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STH Meeting with Hexy and Homer Recap

Poulin20

By Poulin20
in Philadelphia Flyers

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Poulin20

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Hey All,

@Adamflyers and I attended a STH dinner and Q&A with Hexy and Homer last night (Wed) and I thought I would share with you some of the details. I actually recorded it so I have even more details than usual. Some questions were not that interesting so I am leaving those out Here are the ones that I think will interest you, (paraphrased of course to flow).

Q1 - With Danny B being a healthy scratch in Colorado are you guys thinking of bringing him back?

Hexy - No, he is a nice player, not sure why he is scratched there, but we dont have the cap structure to afford him

Q2 - Can we expect to see the kids come up this year?

Hexy - It depends on a lot of factors, #1 being how well they are playing and #2 if there is an injury and they need to come and fill in. Overall though think about it philosophically, if Laughton was up with the Flyers he would be getting 8 mins a game on the 4th line, maybe on the PK. In the AHL he gets 20 mins a game and on the PP, we would rather him be there. When the young kids come up they are given small roles with the Flyers. We don't want them to get stuck in those small roles here. We want them to get used to playing big roles because we want that for them eventually here. They need the proper time to grow and develop which is why we are leaving them in the AHL / Juniors.

Q2 followup - What about bringing them up for a couple of games just to take a look at them?

Hexy - No we want them to be focused on what they are doing in the AHL or Jrs. and for them to keep their heads in the game there. We don't them to get distracted by this short call up to the Flyers and then go back down again. We want them to maintain their focus. Plus, can you imagine us telling an established player that they have to sit out for a couple of nights so we can take a look at them? I know you want to see them, and you will in time, trust me.

Q3 - How far away is Stolarz from playing?

Hexy - It is hard to say but I would say at least 2 to 3 years. Anthony has a lot to learn and is working along side Rob Zepp who is a consummate professional that trains hard. (Hexy wants him to learn from Zepp's work ethic and routine). Goalies do take the most time to develop. Their mistakes are magnified and you can't hide a young goalie like you can a player like a winger or center.

Q3 Follow up - What is Stolarz's style?

Hexy - He is a really big guy and moves well for his size. He is your typical Butterfly goalie. He still needs to learn the nuances what to do when out there.

Homer - When Pelle was killed there were calls to rush Hexy in but Clarke refused and wanted him to develop more. Hexy really benefited from staying in the minors for a 2nd year (a year in which the Bears went to Calder Cup final). We all need to trust Ron's process and vision for the team. Frankly it is a breath of fresh air. (I found this comment by Homer curious as he is the former GM)

Hexy, following on Homer's comments - We are so excited about our young guys it is not like they are 5 or 6 years away but sooner. We know what we have in these guys. You only know the names but we know the players and what we have. I start to think about next year and the year after and the year after that and sometimes draw up our future lineups on paper (especially our D) and get very excited. I can't wait to see what happens when we add the youth to Giroux, Simmer, B Schenn and Jake. This is really exciting stuff and I know that it seems like years away but we all know how quickly time goes by. The kids will be injected into our lineup and the fans should be excited about next year, the year after and the year after that.....and even the next 10 years!

Q4- Did McDud have a setback? What is going on there?

Hexy - Andrew did a trial skate and it didn't work out like we had hoped. He is probably 2.5 more weeks away. I always thought he would be out 4 wks and it looks like that is going to be the case and it is OK because we are doing better on D right now. Everyone said our D sucks but you can see that when the guys are committed they are not bad even though we don't have any stars back there.

Q5 - What happens to CocaCola when the D gets healthy?

Hexy - Honestly I don't know. You can see that everything is very unpredictable with injuries and I would be hesitant to part with any of them right now. We cant just send him down as he would need to go on waivers and we don't want him picked up so it is not likely that he is going down to minors.

Q6 - How is Kimmo?

