There’s been a bit of a shake-up to the Flyers’ defensive corps.
The top pairing of Travis Sanheim and Cam York is still intact, but the bottom four are looking a little different right now. During Thursday night’s win against the visiting St. Louis Blues, Nick Seeler and Jamie Drysdale were split up, as were Emil Andrae and Noah Juulsen.
After speaking with assistant Todd Reirden following the first period, and with the Flyers trailing by two, coach Rick Tocchet said, “Let’s make the switch here.”
So Andrae was moved into the top four alongside Drysdale, and Seeler was switched to play with Juulsen. It seemed to work as Andrae and Drysdale were on the ice for both of the Flyers’ goals in regulation before Travis Sanheim won the game in overtime.
Based on who stayed out late for the team’s optional morning skate at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Saturday, before facing the New Jersey Devils, it looked like Juulsen will be a healthy scratch for the first time this season, and he was. Therefore, Egor Zamula slotted in alongside Seeler for his first game since Nov. 1.
It’s an interesting dynamic putting Drysdale and Andrae together. Both are puck-moving defensemen who are known for their offensive upside. “We don’t complicate it that much,” Andrae said on Saturday.
Flyers defenseman Jamie Drysdale skates with the puck against the St. Louis Blues on Nov. 20.
According to Natural Stat Trick, Andrae and Drysdale played 54 minutes, 21 seconds together last season. They had a 54.26% Corsi For and were on the ice for 31 scoring chances for the Flyers compared to 25 by the opposition. But, while they were also on the ice together for four goals by the Flyers, five were scored against with a .762 save percentage.
Drysdale has changed his game, becoming better in the defensive zone. As noted by the stat site, when he is on the ice, Corsi For percentage has risen from 46.22% to 51.97%, expected goals against has drop (49.14% to 12.49%), and save percentage has risen from .876 to .893
He’ll now be skating with Andrae, and when the Swede is on the ice the Flyers have an expected goals against of 5.69 along with a .914 save percentage.
But, in a game dominated by big men with teams across the league hyper-focused on adding size, they are a smaller pairing; Drysdale is listed at 5-foot-11 and Andrae at 5-9.
But as the saying goes: It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog.
“I think Emil, he’s shown ability to go in a corner, and he’s not afraid to squash a player or hit a guy,” Tocchet said Saturday morning. “He’s a small guy, but he’s built pretty good, so I don’t see that being a problem.”
Tocchet likes Andrae’s abrasiveness and his ability to use his brain, body positioning, and quickness to read plays and be smart on the puck in the defensive zone. When the bench boss was playing, it may have been taboo to let a guy get the puck first in the corner, but he’s OK with seeing a defenseman like Andrae let the heavier opponent get the puck and then defend after that.
Flyers defenseman Emil Andrae skates with the puck against the Nashville Predators on Oct. 30.
New to the organization, Tocchet’s seeing what the Flyers front office has noticed for a long time about Andrae: his competitiveness, grit, and determination.
“I’ve never been the biggest guy and I’ve always had to find a way to get around that and to play the style of game that I can with my size,” Andrae said. “I’m strong on the walls, strong on the puck. I think it comes with a lot of competitiveness, too. I like to use that to my advantage. Maybe it’s a little surprising for the guys out there that I play against.”
Forward Nikita Grebenkin stayed on late during the optional skate and was a healthy scratch again. “It’s tough because in our position right now, we’re looking for a fourth line identity, and he’s kind of stuck in the middle there,” Tocchet said. “We’re trying to find out what is Grebby, in a sense. But that’s a process, a 23-year-old. Eventually, we’ve got to make a decision; he’s got to play. Trust me, we’re talking about it all the time, Danny and management about it, the best way to handle him if he’s not going to play much. So we’ll figure that out as it goes.”
More than a thousand Flyers fans came to Xfinity Mobile Arena on Friday to pay tribute to Bernie Parent, the legendary goaltender who backstopped the Flyers’ only two Stanley Cup victories.
Diane Gobeil came armed with a copy of The Inquirer from 1974, after the first Stanley Cup victory. She was 14 when the Flyers won the 1974 Stanley Cup, and said she’d never seen her hometown in Delaware County so engaged and excited about anything before that team.
