MELTZER'S MUSINGS: JULY 7, 2015
1) Flyers goaltending prospect
Anthony Stolarz said that he is excited to work with new goaltending coach
Kim Dillabaugh, whom he had only spoken to briefly before the start of camp. Stolarz said that his first observation after on-ice work with the new coach is that he is very big on head tracking.
Dillabaugh also emphasized right off the bat that it is important to have beginning-to-end consistency in practice repetitions; not just two or three good ones with a tail-off over latter reps. This area in one in which NHL goaltenders tend be strong -- watch
Steve Mason at work in practice and he is very good at replicating strong reps throughout his preparations -- but in which young goaltenders often struggle.
Stolarz now packs 220 muscular pounds in his 6-foot-6 frame. He gave major credit to former Phantoms/Flyers goaltender
Rob Zepp for setting a strong example in professionalism -- daily preparations, commitment to nutrition and off-ice workouts, tight focus in practice, mental toughness -- that Stolarz said he will take with him for the rest of his own career.
Stolarz is equally looking forward to working with incoming veteran
Jason LaBarbera, with whom he hit off in pregame warmup chats at center ice when the Phantoms played Norfolk last season.
The second-year pro said his primary goal for the 2015-16 season is to improve his consistency. He hopes to push LaBarbera for playing time but also learned from Zepp that persistence and patience are important.
2) 2013 sixth-round pick
Merrick Madsen has gained 13 pounds (177 to 190 since the Flyers drafted him) but still needs to add weight to his 6-foot-5 frame. The bright and personable Harvard sophomore said he would like to get up to about 200 pounds if possible.
As a freshman at Harvard, Madsen only played in one game during the 2014-15 season, serving as the backup to workhorse senior Steve Michalek (a recently signed Minnesota Wild prospect). He was a split-time starter at the NAHL level (rather than the USHL) the previous year. The goaltender will turn 20 on August 22.
The young goaltender said that while his education at Harvard is very important to him -- he is thinking of focusing on applied mathematics and statistics -- his career goals are geared first toward professional hockey.
Madsen is actually the fourth Harvard-affiliated goaltender the Flyers have drafted into their organization since the 1990s. He was preceded by
Tripp Tracey,
Aaron Israel, and
Dov Grumet-Morris; all of whom had pro careers of varying lengths but none of whom reached the NHL.
3) Last night, NHL Network showed a rebroadcast of the 2014-15 CHL Top Prospects Game played in January. Team Orr, featuring the likes of
Ivan Provorov and
Travis Konecny (who played on a line with a halfway decent prospect by the name of
Connor McDavid) as well as sniper
Timo Meier), coasted to a 6-0 win. Having watched the game when it was originally played, it was interesting to re-watch it a half-year later now that the 2015 NHL Draft is complete. It was much easier to focus in on the two players the Flyers selected in the first round.
Konecny had two goals and an assist in the game. The sequence leading up to the assist was perhaps the most impressive. Konecny created a transition rush with an open-ice hit and then sped down the other way.
Provorov, partnered with Brandon Wheat Kings teammate
Ryan Pilon, created the first goal of the game with a tremendous defensive play. Provorov landed one of the game's biggest hits, drilling Niagara IceDogs attacker
Graham Knott to the ice with a clean check and separating him from the puck. Defense partner Pilon picked it up, carried the mail up the left wing and caught Team Cherry goaltender
Samuel Montembeault (Blaineville-Boisbriand Armada) napping with a seemingly routine shot from the half boards that found the twine.
4) Every year at Flyers Development Camp, there a temptation to read a little too much into how various players look on the ice. While there is an element of friendly competition, the Flyers annually tell the attendees that there are no jobs to be won or lost in July. The season is a marathon and there is no reward for peaking in the summer.
At Development Camp, the main purpose is to give prospects pointers on small areas they may want to work on their game or skating as well as teaching them about the type of conditioning expectations they will have to meet to make in today's pro game.
With that said, it is natural for young players to want to compete with one another, and the presence of a cadre of highly touted blueline prospects in particular is unquestionably a motivator to put one's best foot forward.
5) The Flyers were not worried about the "KHL factor" with Provorov, who has demonstrated his commitment to making the NHL by leaving home at age 14 to play hockey in North America. Nevertheless, one of the ancillary benefits to having him under entry-level contract immediately is that it puts Provorov under full control of the organization right off the bat while also showing the player he will get a long look during the preseason.
Provorov will undoubtedly be disappointed if he does not win an NHL job for opening night -- or if he gets returned to Brandon after a nine-game NHL trial. However, if he does end up back at the WHL, it will likely be with a fast-track path to the NHL for the 2016-17 season.
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TODAY IN FLYERS HISTORY FROM FlyersAlumni.org
1976: John Hanna signed to coach the Flyers' American Hockey League farm club.
1995: Veteran defenseman Kjell Samuelsson begins his second stint as a Flyers player, signing a multi-year contract as an unrestricted free agent.
1997: The Flyers hire Wayne Cashman as their head coach.
1998: The Flyers sign free agent goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck to a three-year contract (two guaranteed seasons with a buyout option before the third year). On the same day, the team hires Craig Ramsay as an assistant coach,
2000: The Flyers sign unrestricted free agent left winger Kevin Stevens to a one-year contract.
2008: The Flyers re-sign general manager Paul Holmgren to a three-year contract extension. On the same day, the team signs unrestricted free agent winger Arron Asham to a two-year contract.
2009: The Flyers announce that recently acquired defenseman Chris Pronger has been signed to a seven-year, $35 million contract. On the same day, the team hires Jeff Reese as its goaltending coach and announces that John Paddock has accepted the position of an assistant general manager.
2011: The Flyers sign Wayne Simmonds to a two-year contract ($3.5 million cap hit). The club also signs veteran depth goaltender Jason Bacashihua and inks draft pick Tye McGinn to an entry-level contract.
FLYERS ALUM BIRTHDAY
Thickly built forward Andrei "the Tank" Kovalenko was born on July 7, 1970 in Balakovo in the former USSR.
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Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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