Photo Credit: Jill Rice
“I remember Ray Whitney said to me when I was young, as long as there’s an NHL symbol on your jersey, that means you’re having a good day,” Yandle said following practice yesterday. “I haven’t taken that for granted.”
Yandle is from Milton, MA, and is good friends with Kevin Hayes. He has also played under former Head Coach Alain Vigneault. The writing was on the wall for Yandle to not only fit in right away, but break the iron man record held by Doug Jarvis with 964 consecutive games played, a record that has stood since 1987.
At the age 34, Yandle brings leadership as he is a former Assistant Captain. Accountability was a strong word for this young Flyers team this past season:
“We need some juice. We need some energy. We need to change the mood in the room and the energy in the room.”– Chuck Fletcher
Asides from the beginning of the season Yandle has not been producing offensively at 5-on-5, or with the man advantage. He is a defenseman that gets skittish and forces the puck in to bad areas, he is a defenseman that is having trouble with clean exits out of the zone. The Flyers needed a defenseman that could calm down the play on the ice, unfortunately Yandle has been a turnover machine. Moreover, the Flyers needed a defenseman that possesses good decision making skills. Well, Yandle hasn’t exactly done that, but he is about to surpass Doug Jarvis for the most consecutive games played, again Jarvis’ record sits at 964.
Yandle recanted a time he met Bobby Orr in Florida, when he had a full cage on after suffering a broken jaw, “He came to a game in Florida. When it’s a legend like that saying it to you, you have to step up and play.’’
“It’s an incredible streak,’’ Yeo said of Yandle’s streak. “Any time you’re part of anything historic, and you’re doing it at the highest level is an incredible accomplishment. You have to play through injuries and there’s no way you play that many games without injuries that are painful. It takes an awful lot of professionalism, and it’s an amazing accomplishment.’’
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