Every now and then you make a discovery in a dressing room.
Whoda thunk that ex-Rangers tough guy Jody Shelley would be one of the better interviews on a Flyers' squad that now has a couple of deep thinkers, including Sean O'Donnell and Bill Guerin.
Yeah, I know Guerin doesn't have a contract and is not "officially" on the roster, but I am fairly confident he will get a contract at the end just like Blair Betts did last fall.
I've been in the dressing room at Skate Zone since August and Shelley is the ONLY player who openly remarked - without being prompted by reporters _ about all the new pix hanging above the locker stalls marking the club's heritage.
Most of the players in the room can't identify all of them. Few recognize Keith "The Thief" Allen. No one knows who Joe Scott was. Shelley really impressed me today by volunteering his thoughts on some people he saw, not all of whom he could identify.
“Look at the history of this team,” Shelley said. “It’s got the reputation pride with the emblem, that you read about, and you talk about and you walk around … look at the walls and it’s pretty clear what they’re about.
“It’s about work ethic. It’s pride. There’s a lot of pictures of guys with no teeth and smiling. That’s what it’s about. That’s hockey.
“These pictures might not mean much to a lot of people, but you can tell that everyone in the room notices them and knows what they mean. They’re here for a reason.”
Shelley has fought 3 people in the Flyer organization: Ian Laperriere, Matt Walker and Craig Berube. He has tried to fight Chris Pronger and ... well he talks about that briefly.
He also talks about the way the shootout ended for the Rangers and his summer odyssey watching the playoffs on TV. Good stuff.
The only thing this Flyers dressing room is missing is ... Jeremy Roenick.
Here's my story on CSNPhilly.com:
click here
p.s. Panotch Lookalikes:
O'Donnell and John LeClair is too easy. Even O'Donnell admits truth to it ...
How about Guerin and actor Tim Curry? You know, Pennywise the clown from "IT" ? Dead ringers ... Can you float, Billy?
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger • 
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