2013 Draft Eligibles: Is it Philly or Bust for Valeri Nichushkin?

By Jared Abbott
Posted on 05/02/2013 at 1:00 pm

Ever since Evgeni Malkin entered the league the bar for Russian prospects has been set. His combination of size, speed and stickhandling is something the NHL hasn’t seen, and will not see again. There is only one Evgeni Malkin. Scouts love to make lofty comparisons and envision improbable similarities with young talent. The top Russian talent in the upcoming 2013 NHL Draft is Valeri Nichushkin. The 6’3” 201-pound right-winger is the number two-rated international skater in the final Central Scouting rankings. Nichushkin burst onto the International scene during last year’s WJC in Ufa, Russia. With Team Russia in danger of …

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Then and Now: Randy Jones

By Craig F
Posted on 05/01/2013 at 11:00 am

Randy Jones joined the Philadelphia Flyers’ organization for the 2003-2004 campaign. After he totaled 53 points in 68 games with Clarkson University over the 2001-2002 and 2002-2003 seasons, Jones participated in a combined 60 games with the Flyers and the Philadelphia Phantoms in the season before the lost year of 2004-2005. Jones played in just five games with the Flyers during the 2003-2004 season, as he failed to record a point and was plus-1 in his stretch with the Orange and Black. He suited up in five games from March 6th to March 27th, as Philly went 2-3-0 when …

2013 Draft Eligibles: Buyers beware of the Crosby comparison for Nathan MacKinnon

By Tom Zulewski
Posted on 04/30/2013 at 1:00 pm

The argument over the top prospect in this year’s draft has been going on for over a year now and will continue up until draft day most likely. As hockey fans know it centers on Halifax Mooseheads center Nathan MacKinnon, Portland Winterhawks defenseman Seth Jones and MacKinnon’s teammate in Halifax, Jonathan Drouin. Seth Jones is my number one overall prospect followed by Drouin and then MacKinnon. Some people may call me crazy for having MacKinnon at number three. Everyone knows that he’s a potential franchise player in the NHL with all the tools to succeed at the next level. However, …

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2013 Draft Eligibles: Sweden well represented once again; Lindholm, Wennberg, Burakovsky, de la Rose, Haag

By Tom Zulewski
Posted on 04/29/2013 at 1:00 pm

Since the year 2000, there have been 29 Swedish born-and-bred players selected in the first round of the NHL draft — the highest number of those coming in 2009 with seven players selected overall. (Victor Hedman, TB, #2 overall, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, PHX, #6, Magnus Paajarvi, EDM, #10, David Rundblad, STL, #17, Jacob Josefson, NJ, #20, Tim Erxion, CGY, #23 and Marcus Johansson, WSH, #24). Last year, only two players were selected in the first round. If you recall, the Anaheim Ducks plucked defenseman Hampus Lindholm fourth overall from Rögle Bandyklubb and the Washington Capitals selected Filip Forsberg 13th overall from …

Future Flyers Report: Konan/Akeson finish season with Flyers, three prospects in 2013 IIHF World Championship, Titans finished, Canadian junior updates

By Craig F
Posted on 04/29/2013 at 9:00 am

Another pair of Philadelphia Flyers’ prospects made their NHL debut this week, as both Matthew Konan and Jason Akeson appeared in contests for the Orange and Black. Konan made his debut in the Flyers’ 2-1 win on Thursday against the New York Islanders at the Wells Fargo Center. He had two hits and a blocked shot in 13:09 of ice time. In Saturday’s 2-1 win over the Ottawa Senators, both Konan and Akeson suited up for the Flyers. Konan had four shots on net, three hits, and one blocked shot in 18:42 TOI during his first NHL appearance. As for …

2013 Draft Eligibles: Is Aleksander Barkov the Finnish Eric Lindros?

By Jared Abbott
Posted on 04/26/2013 at 12:00 pm

If the 2013 draft did not headline a trio of top-tier prospects, Aleksander Barkov would be getting a lot more attention. Unfortunately, with the consensus number one overall pick in Portland Winterhawk Seth Jones, and the next two picks coming from the Halifax Mooseheads (Jonathan Drouin and Nathan MacKinnon) little attention is being focused on European talent. My good friend Tom Zulewski earlier profiled Finnish defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, who is the top-rated defenseman among European skaters. Ristolainen’s countryman Aleksander Barkov is the number one draft-eligible European skater on NHL Central Scouting’s final ranking that was released Wednesday. Despite conflicting rankings …

Cal Heeter was selected for the U.S. National team at the IIHF. Photo is courtesy of the AHL

Heeter, ex-Flyer Carle make the U.S. World Championship squad

By Russ Hryvnak
Posted on 04/25/2013 at 6:30 pm

On Thursday afternoon, U.S.A. Hockey announced the names of the first 15 players that will be on the roster for 2013 Men’s National Team at the World Championships, which will be held between two sites, Helsinki, Finland and Stockholm, Sweden, between May 3-19. Among those chosen are that of current Adirondack Phantoms goalie Cal Heeter and former Flyers defenseman Matt Carle. Heeter has played 32 games in his first season with the Phantoms, going 12-16-3 with a 2.92 goals- against average and a save percentage of .908. Heeter has also logged the most minutes in net for the Phantoms at …

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Atlantic Watch: Pens at the top of the Eastern Conference, Islanders clinch playoff spot, Rangers hanging on to eighth

By Craig F
Posted on 04/24/2013 at 11:00 am

After learning that they wouldn’t be in the playoffs for the second time in the last 18 seasons, the Flyers pulled off two straight wins. The Orange and Black look to end the campaign on a strong note with one more home game and one more away game. The Flyers were shut out by Martin Brodeur and the New Jersey Devils on Thursday in a 3-0 loss at the Wells Fargo Center. Brodeur stopped 23 shots from the Flyers to end the Devils’ 10-game losing streak, while the trio of Ryan Carter, Matt D’Agostini, and Adam Henrique scored in Jersey’s …

2013 Draft Eligibles: Sean Monahan is the year’s Sean Couturier

By Tom Zulewski
Posted on 04/24/2013 at 9:00 am

For Ottawa 67’s center Sean Monahan, playing alongside Tyler Toffoli (47th overall, LA, ’10) Shane Prince (61st overall, OTT, ’11), and Cody Ceci (15th overall, OTT, ’12) for his first two seasons in the OHL proved to be valuable for the top OHL forward prospect in this year’s NHL draft. In 127 games playing with the trio of Ceci, Prince, and Toffoli, Monahan registered 53 goals and 125 points. These are impressive numbers for the 6’2 193 pound center from Brampton, Ontario but questions lingered about Monahan prior to the start of the 2012-13 OHL season. Can he do produce …

2013 Draft Eligibles: Valentin Zykov, a Russian-born player for the Flyers in Round One?

By Jared Abbott
Posted on 04/23/2013 at 11:00 am

Whenever a 17-year old makes the coveted Team Russia roster for the Subway Super Series, eyebrows raise and brows furrow. “Who is this kid? I thought he had 11 points in 52 games last season and now he is skating on a line with Anton Zlobin (PIT 173rd overall ’12) and Mikhail Grigorenko (BUF 12th overall ’12).” Instead of stumbling playing on a line with such highly touted NHL prospects 2013 draft-eligible forward Valentin Zykov dazzled onlookers, forcing their attention back to the program momentarily to identify the big Russian. In the first game of the series Zykov scored a …

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