September 25, 2025 • 32 mins
An RNJ Media Sports Presentation
The Hockey Writers Ink Episode 204:
"Flyers 2025 Training Camp and remembering a Legend!"
Relax, the press box is closed, but the mic is just getting warmed up!
Welcome to the Hockey Writers Ink, join your host Ron Mont and special guest Russ Cohen as we bring you all the latest on the Philadelphia Flyers and Lehigh Valley Phantoms!
This week's talking points:
1. INTRO and THANKS
2. Legendary goalie Parent passes at age 80
3. Thoughts on Coach Tocchet's first camp so far
4. Goalie situation with Kolosov and other goalies
5. First preseason game vs NY Islanders on Sunday 9/21 SO win for Flyers 3-2
6. 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
Russ Cohen
X - @Sportsology
Web - www.sportsology.com
Check out all the great stuff from Russ on Amazon too!
Follow the show on X @HckyWritersInk
Follow Ron on X @RNJ_Media
Please hit the "Like" and "Subscribe"
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-hockey-writers-ink--4748032/support.
The Hockey Writers Ink Episode 204:
"Flyers 2025 Training Camp and remembering a Legend!"
Relax, the press box is closed, but the mic is just getting warmed up!
Welcome to the Hockey Writers Ink, join your host Ron Mont and special guest Russ Cohen as we bring you all the latest on the Philadelphia Flyers and Lehigh Valley Phantoms!
This week's talking points:
1. INTRO and THANKS
2. Legendary goalie Parent passes at age 80
3. Thoughts on Coach Tocchet's first camp so far
4. Goalie situation with Kolosov and other goalies
5. First preseason game vs NY Islanders on Sunday 9/21 SO win for Flyers 3-2
6. 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
Russ Cohen
X - @Sportsology
Web - www.sportsology.com
Check out all the great stuff from Russ on Amazon too!
Follow the show on X @HckyWritersInk
Follow Ron on X @RNJ_Media
Please hit the "Like" and "Subscribe"
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-hockey-writers-ink--4748032/support.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Colacs, the wrest boxes, clothes, but the mic is just
getting warmed up. Welcome to the Hockey Writers, Inc. Join
your host Ron as we talk all things Philadelphia Flyers
and Lee High Valley fan glass, ladies and gentlemen, Welcome
(00:26):
to the next episode of The Hockey Writers, Inc. With
your host 'ron mon and featuring special guests. We're Russ Cohen. Hey, Russ,
how are you doing, sir?
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Are you? Oh?
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Man? Uh, I gotta tell you, I'm I'm a little
heavy hearted. M a little heavy hearted, but also gotta
smile on my face a little bit too. Because we
got to see some preseason hockey m right for the Flyers,
and so we're gonna talk a little bit about that,
and we're gonna talk about singing.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
We didn't really see it, I mean.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
Right right right, yeah, yeah, the after math we got
to see. But yeah, anyway, but there was a preseason
hockey game that happened between the Islanders and the Flyers,
and surprisingly it was there was quite a few of
the Flyers that were playing in that game, and quite
surprisingly some Islanders that were playing in that game. So
(01:23):
it was quite surprised to see the list of folks
that were playing in that game, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
So, oh yeah, yeah, you know.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
Listen, they want to start off the season right, Let
those guys play. Then they'll play more young guys the
next few they'll set them more back.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
And it's a process exactly.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
And speaking of process, we're talking about episode number two
oh four, the Philadelphia Flyers twenty twenty five training camp,
a preview here with Russ Cohen, and we got a
lot of stuff to get to in a short time
to get there. So we're gonna dive right on into
the deep end. First of all, big props and thanks
(02:00):
to Lowercase Blues for the opening music. You gotta go
check them out lowercase blues dot net. They got some
great swag, they got some dates there for some of
their events, they got a new album out, and they
got some videos there. You got to check them guys
out Lowercase Blues dot Net. Be sure to check them
out if you're on the East coast. They're a great
(02:20):
band to go check out and see. So I highly
advise that. I mean, there's some great music. So thanks
to Jake and the boys. Appreciate it. All right, So
let's let's talk about why we're a little heavy hard.
Why I'm a little heavy heart. Let's let's get that
out of the way first. And we're talking about the
(02:40):
passing of Bernie Parant here. And I did get to
watch your show, the Lockdown Flyers show where you guys
did a great recap of Bernie and and can you
share any fond memories that you have miss with us
(03:02):
rest just a snippet of something maybe you can share.
Speaker 3 (03:06):
Yeah, sure, I mean fom memory was definitely the you know,
I covered that alumni game and I was in both
locker rooms, and Ron Dugain the Rangers' locker room, told
me that, hey, listen, I really like Bernie. Even though
they were staunch adversaries during the day, Rangers and Flyers
back in those days hated each other. They couldn't be
(03:26):
on the same plane, but Bernie was widely respected. And
Ron shot one that Bernie could make a save on
and he it was really he was happy about the
whole thing. He did not want to score and he
wanted Bernie to be able to do that in front
of the crowd. And you know, he had just think
he had hip replacement at the time. Bernie yah still
(03:49):
got out there, and so it was a nice moment. Now,
do I have fom memories of Bernie as a kid. No,
I grew up a Ranger fan. He used to beat
them more than the Rangers beat him.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
So that's why I'm asking you this because I know
how hard this is for you. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
No, I mean I chatted with Bernie about it.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
He's he was a great guy though, And and the
thing is, he was an honest, down to earth guy
that could relate to fans, and I appreciated that about him.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
That's awesome, man, that's a great that's a great story
because you.
Speaker 3 (04:20):
Know, remember Flyers fans used to whistle at Ron Duguey
like because it's the long hair, and they used to
try and get on them.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
And yeah, you're right there, absolutely right, Yeah, you're absolutely right.
Now this was before I started watching the Flyers. But
I'm gonna say this, Bernie Paran is one of the
main reasons I am a Flyers, why I watched the Flyers,
why I covered the Flyers, why I have been involved
(04:47):
with the Flyers. Is ever, Bernie Paran is one of
the main reasons why. And I had a great opportunity
to meet him. We were at a game, uh, and
we were sitting in the club box seats and he
was sitting there at the end of the bar, of course,
him and him and Michael Barrcan all right, both of
(05:11):
them were just sitting there at the end of the
bar and and I, okay, I you know, Russ, you
know me a little bit. You know, I don't I
don't pull any punches at night. I walked right up
to him and yeah, sure, put my hamm out, excuse me,
put my hand down, and said, Hi, my name is
Ron Monin. I'm a huge fan of yours. And he said, well, hey, Ron,
(05:32):
sit down, you know, and we I sat. We just
sat there and jawed for like ten minutes, you know,
just just talking. You know what he's doing about, you know,
the the impact that he has on Philadelphia, his great
amount of charity work that he's done, I mean with
(05:53):
him and the Ed Snyder Hockey Foundation. He was at
every event that they did. He was there for hours afterwards,
signing autographs, taking pictures. I mean it. The man is
just one of the reasons why you have to be
if you are a Philadelphia Flyers fan. He is one
of the reasons why is because of Bernie Parant.
Speaker 3 (06:15):
So yeah, I mean, what really got me besides Bernie
is within the last since September fifth, Ken Dryden, Eddie.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Jockoman, and Bernie Parant all passed.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
Away, and they were three of the greatest goalies I've
ever seen play in my life.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
Okay, so there you have it.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
It really hit me.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Yeah, yeah, And that's that's one of the reasons why
I kind of wanted to bring it up a little
bit too, especially after what you guys did on your show.
