QUICK HITS: APRIL 11, 2017
1) Locker cleanout/ exit interview day is the most dreaded day of the hockey season for every team that finds the NHL postseason going on without them. Unfortunately for the Philadelphia Flyers, today is the day that players say their goodbyes before heading off to play in the IIHF World Championships, undergoing off-season surgery or simply taking a little bit of off wherever their off-season home may be. In a bit of a departure from the usual all-day arrangement, all player media availability this year will be conducted in the early evening hours. General manager Ron Hextall will address the media on Wednesday.
2) Bill Sutherland, the player who scored both the first road goal and the first home goal in Flyers franchise history, passed away on Sunday in Winnipeg at the age of 82. He had been in failing health and was unable to attend the reunion of the inaugural Flyers team that was part of the franchise's Golden Anniversary Alumni weekend in January. In addition to his time with the Flyers, Sutherland took pride in his legacy as an original member of the Winnipeg Jets during their World Hockey Association years and later as an assistant and head coach of the Jets as they became part of the National Hockey League. For more on Mr. Sutherland's life and career, click here.
3) Flyers Hall of Fame left winger Brian Propp accepted an invitation from the Canadian embassy to be a "hockey diplomat" as a part of a cooperative project with Kazakhstan to to promote Canada and further build the game in Kazakhstan.
The main event is May 20-21 in the capital city of Astana. Propp will be one of the guests of honor at a May 20 gathering, highlighting the 45th anniversary of the 1972 Summit Series. Ken Dryden and (likely) Phil Esposito will be the keynote speakers.
The next day, at the home arena of KHL team Barys Astana, there will be the grand opening of a Hockey Hall of Fame exhibition highlighting a brand new hockey museum at the facility. A crowd of about 8,00 fans is expected for a “Canada & friends… vs “Kazakhstan & friend… match of celebrities and amateurs playing for a Canada 150 “Heritage Cup…, and post-game awards reception for 350 invitees. Propp will participate in an on-ice kids hockey clinic and a short practice session before the evening game. The whole event's overriding purpose is to raise money to launch a “learn-to-play… program for 150 underprivileged boys and girls in Kazakhstan.