into this game, most notably, Jeff Carter, James Van Riemsdyk, Mike Richards, and Chris Pronger, the Flyers should be look to continue those streaks and exploit the weak Carolina defense. Through their previous two matchups, almost all of the goals have been scored at even strength, which should make this game an interesting one. The Flyers have managed to pounce on teams early lately, scoring the first goal a number of times. Hopefully the team comes out with some energy, and doesn’t perform like they did in a 4-0 loss to Toronto earlier this month. Also adding distraction are news reports about Calgary Flames GM Darryl Sutter was in attendance Thursday night to discuss a trade with the Flyers, which has started the spectulation of numerous rumors, with the most amusing being Dion Phaneuf for Jeff Carter (which would make me sick, personally).

Other Notes:

• Cam Ward is starting his 18th straight game for the Hurricanes.
• Mike Richards has 14 points in his last 14GP.
• Jeff Carter has 7 goals and 15 points in his last 13GP.
• Daniel Briere has 13 points in his last 13GP.
• Chris Pronger has 10 points in his last 8GP.
• Aaron Asham has 8 points in his last 9GP.
• James van Riemsdyk 10 points in his last 9GP.

Injury Report:

Hurricanes: Erik Cole (upper body), Tuomo Ruutu (upper body), Scott Walker (shoulder), Joe Corvo (leg)

Flyers: Danny Syvret (shoulder), Ryan Parent (back)

Stefan Legein has been a revelation. After quitting hockey, he got into 26 games last season and scored once for Syracuse. This season, the Flyers handed over Mike Ratchuk for him, a trade that has worked well for the Flyers.  Legein has scored 16 times (18 overall) in 32 games for the Phantoms, and has provided an offensive spark for the team. I’m personally excited to see him get a shot with the big club. Matsumoto has also consistently scored, but won’t see any time with the big club if a top 6 spot doesn’t open up. Legein’s edgy play may allow him to see some time in the bottom 6.

If there’s positives, David Laliberte made a great impression in his first few games with the Flyers, scoring twice in his first two games. He won’t score a PPG, but wouldn’t be a bad option on the second line in the future, and has displayed some grit in the past. Jon Kalinski also saw time with the Flyers, and fits as a fourth-line center with some agatating capabilities. He’s not replacing Blair Betts, but the job could be his in the future. Jared Ross’ NHL highlight this year was being boarded by Patrick Kaleta. Nodl played a few games, but is still not putting up numbers as a professional.

The only other prospects worth mentioning have been average. Pat Maroon has added toughness to his game, and is still scoring at a good clip. He suffered somewhat of a bad injury against Albany, but has bounced back. He might see a game or two this year, if he’s developed a defensive game. He’s still got a good shot to make the club in the future. Marc-Andre Bourdon has started to put up some points, but started off slow. He garnered accolades in the QMJHL, but it will be interesting to see how he develops. The same goes for Kevin Marshall, who has been seemingly average, yet still physical. Both are in their rookie professional seasons, and have plenty of time to develop. Hey, Bartulis came out fine, so I have hope.

Overall, the team seems lackluster. I’m still bitter they aren’t right in the Broad Street backyard of old, but that doesn’t change the fact that the team has underperformed, and needs to have a offensive makeover for the second half of the season. It’s going to be interesting to see how Legein, Matsumoto, and Maroon fare, as well as the continued development of Marshall, Bourdon, Laliberte, and even Kalinski. While none are sure locks for the future, it’s a nice mix of 2nd line types, and two way defensemen that are going to complement the veteran top line pieces that the club has assembled. It’s been tough gathering info on the team this year without being able to watch them, so I hope this helps you guys keep up on the prospects down on the farm.

So far, they’ve played the same handful of teams, and are playing Albany a total of 12 TIMES. Yes, 12. The AHL isn’t huge on teams playing outside of their own backyard. This should get old fast. To make matters worse, both teams introduced special jerseys to be worn on the occasion that the two meet, which are visible on their websites and Flickr, because nobody mainstream wants to look at them. From the looks of it, the purple is completely gone, meaning that my sweet purple phantoms third from last year is a waste. Oh, and they got rid of Jeff Szwez too. Sweetastic. I’m sure you’ve seen their current jerseys, but the headshots on AHL.com of the players lead me to believe that they’ve got a retro-themed alternate that mimics the parent club’s current orange beauties. I’ll buy it

