|
|
Bloggers 
My HockeyBuzz
 Hockeybuzz on Versus
Cap Central
Fantasy
Forums
Store
Chat
RSS
|
Season Ticket Login Free Registration! |
Get free daily email updates from Eklund with the latest rumors. Register for free today!
 |
 |
|
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger • NHL.com •
Part two of the Flyers season breakdown.
Derian Hatcher
Season 82 GP 3 G 6 A 9 PTS -24 67 PIM 3 PPG
1st half 41 GP 0 G 1 A 1 PT -11 41 PIM 0 PPG
2nd half 41 GP 3 G 5 A 8 PTS -13 26 PIM 3 PPG
Comments: Hatcher deserves a lot of credit for continuing to plug away after he and the team got off to a horrendous start. Simply by playing hard in every game (reaching the coveted 1,000 game mark for his NHL career) and contributing to the team's greatly improved penalty kill, he deserved the Barry Ashbee Trophy he won in the worst season in team history. In a campaign that was especially bad for the projected Philadelphia blueline, Hatcher's efforts were noteworthy.
Hatcher's one-on-one coverages improved over the course of the season and his lack of speed came into play less often as the club upgraded the speed around him. Hatcher has made a good mentor for Braydon Coburn in terms of leading by example in his physical play and penalty killing work. While Hatcher may no longer be around in Philly by the time Coburn comes into his own, their time paired together has been a positive for the youngster.
After Mike Knuble was lost to a broken cheekbone, Hatcher was used down low on the Flyers powerplay late in the season. He did an adequate job and collected three powerplay goals. But his presence underscored the Flyers need for a true power forward in the system.
While Hatcher no longer should get top-pairing minutes in the NHL, he's shown he can still play on anyone's starting six for several more seasons. Considering that many people were ready to retire him, I think that's a pretty admirable accomplishment in such a bleak season for the team.
Joni Pitkänen
Season 64 GP 4 G 39 A 43 PTS -25 88 PIM 1 PPG
1st half 38 GP 0 G 21 A 21 PTS -20 46 PIM 0 PPG
2nd half 31 GP 4 G 18 A 22 PTS -5 42 PIM 1 PPG
Comments: Pitkänen has become the poster boy for the Flyers' brutally disappointing season. After being mentioned as an early Norris Trophy candidate through the first two months of the 2005-06 season, he sustained a sports hernia. Ever since then, he's taken several giant steps backward in his development even though there's nothing wrong with him now physically.
Pitkänen, it should be known, has never really been a consistent player. He was inconsistent when he played for Kärpät Oulu in Finland, especially on the defensive side. He was understandably inconsistent as a rookie with the Flyers. But he was also inconsistent during the lockout when he played with the Phantoms (but came on late in the season and the Calder Cup playoffs, and he's still inconsistent now.
The bad news with him is that he sometimes makes you wonder about his hockey sense, which is something that can't be taught. The good news is that he still has youth on his side and he actually does have a decent work ethic, despite what you may have heard.
Of all the players who suffered as a result of Peter Forsberg's injury situation, I think Pitkänen may have suffered the worst. Last year, Forsberg's ability to read plays and react faster than 99% of the league created a host of chances for Pitkänen when he pinched deep into the zone. Last year, he scored no fewer than four goals on back-door plays set up by Forsberg and Pitkänen also picked up a lot of assists on plays Forsberg triggered.
Something else Pitkänen has gotten away from: using the middle of the ice. Last season, he showed the ability to split the defense up the middle or make quick cuts in from the circle, shooting from the hash marks. Ever since returning from the hernia surgery, he has been content to skate almost exclusively to the outside and either try a very low percentage shot or pass from near the goal line or else skate behind the net. Late this season, he showed some flashes of getting back to using the inside, and was usually effective doing so.
There has been a lot of talk about the small stick that Pitkänen uses. My feeling on that is no one was worried about it when he was playing great in October and November of 2005, but suddenly it's a major problem when he's playing terribly. Would a longer stick help? Perhaps, if he gets comfortable with it. But I think the other issues are more important.
