Quick Hits: September 23, 2021
1) On-ice work begins for the Philadelphia Flyers today at their 2021 training camp in Voorhees. During the early days of camp, sessions will be divided into three groups. Group C is the "Phantoms" group. The schedule for the first five days of camp is as follows:
THURSDAY, SEPT. 23
o GROUP C: 8:30 – 9:30 a.m.
o GROUP A: 10:00 – 11:45 a.m.
o GROUP B: 1:00 – 2:45 p.m.
FRIDAY, SEPT. 24
o GROUP C: 8:30 – 9:30 a.m.
o GROUP B: 10:00 – 11:45 a.m.
o GROUP A: 1:00 – 2:45 p.m.
SATURDAY, SEPT. 25
o GROUP C: 8:30 – 9:30 a.m.
o GROUP A: 10:00 – 11:45 a.m.
o GROUP B: 1:00 – 2:45 p.m.
SUNDAY, SEPT. 26
o GROUP C: 8:30 – 9:30 a.m.
o GROUPS A & B COMBINED: 10:00-10-45 a.m.
o SCRIMMAGE (A vs. B): 11:00-11:45 a.m.
MONDAY, SEPT. 27
o GROUP C: 8:30 – 9:30 a.m.
o GROUPS A & B COMBINED: 10:30-11-15 a.m.
o SCRIMMAGE (A vs. B): 11:30-12:15
TUESDAY, SEPT. 28
o GROUP C: 8:30 – 9:30 a.m.
o GAME ROSTER GROUP: 10:30 a.m.
o NON-GAME GROUP: 11:30-12:45 p.m.
Preseason Game: Wells Fargo Center vs. NYI, 7 p.m.
The full start-of-camp roster is available on the Flyers' official website:
click here.
2) Some random roster-related notes:
* There has been some consternation among older Flyers fans that defenseman Ryan Ellis is listed as No. 4 on the roster page of the Flyers website, while goalie Martin Jones is listed as No. 31.
These were default place-holders on the website that will be adjusted. Ellis wore number 4 with Nashville (retired in Philadelphia for the late Barry Ashbee) and Jones wore number 31 with San Jose (unofficially retired in Philly for the late Pelle Lindbergh). As Flyers, Ellis will wear No. 94 and Jones will wear No. 35.
Additionally, Cam Atkinson (No.13 in Columbus) will wear number 89 for the Flyers and Rasmus Ristolainen (number 55 in Buffalo) has chosen No. 70 with the Flyers. All of the new numbers are correct on the training camp roster and will corrected on the website roster page.
* Prospects Tyson Foerster and the injured Zayde Wisdom (shoulder surgery) remain listed as centers on the training camp roster. However, both have been full-time wingers since the 2019-20 Ontario Hockey League campaign including their 2020-21 season in the AHL with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The position listings on the roster may change to right wing (RW) in a subsequent update. Positional updates often fall through the cracks on rosters, including those listed by the NHL.
* Fans often ask why player heights and weights do not get updated annually and across-the-board on training camp rosters. The answer is that the information is internally tracked and is not automatically shared with teams' PR departments. This happens more or less leaguewide.
When there are weight updates listed, it's usually specific to a certain player or two and often originates from the player himself being asked. For example, Morgan Frost is now listed at 191 pounds after being listed on the Development Camp roster a few weeks ago at 185 pounds and the website roster at his 2017 Entry Draft weight of 170 pounds. The 191 listing for Frost on the Training Camp roster is the most accurate and up-to-date after he provided the update at a press conference held during Rookie Camp.
3) ICYMI: Flyers head coach Alain Vigneault held a half-hour media availability session on Tuesday. For a synopsis of key areas of his pre-camp commentary and video of the entire press conference,
click here.
4) After his group availability with the local media, Vigneault joined Jason Myrtetus for a
one-on-one interview for Flyers Daily. Earlier this week, assistant coach Mike Yeo was the guest. Yeo discussed
discussed defensive play and the importance of learning from what went wrong last season.
