Atlantic Watch: 1/19-1/22

By Craig F
Posted on 01/23/2013 at 11:00 am

This wasn’t the way the Philadelphia Flyers wanted to start the season, but there is still plenty of time to turn it around. After they opened the 2013 campaign with a loss at home to the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Orange and Black lost a pair of road games in Buffalo and New Jersey to start the year on a three-game losing streak. Philly doesn’t just sit at the bottom of the division, they sit at the bottom of the league, as there are there are seven teams yet to record a point, but the Flyers are the only team to …

Then and Now: Adam Oates

By Craig F
Posted on 01/09/2013 at 9:00 am

Adam Oates entered the league quietly and left the league just the same, but the former center was rewarded for his playing career recently when he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. After he joined the Detroit Red Wings during the 1985-1986 season as an undrafted free agent out of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Oates went on to finish 16th on the all-time points list with 1,420. Known as one of the game’s greatest playmakers, Oates finished sixth on the all-time NHL assists list with 1,079, which is more than Gordie Howe and Mario Lemieux. Oates was one of …

Future Flyers Report: 1/7

By Craig F
Posted on 01/07/2013 at 8:00 am

Shane Harper signed an entry-level contract with the Philadelphia Flyers in March of 2010 after an impressive season with the Everett Silvertips of the Western Hockey League. After he potted 42 goals, an Everett Silvertips record for most goals by a player in a single season, and 38 assists for 80 points in 72 games, Harper joined the Adirondack Phantoms for five games during the 2009-2010 campaign and scored his first goal as a professional in that time. Harper is currently second all-time in Silvertips’ history for points (214, 48 behind Zach Hamill), goals (100, seven behind Hamill), and assists …

Then and Now: Nolan Baumgartner

By Craig F
Posted on 01/02/2013 at 9:00 am

After the New York Islanders picked Brett Lindros ninth overall in the 1994 NHL Draft, the Washington Capitals selected defenseman Nolan Baumgartner. The four players picked after the Canadian d-man were former San Jose Shark and New Jersey Devil Jeff Friesen, Wade Belak, Mattias Ohlund, and Ethan Moreau. All four of those players turned out to play more seasons in the NHL than Baumgartner, who totaled 10 years at hockey’s highest level. Baumgartner suited up for the Caps, Chicago Blackhawks, Vancouver Canucks, and the Pittsburgh Penguins before he became a member of the Philadelphia Flyers in 2006. The blue liner signed …

Then and Now: David Laliberte

By Craig F
Posted on 11/28/2012 at 9:00 am

Ryan Callahan has played five seasons with the New York Rangers. Before the start of the 2011-2012 NHL campaign, Callahan was named the Rangers’ captain, an honor he holds at the moment as well. His first season as captain of New York was also his first 50-point year in the NHL, as he was just one goal shy of the 30-goal plateau. Not bad for a right winger who was picked 127th overall in the fourth round of the 2004 NHL Draft. The last right winger selected before Callahan came just three picks earlier, as the Philadelphia Flyers chose David …

The Phantoms player I’m most interested to follow during the lockout may surprise you

By Tim McManus
Posted on 10/12/2012 at 8:00 am

In three seasons covering the Adirondack Phantoms, only two players made me stop and say, “Wow.” Brayden Schenn and Matt Read belonged in a different league from their first shifts. Instead of rookies, they looked like 16-year-olds with forged birth certificates who faked their way into some 13-and-under house league. They were the only sure things. And you didn’t need to be a hockey genius to see it. If you asked me, however, who was the third most impressive forward I covered, I bet you’d be surprised by the answer. This time last year, Matt Ford was a third-liner for the …

Then and Now: Lasse Kukkonen

By Craig F
Posted on 10/03/2012 at 9:00 am

One of the many trades Paul Holmgren made during the 2006-2007 season was one that resulted in Lasse Kukkonen coming to Philadelphia from the Chicago Blackhawks. In exchange for Kyle Calder, the Flyers acquired Kukkonen and Chicago’s third-round draft pick in the 2007 NHL Draft, with which Philly picked Garrett Klotz. After he posted five goals and nine assists in 54 games for the Hawks, Kukkonen went pointless in his first 20 regular season games for his second different NHL team. In May of 2007, Kukkonen signed a two-year contract to stay with the Flyers. The blue liner cost Philly a cap hit of $875,000 for both of the seasons …

Then and Now: Eric Meloche

By Craig F
Posted on 09/05/2012 at 9:00 am

One of the most unfortunate trades for the Philadelphia Flyers in recent years was there decision to ship Patrick Sharp off to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Matt Ellison. As part of the deal the Orange and Black received the Hawks’ third-round pick in the 2006 NHL Draft, which Philly gave to the Montreal Canadiens and saw the Habs select center Ryan White, while the Flyers also gave Chicago forward Eric Meloche. Everybody knows what happened to Sharp and Ellison, but the career of Meloche isn’t as noteworthy. In the 2012-2013 season, Meloche is set to join his fourth different team in his second different …

Then and Now: Mark Greig

By Craig F
Posted on 07/18/2012 at 9:00 am

Drafted in 1990 by the Hartford Whalers, Mark Greig played for 10 different teams in three different leagues over eight seasons before he found his way to the Philadelphia Flyers. Signed as a free agent in July of 1998, Greig took part in seven games for the Flyers during the 1998-1999 regular season and 67 games for the Philadelphia Phantoms. With a goal and three assists for the Orange and Black, the right winger finished third on the team with 46 points and fourth on the team with 69 points. Greig suited up for both the Flyers and the Phantoms …

Then and Now: Kyle Greentree

By Craig F
Posted on 07/11/2012 at 9:00 am

Kyle Greentree has played in 373 AHL games, but has only taken part in four NHL games. Two of his four games in the NHL were with the Philadelphia Flyers during the 2007-2008 season. Although he has yet to register a point in the NHL, Greentree has four 20-goal seasons in the AHL. After his third season at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Greentree joined the Philadelphia Phantoms for the end of the 2006-07 season. The left winger deposited two goals in eight games, as he scored in back-to-back contests. Greentree’s presence on the team didn’t matter much, as Philadelphia …

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