May 16, 2025 • 38 mins
SteelFlyers All Sports Network presents
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The Hockey Writers Ink Eps. 194 "Rick Tocchet hired as new Flyers Head Coach!!!!"
Relax the keyboard is off, the press box is closed, and the mic is just getting warmed up as the Guardian of the Blue paint turned writer is about to enlighten us!
The show where the writer is fresh off the presses and the ink is not dry.
Welcome to the Hockey Writers Ink, join Lance Green and Ron "SteelFlyers" as we bring you all the latest on the Philadelphia Flyers!
This week's talking points:
1. INTRO and THANKS
2. 2024 Jack Adams award winner joins team as coach
3. Can Rick handle the rebuild
4. Draft picks for new coach
5. Expectations
7. Wrap-up
BIG THANKS to our friends Lower Case Blues for the awesome tunes:
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Also catch us at Sports Spyder - https://sportspyder.com/
Follow the show on X @HckyWritersInk
Your Host Lance Green on X @LanceGreen39
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Brought to you by steelflyers.com
The Hockey Writers Ink Eps. 194 "Rick Tocchet hired as new Flyers Head Coach!!!!"
Relax the keyboard is off, the press box is closed, and the mic is just getting warmed up as the Guardian of the Blue paint turned writer is about to enlighten us!
The show where the writer is fresh off the presses and the ink is not dry.
Welcome to the Hockey Writers Ink, join Lance Green and Ron "SteelFlyers" as we bring you all the latest on the Philadelphia Flyers!
This week's talking points:
1. INTRO and THANKS
2. 2024 Jack Adams award winner joins team as coach
3. Can Rick handle the rebuild
4. Draft picks for new coach
5. Expectations
7. Wrap-up
BIG THANKS to our friends Lower Case Blues for the awesome tunes:
Web: lowercaseblues.net
FaceBook: www.facebook.com/lowercaseblues/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/lower_case_blues?utm_medium=copy_link
Get all your Hockey Writers Ink information at
https://steelflyers.com/links/hockeywritersink/
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLs5gTIpBqPsoG-B_cPMLey0J68hxSouAN
https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-hockey-writers-ink
Also catch us at Sports Spyder - https://sportspyder.com/
Follow the show on X @HckyWritersInk
Your Host Lance Green on X @LanceGreen39
Co-Host SteelFlyers on X @SteelFlyers52
Please hit the "Like" and "Subscribe"
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-hockey-writers-ink--4748032/support.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to The Hockey Writers, Inc. The show where the
writer is fresh off the presses and the ink is
not dry relaxed, the keyboard is off and the press
boxes closed with the mic is just getting warmed up.
Join your host, Lance Green, the guardian of the blue
paint turned writer, and your co host Ron Steel Flyers
as we bring you all the latest on the Philadelphia Flyers.
(00:39):
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the next episode of The
Hockey Writers, Inc.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
With your host. It's Green.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
All right, guys, some interesting turns of events have happened
coming out of Philly. Right, a man, a new head coach,
a familiar faith in that sense, but a new head coach.
So we're here to talk about.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
That exactly, exactly exactly.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
So how about those folks, If you like what we do,
please with the like and subscribe man, we'd really appreciate that.
That really helps us out. How about this folks, Episode
one ninety four, Rick Tackett, the new head coach of
the Philadelphia Flyers. That's right, folks, here we go.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Are you ready? Because at least they picked somebody sooner.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Rather than later, right, and it may not have necessarily
been the guy that we would have wanted. But initial reaction,
initial thoughts, what do you think?
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Man?
Speaker 3 (01:52):
So, yeah, teams are snatching up coaches, right, they had
a lot of vacancies upolow we're beginning to be filled.
Rick Tocket's name became available, and you know, he's always
been partial to Philadelphia and Philadelphia has always loved him.
(02:14):
I mean, he's a he's a fan favorite. When he
was here, he he embodies what it is to be
a Philadelphia Flyer. I think, you know, none of that
is in you know question here, but due to the
nepotism that the Flyers have and in past you know
(02:37):
what I mean, it is running rampant for years now,
even with the hires of Danny Brier and Keith Jones,
but they seem to be doing a pretty good job.
But I think the team is starting to bring in
the right people. Obviously, as we talked in past shows,
(02:58):
and I've written articles of out leading up to this,
you know, John tortorella firing, I've always kind of said that,
you know, the team is moving in a younger, faster pace,
and I thought a guy like Todd Nelson, Hershey Bears coach,
(03:20):
was going to be an ace in the hole for
the Flyers to land, obviously the Washington Capitals. So we're
doing pretty darn good and we're gonna be probably not
replacing their head coach with, you know, a guy like
Todd Nelson coming up from their junior organization in the AHL.
(03:42):
But he would have been great and still might be
great for some team. But as we know, they just
beat the Phantoms and are moving on in the HL playoffs,
so they are well on their way to a third
consecutive HL championship. Still have some hurdles to go in
that regard, So with pieces starting to move, the Flyers
(04:08):
went ahead and bit the bullet and brought in Rick Tockett.
You know, at first I wasn't sold on the idea,
but still, as I just told you, I've been working
on an article kind of laying the foundation why it
(04:32):
might not be initially as bad as we thought. You know,
the guy is a Jack Adams Award winner, not this
past season, but the season before when his team was
generally healthy. They finished with one hundred and nine points,
and you know, we're first place in the Pacific Division.
(04:56):
Of course, last season, Elliots Peterson went down, you know,
their big name guy and you know, they kind of
fell in the standings a little bit. But with each
new coach that comes in, I think the Flyers need
(05:17):
to really this one more so than than you know,
John Tortorello and some of the other ones. They need
to set him up to not fail, but you know,
succeed in that sense, and and really bring in some players,
some prospects that are geared towards his kind of systems
(05:40):
and games. And this is a perfect time with this
many draft picks, with this much cap space. Man, if
we're gonna do it, let's do it right and kind
of set him up to succeed. In my mind.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
You know, we talk about this when John Tortorella was
brought in. We wanted them to rip off the band
aid and just do it. And they didn't, you know
what I mean they brought in Now, Okay, I understand
that that wasn't necessarily you know, part of so I'm
(06:16):
having a hard time with this man, Okay, because.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
I get it. I get it.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
You you fired John Tortorello, and I understand why he
was fired. Okay, I do, all right, And and I
gotta say deservingly so.
Speaker 3 (06:32):
Okay, yeah, I mean he welcome pretty quickly. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
If I did that kind of stuff in my job,
I definitely would have gotten tryed. Okay, right, right, okay,
So what's that being said?
Speaker 2 (06:44):
Bringing in a guy like Rick Tockett.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
He's got more of the type of game that we're
seeing Philadelphia play the dump and chase. Okay, get used
to it, man, because here comes right, This is what
Rick Hacket's all about. But are you gonna have the
guys to win the races and win the battles? If
(07:10):
you are, then this system works just great. And you're
getting speedy guys like Lichenko probably gonna be able to
come in. MITCHI Koff is not no slouch neither. You
know what I'm saying. Kate's pretty fast. Most of the
guys on the team are pretty fast because they're young, right, Okay,
(07:30):
But talk to me in two or three years when
these guys are a little bit more mature now and
there's a couple more maybe stars on the team or
a couple more people you know on the team that
have made it through draft or however, you talk to
me in a couple of years and see how this
dump and chase is gonna work. Yeah, you and I
are not fans of this, and this was the reason
(07:53):
why we didn't want this coach to come here.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Yeah, for that reason.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
But here he is here. He is right. So let's
make the best of this situation, is what I'm saying here.
