FLYERS RE-SIGN STRAKA
The Philadelphia Flyers announced on Friday that they have re-signed restricted free agent right winger Petr Straka to a one-year, two-way contract. The deal will pay Straka $650,000 at the NHL level and $90,000 at the American Hockey League level with the Phantoms.
Straka, 24, caught fire offensively for the Phantoms in November of last season but was later set back by injuries as well as ongoing inconsistency in other aspects of his game. Dressing in 64 of 76 games, Straka produced 19 goals and 37 points (tied for fourth on the Phantoms).
The Czech forward, who was originally drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the second round (55th overall) of the 2010 NHL Draft but went unsigned and was later signed as a free agent by the Flyers after a big overager season in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, has tried to shake a reputation for being a player who needs to score to contribute. He has had mixed results through three pro seasons.
Straka could still stand improvement in his game-to-game play without the puck as well as his consistency (rather than streakiness) of production. On a situational basis, he still seems to zag to the perimeter when he's expected to zig to the high-punishment/high-reward areas, and other times he still needs to skate more and glide less. When Straka is locked in, however, he can be an effective player even when he's not sniping goals or scoring in shootouts. No one ever questioned his hands.
Straka had a three-game callup to the Flyers during the 2014-15 season and actually looked better in those several games at the NHL level than he did for much of the AHL season. Last season, he was not called up to the NHL. However, the player took strides in the early portion of last season. Unfortunately, he was not quite able to build upon it, in part due to injury.
Looking past his goal-scoring hot streak, the Flyers likely wanted to see Straka sustain offensive productivity over a longer haul and push his shift-to-shift and game-to-game consistency up just another half-notch to a level in which they would felt comfortable with call him up to play for Dave Hakstol. While Straka is a longshot to make the opening night roster, it is not impossible that he could work his way into the callup mix. It will take a breakout season.
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2016 FLYERS ALUMNI GOLF INVITATIONAL
The 2016 Flyers Alumni Golf Invitational will be held on July 18 at the Philadelphia Cricket Club in Flourtown, PA. The event will raise money for the Flyers Alumni Association, Flyers Charities and BLOCS.
The Golf Invitational will offer a round of golf, lunch, cocktail reception and dinner program. The schedule is as follows:
11:30 a.m. – Alumni team photo/player availability
12 p.m. – Golf begins
6 p.m. – Dinner reception including remarks and auctions
Subject to changes and additions, the following Flyers Alumni -- widely representing every decade of team history -- will be attending: Ray Allison, Bill Barber, Frank Bathe, Craig Berube, Brian Boucher, Jesse Boulerice, Danny Briere, Terry Carkner, Lindsay Carson, Jeff Chychrun, Bob Clarke, Bill Clement, Steve Coates, Riley Cote, Doug Crossman, Barry Dean, Eric Desjardins, Andre "Moose" Dupont, Doug Favell, Todd Fedoruk, Ross Fitzpatrick, Mark Freer, Larry Goodenough, TJ Gorence, Paul Holmgren, Ed Hospodar, Mark Howe, Kerry Huffman, Bob "the Hound" Kelly, Tim Kerr, Orest Kindrachuk, Mike Knuble, Ian Laperriere, Mitch Lamoureaux, Neil Little, Brad Marsh, Phil Myre, Bernie Parent, Dave Poulin, Brian Propp, Chris Pronger, Luke Richardson, Don Saleski, Dave "the Hammer" Schultz (attending but not golfing), Ilkka Sinisalo, Derrick Smith, Chris Therien and Joe Watson. Also slated to be on hand are the likes of Lou Nolan, Steve Coates, Dave "Sudsy" Settlemyre and Al Morganti.
For more information,
click here.
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