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James van Riemsdyk Hits a Home Run

Sep 20

Posted by Matt in Media | 1 Comment

James van Riemsdyk of the Philadelphia Flyers, fresh off signing a new six year contract extension with the team, took part in batting practice at Citizens Bank Park yesterday with a few of his teammates. Already an incredible opportunity and experience, van Riemsdyk made the most of it by smashing a home run over the left field wall during his time at the plate. It’s not every day that you get to see a hockey player hit a home run, but van Riemsdyk made it happen.

Check out the video below for the blast. With this home run, and news of Steven Stamkos playing in a baseball beer league over the summer, it makes us wonder which NHL stars would you want on your team for a baseball game?

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2011-12 NHL Season Preview: Philadelphia Flyers

Sep 4

Posted by EB in Season Previews | No Comments

Key Offseason Additions: Ilya Bryzgalov, Wayne Simmonds, Jakub Voracek, , Brayden Schenn, Jaromir Jagr, Maxime Talbot

Key Offseason Losses: Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, Kris Versteeg, Ville Leino, Dan Carcillo

Last Season Ranking: 2nd in the East

Mike Richards and Jeff Carter won't be partying anymore as both players have been traded to different teams.

Offense: It is hard predicting all that the Philadelphia Flyers can achieve this year offensively with the massive amount of trades that happened during the off-season. Captain Mike Richards, Jeff Carter and Kris Versteeg all parted ways in the Flyers remodel. Together, the three combined for 80 goals, 98 assists to total a whopping 178 points. Simply put, that is a lot of points lost.

Flyer’s fans will be happy to know that the incoming class will most likely pick up the slack and put forth a mighty good effort in out-doing their predecessors. Wayne Simmonds and Jakub Voracek are both solid two way players that will bring a lot of heart to the game. Veteran Jaromir Jagr is a wild card but is coming off of a slightly higher than point per game season in the KHL as well as a head turning display in the World Championships for the Czech Republic. Throw in gritty, get-under-your-skin-and-draw-a-penalty Maxime Talbot and the Flyers are starting to look like a good mix resembling that of the Stanley Cup Champions Boston Bruins.

The Flyers still have one more asset from the off-season trades and that being young Brayden Schenn. Schenn only played 8 NHL games last season for the Los angeles Kings but still managed to produce 2 assist and 11 shots. His Junior career was spent with the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL where as a rookie, he not only lead the team in scoring, he lead the league amongst all rookie scorers with 28 goals and 43 assists to total 71 points in 66 games played. It is still yet to be determined if he will be playing this season, but the future for the organization has a definite plus side with him in it.

The Flyers still have a very solid core, made up of Claude Giroux, Danny Briere, Scott “Carrot Top” Hartnell and recently extended contract James van Riemsdyk. It is important that the four of these players not only assist the new players in learning how to play Broad Street Bully hockey, but also be able to adapt to new line-mates.

Defense: Philly’s defense did not change nearly as much as the offense, as a matter of fact, only 1 new defensive player has been added to the roster. Big 6’3″ Andreas Lilja, who played last season with the Anaheim Ducks and most known for his years with the Detroit Red Wings, will be looking at limited ice time unless he can earn more.

Ilya Bryzgalov looks to be the solid goaltender the Philadelphia flyers have been missing

The team will once again be coddled by veteran and Stanley Cup winner Chris Pronger. Pronger is coming off of an injury plagued season. Pronger underwent two recent surgeries, a plate and pins inserted in his right hand and disk fragments removed from his lower back. It is expected that Pronger will not be ready in time for training camp, but stated his hand which is limiting the majority of his weight training, is between 80 and 85 percent healed.

Overall, the Flyer’s defense looks as good as last year, which saw them as 11th best in goals against average with 2.63. That stat will most likely improve…

Goaltending: Perhaps the biggest move of the off-season was the addition of net-minder Ilya Brzygalov. Bryz played for the Phoenix Coyotes, and in leaving, most likely burned some bridges. But that really doesn’t matter now as becoming the number one goalie over Sergei Bobrovski, Ilya has said all the right things to Philly fans. “This is a team with rich history,” Bryzgalov said. “The highest goal is to win the Cup. That’s what this game is all about. That’s all that matters.”

Could Bryzgalov take the Flyers to the promised land? Not sure, but being known as a somewhat difficult teammate, it will be interesting to see if the Flyers later down the road want to dump him as they did Richards and Carter, only to be denied by his 9 year, $51 million dollar deal taking him to 40 years of age.