Because you know you just said I am an old
school goaltender. I see no reason if you have control
of the puck to willingly throw it away just to
(08:18):
make a line change and get new skates out on
the ice and try to get it back. I don't
like it, but I do like the fact that talk
it encourages players to finish their checks to play, that
that traditional old school grind it out hockey, That he
(08:42):
rewards guys like some guys in my article that I'm
going to suggest bringing in the fold or attempt to
and in a sense of giving guys if they're going
to give one hundred and then he's going to give
him a chance to play. And I like that. Being
that there's the youth, and John Torrella was never one
(09:05):
to play youth, and we saw that he liked to
punish them when they made a mistake. Guys that young
are gonna make a mistake. But you know, it's it's
not the same kind of his coaching style is not
the same as it would benefit older guys like me
that would you know, kind of curse on, curse him
under the breath and go out there and really show
(09:28):
them what they can do. But this is a younger generation.
It's a different generation. I think Tortorello did what he
was supposed to do in a sense where he helped
the Flyers kind of tear apart and pick out the
bad pieces, the black sheep in the locker room that
(09:52):
that kind of were cancers, if you will. And it's
now torn apart, it's torn down. Now it's time for
the rebuild portion. And and you know with the mish
Covs and some of the pieces that are coming in
that we've seen succeed at an early chance here with
the fantoms, you know, once they graduated, you know, from
(10:16):
college and stepped up or once they came up from
juniors and their season was done, you're seeing that success.
And it would be nice to maybe not rush some
of those players into it. And I think, you know,
Tortorello's systems, I'm sorry, tackets now system can can kind
(10:36):
of benefit that. And also I'm optimistic steal. Like I said,
he's not my guy either, not even my first choice
or two in that sense, but I you know, I
am hopeful, I do wish and will this team to win.
(10:56):
I want to see a Stanley Cup enter in my lifetime.
You see all this gray hair, I've yet to see one, right, right,
So let's let's give this guy a chance. But let's
set him up. And and you know, I went into
great detail and and and and put out how how guys,
(11:21):
how the how the management necessarily can do it in
a sense of certain players in the draft, maybe not
the ones that coincide with what Briare wants to do
right away, because I think there's bigger holes than just
down the middle of the center of the ice steel.
(11:42):
There's a lot of holes, right And you know, there's
there's some free agents that we could pick up that
have played in his system and succeeded, and maybe possibly
a guy we could steal away with all of the
draft capital that we have to bargain with that could
kind of bring a guy in and and and dee
(12:04):
It Breers talked about this. He he does not want
to go through another year to a growing pains. He
wants to start to succeed this season and start winning games.
He doesn't want another season where they're going to tank,
not not that any team necessarily does, but lose out
and try to get another pick. We saw how that
(12:24):
went for the Flyers. Uh this year where they got
you know, screwed out of the fourth overall pick and
they're now picking sixth. That's a whole other conversation. I'm
about tired of these teams that just just missed out,
just missed out on making the playoffs, but yet they
get to sneak in and steal a teams that is
(12:48):
really struggling, you know, draft pick or future franchise player
out of their hands that could have turned their franchise around. Uh,
there's no way a team like the Island should have
jumped up that many spots, or the Utah Hockey Club
or Mammoth whatever they're going to be called now, should
be able to jump up nine spots and take that
(13:11):
first pick away. Do I think there should still be
a lottery, Yes, but maybe for the five worst teams.
You know what I'm saying, the five worst teams throw
throw those numbers into a hat and draw one of
them out and then wherever they finished in concession after that,
go back to that. You know, I don't see why
(13:33):
a thirteenth worst team in the league deserves to get
the first pick.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
And this is twice how it's happened in less than
seven years, because I mean.
Speaker 3 (13:42):
The Flyers, the Flyers lucked out and got to pick
Nolan Patrick. But we see how well that worked out
for us, you know, when we were able to jump
up that many.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
Yeah, when the Rangers did the same thing during the
COVID year and they were in the playoffs and then
they got the number one pick with Lapregner and whatever whatever.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
All right, Okay, So.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
Now now that we know that who the coach is
going to be a you know, just like we said
Jack Adams Award winning coach in twenty twenty four, he
came in to Vancouver, took over for Bruce Boudreaux and
made that team.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
A playoff team.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
Okay, and and and just came in there and did it.
Now here we have now Rick Tockett is now the
new head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
The Flyers have three first.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
Round draft picks, they have three second round draft picks,
and a couple of the other you know, lower end,
lower round draft picks. Which guy if if the Flyers
stay at six, all right, and we know all the
holes that they have, Okay, who is the Rick Tocket
(14:50):
guy now in the draft that you would be looking at,
that you would be targeting. I mean, as far as
I'm concerned, you're still trying to look at a center.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
Well, it's tough. It's tough because, yes, Michael Misha or
James Haggins would have been perfect if we got one
of those in the top four selections, right, But diving
deeper into it, who's laughed after?
Speaker 1 (15:18):
That?
Speaker 3 (15:19):
Is a big gap between those four best players and
the middle of the road there and especially at especially
at the center position. Let me go over Anton Frondel,
a Swedish born player, right, Yeah, had some success. He's
supposed to be in the top ten there. It could
be a pick for the Flyers. He's had multiple knee surgery. Steel,
(15:43):
I'm not willing to put all my eggs in that basket, Okay.
A guy that we interviewed, A guy that we interviewed,
amazing young player, Roger McQueen. Right, he had spine issues,
a spinal injury that let him only play seventeen. He
seemed to come back strong at the end. But man,
a kid that's six foot six, six foot five and
(16:06):
has back issues already, I don't know if I want
to go down that road. And I think that the
Flyers fan base would kind of come with, you know, uh,
burning pitchforks and stuff for Brier if it turned out
to be this guy is another injury prone player that
they pick at that spot. So you know who's left
(16:27):
Caleb deyone. It seems like a pretty good player. But
me and you were sitting up with his older brother
Elliott in the press box for the playoffs because he
came from the queue a league that is, so.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
Did play He did play in the second.
Speaker 3 (16:47):
Up before that? Yeah, yeah, yeah, well yeah after that,
and he did he got in there bit.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
Well, he did play really well there in the second
round of the Fantoms playoffs against Bears.
Speaker 3 (16:59):
Yeah, but did he Is he living in twenty three?
Is he living up to that what they thought he
would be, because a season or two ago he looked
like he was going to make the Flyers roster opening
night roster, right, you know, in an extended way, he's
had quite a bit of a step back now. I
know there are two different players and deyone you know,
(17:22):
has scored thirty five goals and eighty four points this year.
But that is Caleb. Yeah, Caleb his his younger brother
that's looking to be drafted here. I'm still not sold.
I'm still not sold that that that that Q mentality
where they don't fight. You know, this is the Metropolitan Division.
(17:44):
This is full of rivalry games every single night. These
teams hate each other, you know, and Caleb can definitely
take the care of himself. Yeah, you need to be
able to draft. Plus, they can't do that there if
they so much has hit anybody harder than they think
they should. They're suspending players up there. It's just a
(18:05):
non physical league and they're trying to make it just
all goal scoring and nice and friendly league. And I'm
not for it. That's not my kind of hockey. That's
not Rick's kind of hockey either. So should they go
with a center like Jacobrien. That's kind of what I'm
trying to dive into in my mock draft. There's also
(18:30):
Carter Bear, There's also Brady another guy.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
Carter Behar is another guy that we talked to right sure,
which sure you know, that was the other name I
was gonna throw at you.