What a what a great tribute that well, thank you
so much, you guys did so thank you very much
for that. By the way, Locked on Flyers got to
go check them guys out, the great Russ and Rachel,
the great team over there. Man. They got great interviews,
(06:53):
great coverage. They are on the top of things. Go
check it out Locked on Flyers for sure, for sure. Okay, So,
like I said earlier, we're in training camp and we
got Rick Talcket now with instituting the Rick Talcket camp,
and I watched the press conferences that he's done and
(07:18):
I really really impressed with his approach to the game
and the things that he's saying. With the talent that's
on the team, he's talking about not giving away the puck,
teaching the guys to not give away the puck, and
that's as far as I'm concerned. Contrary to what he
(07:40):
has done in the past. His systems he's run in
the past has all been a dump and chase type
of system, and he's saying exactly the opposite of.
Speaker 3 (07:47):
That, well not exactly the opposite. He did preach puck
possession he always has. I think there was a fine
line between what you're talking about and what.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
He is doing now.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
I actually saw him more for the puck possession, so
I think I think he did change that. They have
some players that definitely can do this, but then they
have some players that give up the puck. You know,
someone like Owing Tippet's good at getting it in the zone,
but a lot of times doesn't hold on to it,
even with his size. So I think I think there's
(08:20):
some players that could really benefit from it. And no surprise,
he was going to talk about it, but he really
talks about the defenceman bringing the puck up the ice
and doing that, and the Flyers defenseman really didn't do
much of that. Last year, Travis Sandhun tried to kind
of fill the gap. Cam York could bring the puck
up the ice, but then after it kind of loses it.
Jamie Ride was up and down with it. A lot
(08:41):
of these guys were, So I think that's something that's
big now. I did a little digging from two years ago.
I didn't want to count last year for Vancouver because
it was just a bad year for them. Yeah, they
had all kinds of dissension in the locker.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
Room, it was, they had injuries and everything else.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
Yeah, but the year before when they were playoff team,
I looked it up and they had their top pairing
head around seven hundred and twenty four shot attempts just
from the defense corps And so that's Quinn Hughes and
Philip Peronic And so now the Flyers don't even have
three guys that would equal that even in their best years,
(09:19):
Like if you counted Sanheim, Drysdale York, they wouldn't even
do that not And so to me, it's like they've
got to shoot more and then the other guys have
to corral the puck and make things happen or be
around the net. And so like that's something where that's
a change of philosophy and may eventually mean more changes
(09:42):
in personnel because some of these guys may not exactly
be the right thing for that.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
So you know, so that's so that's going to snowball
right into the next question. I'm going to have way
with the draft that Danny Brier has done, with the
additions that he's added to the team. Do they have
a team right now? I mean, look, you know, I
go back to the old day when when Mike Dick
(10:06):
came in and and was there for the Chicago Bears,
and he said, look, we're going to go to the
super Bowl in three years, and in those three years,
about forty percent of you ain't going to be here,
right and and and we thought that we saw a
lot of the weeding out the last couple of years
in Philadelphia from the old regime to now where we
(10:27):
are right now, Right, we're getting now where we have
cap space and we have not so such horrible contracts
anymore now, and you know, we have a we're restocking
the prospect corral, and you know, we're checking off those
boxes that we didn't have back in a couple of
years ago, right, you know what I mean? And so
do we have those players right now? How many thinks,
(10:51):
how many do you think of those players are going
to stick around that we have right now that they're
putting out on the ice right now.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
Well, I mean Travis Connecty's contract makes him stick around.
He'll definitely be one of them. Oh yeah, no, I
mean it's just that's a fact of life. But I
still think he would be But he'll be there. Travis
Sanheim will be there based on him and his contract
as well. Right Cam York's up in the air, Jamie
Drysdale's up in the air, Trevor Zeegres is up in
(11:17):
the air. You know, all the guys that they drafted
presumably will make it. You know, of course there'll be
a percentage that won't, but I mean the bigger names.
So you know, if they're getting to a draft, maybe
one they get lucky and they get three or four.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
You always need a draft where you get three or four,
and the Flyers have not had that kind of luck
really not lately.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
Just so that's even if you feel like they have
a good cupboard of players, it could be better.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
And so.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
Yeah, I think you know, out of the team that
you have now, you know, there's probably six seven players
that will stick and then there's gonna be more turnover,
Like that's just inevitable.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
Yeah. And I also kind of like what Danny Brierre
said and his press conference as well too, that he's
not looking to make any moves that's going to be like, oh,
it's just going to be a band aid for right now,
you know if he can.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
Well that's not true though, because okay, but Christian Devorak
is a band aid for right now.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
That's exactly what he is. And he paid a lot
for that band aid.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
All right.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Well then, like that's just that's a fact.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
Okay. But he said that he's trying to build for
the future.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
He is, he's still going to feel the team today too, okay,
And so that's what I wanted to get to Russ.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
You still have to put a team out on the
ice right now, right.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
And he was going to come up short on centers.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
Yeah, okay, man, it's you know, okay, and I agree
with that.
Speaker 3 (12:51):
I'm I'm not giving away a state secret. This has
been no, right exactly an issue for years now exactly,
and it still continues to be an issue.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
Yeah. Yeah, and they're still now they addressed.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
All these guys make it in play and are solidified.
It's not solved. It's not even close to solved.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
And they try to address it this past draft too,
where they try to get me and bigger guys even too,
and guys with character and grit and everything else.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
Yeah, they they did it differently than I thought they
were going to. So they addressed the center after they
got Porter Martone, and it's like, okay, I mean, I
like Porter Martone a lot, but you know, Jack Nesbit,
we've talked about them at length already.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
But the point is, do they still have a number
one center in a system? They may not. That's just
the reality.
Speaker 3 (13:43):
And and so even if they get one in this draft,
best case scenario is that guy's you know, a flyer
in two years, three years. Best case scenario that's really rosy,
as we know what happens with with prospects. So you know,
but now you could survive with number twos can.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
Again you're gonna have to though.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
Yeah, jet Luchenko's presumably it too, but I don't think
he's ready this year, as we've talked about, so I
don't need to see preseason games.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
I would rather have.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
Him go to the AHL and prove that he's not
an AHL or. I think people forget that process of it.
It's like you could have a player try and prove
he's in NHL or and like I said, you don't
want him to just survive.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
You want to go to thrive and.
Speaker 3 (14:29):
Do everything that he does and did a Juniors and
you know, and possibly even better. So that's why you
want to prove a guy to prove that he doesn't belong.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
In the AHL. That's what you want.
Speaker 3 (14:41):
And there's a difference there, there's a nuance there, and
so that's where I'm at with him and Bonk, Yeah, Gebenkan,
I know Gribenkin has these moments where he looks good.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
He also has these moments where he's.
Speaker 3 (14:53):
Having decision and so like, why would you want that
mixed bag? Yes, the good part's good, good, but that's
not going to help him down the line. You want
him to be better than that, and so you have
to you know, that's why guys like Rodrigo Abols could
possibly fill in Carson de Wart when he's healthy. Uh,
(15:13):
that's why you're you have those guys to kind of
fill the pipeline. But also Dewart was a little older,
so he was a guy that was going to get
there first. Doesn't mean he'll be there in three four years.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
You don't know.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
That's up to him, right, But that's why, you know,
you do things like that, and and so let them
become like a great team in Lehigh and gel together,
and then you worry about where they're playing in the NHL.
