Then and Now: Dmitry Afanasenkov

By Craig F
Posted on 12/26/2012 at 9:00 am

Late in December of 2006, the Philadelphia Flyers claimed forward Dmitry Afanasenkov off of waivers from the Tampa Bay Lightning. Impressed with his three goals and three assists in 33 games, Philly decided to dress the winger for 41 games in their lowly 2006-2007 campaign. For only playing half the season for the Orange and Black, Afanasenkov’s 15 points sounds pretty impressive. However, when you consider that Randy Robitaille finished two points ahead of him with 13 less games to work with and that Scottie Upshall produced just two points less than him in 23 fewer tilts, the Russian winger’s …

Then and Now: Mike York

By Craig F
Posted on 05/16/2012 at 9:00 am

In his first few weeks as General Manager of the Philadelphia Flyers, Paul Holmgren made a handful of trades in an attempt to pull Philly out of last place in the NHL. With the Orange and Black in the midst of a seven-game losing streak to drop to a record of 8-21-4, Holmgren pulled the trigger on his fourth deal in office. After he acquired Darren Reid, Todd Fedoruk, and Alexei Zhitnik in separate deals, Holmgren grabbed Mike York from the New York Islanders in exchange for Randy Robitaille and a fifth-round pick in the 2008 NHL draft. The Isles chose Matt Martin with the …

Then and Now: Janne Niinimaa

By Craig F
Posted on 06/15/2011 at 10:00 am

What do Chris Pronger, Kimmo Timonen, and Janne Niinimaa all have in common? They were all drafted in the 1993 NHL Entry draft. How many were drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers? Only Janne Niinimaa. Pronger went second, to the Hartford Whalers, while Timonen could be considered the hidden gem of the draft going 250nd to the Los Angeles Kings. Well, we know what Pronger and Timonen are doing with their careers now, but what about Niinimaa? Before the aforementioned question is answered, let us remember Niinimaa’s brief time spent in Philly. Spending three seasons with Jokerit in the SM-liiga after …