Quick Hits: September 28, 2019
1) The Skate Zone in Voorhees was unusually quiet on Friday, as the Flyers did not hold a practice prior to their 10 p.m. EDT departure for Switzerland. The team will hold a practice in Lausanne. On Monday, the Flyers will play Swiss National League team Lausanne HC at Vaudoise Arena.
Monday's game, which will conclude the Flyers exhibition game schedule, will be broadcast live on NBCSP+ and NHL Network.
Courtesy of Zack Hill, a photo of Jake Voracek, Bob Clarke and Claude Giroux arriving at the Flyers hotel in Lausanne, Switzerland. pic.twitter.com/nQpX5WOVgC
— Bill Meltzer (@billmeltzer) September 28, 2019
A former Minnesota Wild center/left winger, Cody Almond is tied for the team scoring league with six points (two goals, four assists) in his first year with the team but sixth year in the Swiss league. Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher and assistant GM Brent Flahr know Almond from his time in Minnesota and the AHL's Iowa Wild. The Calgary born-and-raised forward represented Switzerland in the 2018 Olympics.
Former Detroit Red Wings center Cory Emmerton, now in his second season with Lausanne HC, is tied with Almond for the team scoring lead. He has six points (one goal, five assists) through the first five games.
Other Lausanne HC players whose names may be familiar to NHL fans are former Minnesota Wild center/winger Christoph Bertschy (two goals, three points), former Tampa Bay Lightning winger Joel Vermin, former Pittsburgh Penguins winger Dustin Jeffrey (one goal, one assist), former St. Louis Blues defenseman Jonas Junlund, and journeyman former NHL forward Josh Jooris (one goal, three assists), who had stints with the Calgary Flames, New York Rangers, Arizona Coyotes,Carolina Hurricanes, and Pittsburgh.
3) The Lausanne HC franchise is one of the most historic in the Swiss League. The club was founded in 1922, and re-adopted its original (and current) name in 1949 when it first joined the Swiss National League. For 11 years in between (1938-1949), the team was called Montchoisi HC.
The club was chosen as the one to play the Flyers during the NHL Global Series because its home rink, Vaudoise Arena (named after its corporate sponsor, an insurance company), is a brand new 10,000 seat facility. For many years previously, the club played its home games at the CIG de Malley arena and then a temporary facility dubbed the 2.0 Malley.
4) Yesterday, the new edition of the "Broadcasters' Roundtable" podcast -- featuring Tim Saunders, Jim Jackson, Chris Therien, Steve Coates and myself -- was recorded for Flyers Radio 24/7. If you didn't catch it there, all Flyers Radio 24/7 podcasts can be accessed easily accessed on the new Flyers Podcast Central TuneIn.com page.
The new Roundtable recaps training camp and looks ahead to the start of the regular season. One area of disagreement on the panel was whether Alain Vigneault will have James van Riemsdyk, Kevin Hayes and Jakub Voracek skate as a trio, or put Oskar Lindblom on one of the wings and place either JVR or Voracek on the third line (assuming that the top line is a fixture with Claude Giroux on left wing, Sean Couturier at center, and Travis Konecny on the right).
5) After the Roundtable recording, I went back and looked at the practice lines and game lines, throughout training camp and the preseason, specifically the linemates for JVR, Voracek and Lindblom. There was a lot of experimentation and no predominant pattern. JVR was with Hayes a bit more than Voracek was, and they were a line trio several times as well.
Practice (9-13-19)
JVR - Hayes - Lindblom Ratcliffe - Frost- Voracek
Practice (9-14-19)
JVR - Hayes- Lindblom Ratcliffe- Frost- Voracek
Practice (9-15-19)
JVR - Hayes - Voracek Lindblom -Rubtsov-Stewart
Game vs. NYI (9-16-19)
25 James van Riemsdyk - 13 Kevin Hayes - 93 Jakub Voracek 23 Oskar Lindblom -50 German Rubtsov - 44 Chris Stewart 76 Isaac Ratcliffe - 46 Cal O'Reilly - 49 Joel Farabee 64 Maksim Sushko - 24 Mikhail Vorobyev - 51 Kyle Criscuolo
53 Shayne Gostisbehere - 61 Justin Braun 55 Samuel Morin - 3 Andy Welinski 54 Egor Zamula - 5 Philippe Myers
37 Brian Elliott (first 30 mins) 34 Alex Lyon (latter 30 mins)
Game @ NYI (9-17-19)
82 Connor Bunnaman - 21 Scott Laughton - 12 Michael Raffl 72 David Kase - 50 German Rubtsov - 44 Chris Stewart 64 Maksim Sushko -- 24 Mikhail Voroybev - 62 Nicolas Aube-Kubel 81 Carsen Twarynski - 10 Andy Andreoff - 29 Kurtis Gabriel
8 Robert Hà¤gg - 6 Travis Sanheim 43 T.J. Brennan - 59 Mark Friedman 20 Chris Bigras - 39 Nate Prosser
79 Carter Hart (first 30 mins) 35 J-F Berube (latter 30 mins)
OFF-DAY (9-18-19)
vs. BOS (9-19-19)
28 Claude Giroux - 14 Sean Couturier - 14 Joel Farabee 25 James van Riemsdyk - 48 Morgan Frost - 93 Jakub Voracek 10 Andy Andreoff - 50 Rubtsov - 62 Nicolas Aube-Kubel 81 Carsen Twarynski - 81 Connor Bunnaman - 51 Kyle Criscuolo
9 Ivan Provorov - 15 Matt Niskanen 53 Shayne Gostisbehere - 61 Justin Braun 26 Tyler Wotherspoon - 5 Philippe Myers
37 Brian Elliott (1st and 2nd periods) 34 Alex Lyon (3rd period)
Practice 9-20: This was the day of the accelerated cuts and the practice lines from this day changed significantly for the game the following night (NGG= original non-game group).
