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Flyers 2020-21 season


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4 minutes ago, pilldoc said:

 

 

 I will give it to you that you stumped us but technically Stortini never played a regular season game with the Flyers during the 2014-15 season.  He played the entire season with the then Phila. Phantoms.  Then on July 1, 2015, Stortini signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Ottawa Senators. With the intention of adding a veteran presence to AHL affiliate, the Binghamton Senators, Stortini was announced as team captain to begin the 2015–16 season.

 

So yeah you stumped us, but he never had one minute of ice time with the Flyers during the regular season.  He might have played a few games in pre-season, but generally I would never consider him as a tough guy for the Flyers ..... especially considering he was a career AHL journeyman.  Good question but it is a stretch .....IMO.

 

You guys are toooo sharp. It takes challenging Contest Photos to make it interesting.

 

Next Saturday's Flyers Photo test will also require some 'outside the box' thinking.

 

Are you all up to it?  Study-up all this week.

 

Tune in at 12 N Saturday January 9.

 

image.png.d057fb943c8388ae8a760d3dcaf378

 

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3 minutes ago, Zzeke said:

You guys are toooo sharp. It takes challenging Contest Photos to make it interesting.

 

true dat! :) 

 

4 minutes ago, Zzeke said:

Next Saturday's Flyers Photo test will also require some 'outside the box' thinking.

 

Are you all up to it?  Study-up all this week.

 

always up for a good challenge...

 

And you know I'm just busting your chops ....no hard feelings. :)   

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19 minutes ago, pilldoc said:

 

true dat! :) 

 

 

always up for a good challenge...

 

And you know I'm just busting your chops ....no hard feelings. :)   

 

635bfcf3072e75dc2ac3a705f39884c2a3160e61.gif

This Flyers Forum is fun. Good guys here. Sharp - - know your Flyers stuff. Thx for accepting a new rookie.

 

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49 minutes ago, pilldoc said:

 

 

 I will give it to you that you stumped us but technically Stortini never played a regular season game with the Flyers during the 2014-15 season.  He played the entire season with the then Phila. Phantoms.  Then on July 1, 2015, Stortini signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Ottawa Senators. With the intention of adding a veteran presence to AHL affiliate, the Binghamton Senators, Stortini was announced as team captain to begin the 2015–16 season.

 

So yeah you stumped us, but he never had one minute of ice time with the Flyers during the regular season.  He might have played a few games in pre-season, but generally I would never consider him as a tough guy for the Flyers ..... especially considering he was a career AHL journeyman.  Good question but it is a stretch .....IMO.

 

Yeah that makes sense now.

 

So he technically never played for them. No wonder why i couldn't figure this out.

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24 minutes ago, Podein25 said:

 

Speak for yourself doc, I've got plenty of hard feelings.

 

@Podein25

 

Where you been dude? Out in the Manitoba wilderness? You missed the Flyers Mystery Photo Contest this Saturday.

 

Your continued absence jeopardizes your 1st Place standing.

 

But, don't bother for next Saturday at 12 Noon. You will not know it, not guess it !

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7 minutes ago, OccamsRazor said:

 

Yeah that makes sense now.

 

So he technically never played for them. No wonder why i couldn't figure this out.

 

You guys need to adjust to thinking 'outside-the-box'. Remember this for next Saturday's Photo Puzzler.

 

Who amongst us would have known defenceman Sam Morin would convert to Left Wing? That is some 'outside-the-box' stuff.

 

Who amongst us would have projected that our Flyers would win the Stanley Cup in July 2021 vs the Colorado Avalanche with Nolan Patrick scoring the winning goal after a 27 goal regular season?

 

New York Islanders v Philadelphia Flyers - Game Two

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50 minutes ago, OccamsRazor said:

 

Yeah that makes sense now.

 

So he technically never played for them. No wonder why i couldn't figure this out.

my thoughts exactly.anytime Im not right, its someone else's fault

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More thoughts, and info, on the Sam Morin move to LW - including mention of the Taxi Squad which we already discussed - 

 

Good stuff from Stephan Frank at Philadelphia Sports Nation:

 

This decision from the organization symbolizes one last creative dart throw to salvage the career of Morin and bring a sense of old school Broad Street Bullies toughness to a lineup that was lacking it in the 2020 playoffs

 

For the most part, the Flyers mostly got pushed around and outplayed in last year’s playoff series with the Islanders specifically by left winger Matt Martin. The best-case scenario for Samuel Morin on the wing is to be a Matt Martin type player, where the expectation is to essentially be a robot vacuum on the ice and just hit everything on the ice.