Pitkänen remains far too turnover prone, indecisive in situations that require quick thinking and still takes too many bad minor penalties in situations where he's capable of stopping someone legally.
Some rays of hope: when he stayed back and didn't get caught, his one-on-one coverages and blocked shot ratio improved markedly in the second half of the season.
Once Pitkänen and Lasse Kukkonen got re-acquainted on the ice (they worked together as partners only infrequently with Kärpät, but were friends and hockey teammates since childhood), there were some signs that it's a pairing that could click if the Flyers upgrade elsewhere.
But ultimately, if Pitkänen is ever going to live up to his physical potential, it has to come from within Joni himself. At his current level of maturity as a player and given the growing questions about his hockey smarts, there is as much reason for concern as optimism. He simply can't afford to have another season like this one.
Lasse Kukkonen
Season 74 GP 5 G 9 A 14 PTS +4 38 PIM 1 PPG
Chicago 54 GP 5 G 9 A 14 PTS +5 30 PIM 1 PPG
Flyers 20 GP 0 G 0 A 0 PTS -1 8 PIM 0 PPG
Comments: Every team needs defensemen like Lasse Kukkonen to win. His value is entirely in his secondary stats, such as blocked shots and turnover ratio. Kukkonen is fearless when it comes to blocking shots, protects the puck extremely well. There's no panic whatsoever in his game and, at 25, plays like a veteran of many more professional games than he's played. He can play 16 to 20 minutes per game and rarely stand out, because he's just in the right place, doing all the little things right.
Early this season when he was with the Blackhawks, Kukkonen showed some offensive ability when he was used on the powerplay and in four-on-four situations. At the tail end of this season with the Flyers, Kukkonen showed increased aggressiveness in joining the rush, without sacrificing much on the defensive end. It didn't show up on the scoreboard, but it's something to file away. He rarely pinches unless he has support behind him.
But Kukkonen's bread-and-butter will always be as a defensive defenseman. He can still be valuable even if he never gets a point. The former Kärpät captain is also pretty vocal on the ice, at least with his defensive partner. When Martin Biron or Antero Niittymäki makes a big save, number 28 is almost always the first Flyer to come over and give the goaltender a tap on the pads.
Although he was a minus-one in his 20 games with the Flyers, that figure was actually the best among Flyers defensemen over the home stretch of the season. Re-signing Kukkonen as an RFA is one of the Flyers' off-season priorities.
Braydon Coburn
Season 49 GP 3 G 8 A 11 PTS -1 46 PIM 1 PPG
Atlanta 29 GP 0 G 4 A 4 PTS +1 30 PIM 0 PPG
2nd half 31 GP 4 G 18 A 22 PTS -5 42 PIM 1 PPG
Comments: I covered Coburn's early Flyers tenure in a recent article for NHL.com. My commentary holds from what I wrote in that piece.
Link: http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=298293
Denis Gauthier
Season 43 GP 0 G 4 A 4 PTS -11 45 PIM
Comments: Gauthier missed 32 games from Nov. 11 through Jan. 20 after surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder. He also missed the final week and a half of the season after a wrist injury. When he was in the lineup, Gauthier brought his usual physical (and often borderline illegal) hitting game to the club.
Gauthier was exposed badly by the Sabres in last year's playoffs. Numerous times, he got caught out of position on plays that led to backbreaking goals. This year, although he still got burned at times, he was a bit more selective in when he went for the big hit and when he stayed back. He was also one of the relatively few Flyers defensemen who consistently came to the defense of his goaltender and other teammates when they got run.
With the Flyers continuing to reshape their blueline and facing a numbers crunch, Gauthier is a candidate to be traded in the offseason. If he remains, his role will be as the fifth to seventh defenseman, depending on other roster moves. Away from the ice, Gauthier is a delight. He's an easy interview -- articulate and honest-- and just a genuinely good guy. So if he does go, he'll be missed around the locker room.
