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edQuick Hits: September 29, 2020
1) On the Flyers official website, assistant general manager Brent Flahr discusses in depth the process that went into preparing for the 2020 NHL Draft as the organization (like all NHL teams) had to work around the pandemic. He also discusses the depth of this year's available talent pool in terms of areas where it's a little deeper or shallower than recent Draft years. There's also a discussion of why Flyers western Canada scout Mark Greig (like many hockey dads employed by NHL teams in scouting or development capacities) would prefer if an organization other than Philadelphia is the one to draft his son, potential first-round pick Ridly Greig.
To read the article, click here. The quotes from Flahr were obtained during a 30-minute interview that Jason Myrtetus and I jointly did with the Flyers AGM last Friday. To listen to the interview in its entirety, which is available in two parts, subscribe to the Flyers Daily podcast on the Flyers' broadcast network click here.
2) It is rare for NHL teams to provide on-the-record access to their scouts, but the Flyers have done just that for Jason Myrtetus. Over the course of this week on Flyers' Daily, he will have exclusive interviews with Flyers amateur scouts Joakim Grundberg, Nick Pryor and Mark Greig.
3) Later this morning, Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher and Flahr will be doing a remote media availability with the Flyers beat writers to discuss the Draft, farm system, free agency and general state of the offseason.
4) With the contract extensions signed by Oskar Lindblom, Nicolas Aube-Kubel and Robert Hägg, the Flyers' lone remaining impending restricted free agents are Philippe Myers and Nolan Patrick. Both contracts will get done -- especially because neither player is arbitration eligible -- the only questions are the term and AAV.
Of the two, the Flyers would no doubt like to lock up Myers in a multi-year contract, even if it's a bridge deal with an arbitration-eligible RFA season on the other side of it. Patrick's situation is the trickiest one due to his health concerns and the somewhat stagnant growth of his offensive game in his second NHL season before missing the entire 2019-20 season due to Chronic Migraine Syndrome. I'm not sure if going more than one season out with Patrick on his next contract makes sense either for the organization (for roster and cap-planning reasons if he's unable to stay healthy) or the player (earnings beyond next season if he is, in fact, healthy and productive).
5) Congratulations to former Flyers defensemen Braydon Coburn and Luke Schenn for being part of the Tampa Bay Lightining's 2019-20 Stanley Cup winning team. No longer a regular starter in Tampa due to injuries and age after years and years as a minutes-eating defender for the Flyers, the 35-year-old Coburn dressed in three playoff games in the Bubble. The 30-year-old Schenn, whose brother and former Flyers teammate Brayden won the Stanley Cup last year with St. Louis, dressed in 11 playoff games for the Lightning in the Bubble.
6) Today in Flyers' History: September 29 edition
* 1976: The Flyers career of Dave "the Hammer" Schultz comes to an end as he is traded to the LA Kings for 1977 fourth-round (goaltender Yves Gaillemette) and 1978 second-round (later traded to the Colorado Rockies) picks. Flyers general manager Keith Allen believed that young, tough winger Paul Holmgren was a better all-around hockey player than Schultz and that Schultz's play had gone backwards the two previous seasons after his 20-goal, 348 PIM regular season and six-point postseason in the Flyers' first Cup year.
The decision to trade Schultz was initially quite unpopular both with Flyers fans and owner Ed Snider (who repeatedly urged Allen to bring Schultz back to the next year but finally relented when Allen said, "If you want Schultz back so [bleeping] bad, I'll get him for you").
Schultz's first game at the Spectrum as a visiting player came 12 days after he was traded to LA (Oct. 10, 1976). The longtime fan favorite got a standing ovation during warmups but then was booed during the first period after jostling old teammate Andre "Moose" Dupont and then seeking out a fight with Holmgren. Holmgren "won" the bout, prompting the Philadelphia Bulletin the next morning to declare that "a new heavyweight of the Spectrum" had been crowned. Holmgren disliked the headline.
