UPDATE: Chris Pronger will play in tonight’s preseason game against the New Jersey Devils at the Wells Fargo Center. Additionally, the Flyers have placed goaltender Michael Leighton on waivers.
The Adirondack Phantoms kicked off the 2011-12 preseason with a 3-1 win against the elite of the AHL, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The Phantoms were able to score three powerplay goals- one from well-known Flyers prospect Eric Wellwood (during a 5-on-3) and the others provided by Shane Harper and Garrett Klotz.
The full game recap can be read here. The impressive aspect of this win is Klotz’s contribution. Klotz, drafted #66 overall by the Flyers in 2007, is currently on an AHL-only contract. To better explain the situation, when Klotz was drafted, he had 2 goals, 2 assists and 107 penalty minutes in the WHL. The Flyers recently used the 3rd round pick from Columbus to draft Nick Cousins, a talented young center, at #68 overall. Cousins had 29 goals and 39 assists in the OHL before the draft.
In other words, whoops.
Klotz was sent to the Bloomington Prairie Thunder of the CHL last season as a result of his play, but he exhibited a resurgence over the course of the year and tallied 9 goals and 15 assists, in addition to 129 penalty minutes. It’s still a longshot that he ever makes it to the NHL, but it would be satisfying on some level to see him contribute to the Phantoms.
Just as there are tryouts and lesser known players at the Flyers training camp, the Phantoms training camp also features players hoping for AHL contracts but likely headed to the ECHL. Only seven of the twelve forwards and four of the six defenseman who skated tonight are guaranteed to be with the team this season.
Tim McManus of the Post Star had this to say on twitter about offseason signing Jason Akeson: “Akeson made two cuts that took Penguins defenders off their skates, like a running back in football. Have never seen that.”
Goaltender Jason Bacashihua started tonight, making 35 saves on 36 shots.
In other Flyers related news, prospect Tom Sestito was handed a two game suspension should he be recalled to the NHL again. Brendan Shanahan explained that the reason he was awarded a lesser suspension than Jody Shelley was that Sestito had no prior history of suspensions nor was New York Ranger Andre Deveaux hurt on the play that sent him into the boards. It’s a reasonable suspension for Sestito, who turned 24 today as well.
Finally, Paul Holmgren has indicated to reporters that he may wait until the final day of the preseason to finalize the roster. He has not ruled out Sean Couturier making the team, but obviously there would have to be other moves made to fit in his salary. There were rumors on twitter that several players were being considered for trades to make room for Couturier, but I later realized that they were blatantly false and, thankfully, was not dumb enough to post them here.
For the latest Flyers news and updates, you can follow me on twitter (@JoshJanet).
