so frustrating. yeah. i was a plug, so i have a soft spot for them. oh, you have some skill. but you messed up just once? off with your head!
- stayinthefnnet

That's what bugs me. You have a young guy like Rinaldo who didn't get benched much vs a young guy like Gustafsson who got benched if he made a mistake. I get giving a vet more rope, to an extent, but it really looks like a bias of Berube's.

He's not the only guy in the world that has it, and it's not crippling, but it still seems limiting for lack of a better word.

I would be more open to trading for a young name player like Yakupov than a veteran name player like Byfuglien. If you trade a 22 year old Schenn for a 20 year old Yakupov, you've made a lateral move, in terms of age.

The Flyers are at the point where the future has to trump the present in any trade.


That said, if it's not a young player like Rinaldo, who gets chance after chance because he's gritty and works hard, is Berube going to utilize him in a role that lends to his strengths?

That's my whole issue with guys like Akeson or Gustafsson. Bigger, grittier guys of all ages get more rope from Berube. Is it a bias due to the kind of player Berube was?
- Jsaquella

This.
Youth movement

If you could have any one player from the 1994 draft for the duration of their career, who would you take?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994_NHL_Entry_Draft

i dont know. its hard for me to judge anymore. you look at some guys, and i dont see a mathematical equation on who gets hurt and who withstands. sure, common sense will likely tell you a guy like chara can take a hit better than a more impish player, but still.

some big guys are chronically broken down, and then you have someone like tyler kennedy or ronaldo who are tiny and they withstand a beating.

i know im 6 0, 190. there are a lot of guys in the league around that size, and i dont know how they do it.
- stayinthefnnet

Guys like Kennedy and Rinaldo are small, but they're compact and built like tanks. Gaudreau looks like a 12-year-old out there

So, Johnny Gaudreau has now gone 5 games without a point this season.

Confirmed bust?
- jmatchett383

No, needs more seasoning and if he sticks past 9 games is a gross mishandling of a prospect.

Next year or even the next after that we call him a flop if it happens again.

Hartnell didn't score a point till his 10th game last year, and he was playing on the top line. It's a little early to panic about Umberger. At the very worst he's a cheap buyout next summer or the one after.
- Feanor

How dare you say the Flyers would buy out a player

If you could have any one player from the 1994 draft for the duration of their career, who would you take?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994_NHL_Entry_Draft
- jmatchett383

Coin flip between Elias or Alfredsson.

That's what bugs me. You have a young guy like Rinaldo who didn't get benched much vs a young guy like Gustafsson who got benched if he made a mistake. I get giving a vet more rope, to an extent, but it really looks like a bias of Berube's.

He's not the only guy in the world that has it, and it's not crippling, but it still seems limiting for lack of a better word.
- Jsaquella

are we sure it's not crippling? if it ends up hampering development of young players they NEED to see develop then it's at least maiming.

If you could have any one player from the 1994 draft for the duration of their career, who would you take?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994_NHL_Entry_Draft
- jmatchett383

Alfie in round 6 was a pretty damn good pick.

If you could have any one player from the 1994 draft for the duration of their career, who would you take?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994_NHL_Entry_Draft
- jmatchett383

Patrik Elias

Coin flip between Elias or Alfredsson.
- Jsaquella

Is the Elias pick partly because he has tormented the Flyers for the past 80-or-so years?

This.
Youth movement
- coffee junkie

If I'm trading a young guy, such as Brayden Schenn or Scott Laughton, for an established guy, the age limit of the guy I'd be adding would be around 26/27 years old. An exception would be if it was an exceptional player that really filled a need, made the team competitive now AND was a guy who could reasonably be expected to be a key piece of the team in 4-5 years

Akeson is miscast playing a fourth line role. I understand the notion of earning your opportunities, but asking a young player to prove himself as a physical checking forward so he can earn a spot as a winger on a scoring line is contradictory. Especially when you consider his relatively strong showing on a more skilled line during last year's playoff series against the Rangers.

While I'm very much in favor of having a skilled fourth line, Akeson isn't ideally suited for that kind of role (and we have other semi-skilled types that can play that role just as well). Akeson's hands and hockey sense are consistent with a top-six type role.

