Philadelphia Flyers

0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} Hey everyone, The BSH NHL 13 GM Connected League for PS3 is looking for new members. GM Connected is basically the same as the "Be a GM" mode from previous installments of the NHL series, except it's an online mode, which means you compete against other human-controlled teams. You control everything about your team: you set the lineup, adjust the team strategy, play the games, make trades, sign players, etc. It is awesome! Currently, we are headed into the offseason before our third season, making this week the perfect time to join because you'll be able to control your team's offseason/free agency. Before I list the teams that are available, though, please take a few minutes to read through some information about our league to make sure it is a good fit for you. HOW THE LEAGUE WORKS: We advance twice a week (Wednesday night at midnight, Sunday night at 8PM). The way GM Connected works is that every time the league is advanced, there is a new set of roughly 5-6 games available for you to play (you can play them in any order, at any time, though it will largely depend on when you can coordinate the games with your opponents). Any games that you are unable to play are automatically simulated the next time the league is advanced (however, since the members of the league are very active, we ask that everyone make every effort to play all of his/her games). If you know you will be away for a few days or will be unable to finish your games, there is a way to enable your CPU to play for you so that the other GM's can play the game(s) against your team. Additionally, trades, waiver claims and free agent signings are all processed when the schedule is advanced (this is not a setting that can be changed). For example, if you trade Scott Hartnell for Gabriel Landeskog during the middle of an advance period, the trade will not be processed until after the league is advanced. All games are structured with 5-minute regulation periods and continuous 20-minute periods of OT (no shootouts). Games played against the CPU are on Pro difficulty. BASIC RULES: All GM's have to be active. This means you have to make every effort to play all of your games, stay on top of your roster/lineup, respond to trade requests and respond to messages from league members. If you check your PS3 once a week, this league will not be a good fit for you. The league is incredibly fun, but only when everyone participates. All members of the league must provide their contact information (name, email address, PSN ID, cell, etc.), which is shared in a private Google Document that can only be accessed by current league members. This allows all GM's to communicate with each other in order to coordinate games, set up trades, etc. We also recently set up a discussion thread site on ProBoards.com, as well as a chat group on Chatzy.com. These sites, along with the NHL 13 companion mobile app, will give you many options to manage your team even when you cannot be on your PS3. There is absolutely NO trading with CPU-controlled teams. You must display good sportsmanship. Though the league is competitive, it is meant to be fun and enjoyable for everyone, so please be respectful. Also, there is absolutely no "rage quitting" allowed: if you are losing 6-0 in the middle of the game or if one of your players gets hurt, you cannot quit before the game is over. Any reported "rage qui

Updates on Flyers 2010 to 2012 Draft Classes The quality and depth of a draft class generally takes three to five years to judge accurately. Beyond a team's first-round pick, a draft can be retroactively deemed a success if at least one or two other players eventually make it to the NHL. Following are updates on the Flyers' 2010, 2011 and 2012 draft classes. 2010 Among the members of the More here: Bill Meltzer

Jake Voracek is thankfully not injured after a terrifying car accident in the Czech Republic on Wednesday. The Flyers confirmed the news, first reported by Czech publication iSport, that Voracek collided his blue Ferrari with a truck on a road near Kladno, his hometown. "I spoke with Jake this morning," Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said in a statement. "He was involved in a car accident in the Czech Republic. Although his car did suffer damage, there were no injuries. Jake is fine." The car "suffering damage" is putting it lightly, as you can see above courtesy of the local police. iSport has even more scary photos over on their site. It appears as though the accident was Voracek's fault. The truck was travelling the opposite direction on the narrow road and slowed down, while Voracek was speeding and couldn't slow down in time to avoid a collision. As you can see in the photos on the iSport page, the front of the truck on the drivers side shows damage, indicating that Voracek's car clipped the front of the truck before spinning into the ditch on the side of the road. A rough translation of the iSport story says that alcohol was not a factor. The driver of the truck was uninjured as well, thankfully. This feeling is all too reminiscent for us. Just three summers ago, Danny Briere and his son Cameron were traveling home from Philadelphia to Quebec when Briere dozed off on Interstate 81 near Binghamton, N.Y., side-swiping a tractor trailer and barely avoiding tragedy. And of course, we'll never forget the tragic story of Pelle Lindbergh, who died when, after a night of drinking with teammates in 1985, he crashed his Porsche into a wall on Somerdale Road in Camden County.

