It wasn’t long ago that former Flyers’ 2006 first round draft pick Claude Giroux was participating in prospect and rookie camps. In fact it was this time last year that the talented kid from the QMJHL turned NHL star was coming off a huge championship where he carried a team and put himself into Canadian Junior record books. He too attended the Flyers prospect camp in mid-july last summer, and look where he is now.
So who could it be this year that makes the jump? Well, we won’t know that until the end of the preseason or possibly even later. Don’t forget that last year Giroux came out and had a mediocre preseason. He was beat out by Andreas Nodl and sent back to the AHL. He was slow out of the gate but came on strong quickly. He earned a call up to the NHL by the end of December and never looked back.
So it could be any one of these young kids who makes the jump as early as the end of preseason. The Flyers certainly have holes offensively, and if any of these young defensemen win a spot on the roster it will only allow the Flyers to move Carle or Jones in order to spend more money on an offensive weapon. The race is wide open, and even though prospect camp is only a couple days into session there are some early favorites. At the same time Paul Holmgren continues to look offense on the free agent market.
Kevin Marshall: The kid has apparently impressed a lot of people and as well he should. Like Giroux he won a QMJHL championship as a leader on the Lewistown MAINEiacs. Taken in the 2nd round of 2007 he could very easily jump up to the Flyers’ roster before 2nd overall selection James van Riemsdyk does. He’s a shutdown defender like Parent, but unlikely the young kid already making waves with the orange and black Marshall possesses at least some offensive abilities. He’s never going to be a true powerplay quarterback or anything like that, but he has a mean streak and a wicked shot. With Sbisa gone he’s one of the few blueliners within the organization who are not afraid to take runs at people along with obviously Chris Pronger, Braydon Coburn on a rare night when he feels like playing mean, and Marc-Andre Bourdon, who was taken last season in the 2nd round. Honestly he reminds me a lot of Ryan Parent going into training camp last season. If not for a nasty injury in preseason last year Parent would’ve been on the team at the onset of the 2008-09 season after a great postseason in 2007-08 and a great offseason. Marshall is certainly opening some eyes as a kid who played all four years in the Canadian Juniors. If he’s not on the team at the start of the year I’m confident you will see him at points during the season. It’s all a matter of how the organization feels about throwing him on that 3rd pairing. (video/article)
Marc-Andre Bourdon: Here’s another QMJHL prospect on the defense some of you might enjoy watching. He was taken last season in the 3rd round after Sbisa, and in my opinion is the prospect that made Sbisa’s loss a lot less important than some of you may think. This guy is definitely mean, but his offensive game is absolutely impressive. He didn’t win the QMJHL title, but the team he was traded to midseason, the Rimouski Oceanic, hosted the CHL championships which takes the best team from all three Canadian Juniors Leagues, the WHL, OHL, and QMJHL, along with a host team in competition for the Memorial Cup. Bourdon played incredibly in the tournament after having an outstanding season. He was even named the QMJHL defenseman of the year. He is looking forward to bigger things and wants to play with the Flyers now. He might not make the jump to the AHL this season if the club doesn’t feel he can make an impact in the NHL, but it’s nearly time for this guy to turn pro. If you liked Sbisa you’re going to love this guy. He’s not nearly as smooth of a skater, but he certainly makes up for it. (video/article)
James van Riemsdyk: (video/article) Following is the question and answer session with Jim Jackson and Tim Panaccio at Prospect Camp on July 8th.
JJ: “James, how excited are you as training camp, the real training camp, approaches here in a couple of months?”
JVR: “Yeah, you know I’ve been counting down the days, and all this is obviously just another step towards that. And I’m just looking forward to having a good camp.”
JJ: “How important was it to get your feet wet in professional hockey with the Phantoms last year; get some games in, get some playoff games in, and does it give you a better feeling heading into training camp this time around?”
JVR: “Yeah, it was definitely huge. They told me right before I got here that the jump from college to the AHL was a little bit bigger than it was from the AHL to the NHL so it was good to get my feet wet with that, and it was a great learning experience.”
JJ: “What part of that adjustment did you find most challenging?”
