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Quick Hits: Michkov, TIFH (LeClair, Amonte, Tertyshny), and More |
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Quick Hits: July 23, 2024
1. Matvei Michkov arrived from Russia in New York on Monday. Today, he will travel to the Philadelphia area for the first time since secretly meeting with Flyers general manager Danny Briere and others in Hockey Operations last summer before the 2023 NHL Entry Draft.
2. Today in Flyers History: July 23
1985: The Flyers sign free agent depth forward Carl Mokosak
1997: Unrestricted free agent defenseman Luke Richardson, previously with the Edmonton Oilers, signs a five-year contract with Philadelphia.
2005: In order to comply with the NHL's newly implemented salary cap, the Flyers buy out (with no cap implications) the contracts of veteran wingers John LeClair and Tony Amonte.
2007: The Flyers sign 2006 first-round pick Claude Giroux to an entry-level contract. They also sign goaltender Brian Boucher to an AHL contract with the Phantoms.
2021: The Flyers acquire defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen from the Buffalo Sabres for defenseman Robert Hagg, a 2021 first-round pick (Isak Rosen) and a 2023 second-round pick (Anton Wahlberg).
3. Flyers Alumni birthday: Randy Jones (1971).
4. July 23 in memoriam: Mickey and Tertyshny
July 23 is one of the saddest historical dates on the calendar in Flyers history. In 1982, Larry Mickey took his own life at age 38 at his home in Buffalo.
By all accounts, Mickey was a nice guy with a big heart. He cared deeply about helping the community. He cared about children, especially those with special needs. He had a passion for youth hockey. Sadly, Larry Mickey also led a very troubled life.
The well-liked Mickey had become despondent over issues in both his personal and professional lives. With a divorce impending and unable to realize his dream of becoming an NHL coach after his playing days, Mickey ended his life by starting his car inside the closed garage of his house and ultimately passing away from carbon monoxide poisoning. He had previously attempted to take his own life in a similar manner six weeks earlier, overdosing on valium and then starting the car in the garage. He survived the first suicide attempt but not the second.
Mickey, who was one of the co-founders of the Buffalo Jr. Sabres after his NHL playing days ended, had been a popular player among teammates and fans alike during his career. He played 292 games in the NHL. for the Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers, Montreal Canadiens, Kings, Flyers and Sabres. For his career, he notched 39 goals and 92 points. He was a much more prolific scorer in the minor leagues but did manage a 15-goal NHL season for Buffalo in 1972-73.
On July 13, 1971, the Flyers acquired the right winger from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Larry Hillman. Mickey dressed in 14 games for the Flyers. He scored one goal and three points. On Nov. 16, 1971, the Flyers traded Mickey to the Buffalo Sabres for Larry Keenan.
"Mick wasn't with us in Philly for very long, but I played against him for years in junior hockey and the NHL. For the short time we were teammates, I enjoyed it," recalls Flyers Hall of Famer Joe Watson.
"My favorite memory is that he livened up the road trips. He was a master at the 'dollar-bill-on-a-string' prank when we'd travel. He'd attach a dollar to a fishing line and leave it on the floor in the lounge in the terminal. When someone would try to pick the dollar bill up, he'd yank it away just out of their reach. He didn't invent that prank, but he pulled it off better than anyone I ever saw doing it. Always cracked us up. Beyond that, he was just a real nice guy and a good teammate. I'd have liked if he'd been with the team longer. Just a solid, no-frills player but he worked hard and he competed."
Mickey was still a member of the Sabres in 1974-75, the year they played the Flyers in the Stanley Cup Final as Philadelphia won its second straight Stanley Cup. However, he dressed in no playoff games.
The Flyers were not yet a top team in the NHL when Larry Mickey passed through the organization. Fred Shero was in his first year of coaching the team and was just beginning the process of installing what became his signature system. In the meantime, Keith Allen was still in the nascent phases of building what would eventually become a two-time championship roster.
Given this context, it would understandable if the Philadelphia Flyers had no particularly special meaning to Mickey apart from being just another team he played for during his career. Nothing could be further from the truth, according to his son, Cory.
"I am proud that my dad played for the Flyers, and it was something he was proud of, too," Cory Mickey said in 2018. "His only regret was that it didn't last longer."
