Yesterday afternoon, I received a text from Flyers Alumni Association president Brad Marsh. We'd spoken by phone a couple of hours earlier about several upcoming Alumni events and setting up a related Zoom call. Brad was on his way to an "Every Child Deserves a Bike" adaptive bicycle presentation at Spring Mill Country Club for
12-year-old Sabina Heim. Brad made the presentation with Paul Holmgren, Orest Kindrachuk, Bob Kelly, and Help Hope Live.
When I saw the text notification, I immediately assumed it was a follow-up to our earlier conversation. That was, in part, why Brad texted me. He sent me a photo of the adaptive bike presentation for use on the Flyers Alumni's website and social media platforms. However, that was not the main reason he texted me.
"I just heard Tony Voce passed away suddenly, yesterday or early this morning," Brad wrote.
I was stunned. I'd just seen Tony two weeks earlier at the Flyers Alumni's Golf Invitational fundraiser. He seemed to be doing very well and was happy to be there among friends and several old Philadelphia Phantoms teammates. This past week, Tony went to the Flyers Development Camp in Voorhees. He caught up, among others, with Kevin Kurz. Now the Flyers writer for the Athletic, Kevin used to work on the PR side of the business for the Phantoms and, later, the Flyers.
Not long after the text exchange with Brad and receiving confirmation that the awful news was true, the information went public on X. Within minutes, Kevin texted me to ask if I'd heard yet. Unfortunately, I had. Tony was just 43 years old. Heartfelt condolences go out to Barb, Tony's three daughters, the Voce family, and Tony's slew of friends and acquaintances.
Tony and I weren't close friends but we stayed in touch periodically over the years. Tony would usually reach out to me, and we'd discuss something hockey-related. He also worked as a financial planner after his hockey days and offered me some good advice several times. Whatever the topic, I always looked forward to catching up with Tony over lunch or by telephone. He had a great sense of humor.
A few times, the topic turned to Tony's hockey career. The Boston College alum took pride in being the first Philadelphia native to play in the Flyers' organization. As some may remember, Tony's departure from the Phantoms during his third season came under less-than-ideal circumstances. Tempers flared between Tony and coach Kjell Samuelsson, and things got a little out of hand.
Fact of the matter is that Tony and Kjell patched things up shortly thereafter. There were never any lingering hard feelings between the two. Tony just regretted the abrupt ending in Philly but did have some memorable experiences playing in Europe after his time in the AHL. His greatest memories were his college hockey days and winning the Calder Cup with the Phantoms. Whatever else was going on at a given time with Tony, hockey was something that gave him happiness.
The Flyers organization put out a memorial tweet yesterday and expressed their condolences.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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