“I never saw the city more excited than that time,” Gobeil said. “He deserved [for] us to come back and say goodbye to him.”
Fans clad in Parent jerseys lined up to look at the memorial display. Jon Levinson, 62, came down from North Jersey to celebrate Parent, his all-time favorite professional athlete, who won his entire family over to Flyers fandom.
Fans look at and take photos of the Bernie Parent memorabilia on display at the Bernie Parent Celebration of Life on Friday.
He met Parent last December at a signing event in Philadelphia, and said it was the happiest moment of his life. When his friend pointed out he had two daughters, he just laughed. “My daughter’s a huge Flyers fan too, so it’s OK. She would understand.”
Levinson came down for the opening game this season to pay tribute to Parent, and is also attending Saturday’s tribute game against the Blues.
“You listen to all the speakers today, and for all the wonderful things they said, I don’t know if they even truly painted an accurate portrait of what Bernie meant to the city of Philadelphia, to the fan base, to Ed Snider youth hockey, to everybody,” Levinson said.
The celebration was an important night for Snider Youth Hockey, the program founded by former Flyers owner Ed Snider and Parent was heavily involved in. Snider youth hockey players handed out programs, and a number came in Snider Hockey jerseys to pay tribute to him. Kenyatta Johnson donated $5,000 to the Ed Snider Foundation, which was doubled by Scott Tharp, president and CEO of Snider Youth Hockey and Education.
His work with Snider Youth Hockey was just one way Parent, who lived in Avalon, N.J., until his death, impacted the local community. To the fans, Parent was so much more than just a hockey player.
He inspired Marion Powell to run her first marathon after she met him in New Jersey a few years ago, and used his book, “Journey through Risk and Fear,” as a motivator when training got hard. She spoke to him again in August, and told him she was running her second marathon in October.
“Bernie has been my biggest motivator, my biggest inspiration,” Powell said. “My daughter told me, when I was training for the marathon, I was on like mile 18 on a run, and she told me Bernie passed away, and I just finished the marathon a month ago.
“When you have an inspiration, it keeps you going, no matter how hard it is.”
Scott Tharp stood on the small stage built on the ice at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
The president and CEO of Ed Snider Youth Hockey & Education told a story about driving home from Hershey when the Flyers alumni played the Washington Capitals alumni. Driving home on the dark expanse of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, Bernie Parent was driving 45 miles per hour — in the left lane.
“Needless to say, there was a whole line of cars flashing their lights and honking behind us,” Tharp said. “Finally, when he pulled over into the right lane, the cars came by and they were flashing, honking, people leaning out the windows, yelling.
“Bernie rolled down his window, took both hands off the wheel, and put his Stanley Cup rings out the window. Then turned to those of us in the car and said, ‘How about that? They’re cheering for me.’”
You know that he had a big grin at that moment, too.
A man larger than life, the Hall of Fame goalie, who backstopped the Orange and Black to consecutive Stanley Cup championships in 1974 and 1975, was honored on Friday with a celebration of life. Parent died on Sept. 21 at the age of 80.
“Bernie often was described fondly in hockey circles as one of the league’s greatest stand-up goalies,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said. “Ever more importantly, however, Bernie was always a stand-up man.”
Family, friends, members of Flyers leadership, and approximately 2,000 fans, some wearing his No. 1 jerseys, came to pay their respects to a man who built a legacy in Philly. Born in Quebec, Parent came to the City of Brotherly Love in 1967 as one of the original Flyers. He was traded in 1971, but was reacquired two years later, and never left.
John Bound of Wrightstown, Pa. (right) wore his Parent jersey and made a “Only God saves more than Bernie” sign for the Bernie Parent Celebration of Life at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Friday.
Parent not only helped build the foundation of the organization with the two Stanley Cups — and the rings he loved showing everyone, everywhere, and every day — but won the Conn Smythe each year as the playoff MVP. A two-time Vezina Trophy winner as the NHL’s top goalie, his name is often dropped when discussing the game’s greats.