Enough griping about the loss of my team, purple, and my favorite player. The team this season looks to be much more defensive minded than those past. Last year, the offense was very run-and-gun, with a lot of goals coming on breakaways and powerplays, while also seeing a lot of goals scored against that same way. Greg Gilbert has seemingly installed a new system to the team which has scoring down, but winning up. The last few seasons have seen rough starts for the Phantoms, but winning 5 out of the first 10 can be seen as an accomplishment. The goaltending looks to be solid as well, which is nice considering that the organization let Munroe (AHL superstar) walk, turning the net over to two rookies essentially. For the record, Munroe is now in a 3-man rotation in net in Bridgeport. Shame on you Scotty. I guess he couldn’t fathom filming another Phantoms Christmas commercial for comedic gold.

So the Phantoms now look to North American rookie Johan Backlund to lead them in net. A standout with Timra of the SEL the past few seasons, the netminder has made a smooth transition to the AHL game. While being one of the older prospects in the system, Backlund has seen some time on the Flyers’ bench with Boucher on the shelf for a small period of time. His first two games were shaky, but he’s been impressive since, registering his first AHL shutout against Syracuse. It usually takes a little time for the European players to adjust to the smaller rink, but it seems that hasn’t hindered Backlund at all. If he continues his hot play, perhaps he gets a look down the road in the Flyers’ net. Nic Riopel has apparently looked somewhat rough, losing all three of his starts, giving up 3 goals each game. With his rave reviews in camp, I think he has plenty of time to show what he can do at the AHL level. He’s still very young.

The defense is stacked in Adirondack. Of course, the departure of Randy Jones certainly opens things up, and will allow more players to take a turn on the blueline. It’s been a rotation to start the season. Of course, as I write this, the Phantoms have recalled David Sloane (ATO with Flyers last season) to jam things up again. So far, it looks like Bartulis has been the best defender, earning a small recall with the Flyers. Oskars seemed to have numerous ups and downs throughout his two years here, but seems to be putting it together in the third year of his contract. His two way play finally seems to be rounding out. Kevin Marshall and Marc-Andre Bourdon have both fit in nicely, making small contributions offensively while staying responsible on the defensive side. I think they’ll both remain in the AHL for the entire season, but this will be a nice gauge of where each of them are in their development. I’m thinking that Marshall is going to stay physical and probably shy away from offense, and that Bourdon will develop a nice two-way game. They’ve got plenty of time.  Joonas Lehtivuori seems to be sort of the odd man out among the prospects, only seeing 6 games. He’s got 1 assist, which is his game, so I’m thinking he needs a regular role to get comfortable and start producing. This is his first taste of AHL and North American hockey.

As for the veterans on the backend, I’m sure Sean Curry is having a better season without the fans getting on him for playing soft. He still seems like the odd man out on this team, being a moderately physical guy who doesn’t skate fast or produce consistently offensively. I’m pretty sure he’s on an NHL contract, so he could possibly be moved to try and clear up some space for the kids. Joey Mormina seems to be fitting in fine. I thought his +37 was a fluke last year, but he’s huge and is valuable to mentoring the young kids. The more I see of him, the more I think this was a fine pickup by the Flyers in the offseason. He’s not going to put up stats, and is actually a player similar to Curry in my opinion. The darkhorse on D, and my personal nomination for Jeff Szwez of the 2009-10 Phantoms is Logan Stephenson. The kid went from Phoenix prospect to journeyman in about one season (Hello Brad Lidge) and is a physical force on the backend. He’s got into 3 games and already has 26 PIMS already, so I’m assuming he’s going to be the aggressive guy on the backend now that Guenin is gone. There’s certainly an interesting crop of styles for Gilbert to mesh together on the backend this season.

So apparently this team doesn’t score a lot, which is surprising, considering the weapons they have. Jared Ross returns this year, as captain, since Boyd Kane apparently loves Pennsylvania a lot. He’s off to a slow start, but he usually picks it up as he gets comfortable. I want this guy to make the NHL roster, because he’s been a blast to watch at the AHL level. Johnny Mats (as I affectionately call him) is leading the team in scoring. I don’t think he’ll produce like this at the NHL level if he ever gets a shot, but it’s certainly nice to see him improve 3 straight seasons for the Phantoms. I just hope he’s finally burying those empty netters.

