QUICK HITS: MARCH 6, 2017
1) The Flyers return to practice on Tuesday at the Skate Zone in Voorhees, NJ, in preparation for Wednesday's nationally televised showdown with the Pittsburgh Penguins. There is the potential for a major snowstorm across this region, but it would have to be really bad for the game to be postponed. If a postponement were to become necessary, it is conceivable that the game could be played on the evening of Sun. April 8. The NBA's Philadelphia 76ers have a 1 p.m. game that day but quick event changeovers at multi-purpose arenas are commonplace.
2) The Flyers received no help from the Calgary Flames last night in their 4-3 overtime loss in Pittsburgh. As a result of the outcome, the Flyers fell back into third place in the Metro Division, one point (plus an almost insurmountable 36-32 ROW tiebreaker disadvantage) behind the Penguins and two points (plus a 34-32 ROW disadvantage) behind the division-leading Capitals. That makes Wednesday's game that much more vital for the Flyers.
3) In Tuesday night's NHL action, the Flyers will be pulling for the Anaheim Ducks (18-9-5 on home ice to date) to defeat the Capitals (14-12-5), preferably in regulation. It would also be helpful if the upper wildcard team, the New Jersey Devils, were to lose in a trap game on the road in Montreal on Tuesday. The Canadiens are 16-10-8 at home despite an atrocious road record but are a depleted and demoralized team that is now without Max Pacioretty as well as Shea Weber for the rest of the season. The Devils, who have lost three in a row in regulation, are still five points (plus a 32-29 ROW disadvantage) behind the Flyers for third place.
4) The Flyers had a complete off-day on Monday. As such, the availability for Wednesday of Andrew MacDonald (day-to-day, upper-body injury) and Johnny Oduya (who suffered an apparent lower-body injury in Sunday's loss in Sunrise) is unknown. If the Flyers are in need of a callup player, they might opt for a short-term spot duty callup of an AHL veteran such as T.J. Brennan or Will O'Neill rather than calling up Travis Sanheim for a game or two. If the absences are lengthier, perhaps Sanheim will get his shot at returning to the NHL starting lineup.
5) Regardless of their available personnel -- which hopefully soon will again include Wayne Simmonds -- the Flyers are going to need all hands on deck for arguably the season's most daunting 4-in-6 gauntlet. After hosting the Penguins on Wednesday, the Flyers head to Boston on Thursday to play a Bruins team that has been at home the entire month to date and will be idle on Wednesday. On Saturday, the Winnipeg Jets come to Philly. On Monday, the Vegas Golden Knights come to town.
6) In yesterday's blog item about 2017 first-round pick Morgan Frost, I noted that, while his game is very advanced for an 18-year-old player and his hockey sense is already NHL caliber, he is going to have to add more strength to his frame before he is deemed NHL-ready from a physical standpoint. The Ontario Hockey League website lists him as 6-foot, 180 pounds but he looked smaller and frailer at Flyers training camp in September.
At last night's Flyers' season ticket holder fan meeting with organization management and head coach Dave Hakstol, assistant general manager Chris Pryor raised the same point about Frost's body needing to catch up with the many positives about his on-ice development.
It is still not impossible that Frost could make a push for an NHL job out of camp next season but, on top of showing in camp that his OHL dominance at age 18 is ready to translate against pros, he'd also need to have one heck of a summer in adding muscle mass to his frame without compromising his quickness. More likely, he will need an additional full year of physical development and then he'll be ready. Frost may be gifted enough as a player to bypass the American Hockey League and go right to the NHL when he's deemed physically ready to do so, but that remains to be seen.
The bottom line of yesterday's blog holds true: If Frost continues to develop the way the Flyers believe he will, the team is going to have a formidable 1-2-3 punch down the middle in the not-too-distant future between Sean Couturier (presently age 25 and just hitting his prime), Nolan Patrick and Frost.
7) On Monday, Comcast-Spectacor officially announced the next phase of renovations to the Wells Fargo Center, which first opened in late summer of 1996. The work is slated to be completed by the fall of 2018, with a complete renovation of the mezzanine level planned. Per a press release, the changes will include:
* Multi-functional, open-concept concourses featuring views of Philadelphia’s skyline * Over 150 new LED game-action screens, menu boards and illumination technology delivering a complete visual transformation * 8,000 brand new seats featuring cup holders * Two open-air lounges on the mezzanine level * Expanded food and beverage locations and offerings.
8) With the Phantoms road victory in Hershey on Sunday, Phantoms head coach Scott Gordon earned his 341st coaching win in the American Hockey League. He moved past Bruce Boudreau for 11th place on the AHL's all-time coaching wins list.
9) While there is still not a firm return date for Phantoms defenseman Samuel Morin, the Flyers' 2013 first-round pick is not being shut down for the season. The belief is that he will still be able to return for late-season games and the playoffs. Morin has been limited by recurring injuries to 15 AHL games this season and two in the NHL with the Flyers. He last played in the Phantoms' outdoor game in Hershey on Jan. 20, leaving the game due to another injury.
10) Very shortly, the Flyers and Flyers Alumni will make a major announcement regarding a new program that, hopefully, will be emulated across the NHL and by other NHL Alumni organizations on behalf of its retired players. The new program, for which Flyers Alumni Association president Brad Marsh and Flyers team president Paul Holmgren have put in considerable work to create, is the second facet of a comprehensive set of health-related resources being made available to the Flyers Alumni. A video on the first facet is below: