MELTZER'S MUSINGS: SEPTEMBER 10, 2015
1) With every passing year, it seems like more and more NHL organizations participate in multi-team prospect tournaments. The Flyers traditionally played a "Rookies Game" against the Washington Capitals. This year, however, the Capitals have opted instead to send their prospects to a four-team tournament in Estero, FL. The tourney, which starts on Saturday, also involves the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Nashville Predators.
Meanwhile, the annual Traverse City tournament gets underway Friday in Michigan. The participating NHL organizations are the Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, Minnesota Wild, New York Rangers and St. Louis Blues.
in western Canada, the Young Stars Tournament starts on Friday in Penticton, British Columbia. The Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg Jets and Vancouver Canucks will take part.
In London, Ontario, four teams will participate in the 2015 Rookie Tournament: the Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Pittsburgh Penguins and Toronto Maple Leafs. The tourney runs from September 11 to 13.
In Buffalo, there will a three-team Prospects Challenge round-robin between the Buffalo Sabres, Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils. That tourney rounds from Sept 12 to 14.
Finally, the San Jose Sharks will a two-game set of Rookie Games with the Anaheim Ducks (Sept. 12 and 13) and the LA Kings rookies will play their Arizona Coyotes counterparts (Sept. 15-16) in two games.
With most of the league already involved in such tournaments, it is natural to wonder if the Flyers may go this route in the future. It is not a cut-and-dry decision.
For all the benefits of taking part in the tourneys -- competitiveness against peers from other organizations, building camaraderie and experience playing together under game conditions with prospective future NHL teammates, etc. -- there are also some decided risks. The young players in the tourneys, especially the non-marquee prospects, want to make a name for themselves in front of the team brass in attendance. It is not uncommon to see dangerous hits and other gratuitous injury risks before the "regular" exhibition games even start.
Additionally, the rookie tourneys can sometimes create a distraction that takes away from the main purpose of NHL rookie camps: getting the young players a bit of a head start on getting acclimated to pro camp conditions. It is different in tempo, focus and drills than the yearly Development Camps held in July.
It will be interesting to get Flyers general manager Ron Hextall's views on the possibility of Philadelphia participating in a multi-team prospect round-robin in future years or at least bringing back a one-off game against another organization.
2) If there was any question about new Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol's mindset on how to improve significantly upon the team's disappointing scoring performance at even strength from last season, he make it crystal clear in a one-on-one interview with NJ.com earlier this week. The coach said the only way to do it is to start with improved puck possession and more consistent team-wide commitment to defensive detail.
Said Hakstol, "Before you can start talking about offensive numbers, you have to be a good team without the puck. You have to be willing to work fast and work together to get the puck back as quick as you can. You gotta play good defense. That's what it's about. You play good defense, you get the puck back and go from there. You've got to be able to transition and play with speed and pace.
"As I look through our lineup, we have a lot of guys that can do that. When you talk about scoring, you've got to go to the hard areas. We've got enough ability where we're gonna score some pretty goals, but if you want to score on a consistent basis, I think you've got to get to the hard areas consistently."
3) Today in Flyers History: On Sept. 10, 1992, the Flyers signed Russian defense prospect Dmitri Yushkevich (their sixth-round pick, 122nd overall in the 1991 NHL Draft) to his first NHL contract. He went on to enjoy a 786-game NHL career including 215 games over two stints with the Flyers.
4) Today in Flyers History: On Sept. 10, 1996, the brand new CoreStates Center hosted Game One of the best-of-three finals between Team Canada and Team USA at the World Cup of Hockey. All three games were thrillers. John LeClair scored late in regulation to force overtime and send the crowd into a fervor but Canada prevailed, 4-3. The scene shifted to Montreal for the next two games, and the Americans rebounded to win the championship.
FLYERS ALUMNI FACE OFF AGAINST CANCER
On Saturday, Sept. 12, the Flyers Alumni Team will participate in the third annual Faceoff Against Cancer at the Ice Works in Aston, PA. Last year, the Alumni's participation helped raised $145,891 for Delaware Valley families in need, with roughly $13,000 apiece going directly to 12 beneficiaries to offset some of the high financial burdens involved in the fight against various forms of cancer.
The Faceoff Against Cancer is an all-day event at the Ice Works complex, featuring a hockey tournament, live bands and other entertainment, on-ice and off-ice events, kid-friendly carnival games, a silent auction, raffles, prizes, food and soft drinks. Alcoholic beverages are available at an additional adult admission price.
The highlight of the day is a game between the Flyers Alumni Team and a team of "All-Star" donors from the various participants. The game is slated to start at 7:15 p.m. EDT. Afterwards, for an additional $50 donation, event attendees can have dinner and a personal meet-and-greet with the Flyers Alumni players.
To purchase tickets for the 2015 Faceoff Against Cancer, click here.
Even if you cannot attend the event in person, there's a variety of online donation options available. Donors can make a general donation to be split among all the beneficiaries or else they can make individual donations to go to the cancer patient beneficiary chosen by each of the participating teams. The beneficiaries come from a variety of different backrounds and ages -- some are pediatric cancer patients, some are the parents of young children, some are grandparents and one is a memorial fund.
For more information on all of the day's activities, bios on the beneficiaries and more, please visit the Faceoff Against Cancer website. The cause also has a Twitter account (@FACEOFFvsCANCER) and Facebook page.