David Laliberte was at almost a PPG pace before his recall and subsequent superstardom (:D) with the Flyers. He’s got good two way talent and has a great wrister as well. I think he’s a lock to make the roster next season if some of the old guys are ushered out. Patrick Maroon has scored at his usual clip as well. Since I can’t watch the games, I don’t know if he’s improved at all, but I’m hoping that he’s watching what JVR is doing, because he has the frame to mimic it. Krys Kolanos, who is a PPG player at the AHL level, has yet to really bust out in a game yet, but I’m sure it’s coming. He’s got talent to play at the NHL level, as evidenced by Minnesota’s love affair with him last season. He’s going to have to produce to get a shot, however.

In terms of other bright sports, Jason Ward is putting up some good numbers while also filling a leadership role with the Phantoms. If he sees time with the Flyers, it’s going to be as a bottom line grinder, but he’s got the talent to put up points at the AHL level, and will be a key piece for them this year. Stefan Legein was brought in to fill an agitator role, and probably needs a few more games to get comfortable. Jon Kalinski is fully healthy and seems to be fine in his usual two-way role. Andreas Nodl hasn’t put up numbers, but his two way game is of more value to the organization. If anything, I thought his decision making needed work last season. Lukas Kaspar has been fine as a depth forward, and may catch fire at some point, and Ryan Dingle just potted his first goal as a Phantom, appearing in only his 5th game.

Finally, the grinders and tough guys have had a surprising start to the season. The trio of Matt Clackson, Garrett Klotz and Josh Beaulieu has been solid through 10 games so far. Klotz has 2 goals so far, which I’m sure confuses the hell out of most of you, but it’s true. Clackson and Beaulieu have 2 points apiece, and Beaulieu has stayed out of the penalty box so far. Perhaps he’s refining his game as a grinding center instead of an agitator. Klotz and Clackson will be fine doing all the heavy lifting in the fighting dept., as evidenced by their stats. The only other name of note, Rob Bellamy, has only seen 2 games.

I don’t know how many times I’ll write these columns, since I’m not following the team as close, but a 10 game checkup seems fine to me. I’ll keep them shorter and just overview streaks and crappy play, as well as highlight any callups like I did here. Hopefully we see this team come back to Lehigh Valley in the future, so I can get a better grasp of the Flyers’ future. If you have any insight or photos you want to share with WBIO,  or just want to talk Phantoms, drop me a line at arossi417@gmail.com and I’ll be happy to respond.

• Matt Carle looks dominant so far. He’s obviously playing with confidence being paired with Pronger, and looks like the Hobey Baker award winner from seasons ago. He’s racking up assists so far and has shown a great feel for the offensive zone. His goal in this game was the result of him taking control on the powerplay and banging in a wrap around that Leighton horribly overplayed.
• Chris Pronger looks comfortable and has been worth the price of admission most nights. His passes are on the tape, and his shot has been deadly accurate this year. The first goal was set up off another one of his slappers. He’s been dominant on the PP and has been fine in his own zone to this point.
• The Timonen-Coburn pairing was broken up, and both responded well. Timonen chipped in with an assist and looked more comfortable. Coburn finished off a broken 2-on-1 with JVR and also buried a bomb from the point, notching both goals in the third. Together, the two have looked lost, but perhaps this showing gets them going once again.
• Ryan Parent played and had an assist, but left after re-aggravating an injury.

• JVR has gone from potential bust to star in an offseason it seems. He’s using his size to his advantage, scoring a great goal by driving the net and deking out Wallin and Leighton with a weak backhander, but he’s also showing that he’s not afraid to at least get somewhat physical, responding to a challenge from Andrew Alberts. I’m sure the time in the weightroom helped, as he looks stronger and more determined this year. Could be shaping up to be a darkhorse candidate for ROY.
• David Laliberte, who I assumed would be called up with Briere’s injury, responded with a goal and an assist his first NHL game. Considering he was in the ECHL 2 seasons ago, he’s had a monumental rise. He has the talent to stick around and produce from the looks of it, and has some chemistry with Carter it seems. I’m seeing why he stuck around so long in camp. The hot streak he went on at the end of last year with the Phantoms doesn’t seem to be a fluke.
• Arron Asham is awesome. Enough said. This needs no explaining.
• Somehow, the great check of the game was not the monster shot Laperriere landed on Carcillo that had Andy and I in stitches. :/
• This game got physical, and the Flyers responded well. Bonus points for escaping without Conboy biting anybody this time around.

