UPDATE 2:00 PM EDT
The Flyers have invited veteran defenseman Hal Gill to attend training camp on a professional tryout basis. Given that the team already is loaded with capable defensive defensemen with good size -- the team's problem last year was an imbalance between these sorts of defenders and puck movers, with a shortage of the latter -- I don't think Gill currently has much of a shot at earning an opening night roster spot.
This could change, however. In the event of multiple injuries during the preseason or one or two veteran defensemen getting traded in order to create some much-needed cap space, Gill could have a shot at a bottom-pairing spot and a penalty killing role.
Alternatively, if he is unable to sign here or elsewhere out of camp, Gill may become a candidate for an AHL contract with the Phantoms. Such a deal would contain an NHL out-clause, allowing Gill to sign an NHL deal if a spot opened by December. This was the contract route that veteran forward Mike Knuble took last season, signing an AHL deal with Grand Rapids and ultimately finding an NHL spot in Philadelphia when a spot was opened by injuries.
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Saturday Quick Hits
* Day two of the Flyers' three-day rookie camp takes place today at the Skate Zone in Voorhees. Today is a travel day for me, as I am returning to Philadelphia from Texas to cover the end of the rookie camp and the start of the big team's full camp and preseason games. Tomorrow, I will have a full blog on day three of rookie camp.
* Flyers defense prospect Valeri Vasiliev suffered a separated shoulder in Spartak Moscow's KHL regular season opening game on Thursday. He will miss a minimum of three weeks. This is the same shoulder that kept Vasiliev out for the better part of six months during the 2011-12 season, causing him to drop to the seventh round of the 2012 Draft after initially being projected as a potential second-round pick.
* Flyers defense prospect Robert Hägg has been playing on the top pairing for Modo Hockey during the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) preseason, paired with former Calgary Flames defenseman Richie Regehr. In five games played to date, Hägg has two power play goals, one power play assist (recorded in Modo's most recent game) and a plus-two rating. The SHL regular season starts on Sept. 14.
* Today is the second anniversary of the tragic plane crash that took the lives of former Flyers defenseman Brad McCrimmon and the rest of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl team that McCrimmon was coaching. Truly one of the darkest days in hockey history.
* Flyers Alumni Birthday: Enforcer Gino Odjick, who spent 30 games with the Flyers over parts of the 1999-2000 and 2000-01 seasons, turns 43 today. A prolific fighter during his years with the Canucks, Odjick had just two fights (versus Andy Sutton and Chris Tamer) during his stint with the Flyers.
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