* 1988: The Flyers traded mobile defenseman Doug Crossman to the LA Kings for rugged defenseman Jay Wells. Crossman had become disgruntled under Mike Keenan and wanted out, even though Keenan had been dismissed as head coach a few months earlier. Flyers GM Bob Clarke felt that Crossman had essentially quit on the team in 1987-88 and stopped competing due to his dislike of Keenan. Crossman would spend six additional seasons in the NHL after leaving Philadelphia, playing for six different NHL clubs. In total, counting his Flyers years and his three early-career seasons with Chicago before coming to Philly in exchange for Behn Wilson, Crossman played 914 NHL regular season games plus 97 playoff games (51 postseason points) for eight NHL teams.
Wells, who had nearly been acquired by the Flyers in exchange for Bob Froese in Nov. 1985 (an all-but-finalized deal the Flyers backed out of after defending Vezina Trophy winner Pelle Lindbergh's fatal car wreck), spent one and three-quarters seasons with the Flyers before being traded to Buffalo in a deal that brought to Philly the 1990 second-round pick the organization used on future Legion of Doom winger Mikael Renberg. The Wells trade to Buffalo also fetched tough winger Kevin Maguire (five Flyers games, one goal, 6 PIM). Maguire is the only player in Flyers history who later became an NHL referee.
* 2000: The first Delaware Valley-born, former Junior Flyers player to later suit up for the Philadelphia Flyers was undrafted Wilmington native and Notre Dame (under head coach Dave Poulin) defenseman Mark Eaton. Eaton spent the first two pro seasons of his career in the Flyers organization, splitting time between the AHL's Philadelphia Phantoms and the NHL with the Flyers (27 regular season games, seven playoff games).
Shortly before the start on the 2000-01 season, on Sept. 29, 2000, the Flyers traded Eaton to the Nashville Predators for a 2001 third-round pick. Eaton would go on to play 650 NHL regular season games and 68 playoff games as a member of the Flyers, Predators, Penguins (two stints) and Islanders. He won the Stanley Cup with Pittsburgh in 2008-09.
The Flyers used the 2001 third-rounder they acquired for Eaton to select late-blooming University of Vermont sophomore forward Patrick Sharp. Flyers scout Simon Nolet was the recommending scout behind the pick. Sharp would win a Calder Cup and was an AHL All-Star in 2004-05 with the Philadelphia Phantoms. The NHL was tougher for him as he played 66 regular season games (10g, 15 pts) over parts of three seasons and 12 playoff games (all in 2004) for Ken Hitchcock's Flyers before a fateful trade to Chicago for Matt Ellison.
Sharp became an NHL All-Star and three-time Stanley Cup champion in Chicago, although it took two seasons with the Blackhawks for him to blossom (Chicago was still a struggling team when he first arrived, so Sharp was able to play through his learning curve). He subsequently had four seasons with 30-plus goals and two seasons with 70-plus points as a Blackhawk. Sharp also collected an Olympic gold medal with Team Canada in 2014. He was the NHL Alll-Star Game MVP at the 2011 game in Raleigh.
Ellison, a prolific junior A and WHL scorer, struggled at the NHL level with both Chicago and Philadelphia. He spent more time in the AHL with the Phantoms than with the Flyers (a combined seven games over parts of two seasons) and was out of North American pro hockey by 2008. However, Ellison later became a two-time KHL All-Star during an 11-season stint as an import player in Russia before retiring in 2019 at age 35.
7) Sept 29 Flyers Alumni birthdays: John Miszuk (1940), Jon Sim (1977)
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CHRIS STEWART TRANSCRIPT
After announcing his retirement on Sunday as an active player, longtime NHL power forward Chris Stewart was hired on Monday as a Flyers development coach. He will work with prospects in the farm system in conjunction with fellow development coaches John Riley, Brett Hextall, Kjell Samuelsson, Nick Schultz and goalie development coach Brady Robinson.