Speaker 3 (18:41):
Right, but stay with me here Steele a guy who
who was maybe one of the prospects that we interviewed
that you cannot just go without here And in that
sense for me, it was defense in Achentsen. Okay, this guy,
(19:04):
this guy is a shut down defenseman, Steel, shut down defenceman.
Every night he was playing Michael Misha Porter, martm Okay
at top five picks right, and he shut them down.
He didn't shut them down, He totally kept them off
(19:25):
of the score sheet. Like Steele was just about to say,
he would go the coach would go to him, be like, hey,
that's your guy. As soon as he steps on the ice,
you jump over the boards, you hang with him. I
don't care if he's on the other side of the
ice beside the play. You stick on him and you
don't let him get on the scoreboard. And that's what
he did. Steal shut a true shutdown defenceman and still
and steel. He not only did he was he a
(19:51):
shutdown defenceman okay, but he led He led the team
in points and scoring. He had twenty six goals steel
for defenseman. He led the team in scoring points going
where fifty nine points?
Speaker 1 (20:10):
Right?
Speaker 3 (20:10):
Barry Colts led the team in scoring in points six
foot one, one hundred and ninety eight pounds, all right,
and just what they need. Because if you want to
look at numbers, the league's worst, say percentage eight point
seven to nine or point eight seven nine belonged to
(20:30):
the Flyers. Okay, this year the league's were, say percentage,
they were bottom dwellers, and the goals against average two
steel they led in three point four to five goals
a game. Collectively? What defense? Right? What defense? Give me
some defense? Give me some defense here? All right?
Speaker 2 (20:51):
I like it?
Speaker 3 (20:52):
And another name, another name steal go for Carter Amoco
in the second Yeah, five, I mean you bring it.
I mean I see, I see Chris Pronger. I mean
not maybe necessarily offensively, but he does have offense as well.
(21:13):
But this kid just wipes kids off the map. They're
they're stumbling back to the bench asking what was the
plate number of that truck that you just set them? Okay, defense, defense, defense,
let's build from the net.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (21:30):
So I'm glad you said that, Lance, because this is
exactly why I'm glad you said that, Because this is
where I was gonna go. I love the where you're
going with a defenseman, and and Agentsen is definitely a
Rick Tocket guy. Yes, okay, right, all day long, right,
because that was what I asked you. What guy in
the draft is a Ricktocket guy?
Speaker 2 (21:51):
Right? Agentsen is one of those guys.
Speaker 3 (21:54):
Okay, Now I believe Carter Amoco is too.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
I agree to. I agree to.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
Let's talk a Miko. Let's talk about what you said
yet before you're the old goaltender. And I think that's
kind of where the Flyers need to put more focus on,
more so than what they had right they probably.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
Could have put.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
I know they've got Alexi, I know they've got Ivan,
I know they've got you know a list of guys
Bjornson and all that other stuff and.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
All the other guys.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
But I would not have a problem, not have a
problem at all with Aliyah new and Swander being selected
as a goaltender or Ravens Garden as selected as a
goaltender for the Philadelphia Flyers in one of those three
first round draft if they stay where they are, I
(22:49):
would not have a problem if they selected one of
those kids as a goalie because doing exactly what you're
talking about.
Speaker 2 (22:55):
Lance.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
Those goaltenders right there have potential to be what the
Flyers need them to be. Somebody that can command and
play forty to fifty games this season, take care of business,
have some have some shutouts, right, win more than they lose,
have a good say percentage, and a goal good goals
against average, and be that goaltender because that's what Philadelphia needs.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
Right. Yon is not the guy. He is not the guy.
Speaker 1 (23:22):
We've seen that now two years in a row. He
cannot handle the main load as being a starting goaltender
and and.
Speaker 3 (23:30):
Be and the goaltender for sure. Yeah, he's a tandem
goaltender for sure. And yep, and and Joshua Ravensbergen who
we interviewed as long as well as Elijah who Stele mentioned,
would both be great picks. Joshua would be there probably
(23:51):
in the first at the tail end of the first.
He's being projected at. That's what I'm saying, Yep. With
with the Flyers having the Avalanche pick or the Oriole
the Oilers pick, you know, one of those picks could
bring you a goaltender too. So you're building, you're starting
to build from the net out. Okay, and and defense
(24:12):
and goaltending, that's what wins championships repeatedly. Uh. You look
at your Marc Andre Fleurrey, you look at your Mark
tembro Door, you look at your Patrick Wah, Dominic Kashik.
Guys that are true number one goaltender, so.
Speaker 2 (24:27):
That you don't even have to go that far fall back.
Speaker 3 (24:30):
You don't, you don't, don't. But I was thinking in
terms of multiple championships. I want to win multiple, not
just one. Yeah, Basileski for sure.
Speaker 2 (24:39):
I mean what what that guy is?
Speaker 1 (24:40):
Not only is he a winning goaltender, but he's won
multiple championships now, okay, and and and if you get
a guy in air like that, what what are you
waiting for?
Speaker 2 (24:51):
Hello? Draft? These guys are there available in the draft.
Speaker 3 (24:55):
Right, Yeah, there is some. There is some other good
ones too, goaltending wise, that you can get later in
the draft, like Alexi Medvedev from the London Nights. I
like him, you know. There there's quite a few that
we talked about before. And there's some other guys that
are probably nineteen that got skipped over last draft that
(25:18):
really excelled this year as well that we can that
we could grab up and I think that you keep
stocking that. You can never have too many goaltenders, and
you can never have too many defensemen. You can have
too many wingers, you can have too many centers and
centers that are the same exact player. Like we have
(25:42):
defense first players and we got rid of one in
Scott Lawton. You have Noah Kades, you have you know Coots,
you know Paling, They're all the same player. I want
a scoring center if we're going to get one, and
I think we got jipped out on the ones that
are definitely sid with that number six getting that number
(26:04):
six pick. So man, uh, you know he took jet
Lechenko last year.
Speaker 1 (26:10):
I think he's gonna know he's I think he's gonna
make the team this year.
Speaker 3 (26:15):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (26:16):
Well, I don't know. I got to watch him.
Speaker 3 (26:19):
I want to rush him. I don't want to rush him.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
I don't either, but I don't think he really I mean,
if he plays another year in junior's, okay, and comes
in now, but.
Speaker 3 (26:29):
I don't want to play I want to play with fantoms.
Speaker 1 (26:32):
Okay, but I really I saw him playing the Fantoms.
He did really well. He played with was able to
keep up with him as far as speed wise, and
those two were a good line as far as that
was concerned. And they had Garrett Wilson on the other
side right, and then they switched it up. Ian A
Perrier switched it up and he had he had the
(26:54):
true prospect line where he had Uh with Chenko and
Bank or a Bump and I I can't remember who
the other kid was, but he had those two guys
on the line as well too, so he switched him
up a little bit. So I'm seeing I saw some
good things from Lochenko, I saw some good things from
(27:14):
Bump during the playoffs, and that was great experience for
them to play in those situations. I think they're gonna
be on the cusp of making the team next year.
I just feel that because of the speed of Lachenko,
because of them needing another player that can play alongside
with Mitchkoff, you know what I'm saying, if they don't
(27:36):
draft somebody.
Speaker 3 (27:37):
But the needs there, for sure, the needs there. It
was there last year, and that's why Lochenko got a
look in preseason because he can do certain things very
very well. He is an excellent passer, He is an
amazing skater with great speed, but I think the maturity
level is not quite there yet to be an NHL player.
