I was standing next to Chris "Bundy" Therien today on the balcony at Skate Zone talking about Finnish winger Mika Pyorala.
Bundy really likes the way this guy skates. He's a little undersized at 5-11, but he plays above his size which may be why John Stevens has him with Jeff Carter and Scott Hartnell.
I think it is fascinating that all the players in this camp who are vying for a job at wing/center for a fourth line are actually sitting next to each other in the dressing room.
That tells me something. What? That the staff wants these guys to put on their pads and skates every morning, look to the guy next to them and say to themselves, 'this guy is looking to take my job in camp.'
It may bring out the best in them.
I spoke to Pyorala today. He is under contract - 2-way - with Phantoms but could give Blair Betts and Mark Bell a run for the money.
Here's my story on CSNPhilly.com:
Click Here
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NOTE to our readers:
Myself, Steve Coates and a variety of guests, including Bill Meltzer, will be appearing on a live webcast from Skate Zone today on CSNPhilly.com.
The webcast begins at noon, as players break from the first session, so we can get a few on the air.
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UPDATE: Maroon is on the ice for the second session on Monday.
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Are Paul Holmgren's Flyers built along the lines of Brian Burke's Anaheim Ducks from 2006-07 when they won the Stanley Cup?
That was a question posed to both Ian Laperriere and Chris Pronger at Flyers training camp.
We're talking in terms of style and play and the kind of size both teams have)(had).
You saw Anaheim [Ducks] and their style… do you see a similar style here? Is there still that sense of intimidation in the league?
“Yeah, for sure. I guarantee you one thing – the teams that we’re going to play against won’t like that," Laperriere said. "Not only because of the fighting part, it’s more of the way we want to play.
"You want to be tough to play against and I said that before. You look at the Detroit Red Wings. They’re tough to play against, but they don’t have one guy that fights, and that’s what we need to do. We need to be a tough team, but also to be tough to play against."
Pronger's take was much the same.
“Yeah, we want to play physical, but the way this team is set up, I don’t think we want to give up the speed part of the game, either,” Pronger said. “We want to play big, fast and strong and the emphasis is on all three.
“You don’t want to give up the speed and tempo of the game to hit guys or take penalties or fight or whatever. That’s all going to be a by-product of the way we play. Get on the forecheck fast and quick and finish our checks. Create turnovers and get the puck back as quick and we can and create some offense.
“As a by-product of that, there’s going to be hits, turnovers and fights. It’s an emotional game and things happen. Certainly with the makeup of the team, we’ve got the makings of a very exciting hockey team and we can go a long way.”
What's the take of our readers?
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This is an important week for Pat Maroon. He needs to get himself on the ice and be ready to play.
What an unfortunate setback for him - adhesions (scar tissue) breaking apart in his abdomen over the weekend from surgery earlier this summer to repair a sports hernia.
The longer Maroon is sidelined, the less his chances to getting a fair shot to make this club. He is competing with James van Riemsdyk, among others, and needs to be taking part in the drills.
Right now, it appears Maroon will skate in the 2nd session today.
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Ed Snider has the best line of training camp so far:
Asked if the NHL had changed over the years, but his team remains true to the physical aspect of what has always been Flyers hockey, he replied, “No, I like little softies (laughs). I always have (laughs). You have to balance that with discipline and of course we already have a complex - we think that we’re over penalized, so I don’t know that this is going to help us that much. We just have to have great penalty killing, like we did back in the old days.”
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger • 
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