5) Yesterday, the Flyers signed Peterborough Petes center Jon-Randall (J-R) Avon to an entry-level contract. Unselected in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, Avon attended Development Camp, Rookie Camp and was invited to participate in the start of NHL Camp as an amateur try-out player. As I wrote in my
Sept. 16 blog, Avon came to camp with arguably the best chance among the five invited ATOs of earning an entry-level contract.
If not for the pandemic-driven cancellation of the 2020-21 OHL season, Avon would have been a virtual lock for a mid-round selection in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. He entered the Ontario Hockey League in 2019-20 as a highly touted prospect chosen in the first round of the OHL Draft by the hometown Petes. He dressed in 56 games for Peterborough that year but got rather sparing ice time on a situational basis as a 16-year-old. This past year, he seemed poised for a bigger role but the delays and eventual cancelation of the entire campaign meant that a team drafting him would be taking a leap of faith in someone who hadn't played a competitive game since March 2020 and who hadn't gotten much OHL ice time before that.
One thing with Avon that stood out right away in the OHL, however, was his speed. In terms of pure wheels, he rivals the likes of Flyers 2021 second-round pick Samu Tuomaala among the fastest players to enter the organization in the last few years. There also seems to be some nascent offensive upside to his game, which he displayed in Voorhees during drills.
Avon's Flyers contract can slide to the OHL in both 2021-22 and 2022-23, meaning that he won't count against the 50-contract limit the next two seasons and the first year of his entry-level deal will not go into effect until 2023-24. By that time, the Flyers should have a little better idea of what they may have in this prospect in terms of all-around upside in the pro game.
Avon is the stepson of longtime NHL star Steve Larmer. He is a product of the Peterborough Petes' minor hockey system, dominating older opposition. As a 15-year-old, he was on the radar as a candidate for a first-round selection in the 2019 OHL Priority Selection Draft. The hometown Petes took him with the 11th overall pick. Avon, who is now listed at 6'0" tall and 176 pounds on the Flyers training camp roster, was listed at 5-foot-9 at the time of the 2019 OHL Draft.
6) For those attending training camp in Voorhees, here's a quick rundown of the rules for admission to the Flyers Training Center.
For those attending Flyers camp in Voorhees:
Fans: Masks are required, proof of vaccination is NOT required, no contact with players/staff.
Media: Proof of vaccination is required, masks are required, and there's no locker room access but there will be live interviews conducted in the upstairs press conference area (or remotely by Zoom for those who cannot attend).
7) Tomorrow, there will be a press conference at the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees to formally announce the 2021 USA Hockey Warrior Classic with the Flyers Warriors as the host team. Flyers Warriors head coach Brad Marsh will discuss the development of organization-sponsored team of disabled military veterans -- which has grown to a three-tiered roster across a wide array of previous hockey experience and ability levels. More importantly, the Flyers Warriors provide vital services for their players and families, including access to a behavioral health program and a daycare service during practices, as well as a socializing outlet and internal support system.
8) Yesterday, the Flyers held Media Day for the first time since the 2019 preseason. That's the day when players are photographed for their headshot and team publicity photos. They also have video footage taken for broadcast drop-ins. When you watch a game broadcast during a given season and see a little video clip of a player turning around to glare at the camera, striking a menacing pose, smilingly flipping a puck or whatever the content may be, it was shot on Media Day. Selected players also sit for profile feature interviews.
9) Sept. 23 Flyers Alumni birthday: Joffrey Lupul (1983).
10) Today in Flyers History: Sept. 23, 1969
The late Allan Stanley, who finished his Hockey Hall of Fame career with the Flyers in 1968-69, retired on this day in 1969. Born in 1926, the 42-year-old Stanley was the oldest player ever to play for the Flyers; a franchise record that still stands today.
In his one season in Philadelphia Stanley posted four goals and 17 points in 64 regular season games and dressed in three of four playoff games as the Flyers got swept by the St. Louis Blues in the Stanley Cup Quarterfinals.
A four-time Stanley Cup winner and the longtime defense partner of future Hall of Fame inductee Tim Horton, Allan Stanley himself was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1981. He holds the distinction of being the first person with any Flyers affiliation in his career to earn the honor of enshrinement in the "big" Hall.
Stanley passed away at age 87 on Oct. 18, 2013.
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