 

On Thursday, Morin actually said that he’s been studying Matt Martin’s tape and stated “The puck is always behind the D-man and he always finishes his hit. His shift is honestly in like 30 seconds, he just goes change, then [Mathew] Barzal is on the ice and they are just buzzing in the offensive zone because of just the little details he does. He finishes his check on the D-man, it’s so annoying. 

 

I’ve been looking at his shifts a lot.” Now Matt Martin does have 11 NHL seasons under his belt so it would be unrealistic to expect the off-the-puck results of Martin out of Morin in his first season at forward especially since his playing time will most likely be limited. Although the sample size is small, Morin has shown a better ability to shoot the puck than Matt Martin.  

 

In his 5 years of pro hockey, the 6’-7", and 230 lb Morin has never shown a fear of dropping the mitts and dusting-up with the opposition. Thus, the fist-flying services of Morin will come in handy in the Flyers’ intense short regular season where old metro foes like the Penguins, Rangers, Capitals, and Devils will become familiar faces. 

 

The heat is already turned up against in division games but an added element of 8 games against each division team and baseball-esque back-to-back series will surely cause some tempers to flare. 

 

When in the lineup Samuel Morin will look to fill the gritty role left by the departure of Wayne Simmonds. In his time with the Flyers, Wayne Simmonds never backed down from a fight and the same can be said for Morin especially with a quick Youtube search of his name where there are plenty of Samuel Morin fight videos.

 

Another one of the main motivating factors of the switch appeared to be the fact that the AHL season is still kind of up in the air and there’s honestly not really a spot for him in the defensive group with the Flyers. The team was left in a situation where they could either have him potentially play in the AHL and give it another shot at defense or sit in the press box like he’s unfortunately been subjected to for the past couple of seasons during his call-ups from the Phantoms. 

 

The organization is banking on Morin adding value and getting ice time as a pain-bringing forward instead of another season of having him sit in the press box. There is a taxi squad for the 2020 season where teams can keep a group of four to six players so it’s likely that he will most likely be put on the taxi squad at the end of training camp. The taxi squad players can practice with their NHL team, join team activities, and travel with the team but may be subjected to waivers if loaned down to the minors.

 

After having 2 ACL surgeries and knee surgery all in the past 3 years, the once highly-touted prospect is fighting to keep his NHL career alive especially since he becomes a restricted free agent in 2021-22. Though if there are two things that Philadelphia sports fans love the most it’s an underdog and a fighter, which are two things that new left-winger Samuel Morin will embody heading into the 2021 season.

 

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On 1/2/2021 at 1:21 AM, Howie58 said:

This Morin gambit is interesting and I am glad the kid is being a chance to prove himself.  This is his last chance to make it in the NHL given the depth we have at D.  The good thing is we see this experiment play out in real time...a short camp and no preseason games.  

 

Three of our first rounders of the last eight (?) years are big question marks.  Morin, Rubstov, and Patrick.  I suspect this will be make-or-break for the trio.  

Don’t forget Jay O’Brien , that’s four first round picks who could end up as flops due to repetitive injuries.

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11 minutes ago, RonJeremy said:

Don’t forget Jay O’Brien , that’s four first round picks who could end up as flops due to repetitive injuries.

O'Brien hasn't been injured since two seasons ago and had a good season in the BCHL last year.  He's now at BC. The Eagles season start was delayed by COVID (O'Brien wasn't positive).

 

I think it's premature to talk about him being either a flop or injury prone.

Edited by ruxpin
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8 minutes ago, RonJeremy said:

Don’t forget Jay O’Brien , that’s four first round picks who could end up as flops due to repetitive injuries.

Jay O'Brien was a waste of a pick.  Never played beyond high school hockey and was a complete farce.  He took the easy way by staying in a league he dominated and didn't bother going the USHL route to be challenged by better players. Hard to believe that Hextall and Pryor wasted a pick on him. The Flyers could have had someone like Veleno or Bernard-Docker or Kupari, but they chose this waste and then followed up with another chunky monkey in Adam Ginnifer. Not sure what was going on with Hextall and Pryor,  but those were two uncharacteristically bad picks for them. 

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Flyers Camp on-ice starts today Jan 4. Nine days with lots of scrimmages. First game is Jan 13 vs Pens.

 

What are the top questions to be answered over these 9 days 'in order of importance'?

 

I would suggest these questions [and my opinions]:

 

1) Who to play on the right side defence 1st pair with Provorov? [I say Gus]

 

2) Will Patrick's health hold up as the 3C over these 9 days? If not, Frost as 3C?

 

3) Will the optimism for a strong Lindblom prove out, and what line? [I say yes, and 1LW]

 

4) Who will win the vacant 3RW job? [I say Sandin or Laczynski]

 

5) What will be the status of JVR? [I say #14 forward, pending a trade if possible]

 

6) What will be the satus of Ghost? [I say #7 defenceman, pending trade soon, before Expansion Draft]

 

7) Who will be on the 6-man Taxi Squad in addition to goaltender Lyon? 

