As things presently stand, there are 10 Flyers forwards who are locks to hold a roster spot on opening night: Claude Giroux, Scott Hartnell, Jakub Voracek, Danny Briere, Brayden Schenn, Sean Couturier, Wayne Simmonds, Matt Read, Max Talbot and Ruslan Fedotenko. Barring injuries, that leaves just two starting spots and a 13th forward role up for grabs.
Eric Wellwood is not a lock for a spot. However, chances are good that the swift-skating 22-year-old checking forward will gain one of the available jobs. Flyers coach Peter Laviolette was pleased with the work Wellwood turned in during his late-season callup to the club. He started 24 of the final 29 games of the regular season, including each of the final 13 games. Wellwood also dressed in all 11 of Philadelphia's playoff matches.
As such, it's fair to say that one of the available positions is Wellwood's job to lose. As a player on his entry-level contract, the Flyers also have the flexibility to have him open the season with the Phantoms in the event of an NHL lockout causing a delay to the start of the 2012-13 season.
Assuming Wellwood has a spot on the big club when the season starts, that leaves three forwards -- Zac Rinaldo, Tom Sestito and veteran Jody Shelley -- to compete for one starting spot and one spare forward role.
Rinaldo is the favorite for the 12th and final starting job. He dressed in 66 games and 5 playoff games as a rookie last season, ranking second in the NHL in penalty minutes (232, three fewer than Columbus' Derek Dorsett). Rinaldo ranked fifth among NHL rookies in hits (175, 6.5 per game), which was an impressive feat in light of the fact that he averaged just 7:10 of ice time per game.
At his best, Rinaldo is a bit like a latter-day Bob "The Hound" Kelly. As soon as he hits the ice, he is like a bowling ball that's been shot from a cannon. He'll blast into anything in his path. He's also absolutely fearless about chirping and challenging much bigger players.
Actually, a better comparison player for Rinaldo is another former Flyer, P.J. Stock. Even casual fans know what the deal is with Rinaldo. He NEEDS to push the envelope to be effective, and there are times where he gets out of control and hurts the team.
At 5-foot-11 and 180 pounds, Rinaldo (like Stock before him) is a bit undersized for the ultra-aggressive agitator/fighter role that he plays. But Rinaldo is a very good skater and has underrated hockey skill for a player who was a 3rd/4th liner even at the junior level.
Rinaldo entered the NHL with a reputation that immediately put him in the crosshairs of the referees every time he stepped on the ice. Rinaldo rarely gets the benefit of the doubt on a call. Many times, he is fully deserving of penalties. But there have also been plenty of instances where clean hits or marginal-at-most infractions get called penalties simply because number 36 was the one who did it.
Rinaldo also gets zero leeway to complain about a call. Refs are lightning quick to tack on an additional unsporstmanlike conduct penalty or banish him with a misconduct. That is true for rookies/2nd year players in general but especially true for a player with as many suspensions on his rap sheet as Rinaldo compiled in junior hockey and the AHL.
To his credit, Rinaldo made an effort last season not to yap at the referees and to earn some respect for at least skating off to the box without complaint even if he strongly objects to a call. However, there were still some slipups as the season rolled along and the officials nabbed Rinaldo each and every time. Still, at least he understands the situation and has said he will continue to work on it.
In contrast to Dan Carcillo, there's a little bit of a method to Rinaldo's madness. The latter still has learning to do, but at least he has something of a game plan, and he understands there are times where he should wait to retaliate. Carcillo goes strictly on emotion and adrenaline.
Three hundred-plus games into his NHL career, Carcillo remains the NHL's easiest player to goad into penalties that leave his team shorthanded. He has also never learned there's nothing positive for him to gain by mouthing off to referees after he gets called for a penalty. As much as salary considerations, that is why Carcillo's ticket out of Philly got punched and Rinaldo got the opportunity to play with the team last year.
When Rinaldo plays with a semblance of controlled fury, he has shown that he can be an effective energy player. He put some distance between himself and Harry Zolnierczyk on the NHL depth chart as last season progress. As of now, he has the inside track for either the 12th or 13th forward role. As with Wellwood, Rinaldo is still on his entry-level deal and could be assigned to the Phantoms to start the season.