*I know we've decided the Bruins are better equipped to beat the Penguins but rooting for them is difficult. Lucky for them the Rangers have rolled over. Hockeytimes recaps! *Analyzing Cooter's offensive game. (BSH) *Reviewing Zac Rinaldo's season. (Flyers Faithful) *Glenn Healy: "Pavel Datsyuk may not be naturally gifted..." Hockey fans: "LOL WHAT" (Puck Daddy) *Meltzer with some excellence on Hartnell's pretty terrible 2013 season. (Hockeybuzz) *A little more on Gus from ASF. (Flyers) *Rumor has it that the great Patrick Roy will be the next coach of the Colorado Avalanche. The Avs make no official comment. *Martin Brodeur's smug round face will be joining the Hockey Night in Canada team. Here's hoping he borrows some of Cherry's fancy suits. (CBC) *Top 50 NHL trade value rankings. (Angus Certified) *(Addition by Eric T.) The Kings told TSN that Corsi was their biggest concern last night. (NHL Numbers) *Pens beat writers complaining about Iginla's point-per-game playoff performance because it's happening on the left-wing. Because why not. (TribLive)

On Monday evening, the party was still going on in Stockholm from the night before. Winning the International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships means that much in Sweden – perhaps even more so since it was the host of the 2013 event. ... Follow this link: Flyers Recent Headlines

Expect a Bounce-Back from Hartnell in 2013-14 There's no two ways about it: Scott Hartnell had a miserable 2013 season. He was not in top game shape at the start of the season, sustained a broken foot in the third game of the regular season and struggled mightily to catch up for the next six weeks. By the time he started to look like even a semblance of the player he was during his All-Star se Continue reading here: Bill Meltzer

Let me first say this: right now, as you read this piece, Sean Couturier is one of the best defensive forwards in the National Hockey League, despite being all of 20 years old. Any criticism of him otherwise should be noted in light of this fact, because it's a fairly incredible one, and he could be scoring ten points a season and still be pretty valuable with his defensive talents. But if you read this site on a semi-regular basis, you already know that fact, so this post isn't going to talk very much about Corsi or zone starts or all of that. The post linked in the previous paragraph posed the question of how much offensive potential Sean Couturier has, and that's a question that's on everyone's mind following this season. I think some of the critiques lobbed his way this season are a bit harsh, and I still haven't seen anything written about him since roughly March that didn't have the phrase "sophomore slump" in it somewhere, which is annoying. But his offensive game wasn't where we wanted it to be this year, and that's near impossible to deny. So let's talk a bit about the guy who's gone from "unanticipated surprise of the Jeff Carter trade" to "untouchable, even for Shea Weber" to "disappointing sophomore forward who can't score". *** First of all, it's worth noting that Couturier's total point production really didn't fall off much at all from last year to this year. He went from a rookie year output of 0.35 points per game to 0.33 per game this year. There was a dropoff at even strength (1.81 P/60 last year to 1.14 this year), but improved performance on the PP (1.73 P/60 last year, 3.51 this year) helped close that gap. Granted, it's fair to expect him to take a step forward in his 19/20-year old season, compared to his 18/19-year old one, so that can be seen as disappointing regardless. But it's not as though he was that much worse than last year. When looking at surprising point totals (in either direction), we also try to consider shooting percentage, since -- as our own Eric T. recently pointed out -- year-to-year fluctuation there can frequently and drastically affect a player's scoring. You can pretty plainly see that those numbers trended in the wrong direction for Couturier this year. (percentages from behindthenet.ca) 5v5 Individual Shooting % 5v5 On-Ice Shooting % 5v4 On-Ice Shooting % 2011-12 9.1% 9.6% 15.0% 2013 4.3% 7.3% 12.5% If his percentages had all matched what they were last year, we'd have seen a noticeable bump in his point totals -- the bump in his own shooting percentage is worth at another three goals or so on its own, and he'd pick up at least a couple of assists if his on-ice percentages were in line with those of previous years. So while his point totals were down, his luck was way, way down. *** One thing that frustrated Flyers fans last year was the fact that Couturier spent far, far too much time saddled with linemates simply not up to his offensive skill level. As you probably know, that trend continued this year. Here are his most frequent icemates (among forwards), via stats.hockeyanalysis.com: Player Ice Time % of Couturier's time Maxime Talbot 176:07 34.2% Matt Read 164:56 32.0% Mike Knuble 123:29 24.0% Zac Rinaldo 89:22 17.3% Ruslan Fedotenko 75:58 14.7% Danny Briere 63:48 12.4% Wayne Simmonds 61:12 11.9% Simon Gagne 60:02 11.7% Jakub Voracek 59:25 11.5% Scott Hartnell 40:42 7.9% Adam Hall 40:02 7.8% Jay Rosehill 23:27 4.6% Tye McGinn 18:31 3.6% Claude Giroux 9:51 1.9% Harry Zolnierczyk 9:08 1.8% Brayden Schenn 8:14 1.6% Among his five most frequent linemates, only one of them -- Matt Read -- exhibited much in the way of offensive talent this year, maybe two if you also include Knuble. It's one thing to put the guy in a defensively-oriented position; it's another to essentially neuter an

