Monday Motivator: Philadelphia Flyers- The Swiss Army Knives of the NHL 

Good Monday to all the Flyers faithful!!! Let’s cut to the chase here and get to the Nitty Gritty…

For year’s now, this franchise has been distant with their fan’s. The generation of the Flyers faithful have grown old, the families don’t want to carry the burden of wearing the flying faithful “P”, we are driven, ridiculed, and mocked by peers and fellow fans alike for being such a disgruntled group of fans. I have high hopes that the barn will be loud and orange again.

Even the players that used to put on that sweater call this place an amazing place to play, some will call Philadelphia home; Even coach John Tortorella said he wanted to be a coach here for the Flyers and how the fan’s stuck with him and how crazy they can be. We leave a lasting impression. I remember when the barn in Philadelphia was an amazing full house every night, ruckus, party in your face, full on warpaint!!!!

Let players keep forever doubting the abilities of this young Flyers team. It only adds fuel to the already existing fire; we as the loyal fan’s know that this team is full of tools and have the said tools to build a once rusted orange into a bright, shiny sharpness of orange.

Players like Scott Laughton, Cam York, Sean Couturier, Carter Hart, and young prospects are all players you try and build your team around! Add a few veterans and you’re set.

Scott Laughton is the prime example here. Let me get into detail with Scott here, and coach Tortorella obviously saw the same things I have seen in him. And the he is a utility player. Players like him can be utilized five on five, five on four(the powerplay), in short-handed situations(penalty kill), is a proven voice in the room(leadership), he can play center, he can play wing. What I’m saying is that Laughton is our Swiss Army knife. The guy you can actually picture wearing the “C”. He’s a guy you build the team around. He is that important to me, and for this hockey club. It shouldn’t be any different. He’s a proven professional at this level.

Carter Hart too, for starters I will say he is a gifted goaltender and is the missing piece of the pie that the Flyers have needed for years. And I do say this with the utmost respect but you don’t go out and sign goaltenders Philadelphia. You develop them, and believe me it takes years for goaltenders to develop in the NHL. You don’t go trading pieces like this away, Philadelphia. Take the time with them, and eventually, you will have the calm, collected, mature, and poised goaltender. Goes for the players and Sam Ersson alike. I am in no rush to get these kids developed. It will take time to be that sharp knife in the drawer. So, in the meantime, let them compete for a roster spot.

Veteran additions like Marc Staal and Garnet Hathaway will only benefit these young prospects, such as going over and beyond your abilities, game preparation, studying video, and how to handle one’s self during certain game situations. Ultimately, you want the kids to out compete the veterans, but sometimes you need that veteran presence on the ice. It really balances itself out, and it is important to note how one can utilize the knowledge given and watch how one can use it. A lot of factors can define what matters, but it is the preparation and leadership too that could benefit these young players, and I believe Hathaway and Staal both proven penalty killing machines throughout their careers can help find the perfect solution for the Flyers penalty kill unit and maybe even the powerplay respectively. All in due time.

Little known fact about Hathaway here, but he made his NHL debut versus the Philadelphia Flyers.

This can be said too about our young defensive corps and the numerous prospects in our system. These kids will be fighting like hell for a roster spot. Trying to out compete the aforementioned veteran players for a roster spot on the big club; the Philadelphia Flyers. And with a coach like John Tortorella at the helm of it all, you best show up and be at your best professionally. He wants to bring the passion out of you, and for me that beats being the athlete.

Surely, they’re two different things but pair them together, and they’re a force to be reckoned with! Together, you become relentless.

We have a few what if’s in the system to start the season, Cam Atkinson and Sean Couturier are a few names but truth be told, what team doesn’t have a few of these what if’s to start the season. Players coming back from season ending injury and surgery, to coming back from preexisting injuries. But hey, what better guy to talk about next and that guy is Sean Couturier, now Sean himself is coming back from injury, and is a key piece to this club whole heartedly because the kid plays a two hundred foot game. He plays a two way game which means he plays on both sides of the puck and ice respectively. Offensive and defensive zone. Known as an important and full-time centreman for us too, so naturally we need him healthy. He is an integral part of this team going forward. And unfortunately for us we haven’t had his services in the past few seasons, so naturally we have taken a step back but when Coots is involved, he slices and dices his way through defenses because he takes up so much room which in turn opens up opportunities for his line mates to do their magic. Definitely an important man in the face off dot, too. Otherwise, players like Morgan Frost will have to step up and earn that pay check. A little fancy move every now again doesn’t work Morgan, not around here. Frost has to be willing to be a good centremen, then he will get paid. Joel Farabee is another player I’d like to see come back to true form. Genuine sniper..