(27:58):
You saw multiple multiple penalties during his junior career. He
got suspended a time or two, I believe in juniors,
and with not necessarily suspended with the Fantoms, but multiple
penalties that he didn't necessarily need to take because he's
playing to trying to trying to look good in the
eyes of the organization and prove his worth, and I
(28:20):
think he's he needs to curtail that a little bit.
You can play on edge, but you've got to play
discipline as well. So I think with him playing a
full season possibly at you know, Lee High or I
don't know the parameters on how old he is versus
(28:40):
you know, if he has to go back to juniors necessarily, yeah,
I think he's aged out. I'm not. I would have
to look it up, honestly, I don't. I don't know
where he'll be at the start of the season without
looking it up and and taking time away from the show.
So I think he would be best fit at at
Lee Had, But we get all summer and if he
(29:02):
really wants to work at his craft and stay around here,
there's plenty of guys who we saw at the games,
you know, with plenty of Stanley Cup rings on their hand,
that are going to be ready and willing to work
with these guys this summer and help out turn them
in to be better and better prospects for this team.
Speaker 2 (29:24):
So I agree.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
I agree like you, Lance, I think that we hear
at hockey writers think, and I think we're embracing the
new coach. We've expressed our feelings, we expressed why we
had those reservations of why we are bringing in this coach,
(29:45):
this particular type of coach because of the system that
he plays and things of that nature. I don't have
a problem with the guy really. I mean, he was
one of my favorite flyers when he played. I mean,
he embodies what it really means to be a flyer.
But my problem is is that all those things are
all fine and great, But what happens when the rubber
hits the road or the meat hits the bone, you
(30:08):
know what I mean, and he starts losing? Then what
He's not gonna be the favorite son anymore? How's he
gonna handle things?
Speaker 2 (30:14):
And I'm just.
Speaker 1 (30:18):
I'm with you, Lance, I want to see if you're
gonna bring this guy in here like this. Look, you
got John McClair, you got Patrick Sharp, you got Keith Jones,
you got Danny Brier, Now you got Rick Tockett.
Speaker 3 (30:31):
Wayne Simmons.
Speaker 1 (30:33):
How many more other guys do you need to bring
in that used to be on the team to try
to help this team get forward?
Speaker 2 (30:41):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (30:43):
That's all fine and great, but let me see the w's,
let me see the championships, let me see the banners
hanging from the raptors, okay, because until then you haven't
proven nothing.
Speaker 3 (30:54):
Yeah, I mean, I think you hit the nail on
the head. I like the group that they did bring
in team, but teams do this, right, they do this.
It's not just some EHL player, wash out player that
becomes a coach. For every position, you got some youth,
and you want to see those those star players that
(31:17):
still want to be a part of the game come
in and help your franchise. But at what point does
it kind of start to hinder things when you have
somebody like Rick tocket Now, who is so held so
high in this you know region, as as being a
(31:39):
prodigal son of you know, the Flyers, and and and
help them for so long, right Yeah.
Speaker 1 (31:46):
See all the social media welcome back home, welcome back
home hugs and all that.
Speaker 2 (31:52):
I believe you see how much the hugs are coming.
Speaker 3 (31:54):
Yeah yeah, I mean, and I believe Rick when he
says like he he feels like this is home and
it was for so long for him Eleven seasons out
of eighteen, two different stints, right, So, I mean, I
can see why he says that, and you can see
that when he's came back and coached you know, the
(32:18):
you know, retired players games and stuff like that, that
the alumni games that they put on. But does is
that going to earn him an extended stay when other
coaches may have been you know, kicked to the curb
all ready because he is Rick Tockett and he is
(32:39):
Philadelphia's flyer hockey, you know what I mean. So so
on one hand, I'm excited because of the player he was,
and you know, hopefully he will get these young kids
playing that brand of hockey that we all grew up
and you know, loved watching and you know, But but
(33:00):
at the same time, I hope he doesn't get an
extended stay when others would have been kicked to the
curb already just because of who he is. So hopefully
he signed a big, big contract for a lot of years.
Five year contract. That's a lot, right, that's a lot.
So you know, we'll see. But hey, he did win
(33:21):
a Jack Adams Award, a heck of a lot, well
a heck of a lot, sooner or less time away
than John Tortorello did some twenty years ago when I
was still in high school, so when he last won
his last Jack Adams Award. So I'm okay with it.
Let's see where it goes. I'm ready. I'm ready for
(33:44):
you know, the draft and free agency and all that
stuff that is to come after this season. I'm enjoying
watching playoff hockey, but I'm about tired of not being
in it as a as a Flyer fan, you know
what I mean, and watching other teams play in it.
So hopefully Rin can come in right right, So hopefully
(34:06):
Rick can come in and and and whip these boys
into and shape and and turn around the Flyers much
like he turned around the Canucks organization.
Speaker 1 (34:15):
I'll tell you what, Lance, Like I said, I'm hopefully
optimistic that there we goyah, I can put it right.
We're we're gonna embrace this. We're gonna we're gonna ride this.
We're gonna see how it goes, you know what I mean?
Speaker 2 (34:31):
Why not? I mean, he he comes with some pretty
good pedigree. He comes with.
Speaker 1 (34:35):
I mean his winning percentage isn't exactly the greatest on
the planet, but he doesn't exactly have the most uh
the best system as far as we're concerned as far
as how he plays. But we like his brand of hockey,
how he how he played. So if he coaches like that,
we're we're gonna find out, and we're gonna find out.
Man when when games start to start to fall and
(34:59):
and we start see how how things are gonna go.
How how he's gonna be the favorite son after we
lose five or six games in a row or whatever
the case is, right, because that's not gonna stand that.
This this fan base, I think is now. Now, you
got an award winning coach, You got a boatload of
draft picks in the first and second round right over
(35:23):
the next couple drafts.
Speaker 3 (35:25):
You tour this team apart.
Speaker 2 (35:26):
So tour this team apart. You you got nowhere to
go but up.
Speaker 1 (35:30):
So guess what the expectations are going to be a
little bit higher, I think moving forward now, especially with
what's going on. Now, Okay, you'll be brought in a
much sought after coach and you know, let's let's see,
let's see set him up for success, draft him some
players that he'll be able to use sooner rather than later,
(35:51):
you know what I mean. So Lance, we can't wait
for your next article to come out. Man, I'm biting
at the bullet here for that. And we also can't
wait for you or mock draft. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (36:03):
Yeah, I had started on it, but it may change
a little bit knowing now who the head coach is.
So I'm glad. I'm glad that they did bring in
somebody before the draft too, to be able to kind of,
you know, do that rather than draft and then hire
somebody you know, after the fact, so that you know,
(36:26):
he doesn't have any say in it. So yeah, I
think I think that about wraps it up here. Man.
I I'm excited. You know, hopefully optimistic is the uh
is the term? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (36:40):
Right, hopefully optimistic? Right?
Speaker 1 (36:41):
And and and we got nowhere to go but up right,
I mean we've already hit the rock bottom, right, so
we got nowhere to go but up I would like
to say big props and thanks to Jake and the
boys at Lowercase Blues for the intro music. Man, I
gotta tell you guys, got to go on over to
Lowercase Blues dot check them out. They got all their
tour dates out there, they got some swag out there.
(37:05):
They also got a new Oblium out there too, to
check that out. So hop on over to Lowercase Blues
dot net check them out.
