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QUICK HITS: JUNE 11, 2017
1) Grant McCagg's cover story in the Recruites 2017 NHL Draft Guide has an intriguing anecdote about Halifax Moosheheads center Nico Hischier from his coach Andre Tourigny. The team was working on a breakout drill in which the defensemen would try to make an accurate first pass while under heavy forechecking pressure. Hischier asked Tourigny if he could do the drill in the role of a defenseman.
"I asked why, and he said, ‘Sometimes during the game when I’m back with the puck I’m under
pressure.. .I want to make sure I can break out with the puck from my own zone," Tourigny recalled.
“I said ‘oh my God!' He wants to be a pro, he wants to be good defensively. Every time he’s here in my office the first thing he asks me about is his defense. He is special, he’s an awesome player. He sees the game sometimes where nobody can.”
Being a solid two-way player committed to continual improvement in his defensive game as well as his offensive skills will serve Hischier well in the NHL. Tourigny opined that he feels Hischier is immediately NHL ready in terms of skill, work ethic and defensive responsibility but is uncertain if he yet has enough physical strength to win battles inside the dots against bigger defenders or he currently has the stamina to hold up for the grind of an 82-game season. The Halifax coach said he could foresee Hischier putting in a nine-game trial in the NHL in October into November, a two-week conditioning assignment in the American Hockey League and to also play again for Switzerland in the World Junior Championships.
Over time, scouts believe the player has a big enough frame to fill out to become an averaged-sized NHL player in terms of muscular development and weight relative to his 6-foot height.
In terms of character, both Tourigny and scouts from around hockey rave about what a modest, unfailingly polite and down-to-earth young man that Hischier is. Even if he becomes an NHL star, he's unlikely to change.
2) Throughout this season, former Flyers goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov has been filming Youtube segments for the Players' Tribune, including a recent installment in Nashville during the Stanley Cup Final. Even more than hockey, Brzgalov was born to be a TV segment presenter.
With him, there's never a need to script anything. Just turn him loose and let him be himself. He's nothing if not entertaining and creative freedom suits him better than the highly structured, put-the-group-first nature of hockey (even with goaltending being a generally solitary position).
Here's a suggestion for a segment: Bryz rates the local cuisine.
Back in Nov. 2015, I was part of the hockey panel at a Puck Talks event in Philadelphia. Bryzgalov was also a featured guest, doing his own question-and-answer segment before the hockey panel (Al Morganti, Sarah Baicker, Dave Isaac, Adam Kimelman and I) went on. I ended up sitting in the green room with Bryz for about 20 minutes.
The show producers brought Bryz some appetizers before his segment. He tasted a fried pickle and pushed the plate aside. Gesturing to the plate, Bryzgalov said to me, "You ever eat fried pickles?" I told him, no but they are commonly found on menus in the south.
"Well, you taste and tell me what you think," he said.
I obliged. It was edible, but hardly something I'd rush to order.
"You like?" he asked.
"It's interesting, I guess," I said.
"No! Not 'is interesting!' Is [lousy]. I hate all the PC. Everything is PC today. If food is [lousy], say it."
Bryz then launched into a stream-of consciousness monologue about U.S. politics, his views on youth hockey programs in the U.S. vs. Russia, the weather in Philadelphia, the near-total lack of legal parking near the bar/restaurant where the event was being held, his son's school project that Bryz was going to help with when he got home (he was annoyed that he had to wait for his segment to start), how his Russian home city of Togliotti got its name and then, just as suddenly switching gears again with, "Hey, you see new Star Wars movie?"
3) Whenever people ask me when was the last time the Flyers had as much talent in the farm system as they do now (even before the upcoming 2017 NHL Draft), I always point to the 2004-05 lockout-canceled season as the last time the organization seemed to so stacked in depth below the NHL level and in terms of young, NHL-ready players.
June 10 marked the 12th anniversary of the most recent championship in Flyers' organizational history: the Philadelphia Phantoms' Calder Cup clinching Game 4 home win against the Chicago Wolves. That Phantoms club was a special team.
By the time the Calder Cup playoffs rolled around, the Phantoms were a stacked team, with Jeff Carter and Mike Richards (and, later, defenseman Alexandre Picard) added to team that already boasted the likes of R.J. Umberger, Patrick Sharp, Joni Pitkänen, Dennis Seideberg, Antero Niittymäki, Ben Eager, Randy Jones, Freddy Meyer, Todd Fedoruk, Riley Cote, Jon Sim, AHL Hall of Fame defenseman John Slaney, wiley veteran backup goalie Neil Little and more.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
The Flyers Alumni will be very active this summer, taking part in three major events. Below is more information on each:
2017 Flyers Alumni Golf Invitational benefiting the Flyers Alumni Association, Flyers Charities and BLOCS. The event will take place at DuPont Country Club in Wilmington on June 26.
Flyers Charity Classic on July 16. Jointly organized by the Flyers and the Flyers Alumni. Participants can sign up for any of four events -- a 5k run/walk from the Wells Fargo Center to the Navy Yard and back, a 10k family bike ride (Wells Fargo Center to Art Museum and back) or individual bike ride (same route), a 50k scenic bike ride through Philadelphia or a 100k bike route. Participating Flyers Alumni include Brad Marsh (team captain), Bernie Parent (team captain), Tim Kerr (team captain), Paul Holmgren, Bob Clarke, Ian Laperriere and Joe Watson. The public can join the teams captained by Flyers Alumni (such as Brad's Ides of Marsh team), captain or join another team or participate individually. More information on teams involving the Flyers Alumni will be coming soon.
2017 Flyers Alumni Fantasy Camp in Atlantic City on Aug. 18-21, benefiting the Flyers Alumni Association and Flyers Charities. Participants will stay at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino and the on-ice activities will be at the Skate Zone in Atlantic City (transportation will be provided). Participating Alumni instructor/coaches include Hockey Hall of Famers Mark Howe and Bernie Parent, Danny Briere, Dave Poulin, Brian Boucher, Brad Marsh, Bob Kelly, Ian Laperriere, and Joe Watson.
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