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It's starting to shape up - Provorov-Braun Sanheim-Myers Hagg-Gustafsson

Saturday's Camp Practice/Scrimmage - and -

Very, very, good guess OR. You usually know your stuff. But, incorrect.

O NO, NO, NO - -

Saturday Flyers Mystery Photo Contest Every Saturday at 12 Noon ET. As we all know, our Flyers had many hostilities with the St Louis Blues in the past. This includes the Blues players going up into the seats to fight Flyers fans. Flyers-Blues games were fight filled. The Blues were a very tough team. Animosity continued into later periods. This tough-guy defenceman high-sticked Tim Kerr during a February game, then went on to assist on the Blues goal in the 3rd period. The Blues had 1400+ PIMs that season and our mystery photo player led his team in Playoff PIMs. Who is this guy? Only one guess per member.

Also a reminder, todays' Flyers Mystery Player Photo Contest is at 12 Noon ET as it is every Saturday. No way you guys get this one!

Just a reminder - Tomorrow's (Sunday 1/10) Flyers intra-squad scrimmage will be televised by NBCS-P at 7 PM. The game will be the Flyers’ first Wells Fargo Center appearance since March 10. We assume the WFC crew have done a thorough cleaning/sanitizing job after the Sixers have now had a positive case of COVID-19.

Our Flyers now rank #7 in the highly respected THW rankings. The Flyers were ranked #2 before the graduation of Hart, Farabee, and Myers. Copied here are the rankings. I stripped away all the team explanations except for our Flyers - The NHL’s Best Farm Systems Ranked – Postseason Update BY JOSH BELL THE HOCKEY WRITERS SEPTEMBER 1ST, 2020 Prospects can make or break an NHL organization. Properly scouting, drafting and developing players can set up a team for a decade of success. Trading off those pieces and draft picks for an immediate fix may help that season, even the next one, but it will hurt the franchise in the long run. A team’s farm system is a very fluid thing. Prospects graduate to become full-time NHL players, general managers make trades involving some of these young players, and sometimes players just don’t work out. Knowing exactly what you have, where they are in their development and what they need to accomplish next is a major responsibility of every front office. Every team is at a different stage. Some are ready to contend for a Stanley Cup, while others are working to restock their prospect cupboard. There are even teams at the wonderful point where their farm system is looking great and they could make a strong push in the playoffs (See number three on this list). The following ranking of every team’s prospect pool is based on the ceiling of the players in the system, while keeping an eye on their age, production thus far in their development, and it’s very hard to not have at least a little bias based on where the majority of prospects were picked in the draft. The “Top Five Prospects” are alphabetical, not ranked. Defining prospects varies from source to source. I will use Corey Pronman’s definition that he uses in his work: “A skater no longer qualifies as an NHL prospect if he has played 25 games in the NHL in any campaign, regular season and playoffs combined, or 50 games total; or reaches age 27 by Sept. 15. A goalie no longer qualifies as an NHL prospect if he has played 10 games in the NHL in any campaign, regular season and playoffs combined, or 25 games total; or reaches age 27 by Sept. 15.” (From: “Pronman: 2019-20 NHL Farm System Rankings”). Without further ado, here are all 31 NHL farm systems ranked, with a few of their top prospects and a little bit of explanation of why they are sitting at that position. 31) Pittsburgh Penguins 30) New York Islanders 29) Washington Capitals 28) St. Louis Blues 27) Columbus Blue Jackets 26) Boston Bruins 25) San Jose Sharks 24) Winnipeg Jets 23) Chicago Blackhawks 22) Tampa Bay Lightning 21) Calgary Flames 20) Nashville Predators 19) Dallas Stars 18) Buffalo Sabres 17) Arizona Coyotes 16) Toronto Maple Leafs 15) Edmonton Oilers 14) Detroit Red Wings 13) New Jersey Devils 12) Minnesota Wild 11) Vegas Golden Knights 10) Florida Panthers 9) Anaheim Ducks 8] Vancouver Canucks 7) Philadelphia Flyers Top Five Prospects [alphabetically]: Bobby Brink, Morgan Frost, Isaac Ratcliffe, Cam York, Yegor Zamula I could easily be convinced that the Philadelphia Flyers should be higher on this list. They have a great crop of prospects, and then, of course, there’s the [graduation of] goaltender of the future in Carter Hart, who showed what he can do last season. The duo of Joel Farabee and Philippe Myers are also impacting at the NHL level early. While they have a number of future stars in the fold, I think that most of the teams above simply have more players with higher ceilings still in the system. Morgan Frost is now their top prospect, a centreman who has great speed and is a high-end playmaker. He’s extremely good with the puck and exciting to watch. Isaac Ratcliffe comes in behind him as a big (6-foot-6) goal-scoring machine. A prospect that Philadelphia fans should be excited about is Bobby Brink. Drafted in the second round this past June, the winger is an elite passer, with great hockey sense. His skating needs some tweaking, but there’s a great future NHLer in Brink. Jay O’Brien also had a big year in the BCHL and has a ton of promise. The future defence is just as impressive. 2019 first-rounder Cam York was the number one guy on a stacked USNTDP team, largely due to his elite hockey sense. He’s patient, makes good decisions, and seems to slow the game down for the entire team. Undrafted Yegor Zamula is also impressing in his development. He’s a very smart defender who seems to do all of the little things right. On top of these two, the Flyers drafted another potential steal, Ronnie Attard, in the third round in 2019, while Wyatte Wylie is on the rise as well. Keep an eye on Mason Millman too. The Flyers don’t have a sure-thing goaltender in the ranks anymore, but Matej Tomek had a very good season in Slovakia. 6) Colorado Avalanche 5) New York Rangers 4) Ottawa Senators 3) Montreal Canadiens 2) Carolina Hurricanes 1) Los Angeles Kings https://thehockeywriters.com/nhl-farm-system-rankings/

