In recent years, the Flyers have stepped up their efforts to sign undrafted rookie free agents from the U.S. collegiate ranks (Matt Read, Erik Gustafsson, Ben Holmstrom, Harry Zolnierczyk, Matt Mangene), Canadian overage juniors (Andrew Johnston, Matt Konan, Jason Akeson) or younger European players eligible for free agency (the since-traded Sergei Bobrovsky, the previously drafted by Minnesota but unsigned Niko Hovinen).
The strategy is a crapshoot at best, but if you sign such older prospects in volume, there's always a chance that at least one or two will develop into NHL regulars. Last season, of course, Matt Read burst onto the NHL season at age 25 to score 24 goals. Erik Gustafsson had some strong NHL games, both in the regular season and playoffs, and will compete for a job in 2012-13.
In the recent and semi-recent past, the Flyers found several other NHL starters via rookie free agency, including the likes of undrafted forward Darroll Powe (Princeton University) and defenseman Jim Vandermeer (Red Deer Rebels overager). Both proved to be inexpensive yet serviceable role players early in their NHL careers before being traded.
Here's my all-time Flyers rookie free agent squad. For purposes of this list, I am not considering early Flyers players who initially entered the pro ranks either before the establishment of the NHL Draft or in the pre-1969 era where the draft was only two rounds:
Dave Poulin (C): Arguably the second-best captain in club history (I'd take him over everyone else but Bobby Clarke), Poulin almost didn't have a professional hockey career at all. After graduating from Notre Dame, he was about to accept a job offer from Procter & Gamble. But he got an offer to play for a minor league team in Sweden from its North American head coach, Ted Sator (who also doubled as the Flyers' skating coach, and later became a full-fledged assistant coach under Mike Keenan before moving on to take the New York Rangers' head coaching job). Sator subsequently recommended that the Flyers sign Poulin to a minor league tryout contract, and the rest was history. Read more in my
Heroes of the Past profile of Poulin at Philadelphiaflyers.com.
Tim Kerr (RW/C): The 1979 NHL Draft is widely considered the best in NHL history, and was a pivotal one in Flyers history (yielding Brian Propp and Pelle Lindbergh among others). But Kerr, a 19-year-old junior A player in Ontario, slipped through the cracks of the draft. The Flyers signed Kerr as a rookie free agent on Oct. 25, 1979. Incidentally, Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Dino Ciccarelli also went undrafted in 1979 -- that's a combined 972 NHL goals between the two players that couldn't find a draft-day taker in '79. For more on Kerr, click
here.
Ilkka Sinisalo (LW/RW): The Flyers were able to sign a 23-year-old Sinisalo as a rookie free agent in the period shortly before all European players, including overagers, were required to be drafted (the rules have since been changed again to allow such players to be signed as free agents). He signed his first Flyers contract on Feb. 14, 1981. Sinisalo proved to be one of the most underrated two-way forwards in club history. For more on Sinisalo, see his
Heroes of the Past entry on Philadelphiaflyers.com.
Jim Vandermeer (D): Vandermeer joined the Flyers' organization as a free agent on Dec. 21, 2000. After serving an apprenticeship with the Phantoms, the tough defenseman played admirably in callup duty for Ken Hitchcock's Flyers before being traded to the Chicago Blackhawks as the main component of the deal that sent rental player Alexei Zhamnov to the Flyers. A second stint in Philadelphia in 2007-08 under his former Phantoms coach John Stevens did not go nearly as well. Stevens attempted to play Vandermeer on his top pairing with Kimmo Timonen, and his limitations were badly exposed by other teams' top lines. Barely two months after the Flyers re-acquired him from Chicago, the club traded him to Calgary for a 2009 third-round draft pick (Simon Bertilsson).
Jack McIlhargey (D): McIlhargey was a serviceable bottom-pairing NHL defenseman who spent two stints with the Flyers among the 420 NHL regular season and playoff games he played. He was originally signed by Philly as a free agent on Sept. 1, 1972. During his playing days, he was best known as a bushy-bearded, wild-maned and wild-eyed brawler. Although not nearly as famous as Dave Schultz, McIlhargey was known to put a bit of showmanship into his brand of fighting. He later went into coaching and served as an assistant coach for the Flyers under John Stevens. It always seemed strange to me to see a much older (and bald) McIlhargey behind the bench.
Bob Froese (G): "Frosty" was originally selected by the St. Louis Blues in the 10th round of the 1978 Draft, but never signed. The Flyers signed him as a free agent on June 18, 1981. Froese proved to be arguably the best backup goalie in Flyers history -- it's either him or Wayne Stephenson -- and he was excellent (until the playoffs) as a starter in 1985-86, following the death of Pelle Lindbergh. Froese was runner-up to the Rangers' John Vanbiesbrouck for the Vezina Trophy that season, and he won the Jennings Trophy. The next season, he was replaced by rookie Ron Hextall and traded shortly thereafter to the Rangers for Kjell Samuelsson. Today, he is a pastor at a church in upstate New York.
Honorable mention-- Matt Read (W/C): The product of tiny Bemidji State was a late bloomer in college hockey who did enter the collegiate ranks until age 21 and did not truly stand out as a potential pro prospect until his junior year. After his season season, he signed with the Flyers and joined the Phantoms late in the 2010-11 campaign. He dazzled with 13 points in 11 games to earn a shot at the big club in training camp last September. Read was a standout from the beginning of camp to the end, making it impossible for Peter Laviolette to cut him from the roster. The 25-year-old Read carried his success into the regular season, and made himself a very valuable swing man with his speed, two-way work ethic and good hands. He played on several different lines and lined up at all three forward positions (although he was more effective at wing than center). In some years, Read's 24-goal, 49-point season in a supporting-cast role would have been good enough for a top-three finish in the Calder Trophy balloting.
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