Before today, I never literally found myself in a “you snooze, you lose” situation. After my first trip to development camp, I came home and napped for the first time in years. Yup, that’s right; I took a nap and it was awesome. I saw no urgent reason to rush to post something on camp, as I could offer little more than the meaningless observations I posted on Twitter earlier: Tom Sestito is big! Oliver Lauridsen is tall! Kevin Marshall and Erik Gustafsson know how to skate! So, I took time to collect my thoughts and actually sleep on it, …
Hypothetically speaking: 2012 Phantoms edition
The Phantoms roster could look something like this next season: Read – Schenn – Testwuide Wellwood – Pither Couturier – Holmstrom Zolnierczyk Ranford – Kalinski – Akeson Rowe – Sestito – Rinaldo Marshall – Gustafsson Bourdon – Lauridsen Manning – Jancevski Bobrovsky Leighton Backlund Q: Are you crazy? What’s up with that fourth line? Where’s player X? I love player X! A: This is just a premature, quick and dirty concept to illustrate the newfound depth in the organization. I’m not actually advocating these should be the lines or the roster at this point. Step back from the edge. Everything will be …
Prospect Profiles: Erik Gustafsson
photo courtesy of phantomshockey.com Position: Defenseman Shoots: Left Height: 5’10″ Weight: 180 Birthdate: December 15, 1988 Age: 22 Hometown: Kvissleby, Sweden Acquired: Signed as free agent (3-31-10) Erik Gustafsson made the trek to North America after spending his junior aged years in the system of Timra of the Swedish league. He spent his first three 3 years playing college hockey for Northern Michigan University of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA). Gustafsson had an impressive debut season for the Wildcats. He finished with 27 assists in 44 games as a rookie. As a result, he was named to the …
Is Paul Holmgren still the right man for the job?
Paul Holmgren is a bold man, sure of what he wants and unflinching in his actions. He is willing to pay extra to beat the surge of activity to get his man. As a result, he’s built a team capable — in theory and in his own mind — of competing for the Stanley Cup. However, these actions are adding up and taking an increasing toll on a team that put its eggs in one basket for the 2011 season. That ultimately-failed course has been run, and the team did not win the Cup, yet again, and it is now …
North American Prospect Weekly Report (4/4 – 4/10)
The North American Prospect Report follows the weekly progress of Flyers prospects playing in the various leagues throughout North America. Forwards: Jason Akeson and the Kitchener Rangers played a game seven versus Tyler Brown and the Plymouth Whalers earlier this week. Akeson assisted on both of the Rangers’ goals, but it was not enough for Kitchener to move on. Brown scored a goal and assisted on another to help his team advance to round two. Brown assisted on all three of Plymouth’s goals in the opening match of round two, but his team fell short. He was held pointless in …
North American Prospect Weekly Report (3/28 – 4/3)
The North American Prospect Report follows the weekly progress of Flyers prospects playing in the various leagues throughout North America. Forwards: Jason Akeson scored a hat trick and was named the first star in a 6-4 win in game five of the first round. He also finished with an assist in game six. Tyler Brown assisted on the game winning goal in overtime during game four. He also had a 4 assist game in game five. The series between will be going to game seven. Tye McGinn and Dave Labrecque will both be moving to the second round of the …
Looking ahead: A few thoughts on the offseason
Numbers Current Projected Cap Space for 2012: $1,980,845 [source] Projected Cap Increase for 2012: $3,000,000 [source] Total Projected Cap Space for 2012: $4,980,845 Notable Pending UFA forwards: VIlle Leino, Nikolay Zherdev Notable Pending RFA forwards: Andreas Nodl, Darroll Powe, Dan Carcillo Notable Pending UFA defensemen: Sean O’Donnell, Nick Boynton Notable Pending RFA defensemen: Danny Syvret Notable Pending UFA goaltenders: Brian Boucher Thoughts Defense It’s likely the Flyers won’t need anything more than a third pairing defensemen. They have a number of options available to them: Re-sign O’Donnell or Boynton, play Matt Walker, promote Erik Gustafsson, or re-up Danny Syvret and …
North American Prospect Weekly Report (3/21 – 3/27)
The North American Prospect Report follows the weekly progress of Flyers prospects playing in the various leagues throughout North America. Forwards: The playoffs begun for the kids in juniors this week. Tyler Brown’s Plymouth Whalers are matched up against Jason Akeson’s Kitchener Rangers in round one of the OHL playoffs so only one will be advancing. Brown scored the game winner in over time of game one. He also assisted on two other goals in game one. Jason Akeson had a pair of assists in the same game. Brown scored a shorthanded goal in game two while Akeson finished with …
North American Prospect Weekly Report (3/14 – 3/20)
The North American Prospect Report follows the weekly progress of Flyers prospects playing in the various leagues throughout North America. Forwards: The Canadian junior leagues closed out their regular season this past week. Dave Labcreque and Tye McGinn each got to play a game before getting a rest before the playoffs. Labrecque had a goal and 2 assists in his final game, but somehow managed to be a -2. McGinn scored a goal in his final game. Jason Akeson assisted on two goals during his final game of the regular season. Akeson’s team also made the playoffs. Tyler Brown did …
North American Prospect Weekly Report (3/7 – 3/13)
The North American Prospect Report follows the weekly progress of Flyers prospects playing in the various leagues throughout North America. Forwards: Tye McGinn returned from a broken foot this week and immediately made an impact with a 7 point performance over two games. He scored a goal and assist in his first game back and went on to score 4 goals and assisted on another in the second of his two games. Dave Labcrecque also had a nice week in the QMJHL. He had 5 points in 3 games which included a 3 point performance (2 g, 1 a) in …