[I say 
Frost (C)
Laczynski (C/LW/RW) - or - Sandin (RW/LW)

Morin (LW/LD)

Friedman (RD)
Zamula (D)
Lyon (G)]

 

What key roster questions have I left out?

 

What are your opinions?

 

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FIGHTING FOR A FUTURE WITH THE PHILADELPHIA FLYERS, SAMUEL MORIN IS FINDING NEW LIFE BY CHANGING FROM DEFENSEMAN TO LEFT-WING.

If you had Samuel Morin changing positions on your wacky 2020 hockey bingo board, you win. The former defenseman capped off an already strange hockey year by making the switch to the left-wing. Upon the announcement, you miss blame if you assumed it was a misprint. Has Flyers’ general manager Chuck Fletcher gone full mad scientist? If you asked Morin, he would tell you this is a part of his journey.

EXPERIENCE BEFORE THE FLYERS

In football, it is common to play a position on both sides of the ball. For example, I played tight end and linebacker. The same goes for hockey. Becoming a defenseman after starting as a forward offers insight on how to shut down some offensive schemes. Morin made the change to defense after a couple of years in junior hockey.

 

“I was a forward a couple years in minor hockey, but I switched to defense pretty quick.”

Samuel Morin; 12/31/2020

Based on what we understand about Morin playing left wing in junior hockey, we’ll assume that was during 2011-2012 with Rimouski Oceanic. During that time, he tallied 8 points (all assists) in 62 games. He made the QMJHL All-Rookie Team in 2011-2012. If Morin did play left wing in 2011-2012, the position change makes a little more sense.

“I didn’t know if we were going to have an American League or even if they were going to play, so I needed to have a plan because I’m fighting for my career right now. I’m fighting for another job. Obviously, I did all this because I wanted to keep playing hockey. I am really excited, honestly. Just to have a shot.”

Samuel Morin; 12/31/2020

The Philadelphia Flyers are deep on defense. At the beginning of 2019-2020, Morin was in those plans. Unfortunately, he suffered a second torn ACL. His determination never faltered, which is why Alain Vigneault suggested the change. His unique background is giving him another chance.

STEPPING BACK ON THE ICE

Vigneault suggested the position change to get Morin back on the ice. Building confidence is key for his reintroduction to hockey. Mentally, the opportunity for Morin to be back with the team instead of the rehabilitation room is doing wonders.

 

“Even right now, we’re having some scrimmages and I feel every day I’m getting a little bit better. I got a couple goals today so I was happy about that.”

Samuel Morin; 12/31/2020

Aside from the mental toughness, Morin needed to test his skating legs. He feels good but understands the work in progress. Taking one day at a time is the best method after the previous injuries. The next step is building confidence at a new position, which it sounds like Morin is.

MAKING THE POSITION SWITCH

HOW IT COULD IMPACT THE FLYERS

Involved in suggesting the position change with Vigneault and Fletcher was Ian Laperriere. During the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Flyers didn’t play as physical as they needed. Speed on the opposing teams ruled Philadelphia. One way to counter speed is with physicality. Enlisting Morin, hungrier than he’s ever been, means the Flyers could be the ones pushing players around.

 

“Those big guys playing physical and even fighting. It’s something that I’m willing to do. If I want to make the NHL, if I want to make it, I need to play physical and fight.”

Samuel Morin; 12/31/2020

Morin might be the ‘Broadstreet Bully’ that Philadelphia is currently missing. The New York Islanders and Tampa Bay Lightning were two quick teams that gave the Flyers fits in 2019-2020. Wise beyond his years, Morin took notice of that.

“The big guy that I watch a lot of his clips, even right now I watch about 20 minutes today, is Matt Martin from the Islanders.”

Samuel Morin; 12/31/2020

Through 2019-2020, Matt Martin scored three goals against Philadelphia. If the Flyers had a lead against the Islanders, Martin was there to tie the game. Morin notices how efficient Martin’s game is, modeling his approach after it. Even if the position change is ultimately temporary, Morin’s honest approach to the switch could prove valuable to Philadelphia.

Mandatory Photo Credit: Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire

Edited by LegionOfDoom
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5 hours ago, Zzeke said:

Flyers Camp on-ice starts today Jan 4. Nine days with lots of scrimmages. First game is Jan 13 vs Pens.

 

What are the top questions to be answered over these 9 days 'in order of importance'?

 

I would suggest these questions [and my opinions]:

 

1) Who to play on the right side defence 1st pair with Provorov? [I say Gus]

 

2) Will Patrick's health hold up as the 3C over these 9 days? If not, Frost as 3C?