Randy Jones
Season 66 GP 4 G 18 A 22 PTS -14 38 PIM
1st half 39 GP 1 G 9 A 10 PTS -8 20 PIM
2nd half 27 GP 3 G 9 A 12 PTS -6 18 PIM
Comments: Jones struggled terribly as a rookie last year and had a poor preseason this year. But, very quietly, he showed slow, steady improvement over the course of the season. He didn't lay back as much and he was more decisive at both ends of the ice.
All in all, he showed the tendencies of a third-pairing NHL defenseman who can chip in a few points. Unlike last season, he looked like he belonged in the NHL. Jones skates well in addition to possessing decent size, so he should continue to compete for the Flyers' sixth starting job or seventh defenseman role.
Alexandre Picard Senators Jersey in the HockeyBuzz Store' href='http://shop.hockeybuzz.com/ottawa-senators.php'>Alexandre Picard
Season 62 GP 3 G 19 A 22 PTS -19 17 PIM 1 PPG
1st half 27 GP 2 G 6 A 8 PTS -14 4 PIM 1 PPG
2nd half 35 GP 1 G 13 A 14 PTS -5 13 PIM 0 PPG
Comments: Picard showed a higher upside than Jones, but was also less consistent. On the bright side, Picard demonstrated the most accurate shot from the point on the team, firing low, deflectable shots on goal. He had a career game against the Devils, registering five assists. He skates well and can make lead passes that catch teammates in stride in the neutral zone.
On the down side, Picard is turnover prone (he was tied with Pitkänen for the most giveaways by Flyers defensemen in in the second half of the season, despite playing about 10 fewer minutes per game than Pitkänen). Many of the turnovers were of the unforced variety. He seemed to hit a wall late in the season.
Picard sometimes shows adequate coverage and sometimes gets lost in the defensive zone. On one memorable ocassion this season, he abandoned his position in front of the net to chase Miroslav Satan all the way behind the net and out to the opposite point, passing his defensive partner (Hatcher) along the way on the boards. The play promptly led to a goal on Picard's side of the ice.
With Picard, there seems to be material for John Stevens and Terry Murray to work with in molding a useful NHL defenseman. In the AHL, he was praised for his poise. The Flyers hope that trait will emerge over time at the top level. In the short-term, he will compete with Jones for the sixth starting job or seventh defenseman spot.
Other players:
Ryan Parent : Got his NHL debut under his belt and didn't look out of place before finishing out the season with the Phantoms. The Flyers project him as an NHL shutdown defenseman and, along with Coburn, is a key cog in the Flyers' blueline hopes for the near future. He'll probably need to be eased into the role.
Jussi Timonen : Started off playing fairly well next to Pitkänen but then hit a wall. Timonen was an average SM-Liiga defenseman and was an average AHL defenseman for the Phantoms this year. He can skate well and can be effective when he keeps his game simple, but does not bring the shot-blocking, hockey sense and intangibles that Kukkonen offers.
I don't think Jussi's presence will factor much into the equation of the organization trying to pursue his other brother, Kimmo, as a free agent. Kimmo Timonen actually has a closer hockey relationship with Sami Kapanen. (They came up through the KalPa Kuopio system and then played for HIFK-- although not at the same time -- before coming to the NHL. Kimmo Timonen and Kapanen are now co-owners of the KalPa club).
I personally see Timonen as an AHL defenseman who can fill in adequately for stretches of time at the NHL level. I don't think he'll develop into a starter.
Nate Guenin : Guenin gave a reasonable accounting of himself (two points, even rating) in his nine games with the big club. He seems to recognize his limitations and play a simple game with a physical element to it. He's a darkhorse for the sixth or seventh job in this or another organization.
Lars Jonsson : Jonsson's lack of defensive savvy and reliable execution stands out more than his physical tools. It said a lot to me that he was the first defenseman cut off Sweden's pre-tournament World Championship roster last year (before any of their NHL defensemen were available for Tre Kronor) and it hardly created a ripple. Lars has skill but skill alone isn't enough. His signing was a failed experiment.
