Quick Hits: January 28, 2020
1) On the Flyers' official website, there is a three-part series looking at how Flyers' prospects at every level below the NHL have fared so far this season. Flyers general manager Brent Flahr graciously agreed to take the time to offer his insights in a player-by-player conversation last week.
Part 1, which is now online, looks at
first-, second- and third-year pros on the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and Reading Royals. In total, 12 players are discussed in this section, including Flahr's takes on Morgan Frost, German Rubtsov, Isaac Ratcliffe and Reading Royals rookie goalie Kirill Ustimenko and Felix Sandström.
Part 2, which will run at some point on Tuesday, similarly goes through the NCAA, BCHL, WHL, OHL and QMJHL. The final part, which will run on Wednesday, looks at players in Europe.
2) Completing a whirwind of activity over the past six days, Phantoms rookie center Morgan Frost collected a combined three assists for victorious Team Atlantic in the 3-on-3 mini-tournament series at the 2020 AHL All-Star Game in Ontario, California on Monday evening.
Each of the games consisted of two five-minute halves, with a round-robin phase pitting each of the four divisions against one another (three games each), followed by a championship game. The championship round featured a rematch of Team Atlantic vs. Team Central, won 3-1 by the Atlantic. The MVP of the mini-tournament was Hershey Bears goaltender Vitek Vanecek.
Last Wednesday and Friday, Frost and the Phantoms played a pair of road games in Providence. On Saturday, Frost and the Phantoms were in Hartford to play the Wolf Pack. While the rest of the team was then able to start its All-Star break in the game and practice schedule, Frost had to fly to California for the AHL All-Star festivities over the next two nights.
On Sunday, Frost competed in three events at the AHL All-Star Skills competition. He narrowly lost his race in the one-on-one phase of the Puck Control Relay round that opened the evening. Later, Frost made nice passes that resulted in two goals during the 3-on-0 pass-and-shoot breakaway rush event but missed the net looking to shoot short-side high when it was his turn to be the shooter in the third and final rush. During the closing individual breakaway competition, Frost made a nice move to his backhand and had former Phantoms/Flyers goaltender Anthony Stolarz beaten but missed the net as the 20-year-old tried to finish off the play. Frost then wiped out in the corner and skated back to center ice, smiling sheepishly.
Frost's close friend and fellow rookie pro, Flyers winger Joel Farabee, wasted little time chirping him via Twitter for his combination missed net and post-shot tumble.
3) Speaking of Farabee and Frost, the two players will be doing an autograph and photo op appearance at Center Court in the Deptford Mall from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 4. Also appearing are Flyers play-by-play television broadcaster Jim Jackson and Flyers in-arena host Andrea Helfrich. For more information,
click here.
4) On March 13, 2020, the second annual edition of the Flyers Alumni's "Friday Night Fights" event will be held at 2300 Arena in South Philadelphia (the former ECW Arena and bingo hall, which was extensively renovated several years ago). A new assortment of Flyers and NHL rival tough guys from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s will participate in panel discussions and highlight videos emceed by hockey historian and entertainer Liam Maguire.
This year's event will be dedicated to a special and urgent cause: proceeds will be donated on behalf of Annalise Schultz, the 9-year-old granddaughter of Flyers Hall of Fame enforcer Dave "the Hammer" Schultz, who is battling a rare and aggressive form of pediatric brain cancer. Annalise recently underwent a second round of brain surgery and returned to proton therapy.
Funds from "Friday Night Fights: Fighting for Annalise" will be donated to Annalise's parents, Chad Schultz (Dave's son) and his wife Jen, to be used toward the multitude of expenses that arise from a family caring for a child dealing with a life-threatening illness.
The list of participating Flyers/NHL tough guys who will be featured in the on-stage segments and Flyers Alumni attendees who won't be on the stage but will be there to lend their support to Annalise and the Schultz family and to chirp and share laughs with the featured participants has yet to be finalized. However, multiple invitees have already RSVPed that they will come for the event. "The Hammer", of course, will once again be among the featured attendees.
Additionally, Flyers Alumni Association president Brad Marsh has asked me to invite Flyers fans to suggest favorite ex-players (Flyers Alumni or otherwise) whom they'd like to see participate if their schedule permits them to come to Philly for the event. He will try his best to line up non-local attendees suggested by fans in addition to locally based Flyers Alumni.
Last year, Brad was able to line up the likes of Terry O'Reilly, Chris Nilan and Marty McSorley in addition to out-of-town Flyers Alumni such as Darryl Stanley (of "Bruise Brothers" fame) and Andre "Moose" Dupont".
Ticket pricing is tiered into two levels of access. There will be a section of VIP tables, which will include early admission to meet the featured attendees, appetizers and a full bar at 2300 Bar before the main event and then a catered buffet-style dinner and dessert. At a much lower price point is general admission, which includes tickets to the main event and opportunities for autographs and photos as Flyers/NHL Alumni attendees mill around during breaks in the event. Food and drink consession stands are available for general admission attendees.
Last year's event also featured a merchandise table, with two t-shirt designs available; a Friday Night Fights logo shirt and a limited edition reboot of the mid-1980s "Bruise Brothers" shirt featuring Dave Brown and Daryl Stanley. The latter was especially popular; selling out in most sizes on event night (only a few smalls and mediums were left) and generating post-event inquiries and an additional small printing run. Merchadise for this year is TBD.
In short, there are still attendee list and ancillary details to be finalized but the event date, structure and beneficiary arrangements are all set.
As soon as 2300 Arena posts its ticket link to the event, I will share it here and on social media. In the meantime, for more information on tickets, VIP tables or the Flyers' Alumni's fight to assist Annalise -- which started with a separate $5,000 donation as part of the association's
14 Days of Christmas Season Giving campaign during the Thanksiving to New Year's holidays -- contact Brad Marsh by phone at 215-952-5946 or via email at
[email protected].
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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