HWB Playoff Prediction: Playoff bound.

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More trades could be on the way for Flyers

Feb 15

Posted by Chris in Rumors, Soap Box | No Comments

Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke is no stranger to big trades at the trade deadline, and he certainly found a willing partner in the Philadelphia Flyers yesterday as the Flyers acquired forward Kris Versteeg in exchange for a first-round and third-round draft pick in this year’s NHL entry draft. But with just under two weeks still left to play before the trade deadline hits, the Flyers may have only just begun revealing their master plan.

The decision to bring in Versteeg does several things for the Flyers. First, it provides the Flyers with a ton of offensive depth – something they certainly weren’t lacking beforehand. The Flyers are one of the most potent teams in the NHL, averaging 3.29 goals per game, and Versteeg’s prowess make them even more dangerous offensively. Versteeg already has two consecutive 20-goal campaigns under his belt and with 14 goals tallied so far this season he could certainly be on his way to a third.

In addition, Versteeg also has solid playoff experience and a Stanley Cup ring as well. In fact, Versteeg was a part of the Chicago Blackhawks team that defeated the Flyers in the Stanley Cup Finals last season. While he’s only 24-years-old, Versteeg’s experience will be hugely beneficial to the Flyers as they look to get back to the Finals and win the Stanley Cup this season.

Perhaps most importantly, however, Versteeg gives the Flyers options. By adding a proven scorer to the roster, the Flyers have made other players expandable. Two names that have already popped up in the rumor mill are James van Riemsdyk and Nikolay Zherdev. Both players have underperformed this season and failed to live up to their expectations. In fact, their combined point total is less than ten points more than Versteeg’s personal point total.

Rumors have also swirled that the Flyers would like to make an upgrade in goal. Or could the team opt to bolster their blue line at the expense of a proven netminder? Either way, the team now has expandable assets available to sell off in order to bring in more key components should they choose to. Could van Riemsdyk and Zherdev become part of a package that brings in those key components? With 13 days left until the trade deadline, all the Flyers may have done is simply set the stage for more to come.

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Hockey World Blog Season Previews 2010: Philadelphia Flyers

Sep 4

Posted by EB in Season Previews | 1 Comment

Key Offseason Losses: Arron Asham, Simon Gagne

Key Offseason Additions: Nikolai Zherdev

Last Season Ranking: 7th in the East

Captain Mike Richards should lead the Flyers to another productive season, possibly even the Stanley Cup.

Captain Mike Richards should lead the Flyers to another productive season, possibly even the Stanley Cup.

Offense: The Flyers are coming into their own as a team offensively lead by a very physical and talented Captain Mike Richards. Richards has a supporting cast of Jeff Carter, Danny Briere, Claude Giroux and Scottie Hartnell. Sure it seems I’m just listing the whole team, but when you really look at the production of all these players, all 40+ point players, the team has 3 solid lines. Throw into the mix playoff stud Ville Leino and young gun James van Riemsdyk, it is very possible that the Flyers are capable of making another push for the Cup.

Philadelphia had a tough decision to make in the offseason and ended up trading away Simon Gagne. Gagne posted 40 points in 58 games played last year. To ease the pain of his loss, the team acquired a personal favorite player of mine in forward Nikolai Zherdev. Zherdev took a season off and played overseas with the KHL and did not put up great numbers. Perhaps he viewed it as a vacation as in his last two NHL seasons he had near 60 point seasons.

Defense: What’s not to love about the Flyer’s defense? They have grit, size and skill. Lead by veterans Chris Pronger and Kimmo Timonen, the defense will once again be solid.  Second pairings should note the production Matt Carle who had 6 goals, 29 assists and a +19 rating. The team also picked up Andrej Meszaros from the Tampa Bay Lightning to add to their depth and line the 3rd pairing. Meszaros could sink or swim as with Tampa Bay he was mediocre at best, but while previous to them with the Ottawa Senators, Meszaros had 3 seasons of near 30 points each season.

The only other note in regards to the worry of Pronger resting for the start of the season recovering from surgery will not be a factor as he should be prime come later in the season.

Goaltending: Last year Philadelphia had some goalie problems, problems to the extent of starting 4 different goalies throughout the season problems. All that should be behind them as the team should split time between Michael Leighton and Brian Boucher. Leighton was by far the better goalie of the two producing a .920 save percentage with a 16-5-2 record. Boucher still was not bad in the save percentage category, .900, yet when it came to his record, it was a mere 9-18-3.

