“I’m extremely honored to be a Flyer for the rest of my life. I was born to be a Flyer,” Wayne Simmonds said yesterday in a press conference before the Flyers hosted the New Jersey Devils.
“The words true Flyer are thrown around a lot and for good reason, but Wayne was the consummate Flyer,” Flyers President of Hockey Operations Keith Jones said. “Tough as nails. First guy to be there to protect his teammates, and a really productive player at the same time. It’s really tough to do all of those things.”
Each and every person you talk to had nothing but good things to say about the Wayne train. Sean Couturier played with Simmonds for eight or so seasons. Coots knew him better than most, and has attended Simmons house for Thanksgiving in the past. Coots said there was an open invitation to any person who wanted to spend Thanksgiving with the Simmonds family.
“He was one of the toughest guys I’ve played with,” Coots said. “He was a great leader, hardworking guy. He was the ultimate teammate, warrior.”
“He was the ultimate teammate, warrior.” – Sean Couturier
A native of Canada, as well, like Wayne Simmonds is Scott Laughton. Laughton called Simmonds “The Ultimate Flyer” which are big words, “He’s the ultimate Flyer, and he does embody what Philly is.”
Laughton continues, “I can’t say enough good things about Simmer. He invited me over for dinner, took me out to dinner. It’s stuff that people don’t really see. Stuff in the community bringing the young kids along, that’s kind of where I learned it from.”
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Some fans didn’t know much about Simmonds before the trade occurred, but he quickly became a fan favorite with his energy and rough and tough style. He stands at 6’3 and weighs 185 pounds. Simmonds spent eight years playing in Philadelphia. During that time, he was able to net 203 goals and register 175 assists for a total of 378 points in 584 games played as a Flyer.
As his stats show, he found great success once donning a Flyers jersey. He was also able to reach the 20 goal plateau in a season seven out of the eight seasons played for the orange and black. Simmonds gave valuable leadership skills and tutelage to the youth during his tenure in Philadelphia, just teaching them how to be a Pro.
