SteelFlyers Football Videos2020-09-03T18:36:48+00:00

SteelFlyers Football Videos

Kolosov & Fedotov are both on their way over, But What can the Flyers Truly Expect of them?

By |March 29th, 2024|

With both the Flyers’ 2021 third-round pick goalie Alexei Kolosov’s team the, Dinamo Minsk, and their 2015 seventh-round pick goalie Ivan Fedotov’s CSKA Red Army Team being recently booted out of the KHL playoffs. We, the fans of the Philadelphia Flyers, received some inspiring and unexpected news recently when it broke that the team was working on getting both Alexei and Ivan over stateside to get some experience playing some North American-style hockey.

But as exciting as that news is, what can we expect from these two netminders this season? It’s no secret that Russian netminders are all the craze right now. It seems that if you want to be considered a true Stanley Cup contender, you must have one in between the pipes. Take, for instance, the Florida Panthers, who have Sergei Bobrovsky (who the Flyers should have never gotten rid of); the Tampa Bay Lightning, who have Andrei Vasilevskiy; the New York Rangers with Igor Shesterkin; the Colorado Avalanche with Alexander Georgiyev, to Carolina with Pyotr Kochetkov. So, it’s no surprise that struggling teams have tried to mimic those powerhouses by drafting Russian netminders of their own, like the Islanders who have Ilya Sorokin, and the Predators who drafted the young superstar in the making Yaroslav Askarov. That’s why, only recently, the Flyers put aside their antiquated ideas on what works in the net and decided to draft some of their own.

So, because of the war and everything else going on with Russia over the past couple of years. I know getting tape and information on these two has been challenging, to say the least, so let me let you know what to expect.

Ivan Fedotov

First, let’s start with the long-awaited 6’7 212 pound Ivan Fedotov. Getting this player stateside has been a chore. From being forced into military service upon signing with the Flyers to his KHL team, then failing to abide by IIHF rulings and sanctions, Russia was not willing to let this guy go, and for good reason.

This now 27-year-old netminder became a breakout star in the 2021-2022 season after being voted an All-Star and later being named the KHL’s Best Goalie that same year after posting a 2.00 goals-against-average (G.A.A.) in the regular season. He also carried his country to a Silver Medal at the Olympics that year and came back to the KHL after the Olympic break and was able to win 16 out of 22 games where he averaged an incredible 1.85 G.A.A. and a .937 save percentage to win his team the leagues championship the Gagarin Cup.

Returning to competition this season after having to take a year off to play soldier, Ivan was in net for 44 games for the Red Army, posting a 2.37 G.A.A. and a .914 SV% and earning four shutouts along the way. But he was a below .500 goalie with a record of 21-22-1 and won just one of five games played in the KHL playoffs this year. Now, talk about competition. Those regular season numbers were good enough to rank him 9th in wins, 21st in the league in G.A.A., and 35th in SV%.

Fedotov is holding a press conference with Danny Briere today at 11 am and is expected to join the Flyers to aid Sam Ersson as the team is gearing up for a playoff push.

Alexei Kolosov

Next up is the much younger 22-year-old Alexei Kolosov. Alexei is signed by the Flyers through the 25-26 season and stands at a more common 6’0 185 pounds. Now, while he plays in the KHL, Kolosov is actually from Belarus. And while Fedotov’s game may focus on using his size to take up as much net as possible. Alexei depends on being a bit more agile, where he uses his silky smooth skating abilities to get from one side of the net to the other with lightning-quick speed.

While playing for the Minsk this year, he saw 47 games of action during the regular season, where he was able to win 22 of them while averaging a 2.39 G.A.A. and a .907 SV%. He posted four shutouts during the season and was also able to see some post-season hockey, where he was able to win just two of six games, posting a very respectable 2.21 G.A.A. and .925 SV%. Alexei ranked seventh in the KHL in wins this season, 22nd in G.A.A., and 43rd in SV%.

Briere has gone on record saying that he thinks that Kolosov will join the Phantoms when he arrives, but they are trying to work through a bit of work visa troubles with him right now. So, they don’t exactly know when to expect his arrival just yet.

Now, for a bit of reality, while most say that the KHL is one of the best leagues in the world, I don’t know if its players would even be on the same level as those in the NCAA right now. Case in point. Some of the KHL’s top scores this year were Reid Boucher and former Flyer Jordan Weal. Both of them were career call-up guys who spent most of their time in the States, bouncing from the AHL to the NHL and back down to the AHL.

And as far as netminders go, one of the best goalies in the KHL this year has been Canada’s 28-year-old Zachary Fucale. Who after being drafted in the second round of the 2013 NHL draft by the Montreal Canadiens, he has spent most of his North American career going from the ECHL to the AHL. In fact, this goalie who had so much hype around him before being drafted to date has only managed to play in just four NHL games.