David Printz : The Kjell Samuelsson of the AHL, minus Kjell's innate hockey sense that made him a reliable NHL defenseman. That leaves Printz with size and a willingness to get involved physically. At the NHL level, he's no more than a fill-in.
Derian Hatcher
Season 82 GP 3 G 6 A 9 PTS -24 67 PIM 3 PPG
1st half 41 GP 0 G 1 A 1 PT -11 41 PIM 0 PPG
2nd half 41 GP 3 G 5 A 8 PTS -13 26 PIM 3 PPG
Comments: Hatcher deserves a lot of credit for continuing to plug away after he and the team got off to a horrendous start. Simply by playing hard in every game (reaching the coveted 1,000 game mark for his NHL career) and contributing to the team's greatly improved penalty kill, he deserved the Barry Ashbee Trophy he won in the worst season in team history. In a campaign that was especially bad for the projected Philadelphia blueline, Hatcher's efforts were noteworthy.
Hatcher's one-on-one coverages improved over the course of the season and his lack of speed came into play less often as the club upgraded the speed around him. Hatcher has made a good mentor for Braydon Coburn in terms of leading by example in his physical play and penalty killing work. While Hatcher may no longer be around in Philly by the time Coburn comes into his own, their time paired together has been a positive for the youngster.
After Mike Knuble was lost to a broken cheekbone, Hatcher was used down low on the Flyers powerplay late in the season. He did an adequate job and collected three powerplay goals. But his presence underscored the Flyers need for a true power forward in the system.
While Hatcher no longer should get top-pairing minutes in the NHL, he's shown he can still play on anyone's starting six for several more seasons. Considering that many people were ready to retire him, I think that's a pretty admirable accomplishment in such a bleak season for the team.
Joni Pitkänen
Season 64 GP 4 G 39 A 43 PTS -25 88 PIM 1 PPG
1st half 38 GP 0 G 21 A 21 PTS -20 46 PIM 0 PPG
2nd half 31 GP 4 G 18 A 22 PTS -5 42 PIM 1 PPG
Comments: Pitkänen has become the poster boy for the Flyers' brutally disappointing season. After being mentioned as an early Norris Trophy candidate through the first two months of the 2005-06 season, he sustained a sports hernia. Ever since then, he's taken several giant steps backward in his development even though there's nothing wrong with him now physically.
Pitkänen, it should be known, has never really been a consistent player. He was inconsistent when he played for Kärpät Oulu in Finland, especially on the defensive side. He was understandably inconsistent as a rookie with the Flyers. But he was also inconsistent during the lockout when he played with the Phantoms (but came on late in the season and the Calder Cup playoffs, and he's still inconsistent now.
The bad news with him is that he sometimes makes you wonder about his hockey sense, which is something that can't be taught. The good news is that he still has youth on his side and he actually does have a decent work ethic, despite what you may have heard.
Of all the players who suffered as a result of Peter Forsberg's injury situation, I think Pitkänen may have suffered the worst. Last year, Forsberg's ability to read plays and react faster than 99% of the league created a host of chances for Pitkänen when he pinched deep into the zone. Last year, he scored no fewer than four goals on back-door plays set up by Forsberg and Pitkänen also picked up a lot of assists on plays Forsberg triggered.
Something else Pitkänen has gotten away from: using the middle of the ice. Last season, he showed the ability to split the defense up the middle or make quick cuts in from the circle, shooting from the hash marks. Ever since returning from the hernia surgery, he has been content to skate almost exclusively to the outside and either try a very low percentage shot or pass from near the goal line or else skate behind the net. Late this season, he showed some flashes of getting back to using the inside, and was usually effective doing so.
There has been a lot of talk about the small stick that Pitkänen uses. My feeling on that is no one was worried about it when he was playing great in October and November of 2005, but suddenly it's a major problem when he's playing terribly. Would a longer stick help? Perhaps, if he gets comfortable with it. But I think the other issues are more important.
Pitkänen remains far too turnover prone, indecisive in situations that require quick thinking and still takes too many bad minor penalties in situations where he's capable of stopping someone legally.
