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WHO WILL FILL FLYERS GOALIE COACH VOID?
The departure in early March of Jeff Reese as the Philadelphia Flyers' goaltending coach left a significant void that will have to be filled next season by a new coach. Reese is one of the best in the business, and he has a knack for forging successful working relationships with goaltenders of varying styles and temperaments. The Flyers loss will be another organization's gain when Reese gets back into the game.
The Flyers are one of two NHL organizations -- the other is the Toronto Maple Leafs -- that currently has a goaltending coach vacancy. However, there could be changes in other organizations over the summer.
Former Flyers goaltender Sean Burke has earned a lot of acclaim for his goalie coach work with the Coyotes. His ambitions nowadays seem to be pointing him more toward front office positions, as he recently obtained permission from the organization to interview with other teams about about managerial vacancies. Nevertheless, if things were to work out that both Burke and head coach Dave Tippett were available to the Flyers, it would be something to ponder.
In terms of other currently employed NHL goaltending coaches, Mike Valley (Dallas Stars) appears to be one of the more prominent names on the hotseat. Kari Lehtonen is coming off a subpar season and the Stars have struggled for stability with their backups while former first-round draft pick Jack Campbell (like the majority of young goaltenders) has had his share of growing pains as he develops at the professional level.
Hockey is a results-oriented business. When teams fall short of expectations, coaches are often the first to take the fall. In reality, Valley is a very capable coach and there is no magic potion to cure a situation like the one the Stars experienced this year. Lehtonen's inconsistency in 2014-15 was on the "Big Finn" himself and it also seems unfair to hold him responsible for the revolving door of backups (although a few have been "name" veteran players with previous NHL-level starting experience).
If Valley is out there on the job market this summer, he would be an interesting external candidate for whom the Flyers to consider. He is a well-respected disciple of current Washington Capitals goalie coach Mitch Korn (whom many within hockey consider the very best in the business today, in part for the litany of active goaltenders and both current and former professional goaltending coaches with whom he's worked or consulted).
In terms of other capable names who might be available for NHL hire, Corey Hirsch, Steve Shields, Ty Conklin, Alex Auld, Scott Murray and Bob Janosz (longtime Rochester Americans goalie coach) are all highly regarded names.
Recently fired by Toronto, early 1980s Flyers backup goaltender Rick St. Croix has a wealth of experience at the NHL and AHL levels and, at age 60, has seen just about every possible that can arise. Likewise, Clint Milarchuk, most recently with Calgary, is very experienced at numerous levels of the game.
On the international level, Erik Granqvist remains an enormously respected goaltending coach. He was up for consideration for the Pittsburgh Penguins' job a couple years ago but the team ultimately decided to promote Mike Bales from within. An NHL team that wants to think a little outside the box could do far worse than to higher Granqvist as the first European-trained NHL goaltending coach.
Another interesting dark horse: former Flyers first-round pick Maxime Ouellet has had success as a goaltending coach both in the QMJHL (currently with the Val-d'Or Foreurs) and the DEL (where he worked well with Rob Zepp while both were with Eisbären Berlin). The 33-year-old is considered a fast-riser in the goalie coach ranks and his relative youth works in his favor because he is still not all that far removed from his own professional playing days and now has accumulated several years of coaching experience as well.
If the Flyers were to look within the current organization, it is possible that Neil Little could make the transition from scouting to the role of goalie coach. After Reese's departure, Little was asked to do a little part-time consulting with the Flyers' goaltenders although he did not run practices. He has previously also done some goalie developmental coaching work when asked.
Former Flyers goaltender Brian Boucher has begun a career in hockey broadcasting and is off to a strong start in that path after his retirement as an active player. Much of his energy is focused in that direction. However, he could just as easily work effectively with the Flyers goaltenders in some capacity if both the organization and he have interests along those lines.
Yet another former Flyers goalie, Dominic Roussel, has done some goaltending coaching work at the major junior and other lower levels, as well as running advanced-level clinics and private consultation. Many NHL organizations these days employ both an NHL goaltending coach as well as a full-time or part-time developmental coach, and Roussel has experience on the developmental level. These days, however, much of Roussel's time is spent in a successful career as a personal trainer.
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CARCILLO AND ANTOSKI: EX-FLYERS TAKING BRAVE STEPS TO HELP OTHERS
If you have not already done so, it is well worth your time to invest six minutes of your time to watch the video former Flyers and current Chicago Blackhawks forward Dan Carcillo recorded for the Players' Tribune in memory of his friend, the late Steve Montador.
In the video, Carcillo makes a plea for the hockey community at large -- and the NHLPA and NHL in particular -- to do more to provide support and education to former players who face the transition to life after hockey. This is a vulnerable time for many ex-players, especially those who struggle with depression and may have had issues with substance abuse.
On a broader scale, even many former players who made a good financial living during their playing days and show no outward signs of depression come upon the sudden realization that they've never made a game plan for life after the game. Not everyone is going to be able to go into coaching, broadcasting, scouting or front office careers.