First, the NHL Dallas Stars, and that Division schedule with them, are in full halt because of COVID. Now, it hits closer to home - Seth Curry tests positive for COVID-19, forcing Sixers to quarantine in New York hotel NEW YORK – Sidelined 76er Seth Curry was informed early in Thursday night’s 122-109 loss to the Brooklyn Nets that he had tested positive for COVID-19. That forced the team to quarantine and contact trace in a New York hotel late Thursday after the game and early Friday morning, league sources confirmed. The sources added that the team will be tested Friday morning and the NBA will let the Sixers know the next step. There was no word if their scheduled 3 p.m. contest Saturday with the Denver Nuggets will be postponed. ESPN reported Curry’s test after the game. As we know, our Flyers and Sixers share the Wells Fargo Center arena. We expect a thorough cleaning/sanitizing. And we expect all players to use good judgement in their lives every day.

Good find H58. But, I don't concur with this Washington writer's conclusion. This Flyers team is a very, very, good Team. As a writer from afar, what he doesn't see is the significant improvements - 1) the addition of Lindblom and Patrick. This is not to be minimized. It's significant. 2) Improvement/growth from last season - 8 young players already on roster who are far from their peak - this is a great point not to be overlooked - Fletcher said he and his staff had counted "eight players on the NHL roster that haven't come close to hitting their peak and to having their career seasons." "That's the exciting thing," Fletcher said. "That's our growth." Hmm - 8 roster players: 1) Myers 2) Sanheim 3) Farabee 4) Konecny 5) Lindblom 6) Patrick 7) Aube-Kubel 8] Hart 3) This team will score goals. Our Flyers last season were 7th in the 31-team NHL in 'goals scored'. They played 1 and 2 games less than the two teams ahead of them, and could easily have been 5th in the League. As Fletcher said, don't be fooled by the 13 game small sample size of the bubble playoffs. 4) Infusion of youth - an open 3RW spot - - Fletcher said: “We’re comfortable with our group. We like our team. We already have a lot of players signed and a lot of kids who we feel can push for ice time and an opportunity. - Sandin, Allison, Laczynski - - one could make it - Question: Do you foresee any of your older first-year pros coming in this season -- Linus Sandin, Wade Allison, and Tanner Laczynski specifically -- to compete for a NHL job this upcoming season? All three are physically mature and 23- or 24-years old. [AGM] Brent Flahr: First of all, Laczynski and Allison like you said, and Sandin, they’re older players. They’re physically more mature than typically players that are coming out of junior that are 19, 20 years old. Their mindset coming to camp is to make the team. - - - In reality I would say, I would assume that each of them are going to play games this year. Hopefully one of them grabs it and makes the best of their opportunity. 5) Goaltender Carter Hart, age 22, taking the next step: Asked if he had set any personal goals, Hart said he wants to “be the best I can be. I want to be able to give our team a chance to win every night. I don’t want to just be another NHL player; I want to be the best and I want to be the best NHL goaltender. That is something that I strive for every day. IMO, this is a very, very, good team - - a SC contender.