That leaves Shelley and Sestito to compete for the final job, unless there are injuries or someone else such as Zolnierczyk, Ben Holmstrom or Tyler Brown jump up to take an NHL roster spot from Wellwood or one of the tough guys. Unlike Rinaldo, both Shelley and Sestito have heavyweight size.
When the Flyers signed Shelley in the 2010 offseason, the club overpaid to lure the veteran enforcer away from the New York Rangers. He received a three-year contract worth $1.1 million against the salary cap.
Over the course of his tenure in Philadelphia, Shelley has been a good solider who has been unpopular with a segment of the fan base solely because of his contract. If he were earning $750,000 to $800,000 on his deal, there wouldn't be as many folks complaining about the salary he collects while playing sparingly.
Shelley has done whatever he can to make himself valuable to the team, beyond dropping the gloves. He willingly does plenty of things that fans don't get to see and of which the media catches only glimpses, but which his teammates and coaches notice and appreciate.
For example, he spent much of last season practicing as an eighth defenseman, although he never skated a shift on the blueline in a game. That allowed the Flyers to get reps for all seven of their roster defensemen; rolling out four pairs at practice when everyone was available or having a stand-in in case of maintenance days.
On a daily basis, Shelley was always one of the first players on the rink, and always available to put in extra work with any teammates who wanted it. In the locker room, he always made himself accessible. He was one of the Flyers' veterans who went out of his way to make the many young players on the team feel welcomed. As a player who spent considerable time in the ECHL and AHL, he understands what it means to be in the NHL.
Off the ice, like many of his enforcer brethren, Shelley is one of most genuinely likable people you'd ever want to meet. He's a family man with his priorities in order. There are no "good guy" points in the cutthroat business sides of hockey or the working world in general, but Shelley is the type of guy you WANT to see stay around for as long as possible.
The 2012-13 season is the last year of Shelley's deal. At age 36, his days in the NHL are numbered. While the Flyers have thus far been unwilling to remove Shelley from their NHL roster, his spot may now be in jeopardy. He only dressed in 30 games this past season, and his heavyweight enforcer role is back on the NHL's endangered species list.
As of now, the Flyers have about $3 million of open and bankable cap space beneath the cap ceiling, not including unbankable LTIR allowances for Chris Pronger and Andrej Meszaros. Waiving Shelley to the minors would create additional cap space under the ceiling. Maximizing cap space for on-season moves has to be a consideration if the team plans to go into the season with the present defense corps.
Prior to suffering a torn groin that ended his season (he was available for the playoffs but did not play), Sestito showed some promise in the 14 games he played for the Flyers. While he got a little out of control at times -- earning a suspension from the NHL during the preseason (so did Shelley) and racking up 83 penalty minutes in the regular season -- Sestito also displayed the ability to skate with skill players and create room for them on the ice. He does have some work to do on his defensive game.
Sestito is not yet as good of a fighter as Shelley is. While the older veteran is prone to bleeding, there still aren't too many players in the NHL who are anxious to tangle with him. Shelley can still do plenty of damage with his punches. While Sestito is huge (6-foot-5, 228 pounds) he doesn't have as good of balance or as much fighting savvy.
Sestito has displayed hints of a scoring touch at the AHL level, but you know the old saying about what happens to the crusher who tries to be a rusher. His bread-and-butter is always going to be his size and physical game. At age 24 -- he'll turn 25 shortly before the start of next season -- there is still potential for improvement in all aspects of his game.
If Sestito does not make the NHL squad, he is subject to waivers before he can be assigned to the Phantoms. However, he cleared waivers a year ago and probably would again if it came to that.
Nothing is going to be handed to Sestito in training camp. He had the opportunity to win an NHL job out of camp last preseason and did not play particularly well (even apart from the suspension). But if he comes to camp in top shape this summer and plays well during the preseason, it may be tough for Shelley to hang onto his NHL spot.
There are worse things in the world that could happen to Jody Shelley than to get paid $1.1 million to ride the buses in the AHL and be a veteran locker room mentor for a year for the youngsters at that level.
Even so, if he were to pared off the Flyers roster by the start of next season, Shelley would be missed around the big club more than a lot of folks on the outside would realize. That's part of the unfortunate side of the hockey business.
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