Season Outlook: The Flyers almost did not make the playoffs last season, but once they did, almost won the Cup but lost to a better team in Chicago. This year expect another stellar performance from the Bullies and a drive like none other after the sour taste from losing after being so close. The addition of Zherdev should prove fruitful for the organization, and with the team mainly being players in their prime, Philly will be tough to beat this season.

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Hot Fantasy Free Agents You Can Pick Up

Nov 4

Posted by Eddie in Fantasy | 6 Comments

Don’t you hate it when you’re searching through the free agent wire in your fantasy league, only to have slim pickings? I went through this earlier this week when I was trying to get my team to rise out of the cellar. I usually give the players I draft the first month of the season to prove their worth before I drop them unless they were injured. The fortunate thing is, I did not have any injuries. The bad news, is that I’m in last place. Some of it was due to my own negligence such as owning four fantasy football teams and worrying about those more. But now I have a little time on my hands and I can handle what’s on my fantasy plate. Here’s a list of the best players available in the free agent world, along with the percentage of Yahoo! Fantasy teams own that player.

Note: Players owned on 60% or fewer teams were considered.

Center:

Ryan Kesler, Vancouver (5-8-13, 53% Owned)

Kesler is one of the hottest players on his team. With 5 goals the first month of the season, he’s shown that he can find the net as he is tied for third in goals and is second in points on the Canucks. He’s also valuable on special teams as he as six power play points.

Honorable Mention:

Mike Fisher, Ottawa (5-6-11, +3, 3PPG, 2GWG, 22% Owned)

Brendan Morrison, Washington (4-6-10, +6, 6 PIM, 2 PPG, 15% Owned)

Wayne Simmonds

Wayne Simmonds

Right Wing:

David Clarkson, New Jersey (3-6-9, 40% Owned)

Clarkson started off hot, but midway through October he went through a five game goal-less drought. Clarkson ended that drought last week. Don’t be afraid to pick him up. I strongly believe he will warm up or get hot before he becomes ice cold. His 20 penalty minutes are worth using if you need someone to raise your team penalty minutes.

Honorable Mention:

Nathan Horton, Florida (3-7-10, 20 PIM, 55% Owned)

Wayne Simmonds, Los Angeles (4-4-8, +9, 9 PIM, 5% Owned)

Left Wing:

James van Riemsdyk, Philadelphia (2-11-13, +6, 3 PPA, 27% Owned)

While he may only have two goals this young season, #2 overall pick in the 2007 draft James van Riemsdyk has made an impact through the assist for the Flyers. You have to take notice of someone that has more points than games played, as the Flyers have played only 10 games. He leads the team in assists and is third in plus-minus. If you’re in need of assists because your defensemen aren’t coming through, I recommend his as only 1 in 4 teams own him. Unfortunately in my fantasy league, Chris picked him up Monday afternoon.

Honorable Mention:

Matt Moulson, New York Islanders (6-5-11, 6 PIM, 3 PPA, 45% Owned)

Jarkko Ruutu, Ottawa (4-3-7, 27 PIM, 6% Owned)

Defense:

Jason Demers, San Jose (0-10-10, +7, 4 PPA, 32% Owned)

Rookie Demers has been producing on the blue line for a solid Sharks team. While he haven’t scored a goal this season, his team-leading plus-minus rating is worth taking note of. Look for him to see increased playing time from coach Todd Mclellan.

Ryan Suter, Nashville (2-5-7 8 PIM, 2 PPA, 59% Owned)

I had several defensemen to consider picking. But Suter was the best out of a good bunch along with Demers. Suter is an experienced player who is in the top-five on his team in points and penalty minutes. He also has three power play points in 13 games this season.

Honorable Mention:

Jaroslav Spacek, Montreal (1-4-5, +6, 14 PIM, 49% Owned)

Roman Hamerlik, Montreal (4-2-6, +6, 12 PIM. 22% Owned)

Goalie:

Ondrej Pavelec, Atlanta (5 W, 2.75 GAA, .921 SV%, 42% Owned)

Just like everyone else before the season, I didn’t have much faith in the Thrashers. But they got off to a good start in the first month of the season, and that’s what they need. In goal, Pavelec has solidified his #1 spot over Johan Hedberg. He’s owned in 2 out of every 5 leagues, so chances are he’s available for you.

Honorable Mention:

Jaroslav Halak, Montreal (5 W, 2.85 GAA, .893 SV%, 39% Owned)

Dwayne Roloson, New York Islanders (4 W, 2.70 GAA, .914 SV%, 34% Owned)

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