Lindblom-Hayes-Konecny Giroux (NGG)-Couturier (NGG)- Kase (NGG)
Game vs. NYR (9-21-19)
25 James van Riemsdyk - 28 Claude Giroux - 11 Travis Konecny 23 Oskar Lindblom -13 Kevin Hayes - 93 Jakub Voracek 12 Michael Raffl - 48 Morgan Frost - 49 Joel Farabee 81 Carsen Twarynski -21 Scott Laughton - 44 Chris Stewart
9 Ivan Provorov - 6 Travis Sanheim 8 Robert Hà¤gg - 15 Matt Niskanen 55 Sam Morin - 59 Mark Friedman
79 Carter Hart (1st and 2nd pds) 35 J-F Berube (3rd pd)
Practice 9-22-19
JVR-Frost-Voracek Lindblom-Hayes-Konecny
@BOS (9-23-19)
25 James van Riemsdyk - 14 Sean Couturier - 11 Travis Konecny 82 Connor Bunnaman - 13 Kevin Hayes - 23 Oskar Lindblom 81 Carsen Twarynski - 21 Scott Laughton - 44 Chris Stewart 10 Andy Andreoff - 50 German Rubtsov - 62 Nicolas Aube-Kubel
53 Shayne Gostisbehere - 61 Justin Braun 6 Travis Sanheim - 5 Phil Myers 55 Sam Morin - 59 Mark Friedman
37 Brian Elliott [79 Carter Hart]
9-25-19: No practice
Practice 9-26-19
Lindblom/JVR split reps- Hayes - Voracek
@NYR (9-26-19)
28 Claude Giroux - 14 Sean Couturier - 11 Travis Konecny 23 Oskar Lindblom - 13 Kevin Hayes - 93 Jakub Voracek 12 Michael Raffl - 21 Scott Laughton - 49 Joel Farabee 81 Carsen Twarynski - 82 Connor Bunnaman - 44 Chris Stewart
9 Ivan Provorov - 6 Travis Sanheim 8 Robert Hà¤gg - 15 Matt Niskanen 55 Sam Morin - 5 - Phil Myers
79 Carter Hart [37 Brian Elliott]
6). I will not be going on the Europe trip. Instead, I will cover the Flyers Warriors team in Las Vegas as they participate in the 2019 USA Warrior Classic tournament over the weekend beginning on Oct. 4, featuring the thus-far unbeaten Flyers Warriors competing against teams from across the country affiliated with USA Hockey's Warrior Hockey program, which provides organized access to the game to injured and disabled veterans from every branch of the armed forces.
In similar fashion to the Flyers Alumni's hockey tour of Russia in 2017, I will be doing a series of articles and a tour diary of sorts, which can be found on FlyersAlumni.org, with photos and videos to be be posted on the Flyers Alumni Association Facebook and Twitter pages as well my personal social media accounts.
7) I am very excited for the Warrior tournament and the trip. The Flyers Warriors are an amazing group of men and women, and it's been a pleasure getting to know many of them. I work regularly with their head coach, Brad Marsh (who is the Flyers Alumni president as well as Flyer director community development), and I know assistant coach Rob Baer quite well from his role as the Flyers director of youth and amateur hockey programs. Both guys are having an absolute blast in their respective coaching and advocacy roles on behalf of the Warriors.
The only other time in my life that I have been in Las Vegas was when I had a late night connecting flight there on a return trip to Philadelphia. It was the eve of the Eagles championship parade and the plane was filled with Eagles fans in all degrees of sobriety/intoxication on their way to the parade. I bought a Golden Knights shirt at the airport for my son, and ignored the slot machines in the terminal.
I did not attend the Eagles parade. The Flyers had a morning skate in Voorhees that day and a game that night at the Wells Fargo. By the time I got over the Walt Whitman Bridge, the streets were empty around the arena/stadium complex and it was one of the easiest commutes I've ever had from Voorhees to South Philly. I watched the parade on TV from the Skate Zone before I left for Philly.
8) BCHL: Flyers 2018 first-round pick Jay O'Brien was booted from a game last night after a late second period elbowing/fighting altercation. He did not record a point prior to his game misconduct. O'Brien's Penticton Vees team ran its record to 6-0-0 on the season with a 3-0 over the West Kelowna Warriors. O'Brien had nine points through his first four games but has gone back-to-back games without getting on the scoresheet.
9) At some point this weekend, the new "Therien's Take" should appear on the Flyers' official website. This week, Chris takes a look at the keys for gelling with a defense partner and the importance of a team having a stable pairing atop the defensive rotation. He writes that it isn't automatically a matter of pairing the best and second-best defensemen on the team but, rather, finding the right complementary component for the No. 1 defenseman to establish chemistry and balance. Previous articles in the series: