Image courtesy of northsportsmgmt.wordpress.com

2013 NHL Entry Draft: Mock Draft Two

By Jared Abbott
Posted on 05/09/2013 at 8:00 am

Breakdown by League: QMJHL – 8 OHL – 8 WHL – 7 USHL – 2 SM-liiga – 2 SEL – 2 KHL – 1 1. COL – Seth Jones, D, Portland Winterhawks (WHL) Jones is one of the most complete and exciting prospects we’ve seen in years. His combination of size, smarts, mobility, and puck-handling skills are unmatched by any player in this draft and previous drafts. He is a generational talent with the ability to anchor the blue line at an All-Star level for a decade. Jones is the closest thing to a sure bet as a prospect …

Then and Now: Ville Leino

By Craig F
Posted on 05/08/2013 at 11:00 am

After spending parts of six seasons in the SM-liiga, Ville Leino became a member of the Detroit Red Wings’ organization for the 2008-2009 campaign. The forward spent time with the Tampereen Ilves, HPK, and Jokerit before he spent most of his first season with the Wings’ franchise in the AHL with the Grand Rapids Griffins. Leino saw regular season and postseason action for both the Griffins and Red Wings during 2008-2009, as he posted 46 points in 57 games with Grand Rapids and nine points in 13 tilts with Detroit. In the AHL playoffs, Leino totaled three goals and 10 …

2013 Draft Eligibles: Is Aleksander Barkov the Finnish Eric Lindros?

By Jared Abbott
Posted on 04/26/2013 at 12:00 pm

If the 2013 draft did not headline a trio of top-tier prospects, Aleksander Barkov would be getting a lot more attention. Unfortunately, with the consensus number one overall pick in Portland Winterhawk Seth Jones, and the next two picks coming from the Halifax Mooseheads (Jonathan Drouin and Nathan MacKinnon) little attention is being focused on European talent. My good friend Tom Zulewski earlier profiled Finnish defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, who is the top-rated defenseman among European skaters. Ristolainen’s countryman Aleksander Barkov is the number one draft-eligible European skater on NHL Central Scouting’s final ranking that was released Wednesday. Despite conflicting rankings …

Image courtesy of Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

Atlantic Watch: Flyers aren’t out yet, Pens clinch the division, Islanders sit in seventh, Devils endure long losing streak

By Craig F
Posted on 04/10/2013 at 11:00 am

The Philadelphia Flyers entered this week on a winning streak, but they left it on a losing skid and can now only hope they receive some help to make the postseason. With four of their final nine games coming up in the next week, the Orange and Black will likely find out if they will be heading to the playoffs by April 17th. The Flyers won their third straight game on Wednesday night with a 5-3 comeback decision over the Montreal Canadiens in Philly. Wayne Simmonds tied the game with a little over five minutes left before Erik Gustafsson’s first …

Atlantic Watch: Season Preview

By Craig F
Posted on 01/16/2013 at 11:00 am

After a painful 3 1/2 months, the NHL will finally return to action this weekend. That being said, the schedule is much shorter, which makes every game that much more important. If you want to make the playoffs, you most likely won’t be able to afford any losing streak of severe length. Since no games have taken place yet, let’s take a look at the Flyers’ schedule for the next week and recent news related to the team, as well as what the rest of the division has done lately. For the Flyers, several stories have occurred this week that …

Then and Now: Ossi Vaananen

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

After playing the 2007-2008 season in the Elitserien, defenseman Ossi Vaananen returned to the NHL to play for the Philadelphia Flyers. The Finn signed a one-year contract worth $1 million for the 2008-2009 campaign. Vaananen participated in a total of 46 games for Philly. He registered nine assists and ten points overall. The blue liner also deposited his final goal in the NHL (go to :55), which came in the first period of the Flyers’ 5-4 shootout win over the Anaheim Ducks on January 2nd, 2009. The contest also featured Josh Gratton’s lone goal for the Orange and Black, as …

Then and Now: Sami Kapanen

By Craig F
Posted on 08/22/2012 at 9:00 am

In the middle of the 2002-2003 regular season, the Philadelphia Flyers shipped defenseman Bruno St. Jacques and winger Pavel Brendl to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for a pair of players. Ryan Bast was one player Philly acquired in the deal, a defenseman who only played a pair of games in the NHL, both of which were with the Flyers. The other was Sami Kapanen, a veteran left winger in his eighth season in the NHL. After several seasons with the Hartford Whalers’ organization, who became the Hurricanes in his third season with the club, Kapanen became a member of his …

Then and Now: Mika Pyorala

By Craig F
Posted on 07/04/2012 at 9:42 am

Mika Pyorala was signed by the Philadelphia Flyers in June of 2009. Even though the Finn never played a game in the NHL, the Flyers believed Pyorala proved himself enough in the SM-liiga and Elitserien to earn a shot in North America. With a cap hit of $500,000 for the 2009-2010 season, Pekka Rinne’s brother-in-law posted pretty decent numbers for the Flyers and the Phantoms. In his 36 games with the Orange and Black, Pyorala had two goals and two assists. His first goal as a Flyer was important, as he potted one in a 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings on November …

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 …