WEDNESDAY QUICK HITS
* Yesterday, the Flyers signed 24-year-old forward Matt Hatch to an AHL contract. He will play for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms next season. A versatile and defensively sound forward who was a teammate of defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere the last three seasons at Union College, Hatch was a valuable cog in Union's NCAA national championship team this season. Hatch is the type of role player who generally fits well within the system that Phantoms coach Terry Murray employs.
At the collegiate level, Hatch produced 34 goals and 73 points in 148 games over his four seasons at Union. This season, he notched a career-best 13 goals and 22 points while posting a plus-18 rating. The 5-foot-11, 185 pounder plays bigger than his size because he keeps his feet moving and pays attention to detail.
* Every year, there is at least one minor league player whom no one has on their Flyers NHL roster radar screen who ends up making a serious push at training camp for a job with the big club. My prediction: File the name Brandon Alderson away as a potential bottom-six darkhorse at Flyers training camp in September.
The 22-year-old winger quietly put together a strong rookie season for the Phantoms this season. Although he was the least touted of the Phantoms rookies before the season, at least in comparison to Nick Cousins and Petr Straka, Alderson ended up being the most consistent of the three first-year players over the course of the season.
Even when the goals weren't coming for him, Alderson played the game the right way. He finished the year with 14 goals and 21 points in 71 games. As a line, the trio of Cousins, veteran acquisition Derek Whitmore and Alderson came on in the second half of the season. Straka also saw time with his fellow rookies.
During the Flyers abbreviated Stanley Cup playoff run, Alderson was one of the Black Aces added to the team's extended roster. When a rookie gets that honor, it is both a reward for a job well done and also a signal that the player could have upward mobility in the organization.
Alderson has worked on improving his two-way game; a must if he is going to forge an NHL spot for himself. Further development would help his cause immensely. The righthanded shooting winger showed this season that he can use his 6-foot-3 frame effectively to win puck battles.
* Yesterday marked the 25th anniversary of the untimely passing of former NHL referee and director of officiating John McCauley at the age of 44. If you have not already done so, I recommend reading Paul Stewart's
tribute to McCauley here on HockeyBuzz.
A Flyers-related fact about McCauley than many fans do not know is that Eric Lindros wore number 88 throughout his junior and NHL careers as a tribute to family friend McCauley after his passing. McCauley wore number 8 on his sweater the NHL. Number eight was unavailable on the OHL's Oshawa Generals, so Lindros opted for number 88 and wore it the rest of his career. During his junior hockey days, Lindros also wore on his uniform the same patch NHL officials did as a way of honoring McCauley.
* Flyers Birthdays: June 4 marks the 24th birthday of Phantoms defenseman Brandon Manning. In addition, Flyers alumni Derian Hatcher and Len Barrie respectively turn 42 and 45 today.
* Today in Flyers history: On this day in 1975, the Flyers formally announced a trade with the Washington Capitals that sent checking forward Bill Clement, Don McLean and the team's first round pick in the 1975 Draft (used in order to select Alex Forsythe) in exchange for the first overall pick in the 1975 Draft.
The trade had actually been consummated during the Finals. Clement had already been traded to the Capitals at the time he scored a memorable insurance goal in the third period of the Flyers' Cup-clinching win in Game Six of the 1975 Stanley Cup Finals against the Buffalo Sabres. The deal was announced after the season.
The Flyers used the top pick in the 1975 draft to select Mel Bridgman. To read the career retrospective on Bridgman that I wrote a few years ago for the Flyers' official Web site,
click here.
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