A light moment - -

It's sounding like Patrick will definetly start the season as the 3C. We hope he can keep away from the wall as much as practical w/o sacrificing a quality game. He has great skills.

And, it has begun - JOEL QUENNEVILLE HC, FLORIDA PANTHERS The Florida Panthers have announced the postponement of games scheduled for Jan. 14 and 15 against the Dallas Stars. "The safety of our fans, players, personnel, and the community are, and will remain, our top priority, and therefore we, along with the Dallas Stars organization, will continue to follow all recommended protocols and guidelines as we observe this postponement," said the team in a statement. The NHL announced on Friday that six Dallas players and two staff members have tested positive for COVID-19. The Stars will not open the 2020-21 season earlier than Tuesday, January 19. The NHL is currently reviewing and revising the schedule. RELATED: Dallas Stars SOURCE: FloridaPanthers.com Jan 8, 2021, 3:42 PM ET

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Meltzer's Camp report Friday Jan 8 excerpts - [It's interesting that Center Frost is working at LW for the first time. Perhaps an indication, with Patrick looking so good, that the long-term Center position is locked up with Couturier/Hayes/Patrick and Frost will now learn LW while on the Taxi Squad and perhaps on the Phantoms later.] On the fifth day of training camp at the Skate Zone in Voorhees, the defense pairs stayed the same as on Wednesday as did the primary groups of forwards. Morgan Frost spent the entire practice and scrimmage on left wing rather than splitting center/wing reps. FLYERS RINK GROUP Lindblom - Couturier - Konecny JVR - Patrick - Voracek Morin - Laughton - NAK Frost - Bunnaman - Alllison Provorov - Gostisbehere Sanheim - Myers Hägg - Gustafsson Zamula - Braun Hart Elliott PHANTOMS RINK GROUP Giroux - Hayes - Farabee Raffl - Andreoff - Sandin Twarynski - Willman -Foerster/ Wisdom Pouliot - Friedman Wotherspoon - Wylie Bigras - Prosser Lyon Sandström Ross SPECIAL TEAQMS SEGMENT There was no second half to Friday's scrimmage. Instead, players convened on the Phantoms Rink for a special teams practice. The units were as follows for the first rep. PP1: Provorov, Giroux, Hayes, Couturier, Konecny PP2: Farabee, Gustafsson, JVR, Patrick, Voracek Unit 1 was buzzing as the reps progressed with Konecny scoring two goals (deflection goal, finishing end of a tic-tac-toe connection with the primary assist to Couturier and the secondary to Giroux). The second unit didn't get much going. There were also a pair of shorthanded breakaways. Scott Laughton was denied by Carter Hart's glove on a backhander against PP1. Later, Oskar Lindblom scored over Elliott with the second unit on the ice. As expected, Laughton and Michael Raffl were a regular forward pairing on the PK side and Lindblom also took regular reps.

Continued good reports on 3C Nolan Patrick -

Good stuff OR. Thx. Using the magnifier, it looks like Gus is paired today (Friday) with Hagg again. Quote - In the offseason, Hagg worked out in Sweden with Gustaffson — something they have done during the last two years — and Flyers prospect Linus Sandin, a promising right winger who has been playing in the Swedish Hockey League. Hagg called Gutsafason a smooth puck mover and offensive defenseman whose “hockey IQ is on another level.”

Wow! An example of how tenuous the NHL 2020-21 season could be -

Good point on trades for Expansion Draft reasons. Here are the dates: Season start: Jan. 13 RFA signing deadline (the usual December 1 one): February 11 Players on one-year deals may sign extensions: March 12 Regular season end: May 8 Trade deadline: April 12 Playoffs over by July 15 at the latest Protected lists due for the expansion draft on July 17 Expansion draft: July 21 Entry Draft: July 23-24 Free agency begins: July 28

We know that we shouldn't read too much into the early Camp lines and pairings. But - - something is clicking - -

