Date Published: 1-18-2023
Photo Credit: Shaylah Rice
When thinking of the Flyers overall makeup of their team, some people think of some household names like Sean Couturier, Kevin Hayes, Cam Atkinson, Carter Hart, and Travis Konecny all for good reasons. One name that doesn’t come to some peoples’ minds is Scott Laughton, “To play 400 games for the Flyers and be with this organization since 2012, it’s special to me and my family,” Laughton said following the Arizona Coyotes game last season. “I love it here.” Well, Philadelphia loves Scott back, and he and John Tortorella are developing a special bond.
“I don’t need to explain it to you guys (On Scott Laughton’s special bond with Tortorella),” Flyers’ Head Coach John Tortorella explained after practice on 11-7-2022. “He leaves it on the ice all the time. We depend on him. He has helped us on faceoffs. Does he make mistakes? Yeah, but I’m going to go with him.”
“I have a good feeling of who he is, and he has done some really good things for us.” – John Tortorella
Last night Ivan Provorov CHOSE not to wear the Pride Jersey during pre-game warm-ups on Pride Night at the Wells Fargo Center last night. It was a decision Provorov and the Flyers will have to live with for a long time, as Provorov cited religious beliefs for him not doing so, “I respect everybody and I respect everybody’s choices. My choice is to stay true to myself and my religion. That’s all I’m going to say. If you have any hockey questions, I will answer those,” Provorov said following the game.
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Unfortunately, shortly thereafter, Laughton appeared in the locker room and the media caught up with him:
“I don’t hold anything against anyone. It was a great night, put a lot of smiles on people’s faces. Me and JvR just left the locker room with 50 people from the community. It was a great night, great initiative. Amazing initiative, and something that’s been close to me for a long time, Reemer too. I’ll leave it at that.”
Laughton is a player that most teams covet, and he wears a letter for a reason this season. Last night proved he was worthy of wearing that letter on his jersey He’s a professional, he’s a good penalty killer, but most importantly he’s his versatile as they come. More importantly, he handles difficult situations well, and that is something that stands out from the rest.
More like the media put Laughton and Provorov in tough spots. I didn’t see Provorov going out of his way to talk about it, protest over it. But the media stirred things up with not only Provorov but pulling Laughton into it
The media put Laughts in the spot. Perish the thought a person is allowed to express or not express themselves in today dystopian society. Exactly why the NHL and professional sports can skip the virtue signalling.