Like I think sometimes you know, people have it backward,
(15:45):
but I will say that, like with Nesbitt as an example, right,
sure he got an assist and some people really like
the way he looked.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
That's great.
Speaker 3 (15:53):
He was also three for ten on face offs, and
he's a center, and so like you know, and again
we have to remember some NHL as played in this game.
You know it wasn't one hundred lineup, correct, So yeah,
he's going up against some guys that are stronger, and
that's fine, and he could do it the next game too.
And I said, I give him two or three games
and then I'd sent him right back. I don't want
(16:14):
to hear the hype that, oh, could he make the No,
there is no hype that he can make the team.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
He's going back. He should go back.
Speaker 3 (16:21):
It's not like he's one of the best players in
junior hockey. He hasn't even made a world junior team yet,
so like, you know, let's see if he could do that.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
How about that? I mean, Russ, I I mean, you're
taking the words right out of my mouth here, to
be honest with you. I love the fact that the
Flyers are making a concerted effort to make Lehigh good.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
Yes, that's what they're doing because I think they finally
realized Okay, we like Ian la Perier, but things just
aren't progressing fast enough here. And yeah, John Snowden's gonna
help that, for sure.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
I agree, I agree, I agree. And fact that he
already was part of the team and system already, he
knows a lot of the guys, He already knows a
lot of the right exactly, he knows where these guys
are that that have already been through the system. And
now he's going to get a group of new guys
coming in. And I'm super excited about that as well too, Russ.
(17:21):
I want to see Lehigh be a good team. And
I'm not trying to say, oh, I want to see
them line the the you know, the center with Calder cups,
which that's not a horrible thing.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
Me go look at some of the better players in
the NHL, right, A lot of them have played deep
into the Colder Cup playoffs or one a Memorial Cup
or something. Guys win championships like that's that helps make
you a better player, whether it's a World two championship
or something.
Speaker 1 (17:46):
Yeah, exactly, when you get that hardware, it helps. It
doesn't matter where you get it from, it helps. Okay,
I mean all you have to do is look at Schaefer.
I mean, I mean, this kid won, you know, a
gold medal for his team, and all he's done is
win where he's been at. And I gotta tell you, man,
he looked.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
Really good.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:10):
Yeah, he's a good career. I don't know if he's
a superstar, but he's a really good player, no question.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
Yeah. I mean I was impressed with what I got
to see of his tape on the game, right, and
he played twenty four minutes. Yeah, so all right, all right,
And and what I was really impressed with was mitchkov
I thought he looked a lot more organized.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
Yeah, I think in his head, I think.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
Yeah, okay, he looked a little bit more like he
knew where he was going and what he was doing. Yeah,
instead of just you know, relying on talent to do
stuff like he actually had purpose.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
Yeah, I think that's fair, and I think I think
that's going to show up this year and that's important.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
Yeah, he's gonna have a good year course, Okay, Okay, Now.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
We talked about it on the last show, and goaltending
didn't do that horrible against the Islanders. Now, like we said,
it was kind of a mixed bag. There wasn't really
a full NHL roster on either side, you know what
I mean. And so, and I gotta be honest with you,
(19:24):
there's a prospect watch alum on the team now too
unique Perettes, right, and man, I just want to see
him get between the pipes just one game. You think
we'll see that?
Speaker 2 (19:37):
Maybe?
Speaker 1 (19:38):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (19:39):
Okay, I will say this though, you know, Kolosov.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
Was pretty good.
Speaker 3 (19:47):
He's still out of that game comes out with an
eight eighty, say percentage though, which I said, somebody has
to hit nine at the baseline and possibly get to
like nine oh five, nine ten before they could really
say they've this problem. And you know, Bearnison did well,
so that's nice, right, but he needs a lot of
time in the ahl.
Speaker 2 (20:08):
He but this game he was fine and that was good.
I don't care. I don't count shoot our goals. That's
that's a whole different animal.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
Do you think that that's what we're gonna see now
that they got rid of Fidotov? Now we're going to
see uh, one.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
More round of call Us Off and and and and
and Bearnison maybe in one more game, and then maybe
Valdor gets in the next game, and one of those
guys in this one, one of those guys in the
next one.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
Then they probably go back to Phantoms camp.
Speaker 1 (20:39):
Yeah, yeah, okay, and then after that then what I'm
thinking is we're going to probably see Arson and Vladar
start as the one two.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
Yeah, probably that first home game, okay.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
And then for the Fantoms, we're gonna are we going
to be able to see Bearnsen? Is he going to
be able to play? Is he eligible to play?
Speaker 2 (20:55):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (20:56):
You know, he's there, and he's I don't think they
should overwork him, but yeah, he'll be there, and call
us Off as well. I mean, yeah, call us Off
is going to be the main guy. Yeah, that's you know, okay,
and that's fine.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
He's older. Let him be the main guy.
Speaker 3 (21:11):
See, let him prove he could do it, because he
hasn't been able to do that yet. And yeah, and
and and then you have the arnests the backup, which
is good.
Speaker 1 (21:21):
Yeah, okay, all right, I just wanted to kind of
see what where I was if I was thinking where
we were headed enough that was kind of what we
were thinking, you know, I just wanted to make sure, okay, yes,
all right, Well, uh man, I gotta tell you what
has anybody really I mean, I know it's really early
(21:41):
in camp, but has anything really stood out to you?
Anybody stood out to you so far?
Speaker 3 (21:48):
I look, this could be a catch twenty two situation,
but emil Andre certainly is doing things he needs to do.
Apparently scored a nice shootout goal. I didn't get to
see that. But he is a guy that could potentially
help the power play. The problem is he's smaller, and
if they're looking for bigger defensemen, then it's going to
(22:12):
come down to him or Jamie. And because Jamie's, you know,
the guy they're hoping that really can get over the
hump and do better that you know, he's most likely
going to get sent down. But he's playing with a purpose,
and I really do like that and appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
I think Rodrigo A.
Speaker 3 (22:28):
Bowls may have helped him selt last night because he
is a guy that can potentially walk in and play
the four C. And again, if Carson Dwartz starts in
the AHL, there's nothing wrong with that. Like he played
a little AHL last year, we play a lot more
before you have to worry about whether he's an NHLer.
But A Balls could at least fill a role there
(22:49):
and that's good because that's something that would probably make
Rick Talcket happy. And then it helps out the center
situation too.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
And he's good in the dock.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
He is, he's good in a dot. He'll go to
the net a little bit.
Speaker 1 (23:03):
So I like his game.
Speaker 3 (23:05):
Yeah, No, I do like his game. It's a very
simple game. It's not like he's a terrific player. He's
a good role player.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
He's a four C.
Speaker 3 (23:11):
You know, that's perfect him, right, That's that's what you need.
So I think I think he's looked good. You know,
Cam York looks good in the sense that you know,
he has his puck moving down, his defensive game down.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
Is he going to get that power play time? I
don't know.
Speaker 3 (23:28):
He should get a look, but I don't know, and
he doesn't need to prove that he could hit the
net more because even if five on five, like his
shooting percentage just needs help. Yeah, but everything else in
his game is good, so we'll see. They use Travis
Sandheim on the on the power play. I don't think
he's a powerplay guy.