“Bernie’s number hangs in our rafters, and his legacy is already etched into the very DNA of our franchise,” Flyers chairman Dan Hilferty said. “We often don’t realize how much someone gives of themselves until they’re gone. Winston Churchill once said, ‘We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.’ And standing here together, it’s clearer than ever just how much Bernie gave.”
Parent was a fixture in the community since hanging up his skates due to injury in February 1979. An ambassador for Ed Snider Youth Hockey & Education, his widow, Gini, will carry on his legacy as an ambassador, too.
“Bernie’s life will continue to shine through the lives he inspired, the lessons he taught, and the community he helped build,” she said. “He always said that life was about giving back, lifting others, and leading with love. And thanks to each and every one of you, the light will never dim.”
After Flyers president Keith Jones, general manager Danny Brière, coach Rick Tocchet, and Parent’s daughter, Kim, reminisced and paid tribute on the jumbotron, City Council President Kenyatta Johnson spoke. Johnson said he was pledging $5,000 to Ed Snider Youth Hockey & Education, which Tharp said the support organization will match the donation two-to-one.
Johnson then read a proclamation honoring the goalie.
“Whereas, this legislative body extends its deep appreciation for the indelible mark Bernie Parent left on hockey and the Philadelphia community,” part of it read. “Now, therefore, be it resolved, that the council of the city of Philadelphia, hereby honors and recognizes the life and legacy of Philadelphia Flyers goaltender and Hockey Hall of Famer Bernie Parent, for his outstanding contributions to the sport of hockey and the Philadelphia community.”
As Parent’s teammate Bill Clement said, “Bernie loved all of you.” And it was true. Parent loved the Flyers community. And he loved his teammates, too.
“I can honestly say it was an honor and a privilege to play with Barnyard Benny,” said Joe Watson, who had known Parent since 1963. “We had so many laughs and jokes. … I know he’s looking down on us, smiling, and he looks around, he says, My gosh, I can’t believe all those people are for me, but we’re all for you, Bernie, because if it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t have won.”
Joe Watson, former teammate and friend of Parent speaks during the Bernie Parent Celebration of Life on Friday.
“I know Bernie’s up there, laughing and smiling and everything else. He’d love to be down here, but I look forward to seeing you again, my friend,” Watson concluded as his voice cracked.
Bobby Clarke, the captain of the Flyers’ Stanley Cup teams, was the last to speak.
“A hockey player’s life is only a short period of time in his life. And Bernie, besides being the goaltender, he had a great life and he was a great man,” he said.
“When you win two Stanley Cups, it takes the best that everybody on that team can give; just so happened that Bernie’s best was better than the rest of our best, and we got two Stanley Cups because of Bernie.
“We’ve lost five players from Stanley Cup teams: Barry Ashbee, Eddie Van Impe, Billy Flett, Ross Lonsberry, and Ricky MacLeish.
“God bless Bernie, because he’s going to join them and the rest of us, until we go join them, we will walk together forever.”
Across the Flyers’ long practice on Friday, Nikita Grebenkin spent a lot of time skating with fourth liners Garnet Hathaway and Rodrigo Ābols.
It’s too soon to determine whether or not that means he will be in the lineup on Saturday when the Flyers host the New Jersey Devils (7 p.m., NBCSP).
But it is fair to say the young Russian winger needs to get consistent playing time.
Grebenkin did not play in the Flyers’ 3-2 overtime win against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday, a game in which the head coach said afterward that he wanted to see his team be better at wall work and puck possession, two things Grebenkin often does well.
“He did early in the season and training camp, but he’s been OK with that [since],” Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet said Friday, adding he can be a “hashmark down guy.”
Noted Hathaway, “He’s really good at controlling the puck, working through guys, battling with guys. His puck possession, I think it helps any line that he’s on. He can hold on to and then he can make plays out of it, too. And he’s not shy to get in the mix and go win a puck battle.”
Grebenkin, 22, has skated in 12 of the Flyers’ first 19 games, averaging 9 minutes, 35 seconds. It is consistent with the other players on the fourth line, including Nic Deslauriers, with whom he rotates.
