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Late Bloomer Anthony Romani Could Prove to be the Steal of the 2024 NHL Draft

By |March 7th, 2024|

Terry Wilson / OHL Images.

18-year-old forward Anthony Romani of the Ontario Hockey Leagues North Bay Battalion has proved to be a bit of a late bloomer, but it was to no fault of his own. Romani was technically draft-eligible last season, but due to him being forced down on his team’s depth chart, which had a wealth of older talent on the roster, Anthony was provided with limited ice time to prove his worth and, therefore, only scored 23 goals and 20 assists for 43 points in 66 games played.

This year, however, has been a different story. In this, his third season with the Battalion Romani has finally been given the green light to showcase his talents to the masses.

And oh, the talents this young player has. Romani’s play has proven that he will not allow himself to be labeled as a one trick pony in the way most are categorized as either a goal scorer or a playmaker. This is because Anthony can do both equally well.

Romani is a heads-up player who allows himself to make precision cross-ice passes without even breaking his stride. And, when no breakout pass is there, the videos provided in this article will show that he is more than capable of keeping the puck himself and skating through all five of the opposition’s players in order to land in the high-scoring areas to create chances all on his own.

But trust me, Anthony is capable of producing more than just his nightly highlight reel bottle rockets goals. He can also quarterback a power play. When on the man advance, Romani can be found circling the puck around the zone from up by the blue line, where he has shown time and time again that he is more than capable of unloading long-range heat-seeking missiles to the back of the net.

To prove this player is not only a dual threat but an impact player, all you need to do is glance at the OHL’s stats leaderboard. where you’ll find that Romani’s 47 goals and 48 assists, which total 95 points, have him currently atop a lot of NHL clubs prospects that have already drafted and signed. Such as players like the Flyers’ Denver Barkey and the Krakens’ Carson Rehkopf.

But what really sets this talented young player apart from others his age is the fact that to go along with his gifted offensive abilities, Anthony has been working hard to improve upon his defensive game as well as his current +31 average would allude to.

If Romani (who is expected to be selected in the third round this year) can keep up this pace, he will finish the regular season with 54 goals and 55 assists for 109 points. And if that doesn’t get some NHL scouts’ attention, I don’t know what will.

So many teams nowadays are reluctant to draft players who could be considered late bloomers. But why? If an undrafted prospect who is playing in the same league and is the same age as the player you just stood on stage giving a jersey to last summer and is now outperforming your star athlete, then why not give them a chance? They may be a year older than the other players you take an opportunity on this off-season, but they could prove to be ready to play for your big club that much sooner.

Breaking Down All the Latest Flyers Trade Rumors

By |March 6th, 2024|

Photo Credit: NHL.com

The NHL Trade Deadline of Friday, March 8th, is just days away, and the Philadelphia Flyers GM Danny Briere has yet to make a move. Now, the reason for Briere’s hesitation or state of quandary is that although the team is supposed to be in a state of rebuilding, they have somehow still found a way to clutch onto that third-place spot in the Metropolitan Division, which gives them a good shot at making the playoffs this season. But another crucial factor that will have to be considered when making their decision is the injuries to Nick Seeler, Travis Konecny, Jamie Drysdale, and Rasmus Ristolainen.

So, with all that being said, now Danny must weigh his options. Should he try to add pieces to help his youth get some much-needed playoff experience, knowing that they won’t be considered a REAL contender for at least a couple more years when some other star prospects come over? Should Briere hold his position and not make any moves to see how far his current roster will take them? Or should he move players with expiring contracts to acquire more draft capital in an effort to continue to build for the future?

Depending on how you look at it, all of these options make sense, so let me now try and break down all the latest Flyers rumors for you so you can see just what decisions Briere and his crew are being forced to make in the next couple of days.