Speaker 2 (37:11):
Also, big prompts and thanks to you Lance for all
you do.
Speaker 1 (37:14):
Man. I know it's been a little minute since we
uh since we dropped the show, but I gotta tell you, man,
we had to jump on here with the Rick Talcket
news and bring you the latest and greatest. And you know,
if there's no off season for the hockey writers, think
we'll be back.
Speaker 3 (37:30):
Yeah, we'll definitely be here. And we do have some
new Prospect Watch shows in the works. I was able
to get a couple of players lined up, so be
looking for new episodes of that as well.
Speaker 2 (37:45):
That's why He's a man.
Speaker 1 (37:46):
Be sure to hop on over to steel Flyers dot
com and check out all the latest and greatest Lance's
articles and all the latest and greatest shows. We just
dropped a Fantoms coverage show. We did a couple of
Phantom centric shows there to cover the playoffs where the
steel Flyers was in attendance as media, so be sure
to check some of that stuff out too, and also
(38:07):
check out some of the great photos that yours truly
is doing. Anyway, thank you all very much for hopping
on and checking us out. Please hit the like and subscribe.
We'd really appreciate that. I'm your co host, Ron steel
Flyers and we will catch you all in the next
episode of The Hockey Writers, Inc.
Welcome to The Hockey Writers, Inc. The show where the
writer is fresh off the presses and the ink is
not dry relaxed, the keyboard is off and the press
boxes closed with the mic is just getting warmed up.
Join your host, Lance Green, the guardian of the blue
paint turned writer, and your co host Ron Steel Flyers
as we bring you all the latest on the Philadelphia Flyers.
(00:39):
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the next episode of The
Hockey Writers, Inc.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
With your host. It's Green.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
All right, guys, some interesting turns of events have happened
coming out of Philly. Right, a man, a new head coach,
a familiar faith in that sense, but a new head coach.
So we're here to talk about.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
That exactly, exactly exactly.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
So how about those folks, If you like what we do,
please with the like and subscribe man, we'd really appreciate that.
That really helps us out. How about this folks, Episode
one ninety four, Rick Tackett, the new head coach of
the Philadelphia Flyers. That's right, folks, here we go.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Are you ready? Because at least they picked somebody sooner.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Rather than later, right, and it may not have necessarily
been the guy that we would have wanted. But initial reaction,
initial thoughts, what do you think?
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Man?
Speaker 3 (01:52):
So, yeah, teams are snatching up coaches, right, they had
a lot of vacancies upolow we're beginning to be filled.
Rick Tocket's name became available, and you know, he's always
been partial to Philadelphia and Philadelphia has always loved him.
(02:14):
I mean, he's a he's a fan favorite. When he
was here, he he embodies what it is to be
a Philadelphia Flyer. I think, you know, none of that
is in you know question here, but due to the
nepotism that the Flyers have and in past you know
(02:37):
what I mean, it is running rampant for years now,
even with the hires of Danny Brier and Keith Jones,
but they seem to be doing a pretty good job.
But I think the team is starting to bring in
the right people. Obviously, as we talked in past shows,
(02:58):
and I've written articles of out leading up to this,
you know, John tortorella firing, I've always kind of said that,
you know, the team is moving in a younger, faster pace,
and I thought a guy like Todd Nelson, Hershey Bears coach,
(03:20):
was going to be an ace in the hole for
the Flyers to land, obviously the Washington Capitals. So we're
doing pretty darn good and we're gonna be probably not
replacing their head coach with, you know, a guy like
Todd Nelson coming up from their junior organization in the AHL.
(03:42):
But he would have been great and still might be
great for some team. But as we know, they just
beat the Phantoms and are moving on in the HL playoffs,
so they are well on their way to a third
consecutive HL championship. Still have some hurdles to go in
that regard, So with pieces starting to move, the Flyers
(04:08):
went ahead and bit the bullet and brought in Rick Tockett.
You know, at first I wasn't sold on the idea,
but still, as I just told you, I've been working
on an article kind of laying the foundation why it
(04:32):
might not be initially as bad as we thought. You know,
the guy is a Jack Adams Award winner, not this
past season, but the season before when his team was
generally healthy. They finished with one hundred and nine points,
and you know, we're first place in the Pacific Division.
(04:56):
Of course, last season, Elliots Peterson went down, you know,
their big name guy and you know, they kind of
fell in the standings a little bit. But with each
new coach that comes in, I think the Flyers need
(05:17):
to really this one more so than than you know,
John Tortorello and some of the other ones. They need
to set him up to not fail, but you know,
succeed in that sense, and and really bring in some players,
some prospects that are geared towards his kind of systems
(05:40):
and games. And this is a perfect time with this
many draft picks, with this much cap space. Man, if
we're gonna do it, let's do it right and kind
of set him up to succeed. In my mind.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
You know, we talk about this when John Tortorella was
brought in. We wanted them to rip off the band
aid and just do it. And they didn't, you know
what I mean they brought in Now, Okay, I understand
that that wasn't necessarily you know, part of so I'm
(06:16):
having a hard time with this man, Okay, because.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
I get it. I get it.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
You you fired John Tortorello, and I understand why he
was fired. Okay, I do, all right, And and I
gotta say deservingly so.
Speaker 3 (06:32):
Okay, yeah, I mean he welcome pretty quickly. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
If I did that kind of stuff in my job,
I definitely would have gotten tryed. Okay, right, right, okay,
So what's that being said?
Speaker 2 (06:44):
Bringing in a guy like Rick Tockett.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
He's got more of the type of game that we're
seeing Philadelphia play the dump and chase. Okay, get used
to it, man, because here comes right, This is what
Rick Hacket's all about. But are you gonna have the
guys to win the races and win the battles? If
(07:10):
you are, then this system works just great. And you're
getting speedy guys like Lichenko probably gonna be able to
come in. MITCHI Koff is not no slouch neither. You
know what I'm saying. Kate's pretty fast. Most of the
guys on the team are pretty fast because they're young, right, Okay,
(07:30):
But talk to me in two or three years when
these guys are a little bit more mature now and
there's a couple more maybe stars on the team or
a couple more people you know on the team that
have made it through draft or however, you talk to
me in a couple of years and see how this
dump and chase is gonna work. Yeah, you and I
are not fans of this, and this was the reason
(07:53):
why we didn't want this coach to come here.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Yeah, for that reason.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
But here he is here. He is right. So let's
make the best of this situation, is what I'm saying here.
Because you know you just said I am an old
school goaltender. I see no reason if you have control
of the puck to willingly throw it away just to
(08:18):
make a line change and get new skates out on
the ice and try to get it back. I don't
like it, but I do like the fact that talk
it encourages players to finish their checks to play, that
that traditional old school grind it out hockey, That he
(08:42):
rewards guys like some guys in my article that I'm
going to suggest bringing in the fold or attempt to
and in a sense of giving guys if they're going
to give one hundred and then he's going to give
him a chance to play. And I like that. Being
that there's the youth, and John Torrella was never one
(09:05):
to play youth, and we saw that he liked to
punish them when they made a mistake. Guys that young
are gonna make a mistake. But you know, it's it's
not the same kind of his coaching style is not
the same as it would benefit older guys like me
that would you know, kind of curse on, curse him
under the breath and go out there and really show
(09:28):
them what they can do. But this is a younger generation.