Speaker 1 (23:47):
No, no, no, And I.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
Think you know.
Speaker 3 (23:49):
The funny thing is is like everybody's like, well, it's
power play two, and it's like, yeah, power play two
plays for like twenty five seconds, you know more, you know,
not really most of the time, it's like twenty one seconds.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
You know. Most of the coaches go a minute and change.
Speaker 1 (24:03):
They get you, I get you. But I mean sometimes
they come in, like I've seen, they can already.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
Come in with the second power play.
Speaker 3 (24:09):
Sometimes when the first one flat, that's when they can
get more time.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
Right, So that's what I was getting ready to say.
They were all four on the.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
Power play ron.
Speaker 3 (24:15):
I know I'm not telling you anything you don't know,
but what I'm saying is I am tired of hearing
about puck movement and this looks better, and that looks better,
because looks don't mean anything.
Speaker 2 (24:29):
When it comes down to the the score sheets.
Speaker 3 (24:33):
No, And so, like I've heard it all in press conferences.
I hear it all the time. Well, we like our
puck movement, we like this, and this was going and
that was going. And it's like, unless the puck's going in,
that's the value I like to see. Okay, so that's
the that's the big thing. And so I feel like,
and again I think I thought I had proven that
Sean Katorier really isn't a power play guy. But he's
(24:55):
going to be on the power play for a little while.
I just don't think it's a good idea anymore. I
just I think there's better uses. I think Bobby Brink
even being on power play too, he proved he's proven
like the last.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
Season and changed that his power play has fallen off.
Speaker 3 (25:11):
But listen, Rick Hackets said that day Brier and Keith
Jones have given him some recommendations for lineup stuff and
for you know, at the beginning, he'll listen. And I
think Danny is trying to get Bobby Brink in on
that power play to get his money's worth out of him.
And listen, Brink had a decent season in his draft year,
(25:31):
I thought more of him than what he's doing now.
So I feel like he hasn't fully developed, but he's
running out of time and that's just, you know, just
a fact. So I think that's something that they're doing.
But I think I think that they may find here's
where I'm really driving at. Okay, Yeah, they.
Speaker 1 (25:50):
Don't beat around the bush, right, No, no, no.
Speaker 3 (25:53):
They don't have a lot of different players other than
Trevor Ziegres who are going to impact the power play.
So having a lot of the same guys as last
year is still a lot of the ingredients in the soup.
As you would like to say, and would understand, if
a recipe is a bad recipe, it's not like anything
(26:13):
one thing is bad. It's just like maybe there's too
much salt, maybe there's too much pepper. So there's just
you have to start experimenting with some of these guys
away from the power play because they were a part
of a bad power play, just like you could have
a bad recipe.
Speaker 1 (26:27):
That's such a perfect analogy. And look, let's face it,
the Flyers need to do something with this power play
that has to be a marked improvement this season. As
far as i'm concerned, because if you even want to
try to sniff at the fact that you want to say, oh,
(26:50):
playoffs and I'll use the old you know, Jimarra playoffs.
Yeah yeah, but you can't even say that if your
power play is down the toilet. Okay, you got to
be at least in the twenty somethings, the lower to
mid twenty somethings, right as far as power play is concerned,
(27:11):
And last three or four seasons they have not been
able to get out of the basement, and so that
has to be markedly improved as far as I'm concerned.
And I hope that they take your advice, Russ, and
use that approach and try a different recipe, pull a
(27:32):
new card off the out of the book and go, hey,
let's try it.
Speaker 2 (27:38):
What preseasons for it? Like, you know, let's mix it
up a bit.
Speaker 1 (27:42):
Oh my gosh, just try it. What do you got
to lose? What do you got to You're gonna be
having these guys doing pretty much run and gun for
the first ten or so games of the season anyway,
just to see what they got. Look, this is the
last time there's going to be seven games in preseason.
Take advantage of the fact that you're gonna have seven
games because next year that's not the case. Yeah, right
(28:06):
there there, it's not you know, no more preseason.
Speaker 2 (28:09):
You know, eighty four games next year?
Speaker 1 (28:11):
Yeah, how you doing right?
Speaker 2 (28:13):
So there you go.
Speaker 1 (28:15):
So take advantage of it. Why you can and use
that time to get a look at these guys and
use these guys in every single situation and and use
them and and do it because you got to see
what these guys are now more than ever, and you
need to see what they are now so that you
have time to make some differences.
Speaker 3 (28:36):
I mean, other than Mitchkoff, connect me and Ziegras. I
want to mess around with the power play as much
as possible. Those guys definitely are the backbone of power
play one. But the rest let me.
Speaker 1 (28:49):
See, throw everything at the wall and see what sticks. Yep, Yeah,
you know that's a that's a great idea. And I
really like that idea too. Just throw something at the
wall and see what sticks.
Speaker 2 (29:02):
Okay, So nobody's gonna yell at if things.
Speaker 3 (29:08):
If you have the wrong guys in your opinion at
a preseason game, your anger is gonna die down. But
if they keep going overing games, the anger is gonna
build and.
Speaker 1 (29:21):
You all really are on borrowed time as far as
fan base is concerned.
Speaker 3 (29:28):
Okay, Yeah, I think there's been a lot of grace
from the fans as far as the rebuilding period, and yeah,
they do want to start seeing some improvements in some
big areas, no question. Goaltending is one of them. Powerplays
another to me, scoring Now, this year they're not scoring
a lot.
Speaker 2 (29:47):
They didn't. They scored one goal in the in the
scripts and then they scored two last night. And this
isn't a big goal output.
Speaker 1 (29:57):
No, and with some of the quote quote unquote talent
on paper, there should be a lot more goals going
in and there should be a lot more you know,
games should be a lot higher as far as scoring
is concerns. So all right, you know, I think we
covered quite a lot on this one. Russ, What do
(30:20):
you think?
Speaker 2 (30:20):
Yeah, I think so.
Speaker 3 (30:21):
But just to you know, just to prove that point,
I mean, the Rangers had five goals, Nashville had five goals,
Columbus had four goals.
Speaker 1 (30:31):
Columbus had four goals. There you go.
Speaker 3 (30:34):
Yeah, I mean I'm just looking at different Seattle had
five goals. Yeah, so there's you know, you want to
see a little of that exactly.
Speaker 1 (30:45):
But and you also want to see the other team
not doing that to you.
Speaker 3 (30:50):
Right, Well, I think they did that part, So they
did that part right. But I do think, yeah, I
think you want to see a little bit of output there. Yeah,
you want a bit. You want to get like a
five goal game. You want to see even if you
lose six to five. I mean, it's not going to
be great, but you know, it depends who was playing.
You know, everything's in context, It all depends.
Speaker 1 (31:12):
Look, we all know what happens with scoring. When you
start scoring, it just makes everything better for everybody concerned, Okay,
and that just gives everybody else all the way down
the pike stats and warm fuzzies and you know whatever
you want to call it, right confidence and exactly exactly.
(31:33):
Let him, let them go, man, let him try and score.
I mean, why not. What do you got to lose
at this point? So well, thank you very much Russ
for hopping on. Man. I really appreciate this. I I
can't even begin to tell you how how awesome this
is to be able to sit here and chat flyers
with you here once again. So can you tell the
folks where we can find all of your great stuff
(31:54):
from the books that you write to all the shows
that you do, which I mean, gosh, we're getting quite
a long list here now, ain't we.
