Wednesday Quick Hits
* According to Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren, the Flyers have signed forward Eric Wellwood to a minor league contract while he recovers from the serious leg tendon injuries he suffered late last season with the Phantoms. Holmgren said the minor-league deal arrangement is just “for the time being.”
When Wellwood is fully recovered, he is eligible to sign a new NHL
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Leighton Heads to KHL
Former Flyers goaltender Michael Leighton, who played in only one game last season prior to being traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets as part of the Steve Mason trade, has signed a one-year contract with KHL team Donbass Donetsk. Among the journeyman goalie’s new teammates are Ruslan Fedotenko, who is slated to captain the Ukraine-based club next season.
Leighton had
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Vasiliev and the Perils of Drafting KHL Players
When it comes to drafting KHL-affiliated prospects in the NHL Draft, especially players from the former Soviet Union, there is a variety of potential hassles and pitfalls that simply don’t exist with selecting players from North America or elsewhere in Europe. Apart from all the usual on-ice concerns — navigating the learning curve that all young
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Flyers Improving Depth of Defense Prospect Pool
Over the last two NHL Drafts, the Philadelphia Flyers have selected eight defensemen. Although the jury will be out on these picks for three to five years to come, the early indications are that there is decent quality as well as quantity. During that span, the organization has also acquired Mark Alt (Carolina’s 2nd round pick in 2010) via trade a
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When the Flyers signed unrestricted free agent Ray Emery after buying out Ilya Bryzgalov’s contract, they did so in the hopes of forming an effective 1A and 1B goaltending tandem between Emery and Steve Mason. It is likely that the two goalies will split starts on a fairly even basis early in the season and a healthy competition will push the two netminders to play their best.
What actually hap
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The Philadelphia Flyers have not played a game in more than three months and still have a month-and-half to go before the 2013-14 regular season gets underway. The seemingly endless offseason has been a rough one for members of the organization.
In late May, right winger Jakub Voracek was involved in a car accident in the Czech Republic. His vehicle was totaled but things could have been much w
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Can Voracek Duplicate His Success from Last Season?
Amidst a forgettable 2013 season for the Philadelphia Flyers, the play of Bobby Clarke Trophy winner Jakub Voracek was the biggest positive. Building upon his strong play during the 2012 stretch drive and playoffs, Voracek, who turns 24 today, led the team with a career-high 22 goals in 48 games. The Czech winger was one point behind Claude Gi
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Wednesday Quick Hits
* One of the more interesting tidbits to come out of the Flyers’ season ticket holder meeting on Monday was head coach Peter Laviolette’s response to a question about whether the acquisition of Mark Streit would cause the team to make changes to its first power play unit, featuring Kimmo Timonen and Jakub Voracek as the high men in the umbrella setup, along with the trio of
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Who was your first sports hero as a child? When I was growing up as a young Flyers fan in the 1970s, the entire Broad Street Bullies team was a collection of superheroes in my mind. There were two players among them who were a step even beyond that: Bobby Clarke and Bernie Parent.
From ages 3 to 14, I deified Clarke. So did all of my friends. Only the Lord saved more than Bernie, but Clarke wa
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Monday Quick Hits
* In Saturday’s finale of the World Junior Championship Evaluation Camp in Lake Placid, NY, Team USA rolled past Canada, 5-1, while Finland downed Sweden by a 3-2 mark via shootout.
Anthony Stolarz did not play in the final game, as Team USA went with its most likely WJC starting goaltender, Jon Gillies (24 saves on 25 shots). Scott Laughton dressed for the first and only t
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