And the rotation, formulated by Tocchet and his staff, does follow what the head coach said on Nov. 1: “I like that we played him a couple of games, work with the coaches when you can really work with them, get him back in — hopefully he can string some good games together for us.”
Added Tocchet on Friday when asked what he needs to see from Grebenkin to play consistently. “We’re trying to make him an NHL player. He spent a lot of time with the coaches. More predictable to his game, good angles, being a good first forechecker. [When] he’s more predictable, it’ll help the line in general. It’s hard, I get it, 9-10 minutes, but there’s only so much ice to go around. It’s the world we live in right now.”
Grebenkin was a big piece of the return in the trade that shipped Scott Laughton to the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Flyers organization is OK with how things are going in terms of the winger’s development. If he does start sitting out stretches, Grebenkin, who is waiver-exempt, could get sent back to Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League to play a ton of minutes.
But that shouldn’t be the case. Grebenkin deserves a chance to work things out at the NHL level. He brings energy and jam to the lineup with some skill.
And, for now, the Flyers are trying to find him time in Philly. But is he a fourth liner or should he play up higher? Grebenkin has the skill to play higher in the lineup; he just needs to play more consistently. And the crux is, is there really anyone he can supplant in the top nine?
Flyers right wing Nikita Grebenkin is at home along the boards.
Across his first six games, when he often skated on the fourth line, he averaged 8:53 of ice time, picked up one assist, and logged a plus-minus of minus-4.
After sitting out for a pair of games, he averaged a minute more in the next five, posting a goal, an assist, and a plus-1 rating. When Tyson Foerster was out, the Russian winger was often deployed higher in the lineup. He skated a season-high 12:24 in the Flyers’ loss to the Dallas Stars on Nov. 15, and wasn’t on the ice for a goal against despite the Stars scoring four at even strength.
Tocchet has said that Grebenkin has communicated to him that he’s been thinking too much on the ice. He wants him to be “sticky” and stay in piles. The winger can also bring skill to a fourth line that has not scored a goal this season when on the ice together.
“Especially at the start of the year, feel like you can’t get him off the puck down low, or if two guys go on him, you feel like he’s going to lose it, but he comes out with it,” Ābols said. “I think that’s one of his strong attributes, and obviously, quite skilled with the puck. It’s maybe, at some points, [something] we lack on our line, realistically. Once he’s on his game, he can make those little plays and bring some skill.”
Ābols has also played a key role in helping Grebenkin work on his game. The Latvian speaks several languages, including Russian, and told Tocchet in training camp that he can help translate.
The bench boss said the center even helps during games, something he was often spotted doing last season with Matvei Michkov.
“Yeah, those situations you can see when they talk to their coaches, and you kind of see their lost face, then I kind of slide in,” Ābols said. “I’m going to try any way I can, whether it’s translating or helping anyway I can.”
Forwards Owen Tippett and Foerster did not skate on Friday. Tocchet said they are a “little banged” up. Both had maintenance days, and Tocchet expects them to play on Saturday.
After four days off from NHL action, the Flyers returned to the ice on Thursday night.
Although they — once again — didn’t have the best start, they battled back and skated away with a 3-2 overtime win against the St. Louis Blues.
Here are two big things we learned.
Rookie on the rise
It feels like every game lately has been a career game for Emil Andrae, and Thursday night was no different. The defenseman played a key role in tying the game and saving it, all after being promoted to the second pairing alongside Jamie Drysdale.
“When you’re playing more, the more confidence you have. I think me and Jimmy played great when we played together those shifts we had,” Andrae said.
Andrae started the game with Noah Juulsen on the third pair, but according to Natural Stat Trick, played 11 minutes, 48 seconds with Drysdale at five-on-five — and it did feel like they were out there every other shift in the third period. They were on the ice for 11 chances for and eight against, and each of the Flyers’ goals in regulation.
“I was talking to [defensive assistant coach] Todd [Reirden] after the first. I said, ‘Let’s make the switch here,’” Flyers coach Rick Tocchet said. “I just felt, Emil, he’s been playing pretty good for us, right? And he’s one of our better guys who goes back and wheels the puck and makes an outlet pass. Even on the blue line [he was] faking, jukin’ players and stuff like that. So, keep working with him; he’ll get some more ice time.”