Hexy - Kimmo is in the same place he was in the beginning of the season. He has a Dr. appt coming up soon and everything depends on the Dr. We will not put him in danger. If he can play he will, but that is up to doctor. If by some miracle he can come back it wouldnt be until Jan - Feb but that is a big if.

Q7 - Are there any rule changes we should be aware of on the horizon?

Homer - NHL is really taking a hard look at the 7 min OT with 4 on 4 and then 3 on 3. All GMs want SOs reduced

Q8 - Why doesn't the NHL think about a 10 min OT and then end in Tie?

Homer - I don't think you will see much scoring in that 10 min and the Players assn would have none of that. Plus the fans on a midweek game wouldnt really want that either. I am in favor of 4 on 4 to 3 on 3. The SO is not going away, Buttman in a staunch supporter of it and fans (besides Flyers fans) love it. It will never enter the playoffs however.

Q9 - Do the Flyers do anything to prep for shootouts?

Hexy - Our forwards study goalies, our goalies study forwards and their tendencies. We do practice it more this year. We do not use our goalies for the forward SO practice as they see enough action and we cant risk injury to them. We are also using analytics to help us. Some players are naturally good at SOs and the others have to bear down and really try harder. The points we lose in losing SOs are very critical but please do not misunderstand, we will not be going out and drafting or trading for players because of SO skill. It is a hard thing to be successful at but it can be done and you need to prepare by studying opposing team's goalies.(For example: Are they vulnerable to quick shots or dekes?) Believe me we are doing everything we can.

Homer - Just one tidbit, both Footpa and Jagr we terrified of the SO and did not want the coach to pick them. I get a kick out of that as they are future HOFers and prolific scorers

Q10 - Are there any trades to be made and in what situation would you make one?

Hexy - I am not about to give up any young assets and that is what would be needed for a trade. I like all aspects of our team and I simply refuse to give up a young player in the minors or even a 28 year old UFA. If the right deal comes along that gives us a chance to win we will listen but are really not interested in giving up assets. Plus I love our depth and dont want to give them up either. Our whole team is playing well right now and I attribute that to our checking. In the early part of the season everyone blamed our D but I blamed our forwards. The mistakes came from our Centers and to a lesser extent wingers. They all needed to do a better job as in the D zone as it is a 5 man unit that needs to work together. Chief harped on them for a while and they are finally doing a better job paying attention to their checking. It is much better than it was and we are seeing the results. A team just cant win w/o good checking. This is how I would rather improve our team by fixing things internally rather than going outside with a trade.

Q11 - You have mentioned analytics a lot tonight can you share what you are looking at as a team?

Hexy - If I knew this info would stay in the room I would tell you but we cannot risk the info getting out as we dont want other teams to know what we are keying in on. I can tell you some of them that everyone looks at such a number of offensive zone entries and places on the ice were our players tend to shoot from. Sometimes if we notice a disturbing trend we may pull a guy aside and tell him that it would be more effective if he shot from another place.

Q12 - What about having a Winter Classic at PSU vs the Pens every year is that a possibility?

Homer - Every year? No. If it is a 1 time thing, yes it is in the works.

Q13 - Why don't the Flyers salute their fans when they win at home?

Hexy - Good question, I don't know

Homer - They appreciate you more than you know. This team is full of good guys, dont take it personally if they dont do the salute to you at the end of the game. It is more of a Euro thing that was started by Rags Euro players.

Q14 - Did you ever play another position Hexy?

Hexy - My dad made me play D my first year in hockey (8 yrs old) to help me work on my skating I moved to goalie the next year

Q15 - There needs to be more areas of the WFC saluting the SC winners.

Homer - We will be renovating the WFC heavily over the next 3 yrs and there will be some portions devoted to the SC winning teams

Q16 - What did you do with your day with the Cup Hexy?

Hexy - Do I have to answer that? I took it home to Manitoba that is all. I hope do it a few more times here.