Mickey was part of Shero's first camp and earliest games with the Flyers and he was in Philadelphia just long enough a little taste of what Shero was all about a coach and what the Flyers were building as an organization. He got to be a teammate of young Bobby Clarke right before he started to become an NHL superstar.
It made a big impression on Mickey and, in turn, on his son.
"My dad was not surprised when the Flyers won the Cup two straight years. He could see what they were building and the leadership they had. He saw how much being a Flyer meant to the players they had and how much they hated to leave. He saw what they did in the community, too, and that impressed him. For the rest of his life, as much as he came to love Buffalo, he also considered the Flyers to be a model NHL organization," Cory Mickey said.
The news of Larry Mickey's passing in 1982 hit many of his old friends and teammates hard.
"I guess he never talked about his problems with anyone. I just remember that everyone was surprised and sad to hear about it. We all liked Larry. I wouldn't say we'd got to be close friends but we were friendly. I was always happy to see him and say hi. It was just such a shame, especially for his children," Watson said
*****
On July 22, 1999, 22-year-old Flyers defenseman Dmitri Tertyshny passed away from injuries sustained in a horrific boating accident in Okanagan Lake, British Columbia.
Tertyshny spoke almost no English when he arrived at Flyers training camp in Sept. 1998, but he was eager to please, both on and off the ice. Unfailingly respectful to coaches and older teammates alike, he immediately impressed everyone around him with how eager he was to learn the North American game and to fit in on the club. He soon acquired the nickname "Tree" as a play both on the name Dmitri and his tall, lanky frame.
Tertyshny was steadfast in his commitment to earning an NHL job. When the team conducted its preseason fitness testing, he was unaware of what was going on. That morning, wearing no socks and shoes that weren't meant for long-distance running, he followed a group of players aboard a bus. He ran the six-mile course without uttering a complaint. It was only after he finished and removed his shoes that others noticed he had blisters all over his feet, some of which had burst and were bleeding.
The young player's dedication paid off. He won a place on Roger Neilson's roster and appeared in 62 games during the 1998-99 regular season, chipping in 10 points (two goals, eight assists), a minus-one rating and 30 penalty minutes while showing promise as a puck-moving defenseman. He made his Stanley Cup playoff debut on April 22, 1998, skating 12:52 in the Flyers' 3-0 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game One of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.
After the season, Tertyshny and Flyers minor league prospects Mikhail Chernov and Francis Belanger attended a summer power skating camp in Kelowna, British Columbia. Taking a break from camp, they decided to go out for some boating late in the afternoon of July 23, 1999.
With Belanger piloting the rental boat, the other passengers were seated aboard the 17-foot vessel. At about 7:25 pm, the boat hit a steep wave and Tertyshny, kneeling on a seat on the bow, was thrown overboard.
His friends watched in horror and anguish as the 22-year-old was run over by the power boat's propeller, which slashed his neck and jugular vein. Bleeding uncontrollably, an unconscious Tertyshny was brought back onboard as the boat returned to shore and an emergency crew arrived three minutes later. The young player was rushed to Kelowna General Hospital, but it was already too late. He bled to death at around 7:30 p.m. while still on the boat.
Perhaps the biggest tragedy of the entire situation was the fact that Tertyshny and his wife, Polina, were expecting their first child at the time of the accident. She was fourth months pregnant with a boy the couple had already planned to name Alexander.
In the wake of the horrific accident, the Flyers and their AHL farm team, the Phantoms, held a benefit game to raise money for the still-unborn child's future education. For many years, the Traktor organization kept Tertyshny's memory alive by holding an annual 3-game preseason tournament in Chelyabinsk named in his memory.
Polina and Alexander "Sasha" Tertyshny made their permanent home in the United States, primarily in the Philadelphia area. Sasha, who bears a strong facial resemblance to his late father, played for the Flyers Quebec International Pee-Wee team. He later played NAHL hockey for Corpus Christi and the Northeast Generals. In 2021-22, he made his NCAA debut for American International College. As with his father, Sasha Tertyshny is a defenseman, although he's a right-handed shooter while "Tree" shot left-handed.
Now a defenseman at Stonehill College, Alexander Tertyshny attended the Flyers' Development Camp in the summer of 2023. Tertyshny, 24, played in 30 games last season in his first season at Stonehille College.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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