• March 28, 2024

Bryzgalovs Future Rests in Continued Maturation

Natalia Bragilevskaya of Sovetsky Sport published an interview with Ilya Bryzgalov in Russian earlier today that was conducted after the Game Five Semifinals loss on Tuesday. It was the only interview he gave to a member of the media.

The Puck Daddy blog on Yahoo published an English translation of the interview, which was not nearly as entertaining as if you used Altavista’s “babelfish” function but it made a lot more sense.

There are a number of interesting quotes from Bryzgalov that beg to question whether he is ever going to really fit in Philadelphia.

Let’s start with the end of the interview. “Now I know what it’s like to be a goaltender in Philadelphia. Maybe from the outside it looks like there’s nothing to it. You only realize it on your own.”

While there have been several cases in the recent past of Flyers goaltenders that fought with the media (Roman Čechmánek and Robert Esche come to mind), to suggest that it’s the position itself that was the problem is ridiculous.

Neither Sergei Bobrovsky nor Brian Boucher had any problems with the media or the fans last season. The fans may have wanted to see an upgrade in net after the three-headed monster of the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs, but they were never the center of media attention the way the Bryzgalov has been all year, much of which he brought on himself.

Some of the pressure from both Bryzgalov and the fans can be attributed to the size of his contract. When a player eats up that much of the available team resources, expectations are naturally higher.

“There is a lot of negativity surrounding the team. You did everything you could on the ice. You go to the locker room and someone yells some nonsense at your back. They’re ready to eat you alive. It’s unpleasant, because we are all people.”

There have certainly been moments when quotes proffered in the locker room were taken out of context by members of the main stream media.

Back in October, there was a game against the St. Louis Blues that ended in a loss as a result of Braydon Coburn and Bryzgalov miscommunicating over who was going to handle a loose puck just outside of the crease. Matt D’Agostini ended the play with a goal.

Having listened to both Coburn and Bryzgalov speak about the play as well as the subsequent chuckling and jokes from some of the other members of the media, it was clear that this was going to be blown up into “the defense and Bryzgalov aren’t on the same page,” which is what ended up getting reported.

The majority of the backlash against Bryzgalov, though, was a result of his antics and his laissez-faire attitude at practices and, at times, in games. Nobody made up the infamous “lost in the woods” quote. Nobody hacked his twitter account and tweeted a thermos before the Winter Classic. Nobody used a body double to tell HBO about the universe being “humangous big.”

He became the butt of jokes and snarky criticism because he gave them rocket fuel to work with. It doesn’t matter if this is Philadelphia- this behavior wouldn’t work in any market in the NHL. Maybe he thought it was working just fine in Phoenix, but based on what his old teammates had to say about him last Fall, clearly it didn’t.

On the positive side of things, it seems as though he’s finally realized all of this.

“I gained invaluable experience… It is difficult to describe with words. It is a psychology, a new view on life.”

After the Winter Classic, Bryzgalov’s demeanor in front of the media became much more stoic. He often provided short responses or pointed to his teammates as the reason for any success they had that particular day.

You know what? That’s all he needs to do. That’s all he’s ever needed to do, and avoiding unnecessary distractions will probably help him focus better next season.

He also firmly committed his desire to stay in Philadelphia for the duration of his contract, in spite of the criticisms (unlike a certain Vancouver netminder).  As sports fans in this city often have very short memories, it won’t take much for fans to cheer him next season. Just show up, play well, and maybe bring us a little closer to another parade.

For the latest Flyers news and updates, you can follow me on twitter (@JoshJanet).

Josh Janet

Josh Janet was raised in Northern New Jersey, but by an odd set of circumstances, is a Philadelphia sports fan. While recently converted to the Phillies, Josh is a diehard Flyers fan and can be expected to stay on top of the latest NHL news.

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DCar
DCar
May 11, 2012 3:48 am

JJ, let’s all pray, that along with the new CBA, comes an Amnesty clause, or we are screwed for 8 more years. Plain & simple. I don’t know if this guy has change in him. Mostly all Russian players, have Diva, wifty & dog tendencies & notoriously thin skin. I doubt he can change, & survive with our rabid fans. It seems like from day one, he had that fan hates goalie mentality, stuck in his head. I remember him saying in training camp, about him hearing how rabid we were towards goalies, & how tough it was being a goalie in Philly. He said it again in the post season interview.

E-money
E-money
May 11, 2012 8:44 am

Holmgren did a terrible job vetting this guy and gave him a ton of money and a long contract that are going to saddle this team for years to come. My prediction is that he gets cut out of frustration in a few years and retires on the money that we will be paying him for years to come.
Terrible signing, probably a top 5 bad free agent signing in the history of Philly sports.

paulman
paulman
May 11, 2012 9:00 am

Holmgrem panicked and overpaid for Bryz because Owner Ed Snider made him too.. Snider was so hell-bent of fixing the GOalie Position after the 2011 Playoffs debacle that the Team and Holgrem operated with blinders on…
Moving forward, the Flyers may want to take a page from the Eagles and operate on the down low and not make a lot of wholesale changed like they both did last Season.. Add 2 Defenseman, and another forward or 2 but they need to be careful about making wholesale changes, they have lots of young talent and what appears to be pretty good chemistry and lockerroom and starting all over again may not be the wise move to do..

DCar
DCar
May 11, 2012 11:03 am

JJ, I hope your right & he bounces back. But he’s off to a terrible start here, in all aspects, & with that contract & position he plays, comes much pressure, criticisms & responsibilities. Especially with a Stanley Cup starved fan-base, that hasn’t won in 37 years. I doubt he has the makeup & mentality, to survive here. He also has ADD tendencies & swiss cheese syndrome. I hope I’m wrong, because I like him & his sense of humor, & he has been a very good goalie in the past.

GreenGrenade19
GreenGrenade19
May 11, 2012 11:33 am

I’m hoping that amnesty rule kicks in this year too. It looks like we are stuck with him and there is no reason for him to not get better. I think not having Pronger didnt help the situation either.

Deasr
Deasr
May 11, 2012 12:53 pm

I wouldn’t be surprised if they just added 3 new guys. One D-man, a scoring winger and back up goalie. Jvr and Bob could be moved for that really good Dman.

Lines could look like this:

Harts-G-V
Simmer-Danny-New Guy
Talbot-Cooter-Schenn
Rinaldo-Wellwod-Sestito

Grossmann-Coburn
Kimmo-New Guy
Mezzy-Gus(if Carle is not resigned below market value)

Brzy
New Back Up

After next year, Harts, probably V again, Schenn and Kimmo will all be off the books or a couple resigned to new contracts. I see Kimmo retiring after next year where Gus will be asked to play a bigger role, perhaps with MAB.

Deasr
Deasr
May 11, 2012 12:55 pm

Ooops, forgot about Read in there, how insanely deep is this team.

jott1972
jott1972
May 11, 2012 8:49 pm

Those who need to go

JVR
Jagr (fa)
Carle
Timonen
Hartnall

Blow it up again like the carter and Richards deals

bugsyhawk
bugsyhawk
May 11, 2012 10:29 pm

I think that he is a bust because he is an average goalie getting paid like a top guy. And he has rabbit ears which never works out here.

lewdoggie20
lewdoggie20
May 12, 2012 9:35 am

Defense is the word for this offseason.