Perhaps the most talked about rumor right now is what the team is going to do with pending unrestricted free agent defensemen Sean Walker and Nick Seeler. Well, currently, the Flyers have been in talks with both players and their agents on what it would take to re-sign them. But, with both players playing some of the best hockey of their careers right now, both Seeler and Walker are trying to get paid. In fact, it has been confirmed by multiple sources that both players are looking for 4-5 year deals that will pay them upwards of four to five million dollars a season. This is a bit concerning to the team, considering Seeler is already 30 years old, and Walker is right behind him at 29 years of age. Signing these versatile defenders would undoubtedly help to solidify the blue line moving forward. Still, it would block the way for promising defensive prospects like Egor Zamula, Ronnie Attard, Emil Andrae, Adam Ginning, Helge Grans, Ethan Samson, and Oliver Bonk, all of whom are currently developing in the team’s system. Is re-signing these career bottom six defenders a must, or should management look to move them for future assets?

Now, while both Walker and Seeler have garnered plenty of interest from other teams with Seeler’s latest injury and the likelihood of his future contract coming a bit cheaper, the focus has shifted to Walker being the one to move at the deadline. With that being said, two of the teams that are showing the most interest in him right now are the Edmonton Oilers and the Toronto Maple Leafs. It is rumored that Philly wants to recoup a 1st round pick for Walker’s services, but with other more prominent named defenders like Noah Hanifin and Ivan Provorov still on the market as well. I think the best option for them would be to try and trade Walker to the Oilers, who have let it be known that their 1st round pick is available, but there is a caveat. In order for Edmonton to agree to trade their 1st, they are asking a team to help them gain a little cap flexibility by agreeing to take on a player in return. That player’s name, who keeps coming up, is 30-year-old right-hand-shot defenseman Cody Ceci. Cody is 6’3 and 210 pounds. He was initially drafted by the Ottawa Senators with the 15th overall pick back in 2012 and is currently signed until the end of next season with a cap hit of $3.25 million. Is it worth it? Well, let me give you his stats, and you can decide. This season, Cody has played in 60 games and has scored just two goals and 16 assists for a total of 18 points. He is, however, a plus player at a +9 this year and has finished as a plus player for each of the last four seasons since being traded away from Ottawa. Cody is an average defender who has managed to play over 20 minutes a game for his career. Overall, Ceci will not help offensively, nor will he hurt you defensively. So, the question is, do you think Briere should take that deal in order to acquire yet another coveted 1st round pick? If he did so, that would give the Flyers three this off-season.

Where does the team stand on trading Scott Laughton? Well, the quick and easy answer to that question is that they don’t want to. Management and coaching staff see this 11-year Flyers veteran as a leader in the dressing room, and although they are still listening to offers for him, they would have to be absolutely blown away by one in order for them to agree to send him packing.

So, what is Scott Laughton’s current fate? A few weeks ago, teams were really hot and heavy on trying to acquire a center. But with the Jets trading for Sean Monahan and the Canucks going out and getting Elias Lindholm, things have seemed to calm down a bit on the Center front. But it doesn’t mean there are no other options for the Flyers to trade their 29-year-old former 2012 1st-round pick to. The only question is whether they would be willing to trade Scott to a team within their division. Rumors are that the one team that is still really wanting to make a trade for Laughton right now is the New York Rangers. The Rangers’ top two lines are solid, but both centers, Barclay Goodrow and Jonny Brodzinski have left a lot to be desired for the Rangers bottom six this season. Adding a shutdown dot-dweller like Laughton would make a lot of sense for New York, considering what he could potentially bring to their third line of Jimmy Vesey and the promising 22-year-old Will Cuylle, not to mention the fact that then they could move the scrappy Barclay Goodrow down to center the fourth line where the towering 6’7 rookies Adam Edstrom and Matt Rempe would then be by his side. And I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t want to go against that line every other night in a seven-game playoff series.

Lastly, rumors are that the Flyers have recently expressed at least some interest in obtaining an affordable NHL-capable backup for Sam Errson. The Flyers were obviously put into a bad spot with the sudden departure of Carter Hart this season. And they have been less than impressed with the likes of their 29-year-old veteran netminder Cal Petersen, who, in his last outing with the Flyers, gave up an unheard-of seven goals against their inner state rival, the Pittsburgh Penguins back on Feb. 25th. So, it came as no surprise when the team recently decided to waive Cal and bring up their 27-year-old net minder Felix Sandstrom.

