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QUICK HITS: AUGUST 25, 2017
1) As noted on Wednesday, Comcast Sportsnet Philadelphia and The Comcast Network will be rebranded as NBC Sports Philadelphia and NBC Sports Philadelphia +. The name change will not impact any of the programming currently shown by those networks, including Flyers game broadcasts, pregame and postgame shows. Note: For listing purposes in Flyers game day preview blogs at HockeyBuzz next season, the networks will be indicated as NBCSP and NBCSP+.
2) Celebrating his 18th birthday on Thursday, Flyers 2017 sixth-round pick Olle Lycksell made his debut for Sweden national under-20 team. He centered the third line. Sweden fell to Russia in overtime. Lycksell had one shot on goal, but did not record a point. Flyers 2017 third-round pick Kirill Ustimenko served as Russia's backup goalie in the game.
3) Flyers prospect David Kase skated on first line right wing for the Czech Republic in their 2-1 win over Slovakia on Thursday. Slovakia won, 2-0, on Wednesday. Kase was on the ice late in the game as the Czech pushed to tie the score but the Slovaks countered to score an empty-netter and ice the win. The 20-year-old Kase is the youngest player on either team.
4) Flyers defense prospect Linus Högberg skated 13:13 of ice time on the third pairing and was minus-one as his Växjö Lakers team (SHL) defeated Czech team HC Bili Tygri Liberec (Extraliga) in overtime, 4-3, in Champions Hockey League (CHL) action on Thursday.
5) August 25 Flyers Alumni Birthdays: Nick Schultz (1982), Dave Tippett (1961), Greg Paslawski (1961).
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FLYERS TOP 25 IN 25: PETER FORSBERG
Although he will always be most closely tied to the Colorado Avalanche, Peter Forsberg was a pivotal figure -- both by choice and unwittingly -- in the history of the Flyers' franchise.
Elsewhere, I have taken an in-depth look at the player's surprise selection with the sixth overall pick of 1991 NHL Draft (most teams and pundits projected him as a late first-round or even second-round candidate) and the Flyers' trading of his rights one year later in the Eric Lindros deal with Quebec.
The focus here for the Flyers Top 25 in the Last 25 Years will be on Forsberg's much-belated arrival as a Flyer and the brilliance that still lay within his game during his injury-overshadowed and all too brief (100 regular season games and six playoff games) stint in Philadelphia.
After the NHL's lockout of 2004-05 forced the cancellation of the season, superstar center Forsberg became an unrestricted free agent. He signed with the Flyers on August 3, 2005.
Forsberg blasted out of the gates during the 2004-05 season, centering an explosive top line with Simon Gagne on left wing and Mike Knuble on right wing. Forsberg had at least one point in 12 of the season's 13 games (four goals, 24 assists, 28 points).
When he was forced out of the lineup with a groin pull during the Flyers' 5-3 win in Boston on November 25, 2005, Forsberg (who had two goals and an assist in the first period of the game and was initially credited with a hat trick) was leading the NHL in scoring with 39 points (eight goals, 31 assists) in 21 games. At that same juncture, linemate Gagne had a staggering 21 goals in 21 games.
However, Forsberg was unable to stay healthy thereafter. A congenital foot problem contributed to a variety of related injuries - groin pulls, core-muscle issues, etc. - and increasingly kept the superstar center out of the lineup.
Forsberg, who won a gold medal with Sweden (his second Olympic gold) at the 2006 Olympics, finished the 2005-06 regular season with 75 points (19 goals, 56 assists) in 60 games, along with a plus-21 rating, an average 18:29 of ice time per game, 48 credited hits and 45 credited takeaways.
In the 2006 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Buffalo Sabres, Forsberg was far from 100 percent healthy. Nevertheless, he was dominant during the much of the series, especially in stepping up to take over Games Three and Four in Philadelphia as the Flyers erased a two games to zero deficit and knotted the series. Although Forsberg racked up eight points in the series (four goals, four assists), the Sabres prevailed in six games.
On this sequence, Forsberg goes one-on-five against the Buffalo Sabres and turns it into a mismatch as he stickhandles into and then all the way around the offensive zone, draws multiple Sabres toward him and then feeds a wide open Eric Desjardins for a momentum-changing goal in Game 4 of the 2006 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.
