Schenn interview

2013 Year in Review: Brayden Schenn

When a team trades their captain, it is inevitable that a lot of pressure will be placed on the players that come back in return. Brayden Schenn has yet to play a full season in the National Hockey League, but it’s hard to believe it based on how high expectations are on the young forward to contribute. Starting last season with injuries before finally getting a chance to stick with the club, this lockout-shortened year was his first opportunity to play an NHL season from start to finish. Though he may have fallen short of becoming a reliable secondary scoring …

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Then and Now: R.J. Umberger

R.J. Umberger may have been born in Pittsburgh, but some of his best memories so far in the NHL have come with the franchise located on the other side of the state. Although his first NHL game came with the Philadelphia Flyers during the 2005-06 season, Umberger was a member of two other NHL organizations before he made his way to Philly. The skater was picked 16th overall in the 2001 NHL Draft by the Vancouver Canucks, as he was the first American forward to be selected. Mike Komisarek was the first American picked by the Montreal Canadiens with the …

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Flyers can find goalie depth in ’13 draft class

It’s no secret the Flyers lack organizational depth in the crease. Beyond Anthony Stolarz of the London Knights, the cupboard is bare. The 2013 NHL Entry Draft class has depth and numerous potential NHL starters. Philly doesn’t have to pounce early in round one for a netminder, but there will be many intriguing prospects available in the second and third rounds. Here are four Canadian goalies with high ceilings that the Flyers might target come draft day.   Zachary Fucale – Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL) 2012-13: 45-5-3, 2.35 GAA, .909 SV% Simply put, this guy is a winner. Fucale has backstopped …

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2013 Year in Review: Jakub Voracek

There weren’t too many bright spots to pick out of the Philadelphia Flyers’ 2013 season, but the production and growth of Jakub Voracek could be one of the biggest positives to take away from the non-playoff campaign. With impressive numbers offensively and being considered one of the more consistent players for the Orange and Black throughout their 23-22-3 season, Voracek exceeded the expectations many had for him before the start of the shortened year. Out of his five seasons in the NHL to date, Voracek’s 46 points were tied for his second-lowest point total for a season. However, considering there …

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Flyers face decisions with crowded blueline…again

So I sit down to begin this article, and I write the headline “Flyers face decisions with crowded blueline” and then I think to myself… “wait, didn’t I write something similar last summer”. Of course I go take a look and, sure enough, I did. I wrote almost the same exact article last summer that I am about to begin now. It’s the same story, with different players, and some slightly different circumstances. The major difference is timing. Last summer I wrote the article after the Flyers had made their defensive acquisitions. They knew who they had and it was just …

Hockey Hilarity: Ovechkin Unplugged

Friday funnies brought to you straight from hockey’s own players, media personnel, and broadcast botches. We’ll be mucking it up every week right here, examining puck ups, puns, tweets, and more! So maybe you’re watching the NHL Playoffs, maybe you’re not. Sometimes players score pretty goals. This was the case here as Derek Stepan of the New York Rangers potted a beauty against the Washington Capitals: Unfortunately on this play, Washington captain Alex Ovechkin was real lazy in “playing defense” and while he’s been pretty stellar over the second half of the season and decent in this series, this was pretty …

Ilya Bryzgalov - Courtesy of Frenz Photography

It pains me to say it…but Ilya Bryzgalov’s comments are hypocritical

Yesterday, Dmitry Chesnokov of Puck Daddy published the transcript of a video interview done by SovSport’s Pavel Lysenkov and KHL.RU‘s Alexander Shevchenko with Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov. It pains me a little bit to be writing this because I really like Bryzgalov. All hockey related items aside, I think he is a very intelligent, likable guy, and I genuinely feel bad for the hoopla that has gone on around him in the past two years. In fact, I tweeted this yesterday  and truly mean it. I kind of want to just hang out with @bryzgoalie30 really badly. He’s a cool dude. …

Former Flyer, Sergei Bobrovsky, is among the three finalists for the Vezina Trophy.

Former Flyer Bobrovsky nominated for Vezina Trophy

The National Hockey League announced its finalists for the Vezina Trophy this morning. The three finalists are all worthy candidates.  The first being last year’s Vezina winner Henrik Lundqvist, goalie for the New York Rangers.   The second is San Jose Sharks’ tender and Stanley Cup winner Antti Niemi.  The final nominee is former Philadelphia Flyers and current Columbus Blue Jackets’ goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. Bobrovsky was traded to Columbus last offseason for three draft picks and he easily stepped into the starting role for the Jackets.  Bob took over for a revolving goalie carousel that included Steve Mason, Curtis Sanford and …

Timonen

2013 Year In Review: Kimmo Timonen

It was 2007 when the Flyers brought in both Kimmo Timonen and Scott Hartnell in a pre-draft trade with Nashville, instantly revitalizing the roster from head to toe. Upon joining the fold in Philly, both players immediately signed contract extensions, with Timonen’s coming in at six years and $38 million. This past season marked the final year of his initial contract, and one could argue that it might have been his best stint with the Orange and Black. Let’s get one thing out of the way right now: people age, and hockey players aren’t any different. Timonen is not the …

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Then and Now: Ville Leino

After spending parts of six seasons in the SM-liiga, Ville Leino became a member of the Detroit Red Wings’ organization for the 2008-2009 campaign. The forward spent time with the Tampereen Ilves, HPK, and Jokerit before he spent most of his first season with the Wings’ franchise in the AHL with the Grand Rapids Griffins. Leino saw regular season and postseason action for both the Griffins and Red Wings during 2008-2009, as he posted 46 points in 57 games with Grand Rapids and nine points in 13 tilts with Detroit. In the AHL playoffs, Leino totaled three goals and 10 …