2012 award recipient Aleca Hughes from Yale. Image courtesy of http://www.hockeyhumanitarian.org

College Hockey Roundup: Hockey Humanitarian Award finalists announced

In 1995, John Greenhalgh and Jeff Millman sought to create an award that honors one college hockey player that embodies what is right about the game of hockey. Each year their foundation board gathers nominations from every college varsity hockey program in the country male and female in Divisions I-III. Both Millman and Greenhalgh have spent countless hours over the years reading biographies of Rhodes Scholar candidates, team captains, and volunteers helping our youth, the handicapped, and the disadvantaged. They also have said each year that there are, throughout college hockey and other college sports, young people whose upbringing, whose …

Homer, Gagne talk about busy Tuesday

Courtesy of the Philadelphia Flyers Flyers GM Paul Holmgren Will Gagne make the team better? PH:  “He improves our depth up front automatically. Obviously with the injury bug and Matt Read being out and now we lost Tye McGinn last night for a few weeks. We have some holes.  Simon is a guy who has a lot of experience and played in a lot of positions, penalty kill, power play and regular shifts.  He is a good two way player that can skate.   We think he will add to us a lot.” What’s wrong with Tye? PH:  “He has a …

gagnekings

Return with some bling: Cup winner Gagne comes back to Philly

Proving once more that if you’re once a Flyer, chances are you could be a Flyer at least one more time before your career is complete, the Orange and Black made the surprise announcement Tuesday afternoon that they have brought back one-time star forward Simon Gagne. The 33-year-old was acquired from the Los Angeles Kings for a conditional fourth-round pick which once belonged to perennial trading partner Phoenix. According to Lisa Dillman of the LA Times, it is a third-round selection if the Flyers make the playoffs and a fourth-rounder if not. “Simon is an experienced veteran who will help …

marklaforest

“Trees” and the Motown Blitz: 25 years later

One thing astute observers could say about the successful Alumni Game which took place two days before the 2012 Winter Classic at Citizens Bank Park, was that former Flyers goaltender Mark Laforest put together his finest performance while wearing the Orange and Black. He came back to the Quaker City for the first time since absorbing an 8-2 loss while playing for the Ottawa Senators in March of 1994, worked the majority of minutes in between Bernie Parent and Neil Little, and posted a 3-1 victory over the New York Rangers’ old-timers. Now 52 years old, Laforest’s first spin with …

Image courtesy of http://hockeyessentials.net/

The Stars and Stripes Starting Six: Flyer targets from the USA U-18 team

Here are six players on the USA Hockey National Team Development Program (USNTDP) Under-18 squad I believe the Philadelphia Flyers should target in the 2013 and 2014 NHL Drafts. Goalie: Thatcher Demko (San Diego, Calif.) We will start out in net with the most impressive player on the ice for the USNTDP Under-18. Demko is still a junior in high school, but is so talented and “mature beyond his years” as Coach Don Granato puts it, that he is in an accelerated program to earn the required high school credits before heading to Chestnut Hill. It says something about the …