In recent years, the Flyers traded away so many draft picks and prospects that they had to find other methods to try to bolster the depth in their farm system. Their preferred method of has been to sign undrafted rookie free agents from the U.S. collegiate ranks (Matt Read, Erik Gustafsson, Mike Testwuide, Ben Holmstrom, Harry Zolnierczyk, Andrew Rowe), Canadian overage junior (Jason Akeson, Luke Pither) or younger European league players eligible for free agency (Sergei Bobrovsky and the previously drafted but unsigned Niko Hovinen).
The strategy is a crapshoot at best, but if you sign such older prospects in volume, there's always a chance that at least one or two will develop into NHL regulars. The Flyers got more than they had a right to expect from Bobrovsky heading into last season, and they hope that Gustafsson and at least one among Read, Holmstrom or Testwuide can crack the big team to stay in the near future.
In the recent and semi-recent past, the Flyers found eventual regular starters in undrafted forward Darroll Powe (Princeton University) and defenseman Jim Vandermeer (Red Deer Rebels overager). They both proved to be inexpensive yet generally effective role players early in their NHL careers before being traded.
Here's my all-time Flyers rookie free agent squad. For purposes of this list, I am not considering early Flyers players who initially entered the pro ranks either before the establishment of the NHL Draft or in the pre-1969 era where the draft was only two rounds:
Dave Poulin (C): Arguably the second-best captain in club history (I'd take him over everyone else but Bobby Clarke), Poulin almost didn't have a professional hockey career at all. After graduating from Notre Dame, he was about to accept a job offer from Procter & Gamble. But he got an offer to play for a minor league team in Sweden from its North American head coach, Ted Sator (who also doubled as the Flyers' skating coach, and later became a full-fledged assistant coach under Mike Keenan before moving on to take the New York Rangers' head coaching job). Sator subsequently recommended that the Flyers sign Poulin to a minor league tryout contract, and the rest was history. Read more in my
Heroes of the Past profile of Poulin at Philadelphiaflyers.com.
Tim Kerr (RW/C): The 1979 NHL Draft is widely considered the best in NHL history, and was a pivotal one in Flyers history (yielding Brian Propp and Pelle Lindbergh among others). But Kerr, a 19-year-old junior A player in Ontario, slipped through the cracks of the draft. The Flyers signed Kerr as a rookie free agent on Oct. 25, 1979. Incidentally, Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Dino Ciccarelli also went undrafted in 1979 -- that's a combined 972 NHL goals between the two players that couldn't find a draft-day taker in '79. For more on Kerr, click
here.
Ilkka Sinisalo (LW/RW): The Flyers were able to sign a 23-year-old Sinisalo as a rookie free agent in the period shortly before all European players, including overagers, were required to be drafted (the rules have since been changed again to allow such players to be signed as free agents). He signed his first Flyers contract on Feb. 14, 1981. Sinisalo proved to be one of the most underrated two-way forwards in club history. For more on Sinisalo, see his
Heroes of the Past entry on Philadelphiaflyers.com.
Jim Vandermeer (D): Vandermeer joined the Flyers' organization as a free agent on Dec. 21, 2000. After serving an apprenticeship with the Phantoms, the tough defenseman played admirably in callup duty for Ken Hitchcock's Flyers before being traded to the Chicago Blackhawks as the main component of the deal that sent rental player Alexei Zhamnov to the Flyers. A second stint in Philadelphia in 2007-08 under his former Phantoms coach John Stevens did not go nearly as well. Stevens attempted to play Vandermeer on his top pairing with Kimmo Timonen, and his limitations were badly exposed by other teams' top lines. Barely two months after the Flyers re-acquired him from Chicago, the club traded him to Calgary for a 2009 third-round draft pick (Simon Bertilsson).
Jack McIlhargey (D): McIlhargey was a serviceable bottom-pairing NHL defenseman who spent two stints with the Flyers among the 420 NHL regular season and playoff games he played. He was originally signed by Philly as a free agent on Sept. 1, 1972. During his playing days, he was best known as a bushy-bearded, wild-maned and wild-eyed brawler. Although not nearly as famous as Dave Schultz, McIlhargey was known to put a bit of showmanship into his brand of fighting. He later went into coaching and served as an assistant coach for the Flyers under John Stevens. It always seemed strange to me to see a much older (and bald) McIlhargey behind the bench.
Bob Froese (G): Frosty was originally selected by the St. Louis Blues in the 10th round of the 1978 Draft, but never signed. The Flyers signed him as a free agent on June 18, 1981. Froese proved to be arguably the best backup goalie in Flyers history -- it's either him or Wayne Stephenson -- and he was excellent (until the playoffs) as a starter in 1985-86, following the death of Pelle Lindbergh. Froese was runner-up to the Rangers' John Vanbiesbrouck for the Vezina Trophy that season, and he won the Jennings Trophy. The next season, he was replaced by rookie Ron Hextall and traded shortly thereafter to the Rangers for Kjell Samuelsson. Today, he is a pastor at a church in upstate New York.
******
Ex-Flyer Glen Metropolit was yet another player who entered the pro game as an undrafted player. I have long thought that his story would make for a good movie bio -- even more so than the Vince Papale-inspired "Invincible."
A product of a broken home, Metropolit was raised by his mother in a government-subsidized housing project in one of the worst slums in Canada. His estranged father and his younger brother have both spent considerable portions of their lives in prison.
Metropolit's salvation was always his dedication to hockey -- along with the love and support of his mother. Even in youth hockey, he often started on the bubble of being cut from the roster. He never played major junior hockey, nor was he even considered an outside candidate for a late-round selection in the NHL draft. He had a college scholarship offer from Bowling Green rescinded because his grades put him in danger of being ruled academically ineligible by the NCAA.
But Metropolit always found ways to persevere and keep climbing the hockey ladder, one tryout at a time. He made it the ECHL and the original IHL by that route before the Capitals finally signed him as a rookie free agent in 1999. His pro hockey journey since that point has also been a tale of repeated setbacks and ultimate success through his persistence.
I interviewed Metropolit about his back story during his brief stint with the Flyers in 2008, but the material I had gathered sat around unused (his time in Philly proved to be a low point in his career, plus his personal story had been told very well by others). However, I had always wanted to use it. It took three years, but I was finally able to.
Two months from now, the New York Rangers will pay a visit to Zug, Switzerland to play an exhibition game against EV Zug prior to the annual NHL Premiere. Because Metropolit now plays for EV Zug (and led the Swiss National League in scoring this past season), I finally had my excuse to write an
article for NHL.com about Metropolit's amazing journey in life and in hockey in both North America and Europe.
Metropolit is a very genuine person, who truly appreciates every single day he's had in pro hockey. The fact that he will soon be entering his 15th pro season is a testament to what a little bit of God-given talent and a whole slew of devotion and hard work can accomplish in the face of very steep odds against one's success.
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