On the goal by Rodrigo Ābols, the Swedish blueliner had just hopped on the ice. But on the tying goal by Tyson Foerster, Andrae read the play properly before using his quickness to track down a desperation clearing attempt by Robert Thomas. He did a quick 180-degree turn and fed an open Foerster for the one-timer.
“Yeah, he’s making a bunch of great plays, D zone, and transitioning into the offensive zone,” Foerster said. “He made a great play to me, and [Noah Cates] had a great screen. But, yeah, Email’s been playing great.”
Yes, Andrae’s nickname is “Email,” but he’s not mailing anything in. He may just stand at 5-foot-9, but Andrae doesn’t shy away from contact, plays the proper body position on bigger guys, and as Travis Sanheim said, “he makes good reads” and is “not afraid to make them.”
In fact, he sacrificed his body to stop a sure-fire goal by Dalibor Dvorský with three minutes to go. On the play, he was probably on the wrong side of Pavel Buchnevich atop the crease, which allowed the big Russian to get a Grade A scoring chance. However, because he was not on top of Buchnevich, he was able to turn and block the shot with goalie Dan Vladař sprawled on the ice.
“I probably owe him some steak, for sure,” Vladař said.
“A great player and you can really tell that he wants to be here. I think that he showed that he's a regular guy and can play a lot of minutes in this league…I probably owe him some steak for sure.” – Dan Vladar on Emil Andrae’s game-saving block. pic.twitter.com/jb3pmfrrff
After skating in 42 games last season, Andrae has now played in nine games and has three assists and a plus-minus of plus-4. Across the past three games, as the new coaching staff gains confidence in the defenseman, he is averaging 19:34 of ice time; his season total is 14:31.
“I think, still, I have stuff that I can improve from tonight,” Andrae said. “I think the things I did well was get up in the play. I created a lot of offense and moved the puck quick. But I think just overall defense and being strong on the walls can be a better improvement going from here. But yeah, I think it was a step forward.”
The fourth line is alive
There’s no denying the fourth line has been struggling. And considering the four guys who have played on that line, Ābols, Garnet Hathaway, Nic Deslauriers, and Nikita Grebenkin, entered the night with 131 goals across a combined 1,363 NHL games, they are not expected to bury the biscuit every night.
But, they still need to do what they do best: pressure, forecheck, wreak havoc.
“I mean, that should be our motto as a line,” Ābols said when asked about their uptick in pressure against the Blues. “I think, obviously, nothing fancy, just tilt the ice that we’ve been talking about.
“We had some good meetings this week where we talked about it. Todd grabbed us yesterday, said we should play more predictable, and I think we did that today, where it was quite easy to read off each other and just kind of put constant pressure on their D.”
According to Natural Stat Trick, the fourth line had the best Corsi For percentage (86.7%) with 13 chances for and just two against. They had seven scoring chances to none — none — for the Blues. And it gets better. While it is subjective what determines a high-danger shot, the statistics site had the line notching four high-danger chances and zero against.
They threw the body around, with Deslauriers leading the way with six hits. And Ābols scored his first of the season, albeit on the ice with Trevor Zegras and Owen Tippett after jumping on the ice when Christian Dvorak went for a change.
“Fourth lines especially have to play predictable; everyone knows where the puck is going,” said coach Rick Tocchet. “You watch, they were on the forecheck. They were connected, right? I think in the past, they were a little too wide. Tonight, they were connected. More predictable.
“They had some big shifts there for us when the game kind of went the other way, and they got to regain the momentum. For us, they did a nice job.”
You’ve heard this all before: Another slow start. Another early deficit. Another comeback.
The Flyers trailed 2-0 and tied things up before Travis Sanheim scored the game-winner in overtime to give the Flyers a 3-2 win. It is the Flyers’ second win in five games.
Travis Konecny, who missed his shot on an open net in the last minute of regulation, chipped the puck to Sanheim in the Flyers’ end. The defenseman, in front of several members of Hockey Canada’s Olympic staff, skated the puck down the ice and ripped it past Blues goalie Joel Hofer. It was Sanheim’s third goal of the season and fourth career overtime winner.