It's a different generation. I think Tortorello did what he
was supposed to do in a sense where he helped
the Flyers kind of tear apart and pick out the
bad pieces, the black sheep in the locker room that
(09:52):
that kind of were cancers, if you will. And it's
now torn apart, it's torn down. Now it's time for
the rebuild portion. And and you know with the mish
Covs and some of the pieces that are coming in
that we've seen succeed at an early chance here with
the fantoms, you know, once they graduated, you know, from
(10:16):
college and stepped up or once they came up from
juniors and their season was done, you're seeing that success.
And it would be nice to maybe not rush some
of those players into it. And I think, you know,
Tortorello's systems, I'm sorry, tackets now system can can kind
(10:36):
of benefit that. And also I'm optimistic steal. Like I said,
he's not my guy either, not even my first choice
or two in that sense, but I you know, I
am hopeful, I do wish and will this team to win.
(10:56):
I want to see a Stanley Cup enter in my lifetime.
You see all this gray hair, I've yet to see one, right, right,
So let's let's give this guy a chance. But let's
set him up. And and you know, I went into
great detail and and and and put out how how guys,
(11:21):
how the how the management necessarily can do it in
a sense of certain players in the draft, maybe not
the ones that coincide with what Briare wants to do
right away, because I think there's bigger holes than just
down the middle of the center of the ice steel.
(11:42):
There's a lot of holes, right And you know, there's
there's some free agents that we could pick up that
have played in his system and succeeded, and maybe possibly
a guy we could steal away with all of the
draft capital that we have to bargain with that could
kind of bring a guy in and and and dee
(12:04):
It Breers talked about this. He he does not want
to go through another year to a growing pains. He
wants to start to succeed this season and start winning games.
He doesn't want another season where they're going to tank,
not not that any team necessarily does, but lose out
and try to get another pick. We saw how that
(12:24):
went for the Flyers. Uh this year where they got
you know, screwed out of the fourth overall pick and
they're now picking sixth. That's a whole other conversation. I'm
about tired of these teams that just just missed out,
just missed out on making the playoffs, but yet they
get to sneak in and steal a teams that is
(12:48):
really struggling, you know, draft pick or future franchise player
out of their hands that could have turned their franchise around. Uh,
there's no way a team like the Island should have
jumped up that many spots, or the Utah Hockey Club
or Mammoth whatever they're going to be called now, should
be able to jump up nine spots and take that
(13:11):
first pick away. Do I think there should still be
a lottery, Yes, but maybe for the five worst teams.
You know what I'm saying, the five worst teams throw
throw those numbers into a hat and draw one of
them out and then wherever they finished in concession after that,
go back to that. You know, I don't see why
(13:33):
a thirteenth worst team in the league deserves to get
the first pick.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
And this is twice how it's happened in less than
seven years, because I mean.
Speaker 3 (13:42):
The Flyers, the Flyers lucked out and got to pick
Nolan Patrick. But we see how well that worked out
for us, you know, when we were able to jump
up that many.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
Yeah, when the Rangers did the same thing during the
COVID year and they were in the playoffs and then
they got the number one pick with Lapregner and whatever whatever.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
All right, Okay, So.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
Now now that we know that who the coach is
going to be a you know, just like we said
Jack Adams Award winning coach in twenty twenty four, he
came in to Vancouver, took over for Bruce Boudreaux and
made that team.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
A playoff team.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
Okay, and and and just came in there and did it.
Now here we have now Rick Tockett is now the
new head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
The Flyers have three first.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
Round draft picks, they have three second round draft picks,
and a couple of the other you know, lower end,
lower round draft picks. Which guy if if the Flyers
stay at six, all right, and we know all the
holes that they have, Okay, who is the Rick Tocket
(14:50):
guy now in the draft that you would be looking at,
that you would be targeting. I mean, as far as
I'm concerned, you're still trying to look at a center.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
Well, it's tough. It's tough because, yes, Michael Misha or
James Haggins would have been perfect if we got one
of those in the top four selections, right, But diving
deeper into it, who's laughed after?
Speaker 1 (15:18):
That?
Speaker 3 (15:19):
Is a big gap between those four best players and
the middle of the road there and especially at especially
at the center position. Let me go over Anton Frondel,
a Swedish born player, right, Yeah, had some success. He's
supposed to be in the top ten there. It could
be a pick for the Flyers. He's had multiple knee surgery. Steel,
(15:43):
I'm not willing to put all my eggs in that basket, Okay.
A guy that we interviewed, A guy that we interviewed,
amazing young player, Roger McQueen. Right, he had spine issues,
a spinal injury that let him only play seventeen. He
seemed to come back strong at the end. But man,
a kid that's six foot six, six foot five and
(16:06):
has back issues already, I don't know if I want
to go down that road. And I think that the
Flyers fan base would kind of come with, you know, uh,
burning pitchforks and stuff for Brier if it turned out
to be this guy is another injury prone player that
they pick at that spot. So you know who's left
(16:27):
Caleb deyone. It seems like a pretty good player. But
me and you were sitting up with his older brother
Elliott in the press box for the playoffs because he
came from the queue a league that is, so.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
Did play He did play in the second.
Speaker 3 (16:47):
Up before that? Yeah, yeah, yeah, well yeah after that,
and he did he got in there bit.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
Well, he did play really well there in the second
round of the Fantoms playoffs against Bears.
Speaker 3 (16:59):
Yeah, but did he Is he living in twenty three?
Is he living up to that what they thought he
would be, because a season or two ago he looked
like he was going to make the Flyers roster opening
night roster, right, you know, in an extended way, he's
had quite a bit of a step back now. I
know there are two different players and deyone you know,
(17:22):
has scored thirty five goals and eighty four points this year.
But that is Caleb. Yeah, Caleb his his younger brother
that's looking to be drafted here. I'm still not sold.
I'm still not sold that that that that Q mentality
where they don't fight. You know, this is the Metropolitan Division.
(17:44):
This is full of rivalry games every single night. These
teams hate each other, you know, and Caleb can definitely
take the care of himself. Yeah, you need to be
able to draft. Plus, they can't do that there if
they so much has hit anybody harder than they think
they should. They're suspending players up there. It's just a
(18:05):
non physical league and they're trying to make it just
all goal scoring and nice and friendly league. And I'm
not for it. That's not my kind of hockey. That's
not Rick's kind of hockey either. So should they go
with a center like Jacobrien. That's kind of what I'm
trying to dive into in my mock draft. There's also
(18:30):
Carter Bear, There's also Brady another guy.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
Carter Behar is another guy that we talked to right sure,
which sure you know, that was the other name I
was gonna throw at you.
Speaker 3 (18:41):
Right, but stay with me here Steele a guy who
who was maybe one of the prospects that we interviewed
that you cannot just go without here And in that
sense for me, it was defense in Achentsen. Okay, this guy,
(19:04):
this guy is a shut down defenseman, Steel, shut down defenceman.
Every night he was playing Michael Misha Porter, martm Okay
at top five picks right, and he shut them down.
He didn't shut them down, He totally kept them off
(19:25):
of the score sheet. Like Steele was just about to say,
he would go the coach would go to him, be like, hey,
that's your guy. As soon as he steps on the ice,
you jump over the boards, you hang with him. I
don't care if he's on the other side of the
ice beside the play. You stick on him and you
don't let him get on the scoreboard. And that's what
he did. Steal shut a true shutdown defenceman and still
and steel. He not only did he was he a
(19:51):
shutdown defenceman okay, but he led He led the team
in points and scoring. He had twenty six goals steel
for defenseman. He led the team in scoring points going
where fifty nine points?
Speaker 1 (20:10):
Right?