Speaker 3 (32:02):
Yeah, it's a long list. You can just search me
at Amazon Google Google me. You can search me at
Amazon dot com or sportsology dot com or NHL Draft
buzz dot com.
Speaker 2 (32:13):
Off the post and there's many other things.
Speaker 3 (32:15):
But yeah, if you Google me, you'll see a lot
of other things exactly.
Speaker 1 (32:19):
And like I said, we are so super awesomely lucky
to be able to have us here joining us on
the show. So thank you very much, sir, really pre
welcome yep, thank you very much. So thank you very
much for Speaker for getting us out to all the
podcasting platforms out there. All I have to do is
type in the Hockey Writers, Inc. And we will come
up give us a five star rating and that would
(32:39):
be great. Thank you very much for that. Thank you
very much for us to join us on the show.
And I'm your co host Ron Mine and we will
catch you all on the next episode of The Hockey Writers, Inc.
Colacs, the wrest boxes, clothes, but the mic is just
getting warmed up. Welcome to the Hockey Writers, Inc. Join
your host Ron as we talk all things Philadelphia Flyers
and Lee High Valley fan glass, ladies and gentlemen, Welcome
(00:26):
to the next episode of The Hockey Writers, Inc. With
your host 'ron mon and featuring special guests. We're Russ Cohen. Hey, Russ,
how are you doing, sir?
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Are you? Oh?
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Man? Uh, I gotta tell you, I'm I'm a little
heavy hearted. M a little heavy hearted, but also gotta
smile on my face a little bit too. Because we
got to see some preseason hockey m right for the Flyers,
and so we're gonna talk a little bit about that,
and we're gonna talk about singing.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
We didn't really see it, I mean.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
Right right right, yeah, yeah, the after math we got
to see. But yeah, anyway, but there was a preseason
hockey game that happened between the Islanders and the Flyers,
and surprisingly it was there was quite a few of
the Flyers that were playing in that game, and quite
surprisingly some Islanders that were playing in that game. So
(01:23):
it was quite surprised to see the list of folks
that were playing in that game, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
So, oh yeah, yeah, you know.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
Listen, they want to start off the season right, Let
those guys play. Then they'll play more young guys the
next few they'll set them more back.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
And it's a process exactly.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
And speaking of process, we're talking about episode number two
oh four, the Philadelphia Flyers twenty twenty five training camp,
a preview here with Russ Cohen, and we got a
lot of stuff to get to in a short time
to get there. So we're gonna dive right on into
the deep end. First of all, big props and thanks
(02:00):
to Lowercase Blues for the opening music. You gotta go
check them out lowercase blues dot net. They got some
great swag, they got some dates there for some of
their events, they got a new album out, and they
got some videos there. You got to check them guys
out Lowercase Blues dot Net. Be sure to check them
out if you're on the East coast. They're a great
(02:20):
band to go check out and see. So I highly
advise that. I mean, there's some great music. So thanks
to Jake and the boys. Appreciate it. All right, So
let's let's talk about why we're a little heavy hard.
Why I'm a little heavy heart. Let's let's get that
out of the way first. And we're talking about the
(02:40):
passing of Bernie Parant here. And I did get to
watch your show, the Lockdown Flyers show where you guys
did a great recap of Bernie and and can you
share any fond memories that you have miss with us
(03:02):
rest just a snippet of something maybe you can share.
Speaker 3 (03:06):
Yeah, sure, I mean fom memory was definitely the you know,
I covered that alumni game and I was in both
locker rooms, and Ron Dugain the Rangers' locker room, told
me that, hey, listen, I really like Bernie. Even though
they were staunch adversaries during the day, Rangers and Flyers
back in those days hated each other. They couldn't be
(03:26):
on the same plane, but Bernie was widely respected. And
Ron shot one that Bernie could make a save on
and he it was really he was happy about the
whole thing. He did not want to score and he
wanted Bernie to be able to do that in front
of the crowd. And you know, he had just think
he had hip replacement at the time. Bernie yah still
(03:49):
got out there, and so it was a nice moment. Now,
do I have fom memories of Bernie as a kid. No,
I grew up a Ranger fan. He used to beat
them more than the Rangers beat him.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
So that's why I'm asking you this because I know
how hard this is for you. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
No, I mean I chatted with Bernie about it.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
He's he was a great guy though, And and the
thing is, he was an honest, down to earth guy
that could relate to fans, and I appreciated that about him.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
That's awesome, man, that's a great that's a great story
because you.
Speaker 3 (04:20):
Know, remember Flyers fans used to whistle at Ron Duguey
like because it's the long hair, and they used to
try and get on them.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
And yeah, you're right there, absolutely right, Yeah, you're absolutely right.
Now this was before I started watching the Flyers. But
I'm gonna say this, Bernie Paran is one of the
main reasons I am a Flyers, why I watched the Flyers,
why I covered the Flyers, why I have been involved
(04:47):
with the Flyers. Is ever, Bernie Paran is one of
the main reasons why. And I had a great opportunity
to meet him. We were at a game, uh, and
we were sitting in the club box seats and he
was sitting there at the end of the bar, of course,
him and him and Michael Barrcan all right, both of
(05:11):
them were just sitting there at the end of the
bar and and I, okay, I you know, Russ, you
know me a little bit. You know, I don't I
don't pull any punches at night. I walked right up
to him and yeah, sure, put my hamm out, excuse me,
put my hand down, and said, Hi, my name is
Ron Monin. I'm a huge fan of yours. And he said, well, hey, Ron,
(05:32):
sit down, you know, and we I sat. We just
sat there and jawed for like ten minutes, you know,
just just talking. You know what he's doing about, you know,
the the impact that he has on Philadelphia, his great
amount of charity work that he's done, I mean with
(05:53):
him and the Ed Snyder Hockey Foundation. He was at
every event that they did. He was there for hours afterwards,
signing autographs, taking pictures. I mean it. The man is
just one of the reasons why you have to be
if you are a Philadelphia Flyers fan. He is one
of the reasons why is because of Bernie Parant.
Speaker 3 (06:15):
So yeah, I mean, what really got me besides Bernie
is within the last since September fifth, Ken Dryden, Eddie.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Jockoman, and Bernie Parant all passed.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
Away, and they were three of the greatest goalies I've
ever seen play in my life.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
Okay, so there you have it.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
It really hit me.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Yeah, yeah, And that's that's one of the reasons why
I kind of wanted to bring it up a little
bit too, especially after what you guys did on your show.
What a what a great tribute that well, thank you
so much, you guys did so thank you very much
for that. By the way, Locked on Flyers got to
go check them guys out, the great Russ and Rachel,
the great team over there. Man. They got great interviews,
(06:53):
great coverage. They are on the top of things. Go
check it out Locked on Flyers for sure, for sure. Okay, So,
like I said earlier, we're in training camp and we
got Rick Talcket now with instituting the Rick Talcket camp,
and I watched the press conferences that he's done and
(07:18):
I really really impressed with his approach to the game
and the things that he's saying. With the talent that's
on the team, he's talking about not giving away the puck,
teaching the guys to not give away the puck, and
that's as far as I'm concerned. Contrary to what he
(07:40):
has done in the past. His systems he's run in
the past has all been a dump and chase type
of system, and he's saying exactly the opposite of.