Despite having 28 chances in the first period, with six coming from high-danger spots, according to Natural Stat Trick, the Flyers trailed after 20 minutes. It is the sixth straight game Philly allowed the opposition to get on the board and the 13th time this season. They also tied the New York Islanders with their ninth comeback win.
The comeback started late in the second period.
Rodrigo Ābols scored his first goal of the season to cut into the Blues’ 2-0 lead.
Trevor Zegras pulled up at the half-wall in the Blues’ end and carried the puck deep, chipping it to Owen Tippett. Despite being pinned by Blues defenseman Matthew Kessel along the end boards, Tippett sent a backhand pass to Ābols, who hopped in after Christian Dvorak went for the change, following the play for the goal.
It was Ābols’ third of his career. He spent the night centering the fourth line between Nic Deslauriers and Garnet Hathaway. Ābols and coach Rick Tocchet said postgame the line focused on being more predictable, and it worked. Natural Stat Trick had the line down for 13 chances to two for St. Louis at five-on-five; they had seven scoring chances to zero for the Blues.
Everyone thought the Flyers tied the game at 2-2 with 11 minutes, 45 seconds left in regulation. On a power play, Bobby Brink sent a cross-crease pass through the legs of Blues defenseman Tyler Tucker to Zegras near the right post. Zegras sent the one-timer off the bottom of the glove of Hofer and then saw the puck bounce off the ice and the right post.
And then they did tie it up on Tyson Foerster’s fifth goal of the season.
Blues forward Robert Thomas tried to clear the puck, but Emil Andrae tracked down the puck inside St. Louis’ blueline. Moved up to the second pairing with Jamie Drysdale, the puck-moving defenseman fed Foerster for the one-timer from the top of the left face-off circle.
Andrae saved a sure goal with three minutes left in regulation when he blocked a shot by Dalibor Dvorský after Pavel Buchnevich got robbed on the doorstep by Dan Vladař.
It was the Justin Faulk show in the first period. The St. Louis defenseman, who also scored last Friday in the Flyers’ 6-5 shootout win in Missouri, notched two goals in a 6:37 span to put the Flyers in an early hole.
His first goal of the night was a seeing-eye one-timer from the point that found the top left corner. Vladař, who stands 6-foot-5, could be seen popping his head over the 5-9 Nathan Walker of the Blues in front and Flyers teammate Dvorak, who is 6-1. Andrae was tying up St. Louis’ Alexey Toropchenko in front, too, and the puck squeaked through everyone.
Faulk’s second of the night was a power-play goal. Standing at the goal line, Jake Neighbours fed Faulk across the ice in the left face-off circle for the one-timer. The Flyers entered the game with the third-best penalty kill in the NHL (87.5%), but allowed a tally for the second straight game.
The Flyers held their annual Hockey Fights Cancer Night. Jason Myrtetus, a Flyers broadcaster and host of the “Flyers Daily” podcast, dropped the ceremonial puck alongside his Penn care team, which included his oncologist, Dr. Daniel Altman, Heather Levinsky, CRNP, and his surgeon, Dr. Erica Pettke. The players also wore special SkateSkins in warmups, with seven skaters wearing ones they designed with children ages 8-19 who are battling cancer. The goalies also wore masks designed with children, too.
Flyers center Sean Couturier wears his Hockey Fights Cancer skates designed with children ages 8-19 who are battling cancer.
Up next
The Flyers practice on Friday at noon in Voorhees before honoring Bernie Parent with a public celebration of life at Xfinity Mobile Arena at 6 p.m. They then host the New Jersey Devils on Saturday (7 p.m., NBCSP). New Jersey is without Jack Hughes, who underwent surgery on his finger a week ago after a “freak accident” when he got cut by glass at a team dinner.
Peter Fineberg sat in his Spectrum seats for more than 20 years, certain his perch was safe from the pucks that often flew into the stands. It would be years until protective netting was installed at every NHL arena, but Fineberg’s season tickets were behind the glass. He was good.