JVR: “Well obviously the guys are bigger, older, and stronger. But the main thing I thought was they’re a lot smarter out there on the ice, and they don’t run around a lot.”
JJ: “Well that’s one thing I’ve heard said about you all the time. It’s that you’re a smart hockey player. It that something that has come with proper coaching? Were you born with it? Are you continuing to get more in terms of intelligence on the ice, or is it something perhaps, as I said you were just born with it?”
JVR: “Yeah, it’s a combination of all those things. I think it comes from a lot of experience and just watching hockey a lot on TV, just noticing little things that guys do, and just playing a lot of big games in big situations.”
TP: “If you were to go back to 1998 and Simon Gagne, his first camp. Everybody thought he had a chance to make the team; last year Claude Giroux. You’re probably, I would say, the third guy since [1998 with] the expectations and all the hype around you. Everybody’s kind of wondering where you are at this stage. What do you expect for yourself? Can you make this team right away? Do you think you’ll need to go to the Phantoms for a year?”
JVR: “You know I like to set lofty goals for myself so I set a goal for myself going into the summer that I want to be on the Flyers’ roster on opening night, and obviously there’s a lot of hard work that goes into that. [You] still got to have a good camp and still got to play well, and hopefully the rest will take care of itself from there.”
TP: “Talk to me a little about the decision to stay in college. I mean a lot of people [and] the Flyers wanted you to come out early. Did you feel you did the right thing, and will you have any regrets about it later?”
JVR: “No, I won’t have any regrets about it. I got to go back into a great at New Hampshire, play a key role on that team, and just gain more experience. They had me playing center this year which I hadn’t done before, and it definitely made me a more well-rounded player.”
JJ: “The Flyers have listed you on the left side. How do you see yourself as you move onto the NHL level and the professional level.”
JVR: “Yeah, any role that the coaches or management see fit for me I have no problem with doing and doing well.”
JJ: “[Let's] talk a little bit about this rookie camp. It’s competitive right from the get-go. The first scrimmage today was pretty darn physical out there. What do you see from the prospects, and what are your goals this rookie camp?”
JVR: “Obviously everyone is excited to be here. I mean everyone wants to make an impression so there’s a lot of big hits, and a lot of goals, and stuff like that so that was exciting to be a part of. My goals out of this are just to work hard and be a better player, and be ready for camp.”
JJ: “Tim alluded to this a little bit, but you’re the second overall pick so whenever you’re that high a draft pick there’s always going to be the tag that you have that potential. I don’t get the feeling that you shy away from having those expectations from the fans at all.”
JVR: “Yeah, you know obviously I have higher expectations of myself than anyone could have of me so it’s my job to just work hard and just take advantage of everything.”
Other players of interest going through prospect camp obviously include winger Andreas Nodl, who played a number of games with the Flyers this past season, center Jon Kalinski, who performed very well as a bottom six call up at times, power-forward Patrick Maroon, who is looking like more and more of a steal chosen in the 6th round as a big boy with the hands of some of the best NHL danglers, winger David Laliberte, who had a break-out season with the Phantoms and was a 4th round selection from back in 2004, and recently drafted goaltender Nicola Riopel, who is already making some noise in camp.
Everyone is still on the watch for Denis Bodrov whose contract recently expired in the KHL. The Flyers continue to pressure interest, and even talked with Emery about his former teammate for a sizable time frame last season over in Russia. Holmgren continues to feel that Bodrov is NHL ready, but with a full six currently on the roster on the blueline it’s not so much to believe that it would be hard for the young KHL star to get the one-way contract he probably wants. If Carle or Jones is moved it would certainly pave the way for Bodrov to come over, but right now all involved are just hoping to get him into camp.
Rumors on the offensive front suggest that the Flyers are currently in talks with Brendan Shanahan who would without a doubt add to the experience and offensive depth of this team. While he cannot possibly put up numbers like he used to he certainly has some gas left in the tank. He would also likely come very cheap as a guy who wants to stay in the New York/New Jersey/Philadelphia area.
For more on Flyers’ prospect camp including the full lineup and schedule for when the camp is open to the public click here.
Loading ...