Right now the creative plays he's making on the fourth line are dying on the stick of Zac Rinaldo, who is getting over twice as many shots per game as he usually does (due to) playing with Akeson, but doing nothing with them. I can't help but wonder what would happen if those passes were to the likes of Read, Simmer, Couturier Schenn...people like to knock his defensive play, but again, let's not forget last season when Akeson looked pretty damn good with Coots and Read, even with the tough matchups that line drew. Impressively, advanced stats show Akeson led the team in puck possession stats during the series. Those stats continue to show he's been strong in defensive play and possession this season. I'm tired of seeing people reach to point out Akeson's weaknesses, some of which aren't even there.


Akeson has done everything the org has asked and has performed well in doing so. He paid his dues in the minors, worked hard and improved his defensive game under Murray and proven he can play with men. He's too talented to play 9 mins of checking a game with no PP time. It would behoove the Flyers to give him linemates that are better able to take advantage of his ability to make plays. He should also get more cracks at the shootout. The Flyers had enough scouting acumen to sign this kid and showed the patience to groom him slowly and mold him into a player. I hope they don't waste their investment. Akeson has at some point led every team he's played on in points. He's far too skilled to be relegated to a fourth line and I think it's a very bad idea to use his performance in that role as a measuring stick to judge his value as an NHL'er. Let's see what he can do playing with other skilled guys. I'd say put him back with Read and Coots. I think good things will happen.

If you could have any one player from the 1994 draft for the duration of their career, who would you take?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994_NHL_Entry_Draft
- jmatchett383

Great question-what a poor draft in comparison to pretty much every other draft.

I'm going with 9th rounder Tim Thomas. Pretty much won a cup on his own one year (I know this is controversial but that was my thoughts as I watched him).

Alfie in round 6 was a pretty damn good pick.
- MBFlyerfan

It was. But the majority of that draft was a lot of solid players but few true major impact players.

Is the Elias pick partly because he has tormented the Flyers for the past 80-or-so years?
- jmatchett383

For me, that's only a small part of it. I just think that Elias is a complete player and was a model of game-in and game-out consistency for many years.

Great question-what a poor draft in comparison to pretty much every other draft.

I'm going with 9th rounder Tim Thomas. Pretty much won a cup on his own one year (I know this is controversial but that was my thoughts as I watched him).
- coffee junkie

Yeah, a lot of the mid-90's drafts were somewhat weak, but most have a clear-cut player who really stands out. This one is more of a crapshoot.

That's what bugs me. You have a young guy like Rinaldo who didn't get benched much vs a young guy like Gustafsson who got benched if he made a mistake. I get giving a vet more rope, to an extent, but it really looks like a bias of Berube's.

He's not the only guy in the world that has it, and it's not crippling, but it still seems limiting for lack of a better word.
- Jsaquella

it is frustrating. you never truly know what you have. i dont get it. you know what a guy like rinaldo is going to be. yes, you can argue that its a necessary element, but to a large extent, it is what it is. but with a guy like gus, (of (frank)ing despres) you dont know yet. you know the skill is there, because you have seen it on occasion. its not like dealing with someone like rinaldo where you know for all the work or effort in the world you cant get blood from a stone.

and i realize what separates these skilled guys from those in lower european leagues or career AHLer guys is the ability to consistently draw from that well. but very few of them are able to have that consistency right out of the box. granted, a large majority of them never will be able to develop it, but i think its a pity to never know. especially when you lose out on that possibility in favor of something that offers a sure thing, but a sure thing of mediocrity.

top 6 spot opens up due to injury.... put schenn back at center? get akeson some top 6 time to better use his skills?

nah, move bellemare up to the 2nd line.




- -davies-

Im guessing they want BSchenn to get a full season at LW to see how he does, even though he would be the first guy 1 would use to replace Giroux or VLC spots when inured.
They have a plan for him and are sticking to it (so far).

This long period between games is killing me! And the Phantoms too!

Are you pulling for fellow Gloucester County native Anthony DeAngelo?
- jmatchett383

Not really. I have no connection to him. I've met a bunch of people who coached or played with Gaudreau and/or his brother. They have nothing but great things to say about them so it makes me want to root for him to succeed.

howbout dem Islanders!

worst to first

If you could have any one player from the 1994 draft for the duration of their career, who would you take?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994_NHL_Entry_Draft
- jmatchett383

We'd have probably won a cup or two if we had taken Turco.

Cap gurus help me:

If a player has a NMC, what's the point of also having either a limited or full NTC, as part of the NMC is to restrict a trade?

We'd have probably won a cup or two if we had taken Turco.
- mayorofangrytown

What about Nabakov?