Speaker 3 (20:10):
Barry Colts led the team in scoring in points six
foot one, one hundred and ninety eight pounds, all right,
and just what they need. Because if you want to
look at numbers, the league's worst, say percentage eight point
seven to nine or point eight seven nine belonged to
(20:30):
the Flyers. Okay, this year the league's were, say percentage,
they were bottom dwellers, and the goals against average two
steel they led in three point four to five goals
a game. Collectively? What defense? Right? What defense? Give me
some defense? Give me some defense here? All right?
Speaker 2 (20:51):
I like it?
Speaker 3 (20:52):
And another name, another name steal go for Carter Amoco
in the second Yeah, five, I mean you bring it.
I mean I see, I see Chris Pronger. I mean
not maybe necessarily offensively, but he does have offense as well.
(21:13):
But this kid just wipes kids off the map. They're
they're stumbling back to the bench asking what was the
plate number of that truck that you just set them? Okay, defense, defense, defense,
let's build from the net.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (21:30):
So I'm glad you said that, Lance, because this is
exactly why I'm glad you said that, Because this is
where I was gonna go. I love the where you're
going with a defenseman, and and Agentsen is definitely a
Rick Tocket guy. Yes, okay, right, all day long, right,
because that was what I asked you. What guy in
the draft is a Ricktocket guy?
Speaker 2 (21:51):
Right? Agentsen is one of those guys.
Speaker 3 (21:54):
Okay, Now I believe Carter Amoco is too.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
I agree to. I agree to.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
Let's talk a Miko. Let's talk about what you said
yet before you're the old goaltender. And I think that's
kind of where the Flyers need to put more focus on,
more so than what they had right they probably.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
Could have put.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
I know they've got Alexi, I know they've got Ivan,
I know they've got you know a list of guys
Bjornson and all that other stuff and.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
All the other guys.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
But I would not have a problem, not have a
problem at all with Aliyah new and Swander being selected
as a goaltender or Ravens Garden as selected as a
goaltender for the Philadelphia Flyers in one of those three
first round draft if they stay where they are, I
(22:49):
would not have a problem if they selected one of
those kids as a goalie because doing exactly what you're
talking about.
Speaker 2 (22:55):
Lance.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
Those goaltenders right there have potential to be what the
Flyers need them to be. Somebody that can command and
play forty to fifty games this season, take care of business,
have some have some shutouts, right, win more than they lose,
have a good say percentage, and a goal good goals
against average, and be that goaltender because that's what Philadelphia needs.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
Right. Yon is not the guy. He is not the guy.
Speaker 1 (23:22):
We've seen that now two years in a row. He
cannot handle the main load as being a starting goaltender
and and.
Speaker 3 (23:30):
Be and the goaltender for sure. Yeah, he's a tandem
goaltender for sure. And yep, and and Joshua Ravensbergen who
we interviewed as long as well as Elijah who Stele mentioned,
would both be great picks. Joshua would be there probably
(23:51):
in the first at the tail end of the first.
He's being projected at. That's what I'm saying, Yep. With
with the Flyers having the Avalanche pick or the Oriole
the Oilers pick, you know, one of those picks could
bring you a goaltender too. So you're building, you're starting
to build from the net out. Okay, and and defense
(24:12):
and goaltending, that's what wins championships repeatedly. Uh. You look
at your Marc Andre Fleurrey, you look at your Mark
tembro Door, you look at your Patrick Wah, Dominic Kashik.
Guys that are true number one goaltender, so.
Speaker 2 (24:27):
That you don't even have to go that far fall back.
Speaker 3 (24:30):
You don't, you don't, don't. But I was thinking in
terms of multiple championships. I want to win multiple, not
just one. Yeah, Basileski for sure.
Speaker 2 (24:39):
I mean what what that guy is?
Speaker 1 (24:40):
Not only is he a winning goaltender, but he's won
multiple championships now, okay, and and and if you get
a guy in air like that, what what are you
waiting for?
Speaker 2 (24:51):
Hello? Draft? These guys are there available in the draft.
Speaker 3 (24:55):
Right, Yeah, there is some. There is some other good
ones too, goaltending wise, that you can get later in
the draft, like Alexi Medvedev from the London Nights. I
like him, you know. There there's quite a few that
we talked about before. And there's some other guys that
are probably nineteen that got skipped over last draft that
(25:18):
really excelled this year as well that we can that
we could grab up and I think that you keep
stocking that. You can never have too many goaltenders, and
you can never have too many defensemen. You can have
too many wingers, you can have too many centers and
centers that are the same exact player. Like we have
(25:42):
defense first players and we got rid of one in
Scott Lawton. You have Noah Kades, you have you know Coots,
you know Paling, They're all the same player. I want
a scoring center if we're going to get one, and
I think we got jipped out on the ones that
are definitely sid with that number six getting that number
(26:04):
six pick. So man, uh, you know he took jet
Lechenko last year.
Speaker 1 (26:10):
I think he's gonna know he's I think he's gonna
make the team this year.
Speaker 3 (26:15):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (26:16):
Well, I don't know. I got to watch him.
Speaker 3 (26:19):
I want to rush him. I don't want to rush him.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
I don't either, but I don't think he really I mean,
if he plays another year in junior's, okay, and comes
in now, but.
Speaker 3 (26:29):
I don't want to play I want to play with fantoms.
Speaker 1 (26:32):
Okay, but I really I saw him playing the Fantoms.
He did really well. He played with was able to
keep up with him as far as speed wise, and
those two were a good line as far as that
was concerned. And they had Garrett Wilson on the other
side right, and then they switched it up. Ian A
Perrier switched it up and he had he had the
(26:54):
true prospect line where he had Uh with Chenko and
Bank or a Bump and I I can't remember who
the other kid was, but he had those two guys
on the line as well too, so he switched him
up a little bit. So I'm seeing I saw some
good things from Lochenko, I saw some good things from
(27:14):
Bump during the playoffs, and that was great experience for
them to play in those situations. I think they're gonna
be on the cusp of making the team next year.
I just feel that because of the speed of Lachenko,
because of them needing another player that can play alongside
with Mitchkoff, you know what I'm saying, if they don't
(27:36):
draft somebody.
Speaker 3 (27:37):
But the needs there, for sure, the needs there. It
was there last year, and that's why Lochenko got a
look in preseason because he can do certain things very
very well. He is an excellent passer, He is an
amazing skater with great speed, but I think the maturity
level is not quite there yet to be an NHL player.
(27:58):
You saw multiple multiple penalties during his junior career. He
got suspended a time or two, I believe in juniors,
and with not necessarily suspended with the Fantoms, but multiple
penalties that he didn't necessarily need to take because he's
playing to trying to trying to look good in the
eyes of the organization and prove his worth, and I
(28:20):
think he's he needs to curtail that a little bit.
You can play on edge, but you've got to play
discipline as well. So I think with him playing a
full season possibly at you know, Lee High or I
don't know the parameters on how old he is versus
(28:40):
you know, if he has to go back to juniors necessarily, yeah,
I think he's aged out. I'm not. I would have
to look it up, honestly, I don't. I don't know
where he'll be at the start of the season without
looking it up and and taking time away from the show.
So I think he would be best fit at at
Lee Had, But we get all summer and if he
(29:02):
really wants to work at his craft and stay around here,
there's plenty of guys who we saw at the games,
you know, with plenty of Stanley Cup rings on their hand,
that are going to be ready and willing to work
with these guys this summer and help out turn them
in to be better and better prospects for this team.