Sandstrom, who had only 25 NHL games of experience to that point, stood out recently in a game on the 2nd against the Senators, where he managed to gain the team another win after giving up only two goals when facing 24 shots. But the question is, should the Flyers trust this not-so-young netminder who has, to this point, been nothing more than a career minor leaguer to be Errson’s backup for the rest of the season? Even with his latest victory in the NHL, Felix has only managed to win 4 out of his 26 NHL games played, and folks, that means he’s only averaging a win 15% of the time he’s been asked to jump in the net.

Therefore, I would suggest the Flyers brass try and find a veteran netminder like the LA Kings did a couple of days ago when they signed 34-year-old Aaron Dell to a league-minimum deal for the rest of the season. Now, to borrow a line from the late great Toby Keith, Aaron and others like him might not be as good as they once were, but with the team giving them one last hurray, they could be as good once as they ever were. And I don’t know about you, but given the fact that the Flyers are already being forced to be heavily reliant on a rookie in Ersson, I would feel more comfortable providing him with a veteran with a few hundred more games of NHL experience to back him up and offer advice rather than potentially heading into the playoffs with two inexperienced rookies in the net.

So, with the time left to make a move literally dwindling as you read this. Danny Briere must do something. He simply cannot wait until the last minute to make a move like his predecessor Chuck Fletcher did and end up with a few broken sticks and a couple of chewed-up mouthpieces coming back his way in return for our players. If he wishes to make a run this season (which I would not advise him to do), then he needs to be willing to pull the trigger and add a piece that could make a difference, like the Ducks’ Trevor Zegras, who the Flyers have been recently linked to.

Or if that ask proves to be too much for a young game-changer like Zegras, who is coming back from injury, mind you, then Danny needs to sell everything he can to the highest bidder and gather as many future draft assets as he can.

I like you will be watching impatiently to see what this team does as the deadline looms ever closer. But for once, I can honestly say that I have more reassurance than in previous years that this club’s new executives will actually do what’s best for the team in the coming days.

Comparing Sam Ersson’s Rookie Campaign to Other Flyers Legends

By |February 29th, 2024|

Let’s face it: at the start of this season, no one would have thought that the Philadelphia Flyers would be in a situation where they would lose Carter Hart to legal issues and be forced to depend on their 24-year-old rookie goalie, Samuel Ersson, as their starter.

But to our surprise, it has not been as bad as we had essentially thought. And here’s why. Before coming to North America to play for the Flyers organization, Sam had already spent parts of three seasons playing professional hockey for the Brynas IF in the SHL back home in Sweden.

This, of course, paired with a full season playing in the American Hockey League for the Phantoms last year (that included some post-season hockey), made his transition to the NHL this season seem almost flawless.

So let us compare his impressive rookie campaign thus far with a few other Flyers legends of the blue paint.

Sam Ersson

Ersson was drafted by the Flyers in the fifth round of the 2018 NHL Draft with the 143rd overall pick. Last season, he was called up from the Phantoms for a total of 12 games, and he was able to win six of those for a .500 win percentage. He did this while posting a 3.07 goals-against-average (G.A.A.) and a .899 save percentage (SV%).

But in this his first full year of competition in the NHL, Ersson has been able to play in 33 games thus far, where he has managed to compile 17 wins, three of which came by way of a shutout. So if you do the math, that means that Sam has won .515% of his game this year and has managed to maintain a 2.55 G.A.A and a .901 SV%.

With those stats in mind, compared to the rest of the league’s rookie netminders, Ersson has played the most games and recorded the most wins. The only first-year netminder that even comes close is Carolina’s Pyotr Kochetkov, who has played in 31 games and won 16 of his starts. The two are tied in shutouts with three and share very similar numbers in both goals-against-average and save percentage. If these two keep it up, they should find themselves in contention for the league’s Calder Trophy but will likely lose out to either Connor Bedard or Marco Rossi.

Sergei Bobrovsky

Now, Philadelphia may not have drafted Bob, but they did sign him as a 22-year-old free agent after his deal in Russia was complete. Sergei came to the Flyers in the 2010-2011 season, where he played an incredible 54 games as a rookie and was able to win 28 of them. That equates to him winning .518 percent of his starts that first year with the orange and black. In that rookie campaign with the Flyers, Bobrovsky was able to post a solid 2.59 G.A.A and a .915 SV%.