In Game Four of the Buffalo series, Forsberg generated one of the Flyers' most memorable shifts of the last quarter century. The center went one-on-five against Sabres defenders and turned it into a mismatch. Forsberg stickhandled into and then all the way around the offensive zone, drew multiple Sabres toward him and then fed a wide-open Eric Desjardins for a momentum-changing goal.
Entering the summer of 2006, Forsberg was originally scheduled to undergo reconstructive surgery on both of his feet. It was determined, however, that he would only need to have surgery on the right foot to correct deformities because of an abnormal arch that caused him to stretch his ankle tendons. Originally projected to be out until Christmas, Forsberg instead reported for training camp in September. That moth, he was named the 15th captain in Flyers' team history, succeeding the retiring Keith Primeau.
Unfortunately, Forsberg's foot continued to give him frequent trouble throughout the 2006-07 season. Amid what rapidly became the worst season in Flyers' franchise history, Forsberg was able to dress in only 40 games.
By most players' standards, he remained an excellent NHL player (11 goals, 29 assists, 40 points). A perfectionist by nature, however, Forsberg was dissatisfied with his body's increasing betrayal of him and heartbroken by the team's struggles, which he blamed on himself.
Due to his foot issues, the impending unrestricted free agent was unwilling to commit to a contract extension with the Flyers. Ultimately, on February 15, 2007, the Flyers traded Forsberg to the Nashville Predators for forward Scottie Upshall, defense prospect Ryan Parent, and the Predators' first-round pick in the 2007 NHL Draft.
Forsberg chipped in 15 points (two goals, 13 assists) in 17 stretch-drive games for Nashville and four points (two goals, two assists) in five playoff games. He then decided to take time off from hockey to try to solve his foot issues. In the meantime, the Flyers and Predators worked out a second trade. The Predators' 2007 first-round pick acquired in the original trade was flipped back to Nashville in exchange for the rights to impending free agents Kimmo Timonen and Scott Hartnell, whom the Flyers immediately signed to six-year contracts.
Forsberg would make several comeback attempts but, in second and third stints with the Avalanche, would only go on to play a total of 11 more NHL regular season games and seven playoff games.
For the Flyers portion of his career, Forsberg produced 115 points in 100 regular season games. This ranks him second on points-per-game average in franchise history among all players who played one or more full seasons with the team:
1. Eric Lindros 1.36
2. Peter Forsberg 1.15
3. Tim Kerr 1.08
4. Brian Propp 1.07
5. Bobby Clarke 1.06
So much for the myth that Forsberg was "on the downside" by the time he joined the Flyers. He was still an elite player-- deadly offensive, rock solid defensively, ultra-competitive with a physical edge and a mean streak. The problem wasn't declining skills. It was that his body betrayed him and kept him off the ice with greater and greater frequency.
Forsberg was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame's class of 2014. On December 16, 2014, the Flyers held "Peter Forsberg Night" at the Wells Fargo Center to celebrate the player's Hall of Fame legacy and to recognize his greatness during his all-too-brief stint with the team. Forsberg, who dropped the ceremonial opening faceoff, received a standing ovation.
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FOR FLYERS FANS AGES 18 TO 35: SNIDER HOCKEY U35
The Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation is launching a special new fundraising program geared toward Flyers fans and Snider Hockey supporters between the ages of 18 and 35. The Snider Hockey U35 program is a $10 per month subscription platform designed to unite our younger donors through an easy way to donate to the cause (set up similarly to Netflix, HelloFresh, or Stitch Fix) in exchange for various perks and access to after-work weekend events related to Flyers hockey.
Each month, there will be subscriber-only drawings to win Flyers club box tickets, Flyers player-autographed memorabilia, Snider Hockey swag, and other prizes. Additionally, for supporters age 21 to 35, Snider Hockey will host U35 members-only events such as tailgates, happy hours, and Flyers viewing parties with special rates from partnering restaurants and bars.
Prior to Mr. Snider's passing in April 2016, he endowed Snider Hockey with the resources to match all supporters' donations from his estate. This includes donations from all new U35 subscribers, which will be matched at 3:1 ratio.
Understanding that young people deal with financial pressures from student loans, rent and other expenses weighed against entry-level salaries, monthly donations for the U35 program are capped off at $50 per month and can be canceled at any time.
When subscribers age out of the U35 program, they are still eligible to donate through other programs, bid on auction items and participate in annual Snider Hockey events. However, they are no longer eligible to win the monthly U35 prizes or attend the U35 social events.
For more information on getting started, click here
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