Some rays of hope: when he stayed back and didn't get caught, his one-on-one coverages and blocked shot ratio improved markedly in the second half of the season.
Once Pitkänen and Lasse Kukkonen got re-acquainted on the ice (they worked together as partners only infrequently with Kärpät, but were friends and hockey teammates since childhood), there were some signs that it's a pairing that could click if the Flyers upgrade elsewhere.
But ultimately, if Pitkänen is ever going to live up to his physical potential, it has to come from within Joni himself. At his current level of maturity as a player and given the growing questions about his hockey smarts, there is as much reason for concern as optimism. He simply can't afford to have another season like this one.
Lasse Kukkonen
Season 74 GP 5 G 9 A 14 PTS +4 38 PIM 1 PPG
Chicago 54 GP 5 G 9 A 14 PTS +5 30 PIM 1 PPG
Flyers 20 GP 0 G 0 A 0 PTS -1 8 PIM 0 PPG
Comments: Every team needs defensemen like Lasse Kukkonen to win. His value is entirely in his secondary stats, such as blocked shots and turnover ratio. Kukkonen is fearless when it comes to blocking shots, protects the puck extremely well. There's no panic whatsoever in his game and, at 25, plays like a veteran of many more professional games than he's played. He can play 16 to 20 minutes per game and rarely stand out, because he's just in the right place, doing all the little things right.
Early this season when he was with the Blackhawks, Kukkonen showed some offensive ability when he was used on the powerplay and in four-on-four situations. At the tail end of this season with the Flyers, Kukkonen showed increased aggressiveness in joining the rush, without sacrificing much on the defensive end. It didn't show up on the scoreboard, but it's something to file away. He rarely pinches unless he has support behind him.
But Kukkonen's bread-and-butter will always be as a defensive defenseman. He can still be valuable even if he never gets a point. The former Kärpät captain is also pretty vocal on the ice, at least with his defensive partner. When Martin Biron or Antero Niittymäki makes a big save, number 28 is almost always the first Flyer to come over and give the goaltender a tap on the pads.
Although he was a minus-one in his 20 games with the Flyers, that figure was actually the best among Flyers defensemen over the home stretch of the season. Re-signing Kukkonen as an RFA is one of the Flyers' off-season priorities.
Braydon Coburn
Season 49 GP 3 G 8 A 11 PTS -1 46 PIM 1 PPG
Atlanta 29 GP 0 G 4 A 4 PTS +1 30 PIM 0 PPG
2nd half 31 GP 4 G 18 A 22 PTS -5 42 PIM 1 PPG
Comments: I covered Coburn's early Flyers tenure in a recent article for NHL.com. My commentary holds from what I wrote in that piece.
Link: http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=298293
Denis Gauthier
Season 43 GP 0 G 4 A 4 PTS -11 45 PIM
Comments: Gauthier missed 32 games from Nov. 11 through Jan. 20 after surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder. He also missed the final week and a half of the season after a wrist injury. When he was in the lineup, Gauthier brought his usual physical (and often borderline illegal) hitting game to the club.
Gauthier was exposed badly by the Sabres in last year's playoffs. Numerous times, he got caught out of position on plays that led to backbreaking goals. This year, although he still got burned at times, he was a bit more selective in when he went for the big hit and when he stayed back. He was also one of the relatively few Flyers defensemen who consistently came to the defense of his goaltender and other teammates when they got run.
With the Flyers continuing to reshape their blueline and facing a numbers crunch, Gauthier is a candidate to be traded in the offseason. If he remains, his role will be as the fifth to seventh defenseman, depending on other roster moves. Away from the ice, Gauthier is a delight. He's an easy interview -- articulate and honest-- and just a genuinely good guy. So if he does go, he'll be missed around the locker room.
Randy Jones
Season 66 GP 4 G 18 A 22 PTS -14 38 PIM
1st half 39 GP 1 G 9 A 10 PTS -8 20 PIM
2nd half 27 GP 3 G 9 A 12 PTS -6 18 PIM
Comments: Jones struggled terribly as a rookie last year and had a poor preseason this year. But, very quietly, he showed slow, steady improvement over the course of the season. He didn't lay back as much and he was more decisive at both ends of the ice.