Speaker 3 (07:47):
That, well not exactly the opposite. He did preach puck
possession he always has. I think there was a fine
line between what you're talking about and what.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
He is doing now.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
I actually saw him more for the puck possession, so
I think I think he did change that. They have
some players that definitely can do this, but then they
have some players that give up the puck. You know,
someone like Owing Tippet's good at getting it in the zone,
but a lot of times doesn't hold on to it,
even with his size. So I think I think there's
(08:20):
some players that could really benefit from it. And no surprise,
he was going to talk about it, but he really
talks about the defenceman bringing the puck up the ice
and doing that, and the Flyers defenseman really didn't do
much of that. Last year, Travis Sandhun tried to kind
of fill the gap. Cam York could bring the puck
up the ice, but then after it kind of loses it.
Jamie Ride was up and down with it. A lot
(08:41):
of these guys were, So I think that's something that's
big now. I did a little digging from two years ago.
I didn't want to count last year for Vancouver because
it was just a bad year for them. Yeah, they
had all kinds of dissension in the locker.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
Room, it was, they had injuries and everything else.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
Yeah, but the year before when they were playoff team,
I looked it up and they had their top pairing
head around seven hundred and twenty four shot attempts just
from the defense corps And so that's Quinn Hughes and
Philip Peronic And so now the Flyers don't even have
three guys that would equal that even in their best years,
(09:19):
Like if you counted Sanheim, Drysdale York, they wouldn't even
do that not And so to me, it's like they've
got to shoot more and then the other guys have
to corral the puck and make things happen or be
around the net. And so like that's something where that's
a change of philosophy and may eventually mean more changes
(09:42):
in personnel because some of these guys may not exactly
be the right thing for that.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
So you know, so that's so that's going to snowball
right into the next question. I'm going to have way
with the draft that Danny Brier has done, with the
additions that he's added to the team. Do they have
a team right now? I mean, look, you know, I
go back to the old day when when Mike Dick
(10:06):
came in and and was there for the Chicago Bears,
and he said, look, we're going to go to the
super Bowl in three years, and in those three years,
about forty percent of you ain't going to be here,
right and and and we thought that we saw a
lot of the weeding out the last couple of years
in Philadelphia from the old regime to now where we
(10:27):
are right now, Right, we're getting now where we have
cap space and we have not so such horrible contracts
anymore now, and you know, we have a we're restocking
the prospect corral, and you know, we're checking off those
boxes that we didn't have back in a couple of
years ago, right, you know what I mean? And so
do we have those players right now? How many thinks,
(10:51):
how many do you think of those players are going
to stick around that we have right now that they're
putting out on the ice right now.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
Well, I mean Travis Connecty's contract makes him stick around.
He'll definitely be one of them. Oh yeah, no, I
mean it's just that's a fact of life. But I
still think he would be But he'll be there. Travis
Sanheim will be there based on him and his contract
as well. Right Cam York's up in the air, Jamie
Drysdale's up in the air, Trevor Zeegres is up in
(11:17):
the air. You know, all the guys that they drafted
presumably will make it. You know, of course there'll be
a percentage that won't, but I mean the bigger names.
So you know, if they're getting to a draft, maybe
one they get lucky and they get three or four.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
You always need a draft where you get three or four,
and the Flyers have not had that kind of luck
really not lately.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
Just so that's even if you feel like they have
a good cupboard of players, it could be better.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
And so.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
Yeah, I think you know, out of the team that
you have now, you know, there's probably six seven players
that will stick and then there's gonna be more turnover,
Like that's just inevitable.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
Yeah. And I also kind of like what Danny Brierre
said and his press conference as well too, that he's
not looking to make any moves that's going to be like, oh,
it's just going to be a band aid for right now,
you know if he can.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
Well that's not true though, because okay, but Christian Devorak
is a band aid for right now.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
That's exactly what he is. And he paid a lot
for that band aid.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
All right.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Well then, like that's just that's a fact.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
Okay. But he said that he's trying to build for
the future.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
He is, he's still going to feel the team today too, okay,
And so that's what I wanted to get to Russ.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
You still have to put a team out on the
ice right now, right.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
And he was going to come up short on centers.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
Yeah, okay, man, it's you know, okay, and I agree
with that.
Speaker 3 (12:51):
I'm I'm not giving away a state secret. This has
been no, right exactly an issue for years now exactly,
and it still continues to be an issue.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
Yeah. Yeah, and they're still now they addressed.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
All these guys make it in play and are solidified.
It's not solved. It's not even close to solved.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
And they try to address it this past draft too,
where they try to get me and bigger guys even too,
and guys with character and grit and everything else.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
Yeah, they they did it differently than I thought they
were going to. So they addressed the center after they
got Porter Martone, and it's like, okay, I mean, I
like Porter Martone a lot, but you know, Jack Nesbit,
we've talked about them at length already.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
But the point is, do they still have a number
one center in a system? They may not. That's just
the reality.
Speaker 3 (13:43):
And and so even if they get one in this draft,
best case scenario is that guy's you know, a flyer
in two years, three years. Best case scenario that's really rosy,
as we know what happens with with prospects. So you know,
but now you could survive with number twos can.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
Again you're gonna have to though.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
Yeah, jet Luchenko's presumably it too, but I don't think
he's ready this year, as we've talked about, so I
don't need to see preseason games.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
I would rather have.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
Him go to the AHL and prove that he's not
an AHL or. I think people forget that process of it.
It's like you could have a player try and prove
he's in NHL or and like I said, you don't
want him to just survive.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
You want to go to thrive and.
Speaker 3 (14:29):
Do everything that he does and did a Juniors and
you know, and possibly even better. So that's why you
want to prove a guy to prove that he doesn't belong.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
In the AHL. That's what you want.
Speaker 3 (14:41):
And there's a difference there, there's a nuance there, and
so that's where I'm at with him and Bonk, Yeah, Gebenkan,
I know Gribenkin has these moments where he looks good.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
He also has these moments where he's.
Speaker 3 (14:53):
Having decision and so like, why would you want that
mixed bag? Yes, the good part's good, good, but that's
not going to help him down the line. You want
him to be better than that, and so you have
to you know, that's why guys like Rodrigo Abols could
possibly fill in Carson de Wart when he's healthy. Uh,
(15:13):
that's why you're you have those guys to kind of
fill the pipeline. But also Dewart was a little older,
so he was a guy that was going to get
there first. Doesn't mean he'll be there in three four years.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
You don't know.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
That's up to him, right, But that's why, you know,
you do things like that, and and so let them
become like a great team in Lehigh and gel together,
and then you worry about where they're playing in the NHL.
Like I think sometimes you know, people have it backward,
(15:45):
but I will say that, like with Nesbitt as an example, right,
sure he got an assist and some people really like
the way he looked.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
That's great.
Speaker 3 (15:53):
He was also three for ten on face offs, and
he's a center, and so like you know, and again
we have to remember some NHL as played in this game.
You know it wasn't one hundred lineup, correct, So yeah,
he's going up against some guys that are stronger, and
that's fine, and he could do it the next game too.
And I said, I give him two or three games
and then I'd sent him right back. I don't want
(16:14):
to hear the hype that, oh, could he make the No,
there is no hype that he can make the team.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
He's going back. He should go back.