Monday night’s game was almost a replay, as the Flyers dropped the Lightning by a 6-2 final. They didn’t dominate this game like I thought they did against Carolina, but they made their shots count and embarrassed Mike Smith to an extent. Carter had a pair of nice goals, as well as setting up Laliberte for another one. Pronger had a couple of sweet assists to Richards on the night, and I thought Claude Giroux had an excellent game, with a highlight reel pass back to Pronger on the 5th goal. The points haven’t been there for Claude, but as long as he’s moving his feet and working his magic with the puck, you know he’s on. The only negative was that Syvret had a relatively poor game in limited action, and the third line seemed to get burned on the TB goals. Stamkos ripped a laser which nobody would have stopped, and the Halpern goal was crappy to say the least. Overall, an excellent past 3 days for the Flyers and their fans.

First, Randy Jones time in the orange and black has seemingly come to an end. Awarded a 2 year, $5.5 million deal at the end of the 2007-08 season, the pressure and scrutiny have been intense for the once undrafted free-agent. Jones first cracked the lineup in the disastrous 06-07 campaign, displaying a good feel for the offensive game, while not showing any real willingness to play physical. Aside from a disastrous hit on Boston’s Patrice Bergeron in late 2007, he had a solid 07-08 campaign, which he parlayed into the new contract. The $2.75 cap hit was seen as too much for a guy who would at best play 15-18 minutes a game this season. The trade for Matt Carle last year seemingly sealed his fate. While a bad camp and poor showing this preseason may have attributed to it, he has almost an identical skillset to Carle, yet wouldn’t be seeing top-4 minutes. He’s cleared waivers, and may receive the Denis Gauthier treatment this year. Two things worry me. Personally, I love the guy, and have been one of his biggest fans, so seeing him waved doesn’t make me too happy. I understand he makes too much for a 5-6th defenseman, so his only choice was to have an outstanding camp, and he blew it. Sending him to the AHL creates 2 problems. One, he’s taking a spot away from a player who has a chance to see top-4 minutes, like say a Kevin Marshall or a Marc-Andre Bourdon. Two, there is the possibility that Holmgren brings him back through re-entry waivers, which means the team is on the hook for half of that $2.75 million. I’m sure both options, in addition to his whipping boy status, make a him public enemy number one for Flyers fans at this point. It will certainly be interesting to see how this one plays out over the course of the year.

Second, Blair Betts is still unsigned, something that from the looks of it, will change shortly. Betts was brought into camp as a free agent tryout after serving as a penalty killing specialist and 4th line center for the Rangers the past few seasons. His preseason play has illustrated just what he can bring to an already dangerous Flyers’ penalty kill. His willingness to block shots should endear him to fans as well, much like former Flyer Lasse Kukkonen. Unless something dramatic happens, Betts should end up with a contract and a roster spot by the end of the week.

James van Riemsdyk seems to have made the team at this point. It may come as a surprise, considering that his debut with the Phantoms last season was less than stellar. He’s shown a knack for scoring goals this preseason, and has had a fine camp so far. Andy and I were fortunate enough to witness his performance at the rookie game versus the Washington Capitals, where he was clearly the best player on the ice. He still might not be physical, or defensively polished, but it appears that he can contribute on the scoresheet at the NHL level this season. Where he is going to slot into the lineup is another good question, as it will be hard to crack the top-6 this season, provided that they stay healthy. Perhaps he is being carried on the roster as insurance, in case Gagne or Briere suffer any setbacks from injuries.

With Jones gone, it seems that Danny Syvret has made the team as the 6th/7th defenseman. Acquired from Edmonton last offseason for Ryan Potulny, Syvret had a great campaign with the Phantoms, culminating with an All-Star appearance at the AHL classic, as well as a short stint with the Flyers. He seems to have figured out the defensive game well enough to earn a shot at the NHL level, and his offensive talent has finally started to click. Still only 24, Syvret enters his 5th professional year with 28 games of NHL experience, with 1 assist, and a -12. Last season saw him score 12 goals and 45 assists, with a +7 to boot, as the primary offensive threat from the back end for the Phantoms. Primarily doing his damage on the powerplay last year, it will be interesting to see if he can crack the rotation for the man-advantage. He’s certainly earned a shot at this point, but I’m thinking it will be hard to gauge success early on for him, since he won’t see too many minutes initially, in all likelihood.

When the season starts, I’ll probably take a closer look at the free agent signings, and their early success. Ray Emery has had a strong preseason, Brian Boucher is out for about a week, Johan Backlund has an outside shot at seeing NHL action, and Mika Pyorala looks like he will contribute at the NHL level in his first season in North America.