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Quick Hits: June 14, 2022
1) Congratulations go out to Bill Clement and Al Morganti for being announced, respectively, as the Hockey Hall of Fame's 2022 honorees for the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award and Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award.
The Foster Hewitt Memorial Award, created in 1984, recognizes excellence in the field of hockey television or radio broadcasting. After a solid NHL playing career that included winning the Stanley Cup twice with the Flyers and playing in a pair of NHL All-Star Games, Clement became one of the NHL's most highly acclaimed television broadcast analysts both at the national (ESPN, NBC, ABC, SportChannel America) and local levels and also was a broadcaster for hockey and other sports in the Olympics. He forged long-running broadcast partnerships with Mike "Doc" Emrick, Gary Thorne and, later, Jim Jackson. Clement retired from broadcasting in 2021 and later relocated to North Carolina after many years as a Bucks County resident.
The Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award, also created in 1984, recognizes excellence in hockey print journalism. Although many younger hockey fans know Morganti more as a television studio hockey analyst and/or as a local radio personality, he first made his name as an outstanding beat writer who worked for the Boston Globe, Atlanta Constitution (covering the former Atlanta Flames) and Philadelphia Inquirer. He gained a reputation for asking tough questions as needed but for being fair and balanced in his coverage.
In 1985, Morganti accomplished the nearly impossible feat of providing first-rate and objective journalistic coverage of the death of Pelle Lindbergh while also honoring his personal friendship with the Vezina Trophy winning goaltender and not betraying his access to information before it went public. In the hours after Lindbergh's horrific car crash, the player's fiancee, Kerstin Pietsche, and late mother, Anna-Lisa Lindbergh, asked Morganti to speak to the doctors on their behalf. Morganti then explained to Kerstin in simpler English terms what the doctors were saying and Kerstin would translate it to Swedish for Anna-Lisa, who could not speak English.
In so doing, Morganti was entrusted with information before it was ready to be announced publicly. He then had to write against newspaper deadlines, balancing the ethical and professional demands of providing accurate and thorough reporting with the sensitivities of the timing (for example, while the hospital had an orthopedic doctor talking to reporters about the broken bones Lindbergh suffered, Morganti had already been privately informed that Lindbergh was brain dead but had been asked to keep that confidential until the player's father, Sigge, had been informed). In the meantime, he had to deal with his own emotional anguish over losing a personal friend and trying to comfort Kerstin and Anna-Lisa.
It was a testament to Morganti's professionalism, journalistic skill, personal character and compassion as a friend and human being that he was able to balance all of the above while himself coming to grips with the tragedy. Morganti was not the only Flyers beat writer from that era who was well-liked and highly respected both by the public and by the subjects he covered. But Morganti was closer in age to his subjects -- and had also played the game -- and, in many cases, built friendships along with the professional relationship between reporter and subject. Nonetheless, when it came time to report a story, Morganti always did it objectively.
Morganti is the second former Flyers beat writer to be honored with the Elmer Ferguson Award. The first was the late Jay Greenberg, who was the 2014 recipient. Jay and Al had different styles and different senses of humor. Jay was an historian and meticulously researcher who also had a gift for turning clever phrases and writing the best ledes in the business to drive home the main idea. Al brought a different sort of sensibility to his coverage -- more of talking-to-an-acquaintance vibe that translated well to his later careers on TV and in talk radio. He's a Bostonian but also relates well to Philadelphia fans.
Clement is the third hockey broadcaster who did extensive work in the Philadelphia market to receive the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award. The late Gene Hart received the honor from the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1997, followed by Emrick in 2008. Clement is the first Flyers Alum player who later went onto broadcasting to be recognized by the broadcasters' wing of the HHOF.
2) When it comes to the NHL Entry Draft, there is often a discrepancy between publicly available rankings (such as Central Scouting, The Hockey News, International Scouting Services, McKeen's, etc.), the rankings produced by national pundits such Craig Button or Bob McKenzie, and the behind-the-scenes buzz from scouts and hockey operations people within NHL organizations.
One prime example this year is Winnipeg Ice forward Matthew Savoie. Within the NHL team realm, there's an active debate on whether he's a top-10 prospect despite gaudy offensive numbers this past season and a combination of good speed and soft hands. Can he succeed as a center in the NHL or his best bet as a winger? Is he more of a top-six forward in a good mix or a bonfide top-line candidate for any team? Is teammate Conor Geekie, who is more of a "true" center but a less consistent producer with a polarizing ceiling as an offensive player, the better prospect of the two for the long haul?
The Athletic's NHL Draft pundit, Cory Pronman, did a good job at taking his own opinions out of the equation and polling various NHL amateur scouts and hockey ops executives to anonymously give their opinions on a variety of Draft-related rankings and controversies (such as the degree to which KHL-affiliated prospects could drop in this year's Draft). This included whether to rank Shane Wright or Juraj Slafkovsky first overall (an outlier group preferred Logan Cooley over both) and whether to rank Simon Nemec or David Jiricek as the top available defenseman.