Stewart spoke with the local media via video conference on Monday afternoon. A transcript follows below, courtesy of the Flyers:
Can you give us a little background on what went into this decision to staying in the game and stay working with the Flyers?
I think it was a pretty easy decision. When I was offered the position, I’d always had aspirations of staying involved in hockey once I did decide to retire. With a prestigious organization like the Flyers and having my relationship with the management there over my career, I think it’s going to be a great fit.
What type of stuff will you be doing?
I’m joining the Player Development Team as a coach. This year, I’m going to be travelling. I’m going to be seeing some prospects. I’m going to be going down to Lehigh and working with some guys. Kind of just helping the guys coming through and get acclimated to the pro game, get their games to where they’ll be seeing some NHL time.
Can you walk through the timeline of you making this decision? Did you know during the season that this was probably going to be your last year playing? Did you talk with Chuck about possibly moving into a role like this before the year ended?
Once I was assigned to Lehigh, I kind of knew inside [that my playing career was over]. If I wasn’t going to be able to play in the NHL, I knew inside that I was going to be ready to move on. Just being down there, seeing the guys that are trying to come through. When I got sent there, I think two guys right away got sent to Reading, to the ECHL. I’ve had my time. I’ve played 13 years professionally. The decision was easy. I didn’t want to take any opportunities away from guys who are pinching, kicking and clawing to start their career and trying to build. It was an easy decision.
Is there anyone in your career when you were younger that had this position that helped you out?
Yes. When I was with Colorado, I used to work with Steve Konowalchuk. Back then, it was the B2 Networks that we used to work on. I don’t think you could see the game too well from the bird’s-eye view. We did some video, some teaching clips. He helped me mold my game to get it ready for the NHL.
Do you have something long-term in mind? Would you like to get into head coaching or being a general manager someday?
I think this is just getting my foot in the door. Like I said, there’s tons of experience with the guys in management there that I’m eager to learn under. As far as the future, I don’t want to go too far down the road. I’m still a young guy. I have three kids. I want to enjoy my family. I do want to get my foot in door here and start building some post-career.
Could you talk about your work with the Hockey Diversity Alliance? Do you feel like a hiring like this could pave the way for a black head coach?
Oh, for sure. Getting hired and seeing some in different positions, I think it’s a step in the right direction. As far as the Alliance, we’re currently working on some pilot programs here that we’re looking to roll out here at the top of the year. We do have some big announcements here that we’ve been working on the last couple months.
What kind of benefit does already having some of those personal relationships with the younger players from your time in Lehigh or the Flyers as a player and now moving into a coaching role?
Having a personal rapport and building that relationship, having someone they can trust, someone’s who played the game and retired recently has stepped in to the role. I think a guy like me, I was 15 years old and a walk-on in the OHL. Two years later, I was a first round draft pick in the OHL and went on to play 698 games. I’ve been a first line player. I’ve been relied on to contribute nightly.
Over the later parts of my career, I kind of transitioned into a role player. I don’t think there hasn’t been anything that I haven’t seen in the NHL as far as being traded and being waived. I’ve played in Europe. I’ve kind of seen it all and done it all and lived it firsthand. I think having that respect for the players and earning that respect is going to go a long way.
What is it about your time in Philadelphia that made it important for you to stay with the organization? How much did that have to do with the relationship you have with Chuck Fletcher?
I’ve played for Chuck Fletcher for about a third of my career from Minnesota to here. Just to live in the environment that he’s created for the players and the families has always been first-class and always felt like a family atmosphere. I was offered the position and no better learning under the guy who’s signed me twice, waived me twice and traded for me once. I think he’s got an elite stature to learn under.
Did you talk to Ian Laperriere about the process of moving from playing to development and then maybe into coaching later on? He had a similar route to where he is now.
Not really about the process. We were similar role players towards the end of our careers. The one thing we did have in common is treating people with respect. The way we conducted ourselves around the rink was really admired by people. There’s a reason why he’s still around. He’s a great person. It goes to show you working hard, doing the right things and treating people the right way pays dividends after your career.
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