So, I say that to say this: while I and all of you hope that these two KHL goaltending stars of the Flyers system will be able to transition flawlessly to the North American game, don’t be surprised if it takes a little bit for them to get accustomed to both the speed of the game played on a much smaller rink than they are used to, and the level of talent in which they will now be forced to have to face.

The Flyers Resiliency is helping them to Weather the Storm

By |March 24th, 2024|

It’s no secret that the Philadelphia Flyers have had to endure a lot this season. Some might even have said they were cursed when they lost their number one goaltender, Carter Hart, and had their most promising NHL-ready prospect, Cutter Gauthier, ask for a trade in the same year. But that didn’t stop them. However, with the team having successfully bypassed that hurdle, fate has managed to throw them yet another challenge by way of having to suit up a revolving door of defenders, thanks to the club having to ship out impending free agent Sean Walker at the deadline (for fear of losing him later for nothing) and having blue liners Rasmus Ristolainen, Jamie Drysdale, and Nick Seeler all out on the mend.

With all that being said, you would think that this rebuilding club that is now full of call-ups would have faltered over the last two weeks with them being forced to play all of the NHL’s top teams night in and night out.

But Tortorella’s questionable tactics (like healthy scratching their captain Sean Couturier) somehow managed to work out as this rag-tag bunch of misfits (who ESPN correspondents went on record saying that they didn’t even expect them to win a single game over the course of this grueling stretch) have managed to defy all odds by pulling out wins against Florida on March 7th, and Toronto on March 19th. Not to mention going out and earning a point against Carolina on March 21st and, most recently, winning a bout against Boston yesterday.

With this latest showing of resiliency, the Flyers have proven to their doubters (myself included) that no matter what type of siege is to come from their opposition, they have no intentions of ever surrendering the stronghold that they have built around that third-place spot in the Metropolitan Division.

So even though they may not be out of the woods just yet, with the likes of the Panthers coming to town tonight and them having to go up to the Big Apple on Tuesday to face the Rangers, I think it would be wise for fans to go ahead and put in for those overtime hours in an effort to start to save up for some playoff hockey tickets. Because once these next two games are over, Philadelphia will only have to face off against one team of playoff caliber during their remaining nine regular season games.

POSTSEASON HOCKEY HERE WE COME!

A Look into the Possible Future of the Flyers

By |March 19th, 2024|

Photo Credit: https://chl.ca/ohl-otters

With the Flyers having played under the new regime of Keith Jones and Danny Briere for the better part of an entire season now, I believe that most fans would agree that this franchise has already taken a step in the right direction.

But between the team’s injury list beginning to pile up, having to depend on two rookie goaltenders to backstop them and the upcoming schedule looking quite daunting. The likelihood of Philadelphia being able to hold onto third place in the Metropolitan Division is looking less and less likely.

Fear not, though, for the management’s blueprint for this rebuild of a return to Stanley Cup contention was never set to be unveiled this season anyway. Instead, the powers at be don’t see this reconstruction coming to completion for another two seasons when their star prospect, whom they drafted seventh overall in 2023, Matvei Michkov’s KHL contract, is set to expire and can join the team.

However, very few men have been known to change a franchise by themselves, so he will undoubtedly need some help along the way. That is where the Flyers’ multiple first-round picks this summer and next will come into play.

2024

Zayne Parekh

So, let us take a look at who they might be. The 2024 NHL Draft is stocked full of quality defensemen, with a lot being of the right-hand-shot variety, and as we all know, this is something all teams covet. Therefore, depending on just how far they may drop in the standings over the next two weeks, I believe Philadelphia should use their 1st round pick on one of these elusive right-hand-shot defensemen. And if I had to pick just one, it would be Zayne Parekh of the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit.

Zayne would offer the Flyers the type of offensive from the blue line we haven’t seen from the orange and black since the likes of the great Mark Howe. Parekh skates like he came out of the womb with blades already on his feet. He can change direction on a dime and circles around the offensive zone while on a power play like a wild animal who is stalking his prey. Zayne’s natural skating ability also allows him to maneuver around the opposition like they are standing still because I have never seen this young man slow down when the puck is on his stick.

This season, Parekh has managed to obliterate any and all prior records made by OHL defensemen that came before him. So much so that to date, he has scored 31 goals on the season and has compiled 59 assists which adds up to an incredible 90 points on the season.

But unlike other defensemen in this draft who are addicted to making that big red light go off behind the goalies’ net, Zayne is also defensively responsible. Because on the rare occasion when he travels down to the opposite side of the ice and his team does not score, he makes it a point to get back so as not to leave his goalie high and dry. In doing so, Zayne has been able to maintain a +34 this season.

Drafting Zayne would allow the Flyers to have Jamie Drysdale or Parekh on the ice for every second the Flyers are on the man advantage. I don’t know about you, but I think even I could score 20 goals a season for the Flyers if I were receiving the passes these two young men are capable of dishing out on a nightly basis.

Dean Letourneau

After drafting Zayne this summer, the Flyer’s work in the first round will not be over, as they will finally have the chance to utilize the final piece that they got in the deal that sent their former captain Claude Giroux to the Florida Panthers. That is the Panthers first-round pick in this summer’s draft.

