As the Flyers ended their seven-day rookie and prospect developmental camp, I thought I’d give y’all something for the chat rooms...

( I don't take credit for the "CCR" - that's our readers. I was going with "CRC" which is literally left to right but Jsaquella hit it right. I like his name, better. )

I wrote last month that Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock was debating whether to move Jeff Carter from center to wing. Well, the decision is in.

Carter will open camp at right wing on Mike Richards’ line with Kyle Calder. They played together as a line at the IIHF World Championships last spring in Latvia.

Carter told me he is willing to give it a try, but he was firm with Hitchcock that he wants the entire camp to get used to playing right wing and not switching back and forth to center. He seemed genuinely excited about playing with his best buddy, Richards, and newcomer, Calder.

“We’ve talked about [with Hitchcock],” Carter told me. “It’s something I can do.”

Carter centered a terrific line from mid-March through the end of the season with R.J. Umberger and Nik Dimitrakos. They had very good chemistry.

Asked about this new line and reflecting on how it looked at the World Champs, Calder said, “They are fun. It was awesome. They are two peas in a pod as guys, but a little different on the ice. We had a good time over there. It’s a pretty gritty line. Gritty with me and Richie and Carter just laying out there in the slot, laying in the weeds, waiting for his chance ...”

BTW: Carter and Calder’s lockers are next to each other.

***

Prospects and veterans will get together for the start of the main camp on Friday.

Thursday is physicals. Everyone is in camp except Simon Gagne, who is driving from Quebec to Philadelphia as we type these words. It shouldn’t take him long to get here in his Lamborghnini …

Petr Nedved came in from Prague on Monday and then drove down from New York City to Philly yesterday. He kidded me noting that he is the only Czech now in the dressing room. Slovaks Michal Handzus and Branko Radivojevic are gone.

***

Among the loose ends, coach Ken Hitchcock still does not have a contract extension. The organization said it would handle this in the off-season but time is running out to get this done. Hitchcock doesn’t think it is important. I say, a lame duck coach can be a drawback if players who don’t like him decide, ‘well, he’s not here next year, anyway.’

***

There were a number of prospects in this development camp that the Flyers and Phantoms coaching staff saw for the first time.

Phantoms coach Craig Berube said there were 4 players he saw for the first time that really stood out in the daily scrimmages that ran seven days: Center Denis Tolpeko,
Center Ryan Potulny, and defensemen Lars Jonsson and Jussi Timonen, younger brother of Nashville’s Kimmo Timonen.

“Tolpeko, [Ryan] Potulny, [Jussi] Timonen and Lars Jonsson all stood out for me among guys I had not seen before,” Berube told me this morning. “Tolpeko, I really like. He can stickhandle, his skating is very good and he’s competitive.

“Potulny can score from anywhere. Jonsson is a little older, but he has composure with the puck. He’s a great shot and a good skater. Timonen can really skate and he’s a defensive player. Not an offensive guy, but he can move the puck,”

***

Minor injuries: Jonsson has a hip flexor and Tolpeko took a skate to the hip area in Monday’s scrimmage. Neither injury is serious but both rested today.

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