Flyers - Trade Soon? Excerpts from a SportsNet Canadian Press article today Jan 8: NHL general managers are about to enter yet another great unknown. With a bevy of the rules and regulations related to quarantines, both from governments and the NHL itself, how hard will it be to make in-season trades? Ottawa Senators counterpart Pierre Dorion was a little more definitive, at least from a Canadian perspective. "It's going to be very difficult to make trades with the 24 U.S.-based teams," he said. "And then the other seven teams, you're in competition in the same division. I think trades will be way more difficult." As it stands ahead of this most unusual of seasons, a player traded from one of the league's American teams to a club in Canada would have to observe a 14-day quarantine. And if two GMs north of the border find a deal that makes sense, players switching sides would still have to isolate for a league-mandated seven days and provide four negative tests before being cleared. But a further complication, as Dorion pointed out, is the fact the Leafs, Senators, Montreal Canadiens, Winnipeg Jets, Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks will be battling for the North Division's four playoff spots. Teams in the U.S. should have a little more wiggle room, but there are still quarantine rules for certain jurisdictions. According to New York Rangers GM Jeff Gorton, not all trade partners will be equal in 2021. "You have to be mindful of how urgent do you want that player," he said. "Is it a hockey deal where this guy can come in and help your team, and do you want to wait the (quarantine period)? Or is it a future deal? "All those things will come under consideration when we're making moves, but there's certainly issues that we have to deal with." Vegas Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon said an added wrinkle is that the NHL's 31 GMs will only get in-person viewings of six or seven opponents -- all play is strictly divisional this season -- unless they head out on the road to check on another potential trade partner. "We don't know the (arena) access our pro scouting staff will have initially to be able to view games in other markets," he said. "That's going to impact teams' abilities to prepare for the trade deadline to some degree." There's also a chance government restrictions could be lifted or scaled back in the coming months, but surging COVID-19 numbers on both sides of the border make anything of that nature seem a long way off.

