The Flyers faceoff against the New York Islanders Sunday night at 7:00 PM for the pre-season opener. The trip to NY did not interrupt the pace of Training Camp which resumed on the ice at the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees Sunday morning.
Hockey Town
Even though the Eagles had a one o’clock kick-off this afternoon there was still a pretty good showing of fans at the rink to get a look at their favorite hockey team.
The crowd at the Training Center was enormous on Saturday. You can only imagine it must be somewhat uncommon for a hockey club to draw wall to wall crowds on the third day of training camp. Flyers Fans are a special breed. They are passionate, knowledgeable, and starving for some hockey after yet another extended off-season.
Philly is known around the NHL as one of the great hockey towns. You have to give credit, at least in part, to late Flyers announcer Gene Hart for this tradition. Gene took on the task of teaching this entire town what hockey is, and how to love it. That passion has gotten passed down through generations at this point.
Stepping it up
Flyers forward Tyson Foerster continues to wear a color coded “no-contact” jersey and today was a good day to be wearing one of those. The boys were hitting today and it was a blast to watch. Things are steadily building as camp goes on and the competition gets stiffer.
The goal for the players here is to still be around when the opening night roster is being drawn up. Cuts have already started. Some players have been here since the start of Rookie Camp. Training Camp is a whole different level. Literally
The reality of the situation started to take shape as soon as the veterans took to the ice on Thursday morning. Moves that were working like a charm for the young guys last week were suddenly off the table. The veterans are here to make their mark as well so nobody is granted any extra time or space out there. In other words keep your head up or you’re gonna get hit. Don’t get too fancy or you’re getting shut down. Immediately.
Legend
Things were running their course at on the ice as the Flyers were going through a number of spirited drills with their new head coach. I got a text from home and suddenly everything in the “here and now” seemed to just wash away into the background.
I sad buzz started to make its way around the rink. A million memories came rushing back, and I said a little prayer for one of Philadelphia’s greatest adopted sons. God Bless Bernie Parent.
to be continued…
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