“The puck came in lots of times,” Fineberg said. “But always above me.”
But here it came — an errant slap shot in 1989 from a Flyers defenseman that redirected after tipping the top of the glass — falling straight onto Row 11 of Section L.
“We all see it coming,” Fineberg said. “I bail out of the way.”
He escaped, got back to his feet, and saw his mother grabbing her chin.
“I said, ‘Mom, what happened?’ She said, ‘The puck hit me,’” Fineberg said. “I go ‘What?’ She takes her hand off her chin and she just spurts blood.”
An usher walked Nancy Fineberg to a first-aid station where they helped slow the bleeding and offered the 64-year-old an ambulance ride to the hospital. But this was a playoff game and Nancy Fineberg, a mother of three who graduated from Penn in the 1940s, loved the Flyers. The stitches could wait.
“She said ‘I’ll go to the hospital after the game,” her son said. “She toughed it out.”
Another fan gave Nancy Fineberg a handkerchief to hold against her chin for the rest of the third period as the Flyers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins.
A package was shortly after delivered to her home in Bala Cynwyd. Fineberg was officially a member of the “Loyal Order of the Unducked Puck,” an exclusive club created by the Flyers in the 1970s partly as a way to dissuade fans from suing them if they were hit by a puck. You could not purchase a membership. You had to earn it.
“It was screaming,” her son said of the puck. “I’m amazed it didn’t break her jaw.”
A Loyal Order of the Unducked Puck plaque. The club was created by the Flyers in the 1970s partly as a way to dissuade fans from suing them if they were hit by a puck. You could not purchase a membership. You had to earn it.
A negative to a positive
A fan wrote to the Flyers in the early 1970s, letting them know that she was hit by a puck at the Spectrum and her outfit was ruined. Lou Scheinfeld, then the team’s vice president, told the fan the team would replace the bloodied clothes and get her tickets to a game. But he wanted to do more.
Ronnie Rutenberg, the team’s lawyer, envisioned more fans complaining about being hit by pucks and feared that lawsuits would be filed. The Flyers, he said, needed to turn being hit by a puck into a positive.
“He figured that if we made people feel special, they wouldn’t sue us,” said Andy Abramson, who started working at the Spectrum in the 1970s and became a Flyers executive in the 1980s. “Ronnie was brilliant.”
So the Flyers created the Loyal Order of the Unducked Puck and made fans feel brave for having been hit by an errant shot. Scheinfeld advised security members to immediately attend to any fan who was struck, bring them to a first-aid station, and gather their information.
The team then sent them a letter signed by a player and a puck with an inscription written by Scheinfeld printed on the back.
“To you brave fan who courageously stopped a puck without leaving the stands,” the inscription read. “The Philadelphia Flyers award full membership in the Loyal Order of the Unducked Puck with all the rights and privileges appertaining thereunto.”
The pucks were sent to fans for years, easing the pain of being hit by a frozen piece of rubber and making a bruise feel like an initiation. In 2002, the NHL mandated teams to install protective netting behind each goal after a 13-year-old girl was killed by a puck that was deflected into the stands. The netting has stopped most pucks from entering the stands, all but eliminating the need for a Loyal Order.
“You couldn’t buy your way in,” Abramson said. “You had to live through the experience in order to qualify. And you had to be willing to give up your personal information to a representative of the Spectrum in order to be enrolled.
“Let’s say you got hit and shook it off. We never knew, and you didn’t get in. It’s one of these unique things that made the Flyers who we were. It wasn’t just a hockey team.”
The first Flyers game played at the Spectrum against the Penguins on Oct. 19, 1967.
The perfect arena
The rows of seats inside the Spectrum were steep, because the arena was built on just 4½ acres, forcing developers to build up instead of out. It was perfect for hockey.
“Every seat was close to the ice, and you were on top of the action no matter where you were,” Scheinfeld said. “The sound was deafening. You could hear the click of the stick when the puck hit it. When a guy pulled up in front of the goalie and his skate sent an ice spray, you could hear that.
“It was like a Super Bowl every game. You couldn’t get a ticket. People didn’t give away their tickets to a friend or company. They came.”