Speaker 3 (16:21):
It's not like he's one of the best players in
junior hockey. He hasn't even made a world junior team yet,
so like, you know, let's see if he could do that.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
How about that? I mean, Russ, I I mean, you're
taking the words right out of my mouth here, to
be honest with you. I love the fact that the
Flyers are making a concerted effort to make Lehigh good.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
Yes, that's what they're doing because I think they finally
realized Okay, we like Ian la Perier, but things just
aren't progressing fast enough here. And yeah, John Snowden's gonna
help that, for sure.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
I agree, I agree, I agree. And fact that he
already was part of the team and system already, he
knows a lot of the guys, He already knows a
lot of the right exactly, he knows where these guys
are that that have already been through the system. And
now he's going to get a group of new guys
coming in. And I'm super excited about that as well too, Russ.
(17:21):
I want to see Lehigh be a good team. And
I'm not trying to say, oh, I want to see
them line the the you know, the center with Calder cups,
which that's not a horrible thing.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
Me go look at some of the better players in
the NHL, right, A lot of them have played deep
into the Colder Cup playoffs or one a Memorial Cup
or something. Guys win championships like that's that helps make
you a better player, whether it's a World two championship
or something.
Speaker 1 (17:46):
Yeah, exactly, when you get that hardware, it helps. It
doesn't matter where you get it from, it helps. Okay,
I mean all you have to do is look at Schaefer.
I mean, I mean, this kid won, you know, a
gold medal for his team, and all he's done is
win where he's been at. And I gotta tell you, man,
he looked.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
Really good.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:10):
Yeah, he's a good career. I don't know if he's
a superstar, but he's a really good player, no question.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
Yeah. I mean I was impressed with what I got
to see of his tape on the game, right, and
he played twenty four minutes. Yeah, so all right, all right,
And and what I was really impressed with was mitchkov
I thought he looked a lot more organized.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
Yeah, I think in his head, I think.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
Yeah, okay, he looked a little bit more like he
knew where he was going and what he was doing. Yeah,
instead of just you know, relying on talent to do
stuff like he actually had purpose.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
Yeah, I think that's fair, and I think I think
that's going to show up this year and that's important.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
Yeah, he's gonna have a good year course, Okay, Okay, Now.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
We talked about it on the last show, and goaltending
didn't do that horrible against the Islanders. Now, like we said,
it was kind of a mixed bag. There wasn't really
a full NHL roster on either side, you know what
I mean. And so, and I gotta be honest with you,
(19:24):
there's a prospect watch alum on the team now too
unique Perettes, right, and man, I just want to see
him get between the pipes just one game. You think
we'll see that?
Speaker 2 (19:37):
Maybe?
Speaker 1 (19:38):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (19:39):
Okay, I will say this though, you know, Kolosov.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
Was pretty good.
Speaker 3 (19:47):
He's still out of that game comes out with an
eight eighty, say percentage though, which I said, somebody has
to hit nine at the baseline and possibly get to
like nine oh five, nine ten before they could really
say they've this problem. And you know, Bearnison did well,
so that's nice, right, but he needs a lot of
time in the ahl.
Speaker 2 (20:08):
He but this game he was fine and that was good.
I don't care. I don't count shoot our goals. That's
that's a whole different animal.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
Do you think that that's what we're gonna see now
that they got rid of Fidotov? Now we're going to
see uh, one.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
More round of call Us Off and and and and
and Bearnison maybe in one more game, and then maybe
Valdor gets in the next game, and one of those
guys in this one, one of those guys in the
next one.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
Then they probably go back to Phantoms camp.
Speaker 1 (20:39):
Yeah, yeah, okay, and then after that then what I'm
thinking is we're going to probably see Arson and Vladar
start as the one two.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
Yeah, probably that first home game, okay.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
And then for the Fantoms, we're gonna are we going
to be able to see Bearnsen? Is he going to
be able to play? Is he eligible to play?
Speaker 2 (20:55):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (20:56):
You know, he's there, and he's I don't think they
should overwork him, but yeah, he'll be there, and call
us Off as well. I mean, yeah, call us Off
is going to be the main guy. Yeah, that's you know, okay,
and that's fine.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
He's older. Let him be the main guy.
Speaker 3 (21:11):
See, let him prove he could do it, because he
hasn't been able to do that yet. And yeah, and
and and then you have the arnests the backup, which
is good.
Speaker 1 (21:21):
Yeah, okay, all right, I just wanted to kind of
see what where I was if I was thinking where
we were headed enough that was kind of what we
were thinking, you know, I just wanted to make sure, okay, yes,
all right, Well, uh man, I gotta tell you what
has anybody really I mean, I know it's really early
(21:41):
in camp, but has anything really stood out to you?
Anybody stood out to you so far?
Speaker 3 (21:48):
I look, this could be a catch twenty two situation,
but emil Andre certainly is doing things he needs to do.
Apparently scored a nice shootout goal. I didn't get to
see that. But he is a guy that could potentially
help the power play. The problem is he's smaller, and
if they're looking for bigger defensemen, then it's going to
(22:12):
come down to him or Jamie. And because Jamie's, you know,
the guy they're hoping that really can get over the
hump and do better that you know, he's most likely
going to get sent down. But he's playing with a purpose,
and I really do like that and appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
I think Rodrigo A.
Speaker 3 (22:28):
Bowls may have helped him selt last night because he
is a guy that can potentially walk in and play
the four C. And again, if Carson Dwartz starts in
the AHL, there's nothing wrong with that. Like he played
a little AHL last year, we play a lot more
before you have to worry about whether he's an NHLer.
But A Balls could at least fill a role there
(22:49):
and that's good because that's something that would probably make
Rick Talcket happy. And then it helps out the center
situation too.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
And he's good in the dock.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
He is, he's good in a dot. He'll go to
the net a little bit.
Speaker 1 (23:03):
So I like his game.
Speaker 3 (23:05):
Yeah, No, I do like his game. It's a very
simple game. It's not like he's a terrific player. He's
a good role player.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
He's a four C.
Speaker 3 (23:11):
You know, that's perfect him, right, That's that's what you need.
So I think I think he's looked good. You know,
Cam York looks good in the sense that you know,
he has his puck moving down, his defensive game down.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
Is he going to get that power play time? I
don't know.
Speaker 3 (23:28):
He should get a look, but I don't know, and
he doesn't need to prove that he could hit the
net more because even if five on five, like his
shooting percentage just needs help. Yeah, but everything else in
his game is good, so we'll see. They use Travis
Sandheim on the on the power play. I don't think
he's a powerplay guy.
Speaker 1 (23:47):
No, no, no, And I.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
Think you know.
Speaker 3 (23:49):
The funny thing is is like everybody's like, well, it's
power play two, and it's like, yeah, power play two
plays for like twenty five seconds, you know more, you know,
not really most of the time, it's like twenty one seconds.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
You know. Most of the coaches go a minute and change.
Speaker 1 (24:03):
They get you, I get you. But I mean sometimes
they come in, like I've seen, they can already.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
Come in with the second power play.
Speaker 3 (24:09):
Sometimes when the first one flat, that's when they can
get more time.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
Right, So that's what I was getting ready to say.
They were all four on the.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
Power play ron.
Speaker 3 (24:15):
I know I'm not telling you anything you don't know,
but what I'm saying is I am tired of hearing
about puck movement and this looks better, and that looks better,
because looks don't mean anything.
Speaker 2 (24:29):
When it comes down to the the score sheets.
