Sat down with Ian Laperriere on Tuesday to chat about this being his first rookie camp whe he is totally in charge as director of player development.
His job next season is to meet up with every player and spend some one-on-one time with them. It's not just following up on their on-ice performance but off the ice, scholastics (if applicable), nutrition, etc.
He'll be doing a lot of travel.
Lappy told me he felt like he was on an island in 1992 when he drafted by St. Louis. The only contact he had with NHL officials was when he came to training camp. Never heard or saw anyone again.
“That is not right," he told me. "You draft a player, you invest money and time in them, why not send someone out who is gonna follow them?”
At 38, Lappy is twice the age of many of these players. Yet he gets along well with them, he says, because he was also a good communicator and he finds that teenagers will listen to a guy who's been an NHLer perhaps more than seeing them as a friend, adult or parent.
“It’s a different generation [of kids],” he said. “Not easy to deal with these kids. It’s an internet generation that thinks they know everything. That’s the challenge and I welcome it.”
BTW: Lappy changed things around this year. Two scrimmages to close out camp, not one. And the famed "Trial on the Isle" is changing, too.
The entire event will be staged on the beach at Stone Harbor and won't resemble the events of past that took place around the town.
"It's a boot camp," Lappy said. Military personnel will oversee the competition.
Again, all of this, was his idea with his staff: Derian Hatcher, Riley Cote and Joel Bouchard.
I like the idea that in his first crack at things, Lappy is changing the way the Flyers have conducted business in the past and stamping it with his own brand.
Which is how you make things better and keep them from getting stale, isn't it?
**
The Flyers plan 7 exhibition games even though they still don't have a date as to when training camp opens.
Rookie camp is planned between Sept. 16-20.
Any kind of NHL plan past Sept. 15 - when the CBA expires - is dicey at this point because it's entirely possible there won't be training camp or even exhibition games.
While no one wants to see a lockout, privately, most of the Flyer players would tell you they'd just as soon have the pre-season wiped out. No one likes exhibition games and most players are now wary of pre-season injuries.
They dislike training camp even more. Again, most players wouldn't mind if camp were a couple days and the real games began so, take that or what it's worth.
The Pre-Season Sked:
Tuesday, Sept. 25 vs. Chicago 7:00
Wednesday, Sept. 26 vs. Toronto 7:00
(At John Labatt Centre, London, Ontario)
Saturday, Sept. 29 vs. NY Rangers 7:00
Monday, Oct. 1 vs. NJ Devils 7:00
Tuesday, Oct. 2 at Toronto 7:00
Friday, Oct. 5 at New Jersey 7:00
Saturday, Oct. 6 at Chicago 8:30
Here's a ton of Flyer features from Sarah Baicker and myself on CSNPhilly.com:
click here 
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