Last night's exhibition game against Toronto in London, Ont. was nothing if not entertaining. Some quick hit thoughts and observations:
* Marc-Andre Bourdon worked hard on his skating over the summer and it's paying dividends in training camp. Although Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette noted that the speed of the pro game is still the biggest obstacle the player faces, there has been noticeable improvement from last season's camp to this year. As for Bourdon's goal in the game last night, it was a classic case of a team making its own luck. Bourdon's shot was errant but Jonas Gustavsson, perhaps momentarily distracted by Jeff Carter nearby, had the puck carom off the boards and knocked it into his own net.
* Another impressive performance by Sergei Bobrovsky, both in the third period and the shootout. His quickness and glovework jump out for a young goaltender.
* It was nice to see Bill Guerin tally goals in regulation and the shootout. In the shootout frame, he showed that he still has one hell of a quick shot release.
* James Van Riemsdyk has been a little snakebitten in the first two games of the exhibition season -- getting denied on a penalty shot and missing a shootout goal by a whisker -- but his increased upper-body strength has been very much in evidence. He's winning battles that he lost as a rookie.
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Flyers goaltending prospect Joacim Eriksson did not play yesterday in SAIK's win against Modo. Meanwhile, defenseman Simon Bertilsson remains out of the BIF lineup with a sprained knee suffered in the preseason. However, he is supposed to be close to being cleared to play.
For those interested in catching highlights from Swedish Elite League, the
Hockey Kväll program is a great way to keep up with games around the league. The program, which features former Flyer Mikael Renberg as one of the studio co-hosts, airs every Thursday and is available online
here.
Even if you don't understand the Swedish audio, there are plenty of graphics and clear video that can give you a sense of who and what you're watching.
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Speaking of Swedish players, on today on Versus.com, I take a look at the hype surrounding Edmonton Oilers rookie Magnus Paajarvi. The 19-year-old's hat trick against Tampa Bay last night will only fan the flames. The youngster has drawn widespread attention from the time he was 14, so it feels like he's already been around a long time even though his career is still in its infancy. How good can he really be, and how fast? I will post a link to the article when it goes live.
This week on NHL.com's
Across the Pond, I preview the Asia League season. In terms of caliber of play, the league 's top teams play at roughly an ECHL caliber level, at least among the top six forwards and top defensive pairings. It drops off from there, and the weakest teams and players (especially the Chinese entry in the league) are of sub CHL caliber. Nevertheless, it's an intriguing league to follow.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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