Now, this one will likely be quite late in the first, seeing that Florida has been one of the best teams in the league this entire season. So, I think here is where Danny should try to cash in on a player they are calling the next Tage Thompson. And that player is the 6’7 209 pound center known as Dean Letourneau, who plays for the Saint Andrews College Saints in Canada’s Prep Hockey Conference. Dean is a unique physical specimen whose brute strength allows him to dominate games whenever he wants to.

To pair with his unmatched physicality, this possible future Broad Street Bullie has a fantastic release that has allowed him to score 61 goals and 66 assists for 127 points in just 56 games played this year. Folks, that means Letourneau has averaged an incredible 2.26 points-per-game pace this season. And, for his efforts, Dean has managed to catch the attention of the illustrious Boston College, whom he has committed to play for in the
25-26 season.

The Flyers currently have nothing but cookie-cutter, defensively responsible clones down the middle of the ice who don’t add much in the way of offense. Couturier, Laughton, Poehling, and Cates have only combined for 33 goals this season, with Coots leading the pack with 11. This is even less impressive, considering Philadelphia is paying them a combined $14,775,000 this season.

I get the team wanting defensively responsible players. Still, if they genuinely want to compete, they will need to add a scoring threat down the middle, and if in the market for one, why not take a chance on a kid with these types of stats who, at just 18 years of age already towers over the Flyers most physically dominant center of all time Eric Lindros who only stood at 6’4 when playing?

2025

Malcolm Spence

With the news of one of the Flyers’ most beloved players of all time, Wayne Simmonds, recently announcing his retirement and deciding to come back to Philly and sign a one-day contract so he could retire a Flyer. I can think of no one better for the Flyers to potentially draft with their 2025 1st round pick than a player whose game seems to emulate Wayne’s, so much so that he even wears the number 17.

Malcolm, who is only 17 years old, is already 6’2 and 192 pounds. He plays for the Erie Otters of the OHL, where he has been making a bit of a name for himself in this just his draft minus one year.

Spence does so by being absolutely tenacious along the boards in both forechecking situations and backchecking scenarios. Sound familiar? Winning these board battles allows him and his team plenty of scoring chances. He then takes advantage of them by setting up shop in the danger zones close to the net where he does not allow the opposition’s abuse to bother him, seeing that he commonly rips home nasty wrist shots and one-timers from that location.

Malcolm can also skate really well, and although his stride may seem a little unorthodox right now due to him sprouting up from 5’9 to 6’2 pretty quickly, it is effective. Spence often can be found using his uncapped speed in breakaway situations after picking the pocket of an opposing player in the neutral zone.

So overall, Spence may not yet have the willingness to drop the gloves like Simmonds, but he does have the same drive, determination, and never-quit attitude that made Wayne so popular here in this blue-collar city. This is why I think the Flyers should be keeping a close eye on this young man throughout next season leading up to the draft that summer.

The final pick we will talk about that could change the outlook for the Flyers’ future is the one that the team just acquired at the deadline from the Colorado Avalanche for pending unrestricted free-agent defenseman Sean Walker. This pick came with top-ten protection, but I highly doubt that the Av’s will be out of playoff contention then, considering even if they lost everyone else to free agency, they would still have Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Davon Toews, and Gabriel Landeskog all under contract. So, with that being said, I think it is safe to say that the Flyers will be walking to the stage in 2025 to make a selection courtesy of Colorado.

Lynden Lakovic

And the player that I think they should select with that pick should be Lynden Lakovic of the Moose Jaw Warriors of the WHL. Lakovic is already 6’4 and 183 pounds at just 17 years of age, and it is his immense frame that has allowed him to continually take the puck to the outside and skate by his opponents virtually unscathed on his way to the net.

Once there, this heads-up skater quickly decides his next plan of attack. Does he use his quick release to launch a goal of his own, or does he pass it on to one of his many talented teammates like Jagger Firkus, Atlee Calvert, Brayden Yager, or Matthew Savoie to set them up?

Either way he chooses both usually results in a goal. That’s why I think come next season when some of these talented players find themselves receiving the call from their respective NHL clubs to become a professional hockey player then you will really get the chance to see why I think Lynden is capable of so much more than the 18 goals, and 21 assists for 39 points he scored this year with minimal ice time.

I feel so strongly about this that I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that Lakovic managed to double his point production from this season this time next year.

Drafting a player like Lakovic would add more speed and scoring ability to an already youthful core.

Now, these are definitely not the only players who will help this team improve over the next couple of years. But think about it with guys like Zayne Parekh eventually replacing Mark Staal and Erik Johnson on defense. Not to mention guys like Dean Letourneau, Malcolm Spence, and Lynden Lakovic taking the spots in the lineup previously held by underperforming guys like Morgan Frost, Cam Atkinson, etc., and the future of the Flyers will surely see them return to the perennial playoff team they once were.

Go to Top