And the pucks came in hot.
“We were right in the shooting gallery,” said Toni-Jean Friedman, whose parents had season tickets behind the net. “Thinking about that now, that was really crazy.”
Friedman’s mother was introduced to hockey in the 1970s, falling for the foreign sport at the same time nearly everyone else did in the region. Fran Lisa and husband Frank met a couple of friends at Rexy’s, the haunt on the Black Horse Pike where the Broad Street Bullies were regulars.
The Lisas met the players, got Bobby Clarke’s autograph on the back of a Rexy’s coaster, and bought season tickets at the Spectrum. A few years later, a puck was headed their way.
“She was trying to catch it, but then survival instincts took over,” Friedman said. “We saw people taken out in stretchers.”
The puck hit Lisa’s wrist and ushers rushed to her seat. She shrugged it off and watched the game. They jotted down her address in Marlton Lakes, and a puck was soon on its way. She was a member of the Loyal Order.
“She was proud of it. She showed it to everyone,” her daughter said. “So it worked because she would’ve never thought twice about suing, not that that’s who she was anyway.”
Fran Lisa was hit on the wrist by an errant puck. “She was trying to catch it, but then survival instincts took over,” her daughter said. “We saw people taken out in stretchers.”
The Flyers had Clarkie, Bernie, The Hound, and The Hammer, but the Spectrum was more than just the Bullies. Sign Man was prepared for anything, Kate Smith brought good luck, and a loyal order of fans sold out every game. Hockey in South Philly — a foreign concept years earlier — became an event.
“There was always action. There was always something going on,” Fineberg said. “And you never thought the Flyers were going to lose. I remember going into the third period and they’re down, and Bobby Clarke … it gives me chills … Bobby Clarke just took over and would score and bring them back. It gives me chills thinking about it. It was unbelievable.”
Fineberg bought season tickets in the late 1960s for $4.50 a seat as a teenager attending the Haverford School. His mom started going with him a few years later, knitting in the stands and wearing sandals no matter how cold it was outside.
“I can still see her crossing Pattison Avenue in the snow with sandals and no socks,” said her daughter, Betsy Hershberg.
The faces in the crowd became almost like family as they invited each other to weddings and kept up with more than just hockey. A couple from Delaware sat next to the Finebergs, a UPS driver was in front, a teenager from Northeast Philly was down the row, the Flyers’ wives were nearby, and Charlie was in Seat 1.
“Charlie had one of those comb overs. He was an older guy,” Fineberg said. “I remember one time, the Flyers scored and everybody jumped up. A guy in the back spilled his beer on Charlie’s head and his hair was hanging down to his back.
“You go to all these games with these people and share all these experiences. You can’t help but have a bond with them.”
Unducked Puck member Nancy Fineberg (left). “She said ‘I’ll go to the hospital after the game,” said her son. “She toughed it out.”
A lasting legacy
Nancy Fineberg is 99 years old and watches sports on TV. Her 100th birthday is in March. She went to Methodist Hospital after the Flyers won that game and left with 25 stitches. A faint scar is still visible on her chin. Her grandson Dan Hershberg has the puck the Flyers sent to her house, clinging to the symbol of his grandmother’s induction into the Loyal Order like it’s a family heirloom.
“My grandmom is kind of like an old-school badass,” Hershberg said. “Yeah, I was at the hockey game and things happen and you move on.”
The original Loyal Order puck was a cube of Lucite with a Styrofoam puck inside — “Seriously?,” Friedman said — because a real puck would be too heavy. The Flyers later created plaques for members. They also sent a letter signed by a player. Friedman’s mother heard from Bernie Parent.
Bernie Parent, the former Flyers goalie, would sign letters sent to Loyal Order of the Unducked Puck inductees.
Dear Fran,
Unfortunately, you are now a full-fledged member of the Loyal Order of the Unducked Puck. I know your initiation was tough, but now that you have passed it with flying colors, Pete Peeters, Rick St. Croix, and myself (all honorary members) would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to the club. Everyone in the Flyers organization hopes you are now feeling fine and we hope you’ll