Over the course of the video, Carcillo bravely and openly discusses his own issues with depression and battles with alcohol and prescription painkiller abuse. He talks about his close friendship with Montador, who struggled with similar demons and was a confidant. Carcillo also talks about how much the emotional support he's received from teammates has meant to him and how Montador basically felt he had no one in his corner anymore after he found himself out of the game.
Regardless of whether one likes Carcillo's envelope-pushing style as a hockey player, it is hard not to admire his courage and selfless honesty, all in the name of helping others to seek help with issues that many find too difficult or embarrassing to admit. This is part of the human side of hockey -- and sports in general -- that few (or want) get to see, but it a very real struggle for many within the game.
For example, as much as longtime Flyers fans love to recount the glory days of the Broad Street Bullies era teams and players, there is also a rather sad side to many of their stories. Quite a few struggled to cope after their careers ended and both endured and inflicted a lot of emotional pain before taking control of their lives. Ultimately, those who succeeded found the courage both for their own sakes and for the loved ones and true friends who were invested in them as human beings.
There's also an uplifting and redemptive side to those Flyers players who have turned personal struggles into a means of helping others. Reggie Leach is a good example through his work in First Nation communities and youth groups in teaching about life choices. Likewise, Flyers team president Paul Holmgren, legendary goaltender Bernie Parent and fan favorite enforcer Todd Fedoruk have privately helped others who fallen raise themselves and get a second chance in life.
Shawn Antoski is another former Flyers tough guy who has battled the ravages of depression in his life and is now doing something about it to help others. Along with Amy Cummings, an MD candidate from Belleville, Ontario, Antoski co-founded the Fear Nothing mental health project.
The project is a direct mental health issue awareness-raising educational campaign, outreach and support effort. Along with the program's web site, there is a related Fear Nothing group on Facebook to promote educational resources, interaction and news related to depression, anxiety disorders and other mental health issues in which far many struggle in silence at a terrible cost to quality of life, and sometimes even life itself.
As with Carcillo, Antoski talks openly and honestly about his own off-ice struggles that were far more daunting fights than the prospect of dropping the gloves with Luke Richardson, Craig Berube or Tony Twist. He had to tackle depression head on before it consumed him and cost him his family.
A very serious car accident abruptly ended Antoski's hockey career -- and very nearly his life -- and he underwent brain surgery, and surgical reconstruction of his orbital rim and forehead. Later, he had a severe onset of depression after dealing with a debilitating back injury.
As Antoski describes it on the Fear Nothing web site, "Depression became my escape. Hiding from the world, I was lost, and I couldn't understand it, or understand why people would ridicule me or make comments such as: 'He's seeking attention," 'He's faking it.' I disconnected from the people I love most, and it hurt them a great deal."
As his life bottomed out, Antoski summoned every ounce of strength and courage he could muster, and dealt with his problems rather than seeking escape and solace in denial and gradual self-destruction. Today, he owns a successful construction company and finds deeper purpose in trying to help others who deal with similar issues to those he once thought were solely his own weight to bear.
As Antoski writes, the purpose of Fear Nothing and similar outreach efforts like Carcillo's video are to " educate, raise awareness not ignorance, express understanding, love, caring, inspiration, support and resources. This could be the most important cause I've ever been a part of. I spoke out feeling I could be a voice for those who have lost their light, or are watching someone who is. Together we can do great things for other[s] suffering on both sides of it."
It may be unsettling for some in society to see athletes such as Carcillo and Antoski -- both of whom made their livings through physical toughness, seemed to project a high degree of self-assurance and sometimes skated a fine line on the ice in staying in sufficient control of their emotions to help their team -- own up to personal struggles that made them feel anything but tough and confident. For many others, however, it is moving and inspiring.
Antoski came to the realization that being open about his struggles to benefit others took a far greater degree of toughness than anything he did on the ice but also offered a much more lasting reward. Carcillo seems to have reached a similar place in his life and showed a lot of character and heart in his plea to ensure that the loss of his friend can be turned into way to help others.
It is so easy to be dismissive or judgmental of people. During "Anton's" playing days -- and the same applies for "Car Bomb" more recently -- some folks would see the aggressive hockey playing style, the long hair, the tattoos and the penchant for fast living and fail to see that there was human being underneath with something much more meaningful offer to offer than being "just a fast-skating goon."
More important, however, Antoski and Carcillo had to find a higher purpose within themselves, as did all of the aforementioned men. They summoned their own inner strength and are helping others find theirs. That is a far more noble deed than playing a professional sport.
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FLYERS ALUMNI IN ACTION FOR SATURDAY BENEFIT GAME
On Saturday, April 25, the Flyers Alumni Team will play a benefit game at the Skate Zone in Voorhees, NJ. Game time is 1 p.m. on the Flyers (left-side) rink. All proceeds will go to benefit the Willis Foundation, Historic Philadelphia and to charitable causes.
Unlike many Alumni Team games, this event is designed to be a small-group setting with only eight to 10 admissions for the general public. Attendees will have the opportunity to have a meet-and-greet afterwards with the participating Alumni players, which will allow for greater interaction.
The cost for the game and meet-and-greet is $50. Contact event organizer Joe Clark at 610-254-5664.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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