QUICK HITS: AUGUST 1, 2018
1) All eight participating Flyers prospects at the 2018 World Junior Summer Showcase were in action on Tuesday. A full update will follow on the Flyers official website after Team USA and Team Canada announce their roster cutdowns from the current respective split squads (USA White/ USA Blue, Canada Red/ Canada White). Team Sweden and Team Finland will remain as is. Tuesday's rundown:
* USA White 7 - Canada Red 5: Joel Farabee scored back-to-back goals in the second period for the Americans and took player of the game honors for his team. Morgan Frost had a power play assist for Canada but a bit of a tough night otherwise in his national team debut, as he took three separate trips to the penalty box for stick-related penalties. Team USA scored twice (4-on-4, 4-on-5 ENG) with Frost in the box last in the third period. Isaac Ratcliffe had tied the game at 5-5 as Canada Red came back from a three-goal deficit. Jay O'Brien (two assists in the opener against Finland on Monday) did not get on the scoresheet in this game but played both ends of special teams. Noah Cates (assist in the opener) also did not record a point.
* Finland 4 - Sweden 3 (SO): Samuel Ersson got the start in goal for Sweden, stopping 27 of 30 shots in regulation and OT but was beaten two of three times in the shootout. Olle Lycksell scored a breakaway goal for the Swedes, providing a 2-1 lead in the second period. Adam Ginning played on the Swedes' third pairing on defense. Finland did not have a power play in this game (the Swedes had four) but Ginning is part of the PK plan for the Junior Crowns.
* USA Blue 3 - Canada White 2: This was the lone Tuesday game that did not feature any Flyers prospects. Two goals by Sasha Chmelevski led the way for USA Blue.
2) Congratulations go out to Barry Hanrahan, who added the title of Flyers vice-president (serving directly below president Paul Holmgren) to his assistant general duties under Ron Hextall. Hanrahan primarily deals with issues pertaining to finance (including salary cap management) and CBA compliance as well as capital projects such as last year's large-scale expansion of the Flyers' facilities at the Skate Zone in Voorhees. Fellow assistant general manager Chris Pryor primarily handles the hockey operations side of the job including the amateur and pro scouting staff and developmental coaches.
3) The next stop on the Flyers annual offseason Community Caravan tour will be today (Wednesday) at Willow Grove Mall, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. EDT. As usual, the event will feature inflatables, games, giveaways and Flyers Alumni on hand to sign autographs. Participating Alumni at the Willow Grove event are Brad Marsh, Bob "the Hound" Kelly, Todd Fedoruk and Chris Therien.
Join us Wednesday at the Willow Grove Park Mall for our next Flyers Community Caravan!
— Flyers Community (@FlyersCommunity) July 30, 2018
Brad Marsh, Bob Kelly, Todd Fedoruk and Chris Therien will be in attendance signing autographs! pic.twitter.com/RVCUVbQ2sb
For the game, Brian Propp, who works for WCRE (Wolf Commercial Real Estate) as its director of strategic relationships, will be joined on the ice by fellow Flyers Alumni Kjell Samuelsson, Marsh, Fedoruk, Doug Crossman, and Andre Faust. Other participants include iconic Flyers public address announcer Lou Nolan as the emcee, longtime NHL referee and South Jersey resident Kerry Fraser officiating, as well as more than 30 local business leaders, and 85 sponsors.
All proceeds from the event will benefit seven local organizations: the Flyers Alumni Association (specifically, going toward the Alumni's pledge to build a new local rink for the kids of the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation), the Rowan Medicine CARES Institute, the Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey, The Alzheimer’s Association Delaware Valley Chapter, the American Cancer Society, The Susan G. Komen Foundation of Philadelphia and the Samaritan Healthcare & Hospice.
For more information on the Sept. 22 event, click here.
On a similar note, the recent inaugural WCRE Celebrity Charity Golf Tournament raised $30,000 that was divided between six charities. The golf event was Propp's brainchild.
5) Aug. 1 Flyers Alumni birthday: Wendell Young (1963).