Poconono

Put me down as another one of the minority that believe Patrick's a bust. I wasn't impressed with him when he was healthy. If he had been drafted late in the first and played that way I would've been OK with him, but as it is, he's the most disappointing second overall pick in 25 years. With JVR a distant second on that list.

Lyon plays a great two periods of hockey in the AHL. I can't tell you how many late goals he gave up in LV the last two years. I'd rather have Tokarski or even Stolarz.

Ill be shocked if they don't select Greig. Not that I think he's anything special but he fits the old time Flyer mold of being a pest and fairly physical. This is an organization that wasted a pick to select their COO's son a few years back so why not draft one of the alumni club's, I mean the scouting department's, kids? Sadly, most of the highest rated middle-to-late first rounders seem to be pretty small.

Simple question: Which prospect seriously has a chance to be another Barzal, MacKinnon, Kucherov, or Matthew? Watching Frost in LV last year it's hard to see the same potential there. He has no concept of defense, is easily pressured into mistakes and doesn't seem to give complete effort every shift. He wouldn't match up well against the heavier NHL teams. There are lots of other prospects but I don't see any game changers. Their best AHLer, Vorobyev, is gone.

And then you have Pittsburgh who tanked in the mid-80's to get Lemieux. Then Jagr and garnered two Cups. Then became irrelevant, threatened to move (again) and tanked for a couple seasons to get Crosby, Malkin, and Fleury. I hate to give them any credit but their management must be brilliant because they continually trade away draft picks to get trade deadline pieces yet continually find a way to keep WBS a viable feeder system. The cast of the Baby Pens continually changes but they not only keep sending good replacements up to the parent team, but they remain a pretty decent AHL squad as well. The Flyers should steal some of their scouting staff, promote them and replace the alumni club that's here now.

Nice game for Farabee. One of the few guys on the ice willing to hit anyone. Frost was invisible. Interesting to see Ratcliffe on PK2. I thought he looked slow or just bad at reading the flow of play at even strength but he came out smelling like a rose. It's still an adjustment period for these AHL rookies. Rubtsov and Sushko had strong defensive games. And I still can't believe Myers didn't make the big team. He looks way too good for the AHL. Let's see if they can maintain this level of play against a much better Hershey Bears lineup.

Lindros without the skill or toughness.

I don't think he's Hal Gill slow but he isn't a fluid skater either. He seems to lack hockey sense in recognizing where the opposition is headed in the defensive zone. Having a long reach helps him cover up his being in the wrong position. To me he is a tweener: a good AHLer and a mediocre NHLer. He won't be a top four guy.

I've watched Morin in Allentown the past three years. He is nothing more than Ollie Lauridsen 2.0. He's slow and not particularly belligerent like everyone wants to believe. He isn't the kind of guy to try to ignite a spark by gooning it up and I never saw him come to the aid of a teammate. He certainly can fight (or at least wrassle a guy to the ground) but he isn't ornery and is often out of position. His size helps a lot but he is not the second coming of Chris Pronger or even Chris Therrien. Let him play for a few games then trade him. They have much much better prospects waiting in the wings.

Giroux has a NMC so he can't be exposed.

Has Eklund EVER guessed right?

The Flyers and Yankees will also ban the 101st Airborne from future events due to wearing blackface prior to D-Day.

Attention Fellow Phantoms Season Ticket Holders: Don't go ordering any #24 Twarynski jerseys. This kid will be back up with the Flyers in no time. He was one of the best players on the ice both weekend games against Charlotte. Not only was he scoring but he played well defensively and didn't back down from Checkers players trying to rough up the rookie. I wasn't expecting much from him but he was easily the most impressive new face in LV. And he more than held his own in Flyers' camp. Bunnaman looked good too. Kase not so great. Rubtsov kind of meh but he only played Saturday. All got PK minutes and didn't allow any PP goals so that's a big plus for now. The two no name tryout goalies both looked pretty good as well. Then again, Charlotte didn't play their big guns. The Phantoms defense is gonna be interesting with so many gone from last year's team. Coach Gordon is gonna have a chore deciding who to sit with eight of their top 10 scorers from last year coming back.