QUICK HITS: SEPT. 18, 2017
1) The Flyers will practice at the Skate Zone in Voorhees on Monday and Tuesday in preparation for Wednesday's split squad preseason games against the New York Islanders at the PPL Center in Allentown and the Barclay Center in Brooklyn. No roster cuts were made as Sunday evening but there will be likely be a number of cuts made after the split squad games.
2) The tendency of a small but vocal minority of Flyers fans to overreact based on tiny sample sizes was, sadly, on display yesterday based on a single preseason game. Three "nervous Nellie" examples of fan overreaction from the exhibition opener:
* Nolan Patrick was playing his first NHL exhibition game, but held his own after having not played in a bonafide game (unless one counts the Rookie Game last Wednesday) since March 17. He help up fine at the pace of play yesterday and made several good plays with the puck as well as working hard defensively. Anyone who was looking for instant dominance was being unrealistic. He isn't a generational talent like Eric Lindros, but it's pretty easy to see that he has a good shot at developing into an NHL impact player
* Travis Sanheim had some rough shifts in Sunday afternoon's game. That does not erase his steady improvement throughout 2016-17 nor does it merit an instant judgment on his NHL readiness over the entire season to come. It's simply a starting place to his preseason. So far in camp, third-year pro Samuel Morin and fourth-year pro Robert Hà¤gg have fared better than second-year pro Sanheim or first year pro Phil Myers. First-year pro Mark Friedman is off to a strong start.
These are, however, just very early observations. There are many practices and games to come. Besides, by the end of a given hockey season, it is a full-season body of work that matters. Sanheim has tracked well in his development each year since the 2014 Draft, and Myers has also rocketed up the prospect charts. If both ultimately start the season with the Phantoms, so be it. It doesn't mean they can't work their way up, even within the same season.
* A Flyers fan PMed yesterday that he is "a little worried about [Oskar] Lindblom's hands"; presumably because the rookie didn't pot a goal yesterday on six shots. First of all, Lindblom had a strong NHL preseason debut overall. Secondly, no one scores every game. Third, anyone who is expecting Lindblom to break Mikael Renberg's Flyers rookie scoring record with the way today's game is played compared to the pre-Devils winning the Cup era is setting themselves up for disappointment. Lastly, Lindblom is a player who can still have a positive impact on a game on a day where he doesn't get on the scoresheet. He did that on Sunday. It was actually a good starting place for him in game action that his coaches were pleased with.
3) Earlier this year, Flyers Alumni goaltender Darren Jensen was diagnosed with a form of leukemia. Darren is battling the disease with determination and bravery. But he can use all of our support on his behalf. Via the Flyers Alumni Association, I will make sure that messages of support get to him and his wife, Michelle, during this difficult time.
4) Sept. 18 Flyers Alumni birthdays: Darryl Sittler (1950), Lasse Kukkonen (1981), Jared Ross (1982).