Speaker 2 (29:24):
So I agree.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
I agree like you, Lance, I think that we hear
at hockey writers think, and I think we're embracing the
new coach. We've expressed our feelings, we expressed why we
had those reservations of why we are bringing in this coach,
(29:45):
this particular type of coach because of the system that
he plays and things of that nature. I don't have
a problem with the guy really. I mean, he was
one of my favorite flyers when he played. I mean,
he embodies what it really means to be a flyer.
But my problem is is that all those things are
all fine and great, But what happens when the rubber
hits the road or the meat hits the bone, you
(30:08):
know what I mean, and he starts losing? Then what
He's not gonna be the favorite son anymore? How's he
gonna handle things?
Speaker 2 (30:14):
And I'm just.
Speaker 1 (30:18):
I'm with you, Lance, I want to see if you're
gonna bring this guy in here like this. Look, you
got John McClair, you got Patrick Sharp, you got Keith Jones,
you got Danny Brier, Now you got Rick Tockett.
Speaker 3 (30:31):
Wayne Simmons.
Speaker 1 (30:33):
How many more other guys do you need to bring
in that used to be on the team to try
to help this team get forward?
Speaker 2 (30:41):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (30:43):
That's all fine and great, but let me see the w's,
let me see the championships, let me see the banners
hanging from the raptors, okay, because until then you haven't
proven nothing.
Speaker 3 (30:54):
Yeah, I mean, I think you hit the nail on
the head. I like the group that they did bring
in team, but teams do this, right, they do this.
It's not just some EHL player, wash out player that
becomes a coach. For every position, you got some youth,
and you want to see those those star players that
(31:17):
still want to be a part of the game come
in and help your franchise. But at what point does
it kind of start to hinder things when you have
somebody like Rick tocket Now, who is so held so
high in this you know region, as as being a
(31:39):
prodigal son of you know, the Flyers, and and and
help them for so long, right Yeah.
Speaker 1 (31:46):
See all the social media welcome back home, welcome back
home hugs and all that.
Speaker 2 (31:52):
I believe you see how much the hugs are coming.
Speaker 3 (31:54):
Yeah yeah, I mean, and I believe Rick when he
says like he he feels like this is home and
it was for so long for him Eleven seasons out
of eighteen, two different stints, right, So, I mean, I
can see why he says that, and you can see
that when he's came back and coached you know, the
(32:18):
you know, retired players games and stuff like that, that
the alumni games that they put on. But does is
that going to earn him an extended stay when other
coaches may have been you know, kicked to the curb
all ready because he is Rick Tockett and he is
(32:39):
Philadelphia's flyer hockey, you know what I mean. So so
on one hand, I'm excited because of the player he was,
and you know, hopefully he will get these young kids
playing that brand of hockey that we all grew up
and you know, loved watching and you know, But but
(33:00):
at the same time, I hope he doesn't get an
extended stay when others would have been kicked to the
curb already just because of who he is. So hopefully
he signed a big, big contract for a lot of years.
Five year contract. That's a lot, right, that's a lot.
So you know, we'll see. But hey, he did win
(33:21):
a Jack Adams Award, a heck of a lot, well
a heck of a lot, sooner or less time away
than John Tortorello did some twenty years ago when I
was still in high school, so when he last won
his last Jack Adams Award. So I'm okay with it.
Let's see where it goes. I'm ready. I'm ready for
(33:44):
you know, the draft and free agency and all that
stuff that is to come after this season. I'm enjoying
watching playoff hockey, but I'm about tired of not being
in it as a as a Flyer fan, you know
what I mean, and watching other teams play in it.
So hopefully Rin can come in right right, So hopefully
(34:06):
Rick can come in and and and whip these boys
into and shape and and turn around the Flyers much
like he turned around the Canucks organization.
Speaker 1 (34:15):
I'll tell you what, Lance, Like I said, I'm hopefully
optimistic that there we goyah, I can put it right.
We're we're gonna embrace this. We're gonna we're gonna ride this.
We're gonna see how it goes, you know what I mean?
Speaker 2 (34:31):
Why not? I mean, he he comes with some pretty
good pedigree. He comes with.
Speaker 1 (34:35):
I mean his winning percentage isn't exactly the greatest on
the planet, but he doesn't exactly have the most uh
the best system as far as we're concerned as far
as how he plays. But we like his brand of hockey,
how he how he played. So if he coaches like that,
we're we're gonna find out, and we're gonna find out.
Man when when games start to start to fall and
(34:59):
and we start see how how things are gonna go.
How how he's gonna be the favorite son after we
lose five or six games in a row or whatever
the case is, right, because that's not gonna stand that.
This this fan base, I think is now. Now, you
got an award winning coach, You got a boatload of
draft picks in the first and second round right over
(35:23):
the next couple drafts.
Speaker 3 (35:25):
You tour this team apart.
Speaker 2 (35:26):
So tour this team apart. You you got nowhere to
go but up.
Speaker 1 (35:30):
So guess what the expectations are going to be a
little bit higher, I think moving forward now, especially with
what's going on. Now, Okay, you'll be brought in a
much sought after coach and you know, let's let's see,
let's see set him up for success, draft him some
players that he'll be able to use sooner rather than later,
(35:51):
you know what I mean. So Lance, we can't wait
for your next article to come out. Man, I'm biting
at the bullet here for that. And we also can't
wait for you or mock draft. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (36:03):
Yeah, I had started on it, but it may change
a little bit knowing now who the head coach is.
So I'm glad. I'm glad that they did bring in
somebody before the draft too, to be able to kind of,
you know, do that rather than draft and then hire
somebody you know, after the fact, so that you know,
(36:26):
he doesn't have any say in it. So yeah, I
think I think that about wraps it up here. Man.
I I'm excited. You know, hopefully optimistic is the uh
is the term? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (36:40):
Right, hopefully optimistic? Right?
Speaker 1 (36:41):
And and and we got nowhere to go but up right,
I mean we've already hit the rock bottom, right, so
we got nowhere to go but up I would like
to say big props and thanks to Jake and the
boys at Lowercase Blues for the intro music. Man, I
gotta tell you guys, got to go on over to
Lowercase Blues dot check them out. They got all their
tour dates out there, they got some swag out there.
(37:05):
They also got a new Oblium out there too, to
check that out. So hop on over to Lowercase Blues
dot net check them out.
Speaker 2 (37:11):
Also, big prompts and thanks to you Lance for all
you do.
Speaker 1 (37:14):
Man. I know it's been a little minute since we
uh since we dropped the show, but I gotta tell you, man,
we had to jump on here with the Rick Talcket
news and bring you the latest and greatest. And you know,
if there's no off season for the hockey writers, think
we'll be back.
Speaker 3 (37:30):
Yeah, we'll definitely be here. And we do have some
new Prospect Watch shows in the works. I was able
to get a couple of players lined up, so be
looking for new episodes of that as well.
Speaker 2 (37:45):
That's why He's a man.
Speaker 1 (37:46):
Be sure to hop on over to steel Flyers dot
com and check out all the latest and greatest Lance's
articles and all the latest and greatest shows. We just
dropped a Fantoms coverage show. We did a couple of
Phantom centric shows there to cover the playoffs where the
steel Flyers was in attendance as media, so be sure
to check some of that stuff out too, and also
(38:07):
check out some of the great photos that yours truly
is doing. Anyway, thank you all very much for hopping
on and checking us out. Please hit the like and subscribe.
We'd really appreciate that. I'm your co host, Ron steel
Flyers and we will catch you all in the next
episode of The Hockey Writers, Inc.
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