Photo credit: Terry Wilson / OHL Images By Todd Cordell (@ToddCordell) The 2013 NHL Entry Draft in New Jersey is just over a month away. As we inch closer to this year’s draft, I’ll continue to plug away and post as many scouting reports on the top draft eligible players from the Ontario Hockey League as I can. Here is my scouting report on 2013 draft eligible forward Bo Horvat of the London Knights. Bo Horvat Age – 18 Position – Center Height – 6? 0? Weight – 203 Draft Projection: 8-14th overall OHL Team: London Knights 2013 Regular Season Stats: 33 goals, 28 assists, 61 points, +3, 29PIM, 67 games played 2013 Playoff Stats: 16 goals, 7 assists, 23 points, 10PIM, 21 games played NHL Comparable(s) – Patrice Bergeron Upside – 8/10 Strengths – You can make a very strong case that Bo Horvat is the most complete player in this year’s draft class. He does so many things well and can make a positive impact in so many different ways that he amazes me almost every time I see him. Horvat is an extremely reliable two-way player, who is among the best in the OHL when it comes to winning faceoffs. His attention to detail, especially in his own zone, is second to none. He’s rarely caught out of position and is used in every defensive situation by Knights head coach, Dale Hunter. Horvat isn’t just a defensive specialist, though. He’s a good skater, knows how to drive possession and possesses above average puck skills. He sees the ice well, has a very high hockey IQ and always knows where he needs to be on the ice. Horvat has a hard, accurate shot and is a good passer as well. Horvat leaves everything he has on the ice every shift and is very rarely outworked. He’s very strong on the puck and wins a ton of battles along the boards. He’ll finish his checks and isn’t afraid to be physical, but he always keeps a calm demeanour no matter what happens. Horvat doesn’t take many penalties or retaliate to the opposition when they attempt to get under his skin, which you don’t find often in a young player who plays the way he does. He’s not afraid to go to the dirty areas, he’ll block shots and is the definition of a team first guy. Horvat will do whatever it takes to win and has outstanding leadership qualities. He most certainly has potential to take on a leadership role in the NHL down the road. Weaknesses – While he’s a good skater, he would benefit from a little more explosiveness in his stride. He isn’t really dynamic offensively, but given he has offensive ability and is above average in so many aspects of the game, that shouldn’t hinder him at all. Horvat isn’t afraid to use his body and will finish checks, but I’d like to see a little more edge in his game, too. Career Projection – Horvat’s an exceptional two-way player with high end leadership qualities, so there’s nothing stopping him from having a lot of success in the NHL. He has the upside to be a top-line center but the safe projection is probably an above average second line center. 2013 Draft Eligible Prospect Profiles: Sean Monahan – Ottawa 67?s Darnell Nurse – Soo Greyhounds Max Domi – London Knights Ryan Hartman – Plymouth Whalers – Follow Todd on twitter @ToddCordell NHLToddCordell@Gmail.com The post Bo Horvat Scouting Report: 2013 NHL Draft Prospect Profile – London Knights appeared first on The Hockey Guys.