All in all, he showed the tendencies of a third-pairing NHL defenseman who can chip in a few points. Unlike last season, he looked like he belonged in the NHL. Jones skates well in addition to possessing decent size, so he should continue to compete for the Flyers' sixth starting job or seventh defenseman role.
Alexandre Picard Senators Jersey in the HockeyBuzz Store' href='http://shop.hockeybuzz.com/ottawa-senators.php'>Alexandre Picard
Season 62 GP 3 G 19 A 22 PTS -19 17 PIM 1 PPG
1st half 27 GP 2 G 6 A 8 PTS -14 4 PIM 1 PPG
2nd half 35 GP 1 G 13 A 14 PTS -5 13 PIM 0 PPG
Comments: Picard showed a higher upside than Jones, but was also less consistent. On the bright side, Picard demonstrated the most accurate shot from the point on the team, firing low, deflectable shots on goal. He had a career game against the Devils, registering five assists. He skates well and can make lead passes that catch teammates in stride in the neutral zone.
On the down side, Picard is turnover prone (he was tied with Pitkänen for the most giveaways by Flyers defensemen in in the second half of the season, despite playing about 10 fewer minutes per game than Pitkänen). Many of the turnovers were of the unforced variety. He seemed to hit a wall late in the season.
Picard sometimes shows adequate coverage and sometimes gets lost in the defensive zone. On one memorable ocassion this season, he abandoned his position in front of the net to chase Miroslav Satan all the way behind the net and out to the opposite point, passing his defensive partner (Hatcher) along the way on the boards. The play promptly led to a goal on Picard's side of the ice.
With Picard, there seems to be material for John Stevens and Terry Murray to work with in molding a useful NHL defenseman. In the AHL, he was praised for his poise. The Flyers hope that trait will emerge over time at the top level. In the short-term, he will compete with Jones for the sixth starting job or seventh defenseman spot.
Other players:
Ryan Parent : Got his NHL debut under his belt and didn't look out of place before finishing out the season with the Phantoms. The Flyers project him as an NHL shutdown defenseman and, along with Coburn, is a key cog in the Flyers' blueline hopes for the near future. He'll probably need to be eased into the role.
Jussi Timonen : Started off playing fairly well next to Pitkänen but then hit a wall. Timonen was an average SM-Liiga defenseman and was an average AHL defenseman for the Phantoms this year. He can skate well and can be effective when he keeps his game simple, but does not bring the shot-blocking, hockey sense and intangibles that Kukkonen offers.
I don't think Jussi's presence will factor much into the equation of the organization trying to pursue his other brother, Kimmo, as a free agent. Kimmo Timonen actually has a closer hockey relationship with Sami Kapanen. (They came up through the KalPa Kuopio system and then played for HIFK-- although not at the same time -- before coming to the NHL. Kimmo Timonen and Kapanen are now co-owners of the KalPa club).
I personally see Timonen as an AHL defenseman who can fill in adequately for stretches of time at the NHL level. I don't think he'll develop into a starter.
Nate Guenin : Guenin gave a reasonable accounting of himself (two points, even rating) in his nine games with the big club. He seems to recognize his limitations and play a simple game with a physical element to it. He's a darkhorse for the sixth or seventh job in this or another organization.
Lars Jonsson : Jonsson's lack of defensive savvy and reliable execution stands out more than his physical tools. It said a lot to me that he was the first defenseman cut off Sweden's pre-tournament World Championship roster last year (before any of their NHL defensemen were available for Tre Kronor) and it hardly created a ripple. Lars has skill but skill alone isn't enough. His signing was a failed experiment.
David Printz : The Kjell Samuelsson of the AHL, minus Kjell's innate hockey sense that made him a reliable NHL defenseman. That leaves Printz with size and a willingness to get involved physically. At the NHL level, he's no more than a fill-in.
Join the Discussion:  |
 |