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Meltzer's Musings: Development Camp, Setoguchi, Kovalenko |
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MONDAY QUICK HITS
* The Flyers annual summer Development Camp will be held from July 10 to 15. The Trial on the Isle will be on July 14. The full list of participants is expected to be released today. When available, I will add the roster to today's blog.
* One of the more interesting reclamation projects still sitting out on the unrestricted free agent market as of this writing is right winger Devin Setoguchi. The eighth overall pick of the 2005 NHL Draft has largely underachieved in his career to date, but there have been occasional flashes of the form that enabled him to score 31 goals and 65 points back in 2008-09 (his second pro season with the San Jose Sharks).
The righthanded shooting winger has always had outstanding speed but has been branded a one-dimensional player. Setoguchi's compete level and attention to detail have been called into question at times over the years. For a player primarily known for his offensive ability, it is troublesome that it has been three seasons since Setoguchi last hit the 20-goal mark and he has only topped 40 points once in the last five seasons.
Setoguchi is coming off a poor 2013-14 season with the Winnipeg Jets, in which he notched just 11 goals and 27 points in 78 games (Setoguchi had 13 goals and 27 points in 48 games for Minnesota during the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season). He was a healthy scratch a few times and also battled some knee issues during the season.
For these reasons, it is not all that surprising that Setoguchi is one of the players still sitting out on the UFA market. On the other hand, he still just 27 years old; not too late to have a resurgence. At some point, the player seems likely to get a one-year contract offer at a discount price. Although Setoguchi is not what one would describe as the type of player to whom Ron Hextall is typically drawn, the Flyers do have a need to add a scoring winger at cap-friendly cost.
Setoguchi needs to play with a high-end playmaker and for someone else to provide the grit on a line (he has decent size but rarely uses it). It is possible that he could play his off-wing but he has primarily played right wing during his career.
* Flyers Alumnus Birthday: Andrei "the Tank" Kovalenko turns 44 today. Kovalenko was on the outs in Edmonton when the Flyers traded the out-of-favor Alexandre Daigle straight up for him midway through the 1998-99 season. In turn, Kovalenko lasted just 13 games for the Flyers (posting one assist and a minus-five rating in 13 games) before general manager Bob Clarke flipped the forward to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for defensive defenseman Adam Burt.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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