Photo courtesy of OHL Images By: Christian Roatis (@CRoatis)  In the next few weeks I’ll break down 5 potential draft targets for the Calgary Flames at each of the 3 spots they draft. Calgary Pick #6: Options: Pos. -  Name – Team – League – Height – Weight (Ranked in order of desirability) C Aleksander Barkov, Tappara, SM-liiga, 6’2, 205lbs C Elias Lindholm, Brynas, Elitserien, 6’0, 185lbs RW Valeri Nichushkin, Traktor Chelyabinsk, KHL, 6’3, 175lbs C Sean Monahan, Ottawa, OHL, 6’2, 195lbs D Darnell Nurse, Sault Ste. Marie, OHL, 6’5, 190lbs Aleksander Barkov: The chances of Barkov still being available at six is highly, if not extremely unlikely. He’s an elite blend of speed and skill all packaged into an NHL ready frame. He thinks the game at a world-class level and never neglects his defensive responsibilities. Described by many scouts as one of the greatest prospects to come out of Finland, Barkov played his entire draft eligible year in Finland’s top men’s league, the SM-Liiga. Not only did he play the entire year, he logged upwards of 20 minutes and put up 21 goals for 48 points in 53 games. Not only does Barkov project into the mould of an Anze Kopitar – an elite number one center – but he also seems to be much closer to his ceiling already than other fellow draft eligible’s. Flames fans however can stop drooling now because getting Aleksander Barkov at 6 is all but a pipe dream. After the top 3 (Jones, MacKinnon and Drouin) the likeliness Barkov slips past both Nashville and Carolina is nearly nil. Elias Lindholm: Should Barkov somehow slip to 6, it would be thanks to Nashville and Carolina favouring two other prospects and it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if Elias Lindholm was one of those prospects. He and Barkov share many similarities. They both pride themselves in taking care of the defensive zone first and then are not lost whatsoever when it comes time for offense. Lindholm features lightning quick hands and excellent vision that make him a playmaking threat whenever he steps out on the ice. Also, like Barkov he played his draft eligible season in a men’s league. Lindholm played a starring role on Brynas of the Swedish Elite League often logging over 20 minutes a night and amounting an impressive 11 goals for 30 points in 48 games. In comparison, Mats Sundin had only 10 goals and 18 points in 34 SEL games during his draft eligible season. If the draft shakes down the way most prognosticate it to, Lindholm will be available to pick at #6 and I think he’ll be given strong consideration by Flames brass, after all his upside is massive. Valeri Nichushkin: Nichushkin is the wild card of this draft class. He has an all-world skill set and a ceiling as high as anyone in this draft class. Some scouts go as far as saying he’s a top 2 talent. Same scouts however would not select him within the top 5 because of the all dreaded “Russian Factor”. For those of you not familiar with the meaning behind the Russian Factor, it refers to a player either not coming over to North America or bolting back to Russia regardless of contract or otherwise to sign lucrative contracts in their homeland. The KHL poses a huge threat to the NHL with their and luring players of to come play in their league with promises of tax-free money and glory. Alexander Radulov is a prime example of bolting back to Russia in spite of his contract. Radulov’s actions only elevated fears that top prospects may do the same and since the incident Russian players draft stocks have taken a tumble. Nichushkin however has the skill set to over match the so called Russian Factor and incite a team to take him high in the draft. He’s already a pretty big man at 6 foot 3 and skates exceptionally well for a big guy. He posses top notch hands and great shot but lacks in defensive zone, not uncommon for young high scoring dynam

*These nights with only one game are boring. Wings fans with the recap of last night's action. *Eric T. on shooting percentage and shot rates. (BSH) *Even non-sports fans think +/- is a stupid stat. (Flyers Faithful) *The AHL president isn't happy with NBC's never mentioning his league. (SCoC) *Don Cherry thinks NHLers are nuts to play in the Worlds. Don Cherry calling people nuts: lol. (CBC) *A look at possible draftee Anthony Mantha. (Flyers Faithful) *Hating the Penguins leads to all kinds of good things, like excellent tips for waitresses. (Puck Daddy) *Here's Jagr, at 8PM, practicing alone on the ice. There's a reason he's superhuman. (Twitter) *Evgeni Malkin stares into your soul, inspires nightmares. (SB Nation) *This video, of mic'd NHLers, is fantastic. HBO's 24/7 should be on uh...24/7. (Backhand Shelf)