Quick Hits: August 1, 2019
1) There is a break in the action today at the 2019 World Junior Summer Showcase. The tournament will conclude over the weekend with two games apiece on Friday (USA vs Finland, Canada vs. Sweden) and Saturday (USA vs. Canada rematch, Sweden vs. Finland).
On Wednesday, Team USA blanked Sweden, 6-0. Flyers 2019 first-round pick Cam York played a very impressive game with and without the puck but did not get onto the scoresheet on this day. Bobby Brink also dressed in Wednesday's game, while Joel Farabee (and all other returnees from last year's WJC squad) had the day off. Adam Ginning dressed for Sweden, and had three shots on goal.
Later today on the Flyers' official website, there will be a tournament-to-date rundown of the four participating Flyers prospects. There will be a wrapup edition after the conclusion of the event.
2) On Wednesday afternoon, the Flyers Alumni Association hosted a party at xFinity Live in honor of Craig Berube. Always among the most well-liked and well-respected of teammates during his playing days, the party was held in honor of former Flyers and Phantoms coach Berube steering the St. Louis Blues to the first Stanley Cup championship in their franchise history. Organized by Joe Watson, attendees included Brad Marsh, Bob Kelly, Bernie Parent, Danny Briere, Jim Watson, Todd Fedoruk, Larry Goodenough, PA announcer Lou Nolan and more. Berube still makes his residence in Bucks County during the offseason.
3) Thank you to Russ Joy and Anthony SanFilippo for having me as their guest on the new edition of the "Snow the Goalie" podcast. We went over 90 minutes, talking Flyers hockey and taking listener questions. On August 12,
Flyers Radio 24/7 will reconvene the Broadcasters Roundtable panel -- Tim Saunders, Jim Jackson, Steve Coates, Chris Therien and me -- for an offseason edition of the program. During training camp, Bundy and I will resume the Facebook Live program we do on the Flyers' official Facebook page. The Real Deal Hockey with Bundy and Bill podcast may also periodically return.
4) August 1 Flyers Alumni birthday: Wendell Young (1963).
5) Today in Flyers History: On Aug 1,1970, the Flyers sold Claude Laforge's contract to the Denver Spurs of the now-defunct Western Hockey League.
The pint-sized Laforge stood just 5-foot-8 and weighed only 160 pounds but was a courageous and shifty forward who had established himself as a reliable AHL player. In his best AHL campaign, Laforge averaged more than a point-per-game (50 points in 49 games) for the 1960-61 Hershey Bears before he got his first brief NHL look with the Detroit Red Wings.
Laforge started the 1967-68 season with the Aces, for whom he'd scored 16 goals in 60 games the previous season and then posted six points in five games in the Calder Cup playoffs. However, the finesse forward spent most of the season in the NHL with the Flyers. During the 1967-68 regular season, Laforge dressed in 63 games, chipping in nine goals and 25 points.
During the Flyers' seven-game war of a series with the St. Louis Blues in the 1968 Stanley Cup Quarterfinals - a series the Blues ultimately won - Laforge unwittingly became part of franchise folklore. In Game 5 of the series, a brawl erupted at 9:03 of the third period. St. Louis roughneck Noel Picard blind-sided and viciously assaulted Laforge, who happened to be the closest bystander. Laforge, crashing face-first to the ice, was left unconscious in a pool of blood. He was concussed and suffered a broken nose.
Flyers owner Ed Snider privately vowed that he'd never again see a Philadelphia team manhandled in that manner. In the years to come, the Flyers assembled the team that became known as the "Broad Street Bullies." Laforge did not play again in the series. He finished with three points (one goal, two assists) in five games. The next year, Laforge played two additional games for the Flyers - his final appearances of a 193-game NHL career - and returned to the Quebec Aces. For Quebec, he posted 21 goals and 52 points in 57 games.
The French-Canadian forward remained with the Aces through the 1969-70 season (28 goals, 67 points in 72 games). After the Flyers sold his contract, he finished his playing career back in the minor leagues with three seasons in Denver. With the Spurs, LaForge was coached by future Flyers head coach Bill Dineen.
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