Chris Pronger skated.
Tried some snap wristers.
Fired a number of hard slappers. Smiling.
Several of them were fired at me behind the glass. Randy Miller, too. He's the "new" kid on the Flyers beat, replacing Chuck Gormley at the Courier Post. Randy is no kid though after more than a decade on the Phils.
Pronger's skating on the ice for the first time since Game 1 of the Boston series last spring was welcome news for FLyer fans.
But don't read too much into it.
I asked Pronger afterward where he was in terms of core strength (groin, abs, back) and upper body strength (shoulders, etc.). He said he was not sure because he had not been tested and figured he was a "couple" weeks from going out and practicing fulltime with the Flyers.
This is really confirmation that Pronger won't be in camp early _ we all suspected that. But it's not bad news because it leads me to believe he has a 50/50 chance to make the season opener.
I don't expect him in Boston on Oct. 6. But I think it's reasonable to assume Pronger would be ready to play by the second week of the regular season. He could miss 2-4 games, the way I see it.
He looks in shape even if he is behind in conditioning.
Bottom line? I want Pronger on the ice when it matters most - at the end and in the playoffs. That wasn't the case last season and Peter Laviolette emphasized that to me a few weeks ago: playoff Pronger is vital. Don't rush him.
Missing Pronger late is a helluva lot worse than missing Pronger early.
Here's my full story on today's workout, up on CSNPhilly.com:
click here
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