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Then and Now: Mattias Timander

The Philadelphia Flyers acquired defenseman Mattias Timander late in January of 2004 from the New York Islanders in exchange for a seventh-round pick in the 2004 NHL Draft. The Isles used the Flyers’ draft pick, which Philly obtained by swapping a pair of picks with the Tampa Bay Lightning at the 2003 draft, to draft defenseman Chris Campoli, who played in 233 games for New York before also playing for the Ottawa Senators, Chicago Blackhawks, and Montreal Canadiens. Of the 40 games Timander played for the Islanders’ franchise during the 2003-04 campaign, 35 were for the Isles’ AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport …

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Then and Now: Petr Nedved

Dennis Seidenberg has had a respectable career. He has represented his native Germany three times at the Olympics and won the Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins in 2011. In addition to that, Seidenberg helped the Carolina Hurricanes make a deep and unexpected run to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2009. The blue liner was snagged by Philly in the 2001 draft and was dealt to the Phoenix Coyotes during the first season back after the last lockout. In exchange for the 24-year-old defenseman the Flyers acquired a 34-year-old center in Petr Nedved. Philly completed the trade with Phoenix in …

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Then and Now: Freddy Meyer

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, …

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A streak for the ages

Eight years ago today, the Philadelphia Phantoms turned a somnolent start to their ninth American Hockey League season into something truly special. After dropping two in a row, both on the road, this John Stevens-led club failed to lose for the next 36 days, rolling to a franchise-best 17-game winning streak that also stood as the longest in the AHL until Norfolk’s all-time run of 28 straight victories through the end of last season. Armed with talent from the NHL with nowhere to go due to the lockout (Joni Pitkanen, Patrick Sharp, Dennis Seidenberg, Todd Fedoruk) as well as young …

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Would the Phantoms still work in Philly?

The NHL is on indefinite hiatus. It’s hard to forget that there’s no minor-league team just down the street, and across a parking lot from the big empty building that has a perfect sheet of ice laid down with no skaters to stain it. People want hockey, something to replace the lack of Flyers games, and they want it now. But you have to ask yourselves, just because you need hockey, will it really work in Philadelphia again, with the Spectrum still standing and the Phantoms taking their turn once more? Check out the following bar graph: You’ll notice that …

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Then and Now: David Printz

In the 2001 NHL Draft, the Philadelphia Flyers picked Swedish defenseman David Printz 225th overall in the seventh round. The blue liner was selected two picks before the Colorado Avalanche chose Marek Svatos and four picks before the New Jersey Devils chose Aaron Voros. Printz joined the Flyers’ organization in the 2004-2005 regular season, as he spent time with the Trenton Titans and the Philadelphia Phantoms. The d-man only played in two games for the Titans recording an assist in the process. He participated in 50 regular season games with the Calder Cup winners posting a goal and five assists along with 66 PIMs. For …

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Then and Now: Lasse Kukkonen

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 …

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Then and Now: Eric Meloche

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 …

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Then and Now: Triston Grant

Jannik Hansen hasn’t missed a single game for the Vancouver Canucks since the start of the 2010-2011 campaign. After he posted 16 goals and 23 assists in the 2011-2012 regular season, Hansen notched a goal in Vancouver’s Western Conference Quarterfinals’ match-up with the Los Angeles Kings before they were dismissed in five games. Hansen was picked 287th overall by the Canucks in the ninth round of the 2004 NHL Draft, one slot after the Philadelphia Flyers selected left winger Triston Grant. After his final season with the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League, Grant signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Flyers’ organization …

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Podcast: Episode 37, Riley Cote

On this edition of the Flyers Faithful podcast, Steve and Hal talk to former Flyer and current Phantoms assistant coach Riley Cote about his playing career, Scott Hartnell’s new contract, the transition to coaching, young Flyers and Phantoms, and his healthy lifestyle awareness efforts. Flyers Faithful Podcast Episode 37 You can also download it from iTunes here!  If you’re enjoying the show via iTunes we would very much appreciate it if you could rate it and leave a review on there! We’re also on Stitcher if that’s how you listen to your podcasts! If there’s any other way you listen to podcasts that the Flyers Faithful Podcast isn’t …

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