The Flyers haven’t had a player like him since Simon Gagne.

A player whom I want on the team full time isn’t the aforementioned Cam York. But, Emil Andrae. The Swedish prospect plays such great games. Yeah, laugh at my dark horse now, even goof and guffaw at his height if you want to, but for what it’s worth, dynamite comes in small packages. At only five foot nine and a little over a buck ninety, he plays a pretty solid game. I assure you he is worth every bit of gold and then some. He is another specialty player who, in my opinion, the Flyers themselves should not trade away. The kid has excelled for HV71, the team he played for in the Swedish Elite League. Where he racked up assists, ice time(Ivan, who), blocks(Provorov, who), and you’ll love this one fan’s powerplay goals. Yes, powerplay goals. The kid isn’t afraid to dance along the blue line either. Beautiful edgework. Eventually, he comes in, usually when he smells blood and rips one past the tendy. And SCORES. We haven’t had a decent powerplay quarterback since Kimmo Timonen. Maybe since Gostisbehere. I picture Andrae being the Provorov-Makar hybrid. Maybe even a little Shayne Gostisbehere in there, too. Players like Andrae we keep Philadelphia and build a team around. This goes for Cameron York, too, who has busted his ass off this off-season by being in Voorhees. Training hard all off-season.

Good for him.

A few things that have lacked this team for years and that in my eyes has been player development, not to mention the ownership, and integrity, but i will talk about that later. For now, and this is for the better or for worse of it, but at this point for the Flyers to stop spending and start developing. For me, and some may agree here, is from what i have always noticed was that the Flyers were always gong out and signing the next best thing. But this thing was usually a goaltender. Old and rusted, no shine. We had become a graveyard for goaltenders. Flyers even did this with a few big-name players in the past, Mike Knuble comes to mind! But boy, am I glad we drafted his son, Cole. It’s that kind of tradition that keeps this sport going forward and being amazing, in my opinion, of course.

To keep things moving forward here, I’ll add to the negativity. Why is it that the Philadelphia Flyers have great talent in the system, but only to trade them and have them win Cups later? That is one thing that irked me too about this franchise. It is like a common curse that comes back again every now and again. Players like Mike Richards, Simon Gagne, Patrick Sharp, Justin Williams, Ben Eager, Patrick Maroon, Joni Pitkanen, Jeff Carter, P.E. Bellemare, and Brayden Schenn. The sword is definitely mightier than the shield here, but you get my jest. My problem always was why the Flyers never did take the time to build a Cup winning team with the youth infusion that they had drafted or had attained. The players they’ve given up to acquire said players are just too unreal to fathom. Believe me, we know! Eventually it would come down to this, using the prospects and prospect pool but the team itself had plenty of time to figure out if these players were busts or not and to not realize their potential, unless we ourselves are a major league farm team, which I surely hope we are not!

Now to talk about ownership and integrity, the Flyers have hired familiar faces in their front office in Danny Briere and Keith Jones now, but thanks to them they have given us a few good items to prepare our team with; in time we’ll turn these ingredients into a team fueled to win once again. Danny Briere as we know, was a fiery and passionate player, and with that mindset we here at Flyers Nitty Gritty know he can and add that passion back to the Flyers faithful. We’ve lacked a general manager who can instill passion in his players since Mr. Snider. With Danny’s knowledge and pace for the game, I’m sure we’ll get more passionate and aggressive as the season gets moving along here.

We believe in you Danny!

Keith Jones was another player who the Flyers have hired recently, and yes, like age-old Flyers tradition, he is a former player. But, we here at Flyers Nitty Gritty and fans alike know him for his commentary with Jim Jackson. Fans and the league itself are affiliated with Jonesy, as he has always had a great mind for the game of hockey. It is with that mindset, paired with Daniel Briere’s, the Philadelphia Flyers franchise will be an exciting and excelling team for years to come. Both have made minor league team adjustments in management and in terms of development. Both are getting us equipped for the pace of the game nowadays. This isn’t the Broadstreet Bullies, you can’t be a one dimensional player anymore, you have to be able to contribute in other areas. That’s what coach Torts wants in his players. Being versatile but holding one’s esteem accountable, too.

To conclude; I would like to say that they, the Flyers, and us fan’s should also believe that patience will always get you rewarded in the end. Always.

LET’S GO FLYERS!