That's all the interesting stuff we heard. Hexy stayed around briefly for autographs but was quickly being hustled out by a handler. @Adamflyers did manage to get him to autograph a picture he had with Hexy from 1985 (a few months before Pelle's death) before Hexy was even famous. It was an autograph session after a pre-season game with the Rags and all the players were on the concourse in the concession stands. For those that don't know the Spectrum, the concourse was very tight and crowded. I was 9 and Adamflyers was 5. Our dad didn't want to lose us in the crowds so he looked for some open spaces. We found one near Hexy as nobody was coming to him as nobody knew who he was. We felt sorry for him and went over to get his autograph. He was so excited to have a fan come up that he made my brother take a seat on the concession counter for a photograph with him. Finally, nearly 30 years later, we got it signed!

Homer and Coatsey (who moderated the event) were not getting much attention compared to Hexy. While we were clamoring to get Hexy's autograph Homer did come up to me and my brother and thanked us so much for being there and told us that it meant a lot to them. I thanked him for having us and he shook our hands and I have to say it was the first time that Homer didn't crush my hand with his vice grip shake (he must be getting soft after being elevated from GM).

OK got to get to bed...Enjoy

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canoli Newbie

canoli

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great stuff Poulie - thanks for taking the time to write it all up - sounds like you had a pretty great time as usual.

 

whoever asked "Did McDud have a setback?" - gotta say that took balls! jk :)

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flyercanuck Veteran

flyercanuck

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@Poulin20

 

I really like reading these writeups that you do, it's very much appreciated. Got a laugh out of the "Brieres benched, will we be going after him" dig.  Loved the story about getting your photo taken with Hextall, then getting it autographed all these years later. I hope he realized what great fans you two are.

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Adamflyers Newbie

Adamflyers

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@Poulin20

 

I really like reading these writeups that you do, it's very much appreciated. Got a laugh out of the "Brieres benched, will we be going after him" dig.  Loved the story about getting your photo taken with Hextall, then getting it autographed all these years later. I hope he realized what great fans you two are.

 

Yeah, cross something off my bucket list!  I have been waiting years for the opportunity to get that picture autographed.  I was not about to let some handler pull him out of there without getting that pic signed.  I would have loved to share the whole story with him, but obviously my time was limited.  He did have a little laugh about the picture and we both commented on how much hair both of us had at the time and where has it all gone!

 

I really love Hexy's philosophy on handling the young kids and I don't believe that he will let ownership tell him how to run the show.  He may be part of the proverbial "good old boys" network, but he is also an outsider due to his time in LA.  He has seen how things are done in an organization that has now won multiple cups.  He oversaw the development of their young players who are now some of their stars.  It's not just because he is a great guy and signed my picture, but "IN HEXY I TRUST"  Homer could not have said it any better when he said that Hexy's line of thinking is "a breath of fresh air"

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Poulin20 Contributor

Poulin20

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  Homer could not have said it any better when he said that Hexy's line of thinking is "a breath of fresh air"

 

That was the line of the night.  It was almost as if Homer was saying, yeah I am so glad we got rid of me! 

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canoli Newbie

canoli

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That was the line of the night.  It was almost as if Homer was saying, yeah I am so glad we got rid of me! 

 

that's exactly how it reads - lol. So how did you guys react, did anyone laugh or did it get weird (quiet) in the room for a minute? I wonder if Homer understood he was knocking himself when he said that.

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brelic Newbie

brelic

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They bought out Briere. They bought out Bryz. They traded too many draft picks away. Hartnell/VLC/MacDonald/Pronger contracts. Homer HAS to know he screwed up.

 

He also let Jagr and Carle walk because he was too focused on giving a 14-year contract to Shea Weber. 

 

And we ended up with Meszaros.

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King Knut Newbie

King Knut

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He let them walking chasing Suter and Parise. The Weber thing was a Hail Mary desperation heave to salvage something after losing out on all of them.

The pass was incomplete -But he did cripple the Preds cap situation in the process so there's that.

He also let Jagr and Carle walk because he was too focused on giving a 14-year contract to Shea Weber.

And we ended up with Meszaros.

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