1818 Sports

Welcome to Part Two of the 1st annual 1818 Sports Flyers Player preview.  Part One covered the Forwards.  Part Two will cover the Defense and Goalies.

By Chris Campbell

Ray Emery

Defense

Matthew Carle #20 – Expect a career year statistically from Matt Carle, who seems likely to be Chris Pronger’s defense partner. He’s a Hobey Baker award winner who’s struggled to find his place in the league after signing an almost 14 million dollar extension with the Sharks in 06-07. I see a 30+ point season for the 25 year old d-man and a +/- rating close to the top of the league.

Braydon Coburn #5 – This is a guy who in my mind, really needs to prove himself this year or expect to be playing elsewhere. There are times when we see glimpses of the highly touted prospect drafted #8 overall by the Thrashers. There are however many times when he looks unsure and non-committal on the ice, reminding me of Joni Pitkanen. He’ll be a restricted free agent at the end of this year, and I really wouldn’t be surprised to see him moved before the deadline, since he still has big value on the trade market.

Randy Jones #6 – Jones was put on and cleared waivers at the end of the pre-season, a cap decision almost for sure. He happens to be not much better than (but considerably more expensive than) newly acquired Ole-Kristian Tollefsen. I would expect him to start the year with the Phantoms until being traded for draft picks to a team in need of a d-man. This is of course barring an early injury on the blue line, in which case, we’ll see him back in the bigs. Right now he’s the #7 man on very a competitive roster.

Ryan Parent #77 – This should be the breakout year for the young blueliner who should see increased ice time if he stays healthy. He’ll most likely be the anchor of the Flyers 3rd defense pair, playing with Tollefsen or Danny Syvret, and his level of play will make it that much easier for the Flyers to move Coburn. I don’t see him racking up a ton of points, but he’ll be solid from start to finish. He’ll be a candidate for the Pelle Lindbergh trophy for the most improved player, but it will go to Claude Giroux.

Chris Pronger #20 – Like most Flyers fans, I was simultaneously ecstatic and shocked when we acquired Pronger on draft day. Ecstatic because he’s one of the top five blueliners in the league: a big, physical defenseman who brings success and leadership with him everywhere he goes. I was shocked at what we gave up for him. Lupul and Sbisa I could have handled. Two first-rounders I could have handled. But Lupul, Sbisa AND two first round picks? I was really surprised. After some time though, the idea settled in and I have come to love the move. First, players of his caliber (especially d-men) don’t come on the market that often. Second, he’s exactly what the team has needed since the departure of Jason Smith and Derrian Hatcher. He’s big, nasty, and makes the opposition think twice before crossing our blue line. He’s also not afraid to punish people standing in the crease taking 2nd and 3rd whacks at loose pucks, a big problem for the Flyers least year, especially in the playoffs. I view the Pronger deal as a shot across the bough of the Penguins, letting Crosby and Malkin know that there will be a price to be paid for poking around the net, standing around in the corner, or any of the other cuteness that team like to engage in. Another benefit to having a guy like Pronger on the roster is that he takes a lot of the burden off of the beleaguered Kimmo Timonen. Look for Pronger, who has a knack of getting hard, low shots from the point through traffic to put up 50+ points, more than half of those on the power play.

Danny Syvret #26 – A fast moving defenseman, his stock has risen due to his strong pre-season play and his low price tag. I have him as #8 on the depth chart right now, but would move up in the event the team is able to move Randy Jones. He’s got a scoring touch, having out up 57 points in 76 games with the Phantoms last year. The jury is still out as to weather he can play at the NHL level, and he will most likely have limited chances to prove it this year. Expect him to spend most of the year in Adirondack.

Kimmo Timonen #44 – Kimmo has spent a lot of the last couple years playing out of his comfort zone, which is a fast moving, rush-leading d-man. With Pronger eating up time on the PK as well as against the top lines of other teams, Timonen will be able to re-focus on the offensive aspect of his game and have a career year, putting up around 70 points and being a finalist for the Norris trophy, an honor long overdue.

Ole-Kristian Tollefsen #55 – The big Norwegian will nicely fill in as the 6th defenseman and should start the year partnered with Ryan Parent. He’s big, physical guy, not terribly mobile and without much of a shot from the point. His ice time should be pretty limited and he could be up and down between the Flyers and Phantoms depending on the play of guys like Danny Syvret and prospects Kevin Marshall and Michael Ratchuck.

Goalies

Brian Boucher #33 – Back for his third tour of duty with the Flyers, I think at this point we all know what we can expect from Boosh. He has the ability to make spectacular saves, but his reflexes and positioning were always a bit shaky. He’s a good short-term insurance policy should the Rat Emery experiment collapse, but is not going to carry anybody down the stretch or to the Stanley Cup. The weird thing about Boosh is that he does have it in him to be spectacular at times, setting the modern NHL record with a five and a half game shutout streak when he played in Phoenix. I don’t think we should expect anything along those lines.

Ray Emery #29 – This is certainly the biggest question mark at the start of the season. Will Emery be the spectacular and aggressive goaltender who led the Senators to the Stanley Cup final in 2007 (losing to Chris Pronger’s Anaheim Ducks)? Or will he be the inconsistent, irresponsible, and flaky head case who was run out of the NHL in 2008? He’s looked sharp toward the end of the pre-season and handled himself well with the press and fans, but this is just the pre-season. Flyer fans are already unsure about the move itself, and if the wheels start to come off mid-season will he be able to stand the scrutiny that comes with playing in this town. The thing with Emery this season is that if the team in front of him plays the way they should, he won’t have to be spectacular, just solid. Where he will need to be raise his level of play is in the playoffs. If I had to make a prediction right now (which I do, since it’s the whole point of this column) I would say he has a good regular season posting 30+ wins, but has a below-average playoff and is playing somewhere else next year. I think the Emery experiment will go down neither as a failure or a success, just another big “meh” in the history of our goaltending “mehs”.