Then and Now: Jon Sim

By Craig F
Posted on 12/12/2012 at 9:00 am

Jon Sim became a member of the Philadelphia Flyers’ organization during the 2004-2005 season, when he became a member of the Philadelphia Phantoms in exchange for Peter White. After he played in 10 games alongside Keith Ballard, Kiel McLeod, and Fredrik Sjostrom for the Utah Grizzlies in their final season in the American Hockey League, Sim joined the 2005 Calder Cup winners for the final 63 regular season games of the title year. He recorded the second-most points for the Phantoms with 35 goals and 26 assists for 61 points, four shy of R.J. Umberger’s total. The difference was Umberger …

Answering reader mail, even when there isn’t any

By Tim McManus
Posted on 10/26/2012 at 8:00 am

I’ll let you in on a little media secret. Every time a writer uses a column to answer mail, or even better, “clean out the mailbag,” it usually means they just don’t have a strong enough premise to carry a whole piece. Or they just ran out of time. I cop to both those this week. With the Phantoms having played only four games, two of them in the far reaches of St. John’s, Newfoundland, there isn’t a whole lot of new material to cover. So please forgive me for me turning to the old writer’s crutch of answering reader …

Then and Now: Freddy Meyer

By Craig F
Posted on 10/24/2012 at 9:00 am

In May of 2003, the Philadelphia Flyers signed defenseman Freddy Meyer to an entry-level contract. The mobile d-man was coming off a season at Boston University where he had five goals and 16 assists in 38 games as the Terriers’ captain. During the 2003-2004 season with the Flyers’ organization, Meyer spent the majority of the campaign in the AHL with the Philadelphia Phantoms. He had the second-most goals for a blue liner on the team with 14 goals in 59 games, while John Slaney led the team with 19 goals in the same number of tilts as Meyer. The American defender also had 14 helpers, 50 PIMs, …

Then and Now: Jamie Fritsch

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

Jamie Fritsch only played one game in the NHL. Unfortunately for Philadelphia Flyers’ fans, his big break could have waited a little bit longer. Similar to this season, the Flyers played the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2009 playoffs, as the Pens held the fourth seed in the East and Philly finished fifth. During the 2008-2009 season, however, Philly had a hold on the fourth seed in the East going down the stretch while the Pens had to hope for a shot at home-ice advantage. Going into their final game of the season, all the Flyers needed to do was register a point …

Then and Now: Lukas Krajicek

By Craig F
Posted on 09/26/2012 at 9:00 am

In the middle of the 2009-2010 season, it didn’t look likely that Lukas Krajicek would be playing hockey in the NHL anytime soon let alone play in the Stanley Cup Finals. That’s exactly what happened though after the Tampa Bay Lightning terminated his contract in late January of 2010, which allowed him to sign with the Philadelphia Flyers shortly after. In his second season with Tampa Bay’s organization, Krajicek had an assist, 21 PIMs, and a minus-4 rating in 23 games. He also had six assists in 15 games for Tampa’s AHL affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals, before he was dumped by the franchise. …

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 …

Minor League Update: 4/9-4/16

By Craig F
Posted on 04/16/2012 at 9:00 am

The Adirondack Phantoms finished 10th in the Eastern Conference for the 2011-2012 regular season, as the club missed a playoff berth by five points. As they headed into the final week of the campaign with an outside chance to make the postseason, the Phantoms dropped two of their final three tilts to miss an opportunity to win the Calder Cup. On Friday night, the Phantoms traveled to the MassMutual Center and lost 4-2 to the Springfield Falcons (Columbus Blue Jackets). Wade MacLeod potted two goals in the midst of the Falcons’ three-goal third period including the game-winner at the 12:33 …

Minor League Update: 4/2-4/8

By Craig F
Posted on 04/09/2012 at 9:00 am

With one week left in the AHL regular season, the Phantoms find themselves within reach of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Adirondack sits in 10th with 76 points, which is one less than both the eighth place Manchester Monarchs (Los Angeles Kings’ AHL affiliate) and ninth place Portland Pirates (Phoenix Coyotes). The Monarchs have a Game in Hand over both the Phantoms and Pirates, as Adirondack finishes the 2011-2012 season with a pair of home games. To start the week, the Phantoms beat the Albany Devils (New Jersey) 3-2 on Friday in Adirondack. As they entered …

Minor League Update: 3/26-4/1

By Craig F
Posted on 04/02/2012 at 9:00 am

With six games remaining in their schedule, the Phantoms did enough this week to stay within striking distance of the eigth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Four points behind the Manchester Monarchs (Los Angeles Kings’ AHL affiliate) with a game in hand, Adirondack has a chance to gain the final spot for the postseason, which will surely result in being swept by the Norfolk Admirals (Tampa Bay Lightning’s AHL affiliate). Since they play a total of three games this week against two teams currently out of the playoff scenario, the Phantoms can easily gain ground towards a …

Minor League Update: 2/27-3/4

By Craig F
Posted on 03/05/2012 at 9:01 am

The Phantoms had another strong week, as they recorded a pair of wins to extend their winning streak to four games before they lost yesterday. Although the winning streak snapped, the Phantoms still have their winning streak on the road intact, a place they have struggled all season long. Adirondack will see if they can extend that winning streak to four games this week, as they hit the road after a pair of home contests. With the game tied at one in the third period Friday against the Providence Bruins (Boston Bruins’ AHL affiliate), Andrew Rowe gained the game-winner on a penalty …

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