 

3) Will the optimism for a strong Lindblom prove out, and what line? [I say yes, and 1LW]

 

4) Who will win the vacant 3RW job? [I say Sandin or Laczynski]

 

5) What will be the status of JVR? [I say #14 forward, pending a trade if possible]

 

6) What will be the satus of Ghost? [I say #7 defenceman, pending trade soon, before Expansion Draft]

 

7) Who will be on the 6-man Taxi Squad in addition to goaltender Lyon? 

[I say 
Frost (C)
Laczynski (C/LW/RW) - or - Sandin (RW/LW)

Morin (LW/LD)

Friedman (RD)
Zamula (D)
Lyon (G)]

 

What key roster questions have I left out?

 

What are your opinions?

 

cut.png

 

1) I think they try going back to Provorov - Gostisbehere as the top pairing.  Now that he's had his knees fixed and he liked relatively good in his short time in the playoffs, I really believe that Ghost knows this is a big year for him.  It's actually make or break. I expect him to be on fire this year. 

 

2) Nolan Patrick is pretty much in the same boat as Ghost. This is going to be make or break as well, but for an entirely different reason.  As the 2nd overall pick his draft year,  he's been a disappointment in terms of where everyone thought he'd be at this point in his career.  Big things were expected of him and he simply hasn't delivered. Add in the migraines and missing the entire season and he knows that this might be his last chance in Philadelphia.  With that being said,  I don't think he plays on the big club right away.  I think they see how he does in scrimmages and if he looks good,  they'll bring him along slowly to get his feet back underneath him. I think he splits time at 4C to start.  If he's successful,  they'll move him to 3C. If he has a flare up of his migraines,  he's done. That's the reality. 

 

3) Lindblom is going to be in the left side of Hayes - Konecny.  His spot is already marked. 

 

4) The 3rd right wing spot is already owned by Aube-Kubel. He's done enough to be the incumbent.  Sandin will probably be the 4 RW to start the year. 

 

5) Van Useless should be waived.  Nothing but a 6'3 bag of crap that is lazy and a floater.  $7 million for that piece of garbage.  Can't wait until that waste of a roster space is gone.  People can talk about advanced numbers,  but watch the on ice product.  He's garbage.

 

6) See number 1 with Ghost.  Once he reestablishes some value,  he will be moved.  It's clear that Provorov, Sanheim and Myers are the defensemen that week be protected for the expansion draft. The Flyers will move Ghost for probably a prospect, pick and a player they can expose in the expansion draft. 

 

7) The taxi squad. It kind of sounds like a movie.  Anyways, my six for the squad - Sushko, Rubtsov, Kase, Zamula, Wylie, Sandstrom. They'll want at least three guys who have been playing and it makes sense. They'll have for in this list,  and three of the guys have never been with the big club.  This is a good opportunity for some of these young guys to see what they need to do in their development in order to move ahead to the next level. 

 

As for big stories, I think we're going to see the club push a guy like Farabee a little more in terms of getting his game up to snuff offensively. His development might come at the expense of a guy like Giroux,  so it will be interesting to see how the captain responds.  Farabee is also normally a left winger, so it's possible that he and Giroux swap positions in that Giroux goes to playing the right side in order to accommodate Farabee.  

 

The other thing that needs to bear watching is how the team performs with elevated expectations. For the past number of years it has been good year followed by bad year.  They need to break that and if they go back to the good year/bad year team,  there will be wholesale changes.  It won't surprise me if there are a number of veterans who know that this could possibly be their last year in Philadelphia,  so they know that a slow start or bad play could be the end.  

 

I don't know how they'll respond.  We'll know more over the next 9 days.  If they come out flat the first 5, 10 games , heads will roll. 

Edited by BobbyClarkeFan16
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2 hours ago, BobbyClarkeFan16 said:

The taxi squad. It kind of sounds like a movie.  Anyways, my six for the squad - Sushko, Rubtsov, Kase, Zamula, Wylie, Sandstrom.

Half these guys aren't even invited to camp. Kase, Rubie and Sushko are staying in Europe. 

 

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Good news. Per this tweet this morning, Patrick passed his physical yesterday.

 

 

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Nolan Patrick (migraines) is expected to be at Flyers practice Monday.

That's great news for the center who missed all of last season with migraines as it means he passed his physical on Sunday. Patrick has been skating of late without any problems and has been sleeping better as his headaches have diminished. Look for the Flyers to take their time with the former second-overall pick from 2017 as they do not want any setbacks.

 

Jan 4, 2021, 8:34 AM ET
 
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Group 1. Don't get worried. It's just Camp groupings for day 1 and 'even groups' for scrimmage competition.

 

The real lines/pairings will shape up near the latter part ofthe 9 day Camp

 

 

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