This week on the Flyers' official Web site, I am authoring an article on current players' experiences at the NHL Scouting Combine. It is interesting to get a perspective of what goes on from the individual participants' side as well as from the organizational standpoint.
Basically, there are two distinct components of the Combine. Half of it is geared toward physical fitness testing, the other half toward interviews with teams' scouting departments.
James van Riemsdyk shared a good story about the two dreaded stationary bike tests which take place one after the other -- one of which measures raw power, the other geared toward endurance and cardiovascular conditioning. These are arguably the hardest of all the 13 strength and fitness tests the combine invitees undergo.
At the 2007 Combine, van Riemsdyk tried to prepare as best as possible and felt excited and confident in his ability to do well on most or all of the physical tests.
The bike test didn't look too bad, he thought as he awaited his turn. Then something unnerving happened.
"The guy who finished right before it was my turn went and puked immediately after he was done. That wasn't too reassuring going into it," laughed JVR, who got through the test without losing his lunch.
JVR also had a good story to share about the interview phase of the Combine, which I will save for the article. Although he knew he was likely to be selected among the top four picks of the 2007 Entry Draft (of course, he went second overall to the Flyers), he wound up interviewing with roughly half of the NHL's 30 teams.
Most of the questions were fairly standard stuff, geared toward learning more about him as a hockey player and a person. Different teams approach it in different ways, but the common thread is that clubs want to find out if the young man seems poised, confident, mentally alert, emotionally mature and truly committed to attaining a career in pro hockey.
In JVR's case, there was a lot of emphasis on his experiences with the US National Team Development Program and his plans to attend the University of New Hampshire. Some teams put all their interviewees on the spot to see what they knew about the organization and system. And then there was one NHL team -- not the Flyers -- that caught him off-guard with a question he wasn't expecting and didn't know how to answer.
The article, which also includes input from 2011 1st round pick Sean Couturier is slated to run on the Flyers' official site either late tonight or tomorrow.
Side note: Although the Flyers' press release on May 19 stated that JVR would undergo surgery the following week to repair a torn labrum in his right hip, the player said yesterday that he had not yet had the procedure.
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On Tuesday, the Ottawa Sun's Bruce Garrioch
wrote that the Flyers were pursuing veteran Senators defenseman Sergei Gonchar. According to the article, "the Flyers have Gonchar listed as one of the possible replacements for Chris Pronger, whose career may be over due to post-concussion syndrome."
According to a source in the Flyers organization, the chances of the team trading for Gonchar this summer are "slim to none."
Although the 38-year-old Gonchar has historically had a lot of success against the Flyers and has put together a fine career as an offensive defensemen, he has shown signs of decline the last couple years. Just as important, he carries a $5.5 million cap hit in what will be the final season of the three-year contract he signed with Ottawa in 2010.
Per capgeek.com, Gonchar has a full no-movement clause in his contract with the Senators and would have to approve any trade. However, from Jan. 1, 2013 until the trade deadline, if the Senators wish to deal him, he must supply a 10-team list of clubs to whom he'll accept a trade.
My take: Gonchar is not totally out of the realm of possibility as a trade deadline rental for the 2013 stretch run and playoffs but that's a long way off. It would depend in equal parts on a) the Sens' season, b) Gonchar's productivity, c) the Flyers' available cap space near the trade deadline, d) other defense moves the Flyers would make over the summer or prior to the deadline, and e) Gonchar's interest in coming to Philadelphia as a rental.
Personally, even at a prorated cap hit for the stretch drive, I think there are plenty of defensemen around the league that can deliver much better bang for the buck than Gonchar at this stage of this career.
You never know what can happen between June 2012 and February 2013. But as for Gonchar being a Flyer on opening night, the chances seem remote.
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There is no greater compliment that I can pay a hockey player than to say he reminds me of Mark Howe. Seven-time Norris Trophy winner Nicklas Lidström has always reminded me of the Hall of Fame defenseman, except that Lidas stayed healthier for longer than Howe did and was fortunate to play on several Stanley Cup winning teams.
In terms of their two-way abilities, smarts, playing styles and the class and dignity with which they carried themselves both on and off the ice, both Howe and Lidström were cut from the same fine (and extremely rare) cloth.
Howe is my all-time favorite player. Lidström is my all-time favorite among those who never played for Philadelphia. It has always been a sheer pleasure to watch Lidström play hockey, and I feel fortunate to have been able to watch his magnificent career unfold from beginning to end. I'm somewhat saddened by his impending retirement announcement today, because players and people like him simply don't come around very often.
Lidström's retirement makes Detroit the odds-on favorite -- in terms of team need, available cap space, lineup spot fit and winning environment -- to land Ryan Suter as an unrestricted free agent if he chooses to leave Nashville.
However, here's one thought to ponder: It's been speculated that Suter does not have a desire to play in a high-pressure market. Fair enough. But what about the pressure of coming in on a huge free agent contract and attempting to essentially replace what Lidström brought to the Red Wings on the ice for the better part of 20 years?
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