Sergei, who is still playing at age 35, now has 389 career wins and two Vezina Trophies to his credit, which will go down as one of the Flyer’s biggest blunders. Mostly, because Bob only got to play with the team for two seasons before being shipped out to Columbus for a 2nd round pick and two 4th round picks. The reason for this decision came because Bobrovsky became frustrated with the fact that Philadelphia signed goalie Ilya Bryzgalov to a nine-year $51 million deal. It was a mistake that the team is literally still paying for, seeing they agreed to buy out Bryzgalov and were made to pay him $1,642,857 for 14 years. A payment that the Flyers will still be made to shell out until the 26-27 season.

Ron Hextall

Who could forget the hot-tempered rookie goalie named Ron Hextall, who, in his first year of competition with the Flyers in the 1986-1987 season, was able to come in and take the team all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they ended up losing to Wayne Gretzky’s Edmonton Oilers.

Ron was taken by the Flyers back in the 6th round of the 1982 entry draft with the 119th overall pick. He made his debut with the team at just 22 years of age and played in an impressive 66 regular season games that season in which he was able to record 37 wins. If you’re keeping track at home, that means Ron averaged a W .560% of the time he skated onto the ice. To his credit, Hextall was able to post a 3.01 G.A.A., which he paired with a .902 SV%.

As previously stated, he took the Flyers to the playoffs that year, where he won 15 of 26 games played. Two of which were by way of shutouts. For his efforts that season, he was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team and awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as well as the Vezina Trophy.

Ron went on to play a 13-year NHL career, where he totaled 296 career wins. Although he was never able to reach the level of success again that he achieved in that first year with the Flyers, he will always be remembered as the guy who took one of the best teams ever assembled (the Oilers) that included Mark Messier, Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri, Glenn Anderson, Paul Coffey, Esa Tikkanen, Andy Moog, and Grant Fuhr to seven games in 1987.

Pelle Lindbergh

The last great Flyers netminder whose numbers we will throw up here as a comparison is a fellow Swedish netminder who went by the name Pelle Lindbergh. Now Pelle was a bit of a pioneer, seeing that he was the first European-born goaltender to be drafted to the NHL. He, of course, was taken by Philadelphia, who selected him 35th overall way back in the second round of the 1979 NHL Draft. Of course, at the time, this was viewed as quite a risk, but with the type of accolades this young goalie brought to the table, the Flyers saw it as a risk they were willing to take. And my, did it ever pay off. The 1981-1982 season is when Pelle made his NHL debut, but it was only for a couple of games. It wasn’t until the following year, during the 82-83 campaign, that the team really got to see what they were getting with him. Through a span of 40 games played that year, Pelle, who only stood at 5’9, was able to rack up 23 wins (a .575 win percentage, mind you). He did so while accumulating three shutouts and maintaining a 2.99 G.A.A. and a .890SV%.

Lindbergh later went on to win the Vezina for Flyers during the 1984-1985 season, where he was able to total 40 wins. But Pelle was tragically taken from us after playing in parts of just five seasons because he was involved in an automobile accident back on November 10th, 1985, that left him brain-dead.

Lindbergh had all the intangibles to finish as one of the best Flyers’ goalies of all time. I don’t even want to think how many championships this team could have won with him in net. It’s just a shame that this talented young player’s life was cut so short.

Now, I’m not trying to put any pressure on the kid because if he wants to make it to the realm of these greats, he certainly still has a ways to go to fill their skates. It is still early, and although Ersson looks excellent, a lot of pressure has been put on him to be the main man between the pipes. So if the Flyers don’t want Sam to end up being labeled as just another promising prospect in net that fizzled out, I suggest they stop playing around and go out in the coming days and get him a quality backup that can assure he can rest when given a much needed night off as well as push him to be better. Not one that lets in seven goals against a team below them in the standings.

P.S. I know the team just waived Cal Petersen, but Felix Sandstrom is not the answer, either!

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