RILEY BRINGS TWO DECADES OF DEVELOPMENT EXPERIENCE
While the Flyers have not been able to do much this off-season to bolster their NHL roster or achieve salary cap relief, they have made a few good additions on the coaching end. Gord Murphy was a nice addition as an NHL assistant coach to work with the Flyers defensemen. Back in June, the organization hired longtime USA Hockey director of Atlantic district player development director John Riley as a player development coach to work in conjunction with Kjell Samuelsson.
Riley has been working with the USA Hockey program since 1992, serving as a scout for the NTDP in Ann Arbor as well as his oversight role in New Jersey, Eastern Pennsylvania and Delaware. The caliber of hockey in the Atlantic district has improved immensely over the last two decades, as it has on virtually a nationwide level.
A former math and science teacher, Riley's hockey background also include a two-season stint as an assistant coach at Princeton under Guy Gadowsky (former Flyers forward Darroll Powe was one of the team's players) and scouting work for the USHL's Sioux Falls Stampede.
Along with Samuelsson, Riley was one of the instructors at the Flyers' recent Development Camp. I asked Riley if he felt there were any players who pleasantly surprised him or Samuelsson at camp.
"I would not say anyone particular player or players surprised us in any way. With that said, I think several of the 'older young players' have clearly taken positive steps to grow their game. Our new draft class did a great job acclimating themselves and certainly, individually and collectively, demonstrated high level of skill. The entire group worked hard throughout the camp and did a great job," said Riley.
Last season, after Ian Laperriere was promoted from player development coach to an NHL assistant coach, longtime Phantoms coach Samuelsson took over Laperriere's role. The addition of Riley completed the tandem after the organization elected not to retain former Flyers defenseman Derian Hatcher as part of the player development coaching tandem.
PROPP AND MCCRIMMON HONORED WITH SASKATCHEWAN HOF INDUCTION
Belated congratulations go out to Flyers Hall of Fame inductee Brian Propp and the family of the late Brad McCrimmon for their formal inductions on July 18 into the Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame at the Art Hauser Center in Prince Albert on July 18. The co-host of the event was Phoenix Coyotes head coach Dave Tippett (himself a former Flyers player).
Propp and McCrimmon were teammates with Flyers alum Ray Allison and several other future NHL players on a Brandon Wheat Kings club that was one of the most dominant teams in Canadian major junior hockey history. Coached by Dunc McCallum, the 1978-79 Wheat Kings reeled off a 58-5-9 record with a league-best 491 goals scored (59 more than second-ranked Portland) and 230 goals against (35 fewer than second-ranked Portland).
That year, Propp established a new league scoring record -- since broken -- with 94 goals, 100 assists and 194 points in 71 games. Propp's frequent linemate, Allison, racked up 60 goals and 153 points. Meanwhile, McCrimmon (24 goals, 98 points, 139 penalty minutes) anchored the Brandon blue line.
All three players were selected in the first round of the 1979 NHL Draft. Expected initially to go within the top five picks, Propp ended up being available to the Flyers with the 14th overall pick. McCrimmon went one pick later to the Boston Bruins (who had also picked future five-time Norris Trophy winner Ray Bourque with the eighth overall pick). Allison went to the Hartford Whalers 18th overall.
Brian Propp with his parents at the 2014 Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
TODAY IN FLYERS HISTORY: FLYERS ACQUIRE CARKNER
On July 25, 1988, the Flyers acquired defenseman Terry Carkner from the Quebec Nordiques in exchange for defenseman Greg Smyth and a 1989 third-round draft pick (John Tanner). Although the deal proved to be a "win" for the Flyers, it coincided with the start of a time period that was not a happy one in franchise history.
Carkner was far from a superstar but he played five generally solid seasons in Philadelphia. The former New York Rangers first-round pick (14th overall in the 1984 Draft) provided size, toughness and some puck-moving ability. During his time in Philly, Carkner had two seasons with 30-plus points, including an 11-goal, 43 point campaign his first year. Unfortunately, the club missed the playoffs in all but his first season in Philly.
For most of his Flyers stint, Carkner was one of the team's top two or three defensemen. He had some consistency issues and got booed at times (many Flyers fans are virtually predisposed to hate most defensemen who plays for the team) but, in reality, he was usually among the team's steadier defensemen at a time when the club was truly paper thin in blueline depth.
In 1993, Carkner threatened to take the Flyers to salary arbitration before a multi-year contract was finally signed on July 14. That October, the Flyers traded Carkner to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for defenseman Yves Racine and a fourth-round pick (Sebastien Vallee) in the 1994 NHL Draft.
Carkner spent two seasons with the Red Wings, followed by four with the Florida Panthers. He was a mainstay on the Panthers' defense corps in 1995-96 when an underdog club upset the Flyers team in the second round of the playoffs and then toppled the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Finals en route to the franchise's only trip to the Stanley Cup Finals.
It has been said that the 1995-96 Florida team took to the extreme a variety of clutch-and-grab tactics, puck flips over the defensive glass (not an automatic penalty in this era) and excessive icings to slow down the play to a crawl and frustrate their playoff opponents. Carkner was vilified as one of the main obstructionist culprits on his team.
That may or may not have been true but the bottom line was that it worked. The Panthers made it to the Stanley Cup Finals while the vanquished Flyers (the regular season Eastern Conference champion with 107 points) and Penguins (the NHL's highest-scoring team and Northeast Division champion with 102 points) were sent to the golf course.
Carkner finished his NHL career with 858 regular season games played, 42 goals, 252 points, and 1,588 penalty minutes. For the Flyers portion of his career, he dressed in 376 regular season games (plus 19 playoff games in 1989), notching 29 goals, 132 points and 867 penalty minutes.
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