Good morning on Friday All. A good Camp report from the highly respected Charlie O'Connor - The Athletic is a pay site, so here is only a few snippets - Flyers camp stock report: Lindblom, Patrick, Zamula up; Frost, Laczynski down By Charlie O'Connor The Athletic The on-ice portion of Philadelphia Flyers training camp may have just begun on Monday, but it’s also true that camp has already reached what amounts to its halfway point. After an off-ice day on Thursday, the Flyers will hit the homestretch this weekend, starting with a drills and scrimmage day on Friday and a drills-only dual-session on Saturday, followed by a preseason-style scrimmage at the Wells Fargo Center on Sunday. Then it’s on to the Pittsburgh Penguins next Wednesday afternoon, when the Flyers will kick off their season and the NHL slate at large at an empty arena in South Philadelphia. In other words, the coaching staff doesn’t have much time left to make decisions about the 23-man roster, the six-man taxi squad and the Game 1 lineup. Appropriately, Wednesday was the most normal day of camp yet, at least in terms of the groups, lines and pairings. Finally, the makings of a potential starting lineup took shape, as the Flyers completed their third day of late-morning drills followed by an early afternoon intrasquad scrimmage. So who has stood out? Whom do the coaches appear to be favoring? Who seems to be outperforming pre-camp expectations? And who might be falling behind in their respective races? To answer these questions, let’s bring back an old coverage staple from The Athletic Philadelphia’s early days: the Flyers stock report. Stock up Oskar Lindblom Lindblom’s work on the top line with Sean Couturier and Travis Konecny in the first half of last season put him on pace for a breakout year. Nolan Patrick Patrick wasn’t dominant on Wednesday, though he did have another impressive day and continued to show few ill-effects from his long layoff. Egor Zamula After two days of odd line and pairing combinations — Ivan Provorov-Mark Friedman! Konecny-Morin! — Vigneault inserted a bit of normality to the proceedings on Wednesday. Group A was essentially the NHL group, 12 forwards generally viewed as lineup locks and all seven defensemen on the roster who finished last season with the big club. But there was one surprise appearance in the “top” group — Zamula, who not only skated with the big guns, but also was on a pair with Justin Braun, who because of his penalty-kill prowess (especially with Matt Niskanen no longer on the team) is presumably an opening-night lineup lock. Claude Giroux Like Lindblom, Giroux had his best day of camp Wednesday. If the mandate from above was to further ratchet up the intensity on Day 3, the captain certainly obliged. In drills, he was all over the ice, with his best moment a highlight-reel goal on a one-on-one rush drill in which he beat Brian Elliott with a slick backhander despite having Travis Sanheim leaning all over him as he cut across the goal mouth. His intensity carried over into the scrimmage, and it helped bring his teammates further into the fray. “Claude is hungry,” Vigneault said. Shayne Gostisbehere Vigneault apparently wasn’t kidding when he said Gostisbehere would receive a “clean slate” to start the season, if you consider a clean slate to mean “playing on the top pair with Provorov.” Yep, on Wednesday, Gostisbehere was back in his 2017-18 spot, on the right side of Provorov on Philadelphia’s presumptive first pairing. It was Provorov’s third partner in three days. Vigneault downplayed the decision to pair Provorov and Gostisbehere, claiming it was part of a larger theme in terms of line and pairing construction. Stock steady Scott Laughton Those first two days at center seem to have been a harbinger of things to come for Laughton, who remained in the middle during the first “normal” lineup day, on the fourth line flanked by Michael Raffl and Nicolas Aubé-Kubel. Laughton might be an overqualified 4C, but that’s a good thing for the Flyers as it gives them an advantage over almost every other fourth line in the NHL, even if it’s not the kind of usage that would put Laughton in the strongest bargaining position in the summer when his contract expires. James van Riemsdyk It’s no secret van Riemsdyk didn’t have the best postseason. OK, that’s probably an understatement. His inability to produce offensively or even convince his coaches that he deserved to stay in the lineup on a nightly basis threw his future in Philadelphia briefly into question. So far, he’s stood out in a positive way in drills and the scrimmages, even if he’s yet to light up the scoreboard. Stock down Mark Friedman During the first two days of camp, Friedman was where he was expected to be: in the main group of eight defensemen with the best chances of making the final roster. Wednesday was different: Friedman ceded his spot to Zamula and dropped down to Group B, where he skated alongside Derrick Pouliot on what looked like a potential top pair for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The assumption was that Friedman’s strong 2019-20 season in the AHL, the fact that he impressed the coaches during his brief stint with the Flyers, and his status of no longer being waiver-exempt, put him in the driver’s seat for a roster spot. Wednesday was the first time that assumption was called even a bit into question, which makes him a player to watch on Friday. Morgan Frost The hard truth is that all of the good news about Patrick is functionally bad news for Frost and his chances of making the roster. Frost isn’t rooting for Patrick to remain unavailable, of course; no one is. But as long as the Flyers remain adamant Frost stay at center, and that he is a top-nine-or-bust type of player, there’s really only one place for him on the roster: third-line center, the spot Patrick holds. That doesn’t give Frost much of a path to make the big club if Patrick stays healthy. In fairness, Frost hasn’t exactly busted the door down, either. While he’s consistently stood out in drills, Wednesday was the first day he was truly noticeable in the scrimmages. Frost isn’t giving up hope. But with Patrick’s re-emergence, and Frost’s self-awareness that he’s not having a stellar camp, his chances for a spot in the opening-night lineup are looking slimmer and slimmer. Tyson Foerster Foerster has had his moments; he even scored a goal in Wednesday’s scrimmage on a slick redirect while charging the net. But he very much looks the part of an 18-year-old recently drafted player, and to my eyes, Zayde Wisdom has actually been the more impressive of the two 2020 picks attending the camp. Tanner Laczynski Viewed as a dark horse for a spot in the bottom-six entering camp, Laczynski instead has been MIA since Day 1, on the shelf as he recovers from core muscle surgery. He was spotted before Monday’s formal practice getting in some easy reps on the secondary ice surface, but his jersey lacked a number or a nameplate, and he’s yet to join his teammates in practices.

Saturday Flyers Mystery Photo Contest Every Saturday at 12 Noon ET. Current Standings (of those who have participated): 3 Podein25 1 CoachX 1 flyercanuck 1 BobbyClarkeFan16 0 pilldoc 0 OccamsRazor 0 ruxpin 0 fan4ever 12/5/20 CoachX - - - Hexy and Gretzky 12/12/20 Podein25 - - - Behn Wilson 12/12/20 Podein25 - - - Mark Friedman 12/19/20 Podein25 - - - Mike McKenna 12/26/20 flyercanuck - - - Forsberg and Kapanen 1/02/21 BobbyClarkeFan16 - - - Zack Stortini On Saturday, Jan 9, is another Photo that is a challenge! We learned last Saturday to think 'outside the box'. You guys are sharp - - - but - - - Coming up next, who is this tough guy? Tune in on Saturday Jan 9 at 12 Noon ET. (No, this is not the next Contest Photo)