Speaker 3 (24:33):
No, And so, like I've heard it all in press conferences.
I hear it all the time. Well, we like our
puck movement, we like this, and this was going and
that was going. And it's like, unless the puck's going in,
that's the value I like to see. Okay, so that's
the that's the big thing. And so I feel like,
and again I think I thought I had proven that
Sean Katorier really isn't a power play guy. But he's
(24:55):
going to be on the power play for a little while.
I just don't think it's a good idea anymore. I
just I think there's better uses. I think Bobby Brink
even being on power play too, he proved he's proven
like the last.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
Season and changed that his power play has fallen off.
Speaker 3 (25:11):
But listen, Rick Hackets said that day Brier and Keith
Jones have given him some recommendations for lineup stuff and
for you know, at the beginning, he'll listen. And I
think Danny is trying to get Bobby Brink in on
that power play to get his money's worth out of him.
And listen, Brink had a decent season in his draft year,
(25:31):
I thought more of him than what he's doing now.
So I feel like he hasn't fully developed, but he's
running out of time and that's just, you know, just
a fact. So I think that's something that they're doing.
But I think I think that they may find here's
where I'm really driving at. Okay, Yeah, they.
Speaker 1 (25:50):
Don't beat around the bush, right, No, no, no.
Speaker 3 (25:53):
They don't have a lot of different players other than
Trevor Ziegres who are going to impact the power play.
So having a lot of the same guys as last
year is still a lot of the ingredients in the soup.
As you would like to say, and would understand, if
a recipe is a bad recipe, it's not like anything
(26:13):
one thing is bad. It's just like maybe there's too
much salt, maybe there's too much pepper. So there's just
you have to start experimenting with some of these guys
away from the power play because they were a part
of a bad power play, just like you could have
a bad recipe.
Speaker 1 (26:27):
That's such a perfect analogy. And look, let's face it,
the Flyers need to do something with this power play
that has to be a marked improvement this season. As
far as i'm concerned, because if you even want to
try to sniff at the fact that you want to say, oh,
(26:50):
playoffs and I'll use the old you know, Jimarra playoffs.
Yeah yeah, but you can't even say that if your
power play is down the toilet. Okay, you got to
be at least in the twenty somethings, the lower to
mid twenty somethings, right as far as power play is concerned,
(27:11):
And last three or four seasons they have not been
able to get out of the basement, and so that
has to be markedly improved as far as I'm concerned.
And I hope that they take your advice, Russ, and
use that approach and try a different recipe, pull a
(27:32):
new card off the out of the book and go, hey,
let's try it.
Speaker 2 (27:38):
What preseasons for it? Like, you know, let's mix it
up a bit.
Speaker 1 (27:42):
Oh my gosh, just try it. What do you got
to lose? What do you got to You're gonna be
having these guys doing pretty much run and gun for
the first ten or so games of the season anyway,
just to see what they got. Look, this is the
last time there's going to be seven games in preseason.
Take advantage of the fact that you're gonna have seven
games because next year that's not the case. Yeah, right
(28:06):
there there, it's not you know, no more preseason.
Speaker 2 (28:09):
You know, eighty four games next year?
Speaker 1 (28:11):
Yeah, how you doing right?
Speaker 2 (28:13):
So there you go.
Speaker 1 (28:15):
So take advantage of it. Why you can and use
that time to get a look at these guys and
use these guys in every single situation and and use
them and and do it because you got to see
what these guys are now more than ever, and you
need to see what they are now so that you
have time to make some differences.
Speaker 3 (28:36):
I mean, other than Mitchkoff, connect me and Ziegras. I
want to mess around with the power play as much
as possible. Those guys definitely are the backbone of power
play one. But the rest let me.
Speaker 1 (28:49):
See, throw everything at the wall and see what sticks. Yep, Yeah,
you know that's a that's a great idea. And I
really like that idea too. Just throw something at the
wall and see what sticks.
Speaker 2 (29:02):
Okay, So nobody's gonna yell at if things.
Speaker 3 (29:08):
If you have the wrong guys in your opinion at
a preseason game, your anger is gonna die down. But
if they keep going overing games, the anger is gonna
build and.
Speaker 1 (29:21):
You all really are on borrowed time as far as
fan base is concerned.
Speaker 3 (29:28):
Okay, Yeah, I think there's been a lot of grace
from the fans as far as the rebuilding period, and yeah,
they do want to start seeing some improvements in some
big areas, no question. Goaltending is one of them. Powerplays
another to me, scoring Now, this year they're not scoring
a lot.
Speaker 2 (29:47):
They didn't. They scored one goal in the in the
scripts and then they scored two last night. And this
isn't a big goal output.
Speaker 1 (29:57):
No, and with some of the quote quote unquote talent
on paper, there should be a lot more goals going
in and there should be a lot more you know,
games should be a lot higher as far as scoring
is concerns. So all right, you know, I think we
covered quite a lot on this one. Russ, What do
(30:20):
you think?
Speaker 2 (30:20):
Yeah, I think so.
Speaker 3 (30:21):
But just to you know, just to prove that point,
I mean, the Rangers had five goals, Nashville had five goals,
Columbus had four goals.
Speaker 1 (30:31):
Columbus had four goals. There you go.
Speaker 3 (30:34):
Yeah, I mean I'm just looking at different Seattle had
five goals. Yeah, so there's you know, you want to
see a little of that exactly.
Speaker 1 (30:45):
But and you also want to see the other team
not doing that to you.
Speaker 3 (30:50):
Right, Well, I think they did that part, So they
did that part right. But I do think, yeah, I
think you want to see a little bit of output there. Yeah,
you want a bit. You want to get like a
five goal game. You want to see even if you
lose six to five. I mean, it's not going to
be great, but you know, it depends who was playing.
You know, everything's in context, It all depends.
Speaker 1 (31:12):
Look, we all know what happens with scoring. When you
start scoring, it just makes everything better for everybody concerned, Okay,
and that just gives everybody else all the way down
the pike stats and warm fuzzies and you know whatever
you want to call it, right confidence and exactly exactly.
(31:33):
Let him, let them go, man, let him try and score.
I mean, why not. What do you got to lose
at this point? So well, thank you very much Russ
for hopping on. Man. I really appreciate this. I I
can't even begin to tell you how how awesome this
is to be able to sit here and chat flyers
with you here once again. So can you tell the
folks where we can find all of your great stuff
(31:54):
from the books that you write to all the shows
that you do, which I mean, gosh, we're getting quite
a long list here now, ain't we.
Speaker 3 (32:02):
Yeah, it's a long list. You can just search me
at Amazon Google Google me. You can search me at
Amazon dot com or sportsology dot com or NHL Draft
buzz dot com.
Speaker 2 (32:13):
Off the post and there's many other things.
Speaker 3 (32:15):
But yeah, if you Google me, you'll see a lot
of other things exactly.
Speaker 1 (32:19):
And like I said, we are so super awesomely lucky
to be able to have us here joining us on
the show. So thank you very much, sir, really pre
welcome yep, thank you very much. So thank you very
much for Speaker for getting us out to all the
podcasting platforms out there. All I have to do is
type in the Hockey Writers, Inc. And we will come
up give us a five star rating and that would
(32:39):
be great. Thank you very much for that. Thank you
very much for us to join us on the show.
And I'm your co host Ron Mine and we will
catch you all on the next episode of The Hockey Writers, Inc.
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