There can always been surprises on Draft Day. However, as of now, it seems like a pretty safe bet that Wright, Slafkovsky, Cooley and one of Nemec or Jiricek will be off the board by the time the Flyers' turn comes up with the fifth overall pick. Unless there is broad internal consensus that the clear-cut best available prospect is a forward (second-half fast riser Cutter Gauthier, Savoie, Finnish winger Joakim Kemell, Swedish winger Jonathan Lekkeremäki. etc), the Flyers may select a defenseman at No. 5 or try to trade down a few spots to pick up an extra pick while still potentially grabbing a forward they like. Trading up does not seem likely.
3) June 14 Flyers Alum birthday: Eric Desjardins (1969)
Flyers Hall of Fame defenseman Eric Desjardins was born June 14, 1969 in Rouyn, Quebec. He was originally selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the second round (38th overall) of the 1987 NHL Draft.
Desjardins had considerable success during his time with the Habs, including a Stanley Cup ring (1992-93) and a hat trick in the Final against the Los Angeles Kings. He spent the first six-plus seasons of his NHL career with Montreal.
Shortly after the settlement of the 1994-95 lockout, Desjardins was acquired by the Flyers from the Montreal Canadiens on February 9, 1995 in a blockbuster deal that also brought fellow future Flyers Hall of Famer John LeClair as well as Gilbert Dionne while sending Mark Recchi to Montreal. The trade paid immediate dividends for the Flyers, who vaulted to Stanley Cup contender status after missing the playoffs five consecutive seasons.
Spending the remainder of his career in Philadelphia, Desjardins became one of the highest-scoring and best all-around defensemen in Flyers history, recording 396 points (93 G, 303 A) over 738 career games. He ranked second in franchise history among blueliners in goals, assists and points, behind only Mark Howe.
Desjardins was nicknamed "Rico" by teammates, as in Rico Suave. His two most frequent defense partners were fellow ex-Canadiens defenseman Kevin Haller in Desjardins' first two seasons with the Flyers and Chris Therien thereafter.
A consummate professional, Desjardins kept himself in excellent physical condition. Although he had numerous significant injuries during his Flyers' career, Desjardins found ways to bounce back upon his return.
During the course of his 10-plus season career with the Philadelphia Flyers, Desjardins was one of the most under-appreciated sports stars in the city. He just went about his business in a quiet, graceful and dignified way and it was easy for even many Flyers fans to take his play for granted. "Rico" was a model of consistency, game after game and year after year.
During his career, Desjardins may not quite have been a Norris Trophy candidate at the very top of the NHL heap, but he was in the category a half-step down: perennial All-Star caliber two-way defensemen. While there is temptation to compare Desjardins to other top Flyers defensemen such as Mark Howe or Kimmo Timonen, the best comparison player may be someone who never played for the Flyers: Teppo Numminen. They played a similar style, both shot righthanded and had similar temperaments.
An often over-looked part of Desjardins' career is the way he adjusted his game over the years as major injuries set in. A turning point season for him was the 1998-99 campaign, when he valiantly played through an 80 percent tear of his left anterior cruciate ligament (wearing a brace while essentially playing on one leg). Subsequently, he had a pair of serious shoulder separations and a shattered forearm that required a titanium plate to be inserted for stability.
Desjardins adjusted his game accordingly over the years. For example, he employed a six-day-per-week workout regimen to add strength after the ACL tear -- which affected his skating for a couple of seasons -- caused him to lose a step. Previously, Desjardins had been one of the smoothest skating defensemen in the NHL. He coped without missing a beat.
"Rico" always played a highly intelligent and structured game. Perhaps it was no coincidence, then, that he played the best hockey of his Flyers career under the structured approaches implemented by Murray, Roger Neilson and Ken Hitchcock. It was under Hitchcock that Desjardins experienced a latter-career revival after a couple of uneven seasons both for the team and for himself.
Two of the defensemen's best offensive seasons came in 1998-99 and 1999-2000, the first of which saw him record 51 points (15 G, 36 A) in just 68 games. The following year, Desjardins posted 55 points (14 G, 41 A) in 80 games. He was named a second-team postseason NHL All-Star in both seasons and finished in the top five in Norris Trophy voting in both of those years.
Desjardins was a seven-time Barry Ashbee Award winner as the Flyers' best defenseman, which is a franchise high, and was a three time NHL All-Star Game participant - once with Montreal in 1992 (a game played at the Spectrum) and twice with the Flyers, in 1996 and 2000. Internationally, he played for Team Canada at the 1985-86 and 1986-87 World Junior Championships, the 1991 Canada Cup, 1996 World Cup of Hockey and 1998 Winter Olympics.
Overall for his NHL career, Desjardins played 1,143 regular season games (136 goals, 439 assists, 575 points, 757 penalty minutes) and 168 playoff games (23 goals, 57 assists, 80 points, 93 penalty minutes).
Sharing a June 14 birthday with Desjardins are fellow Flyers Alumni Sami Kapanen (1973), Matt Read (1986) and Yves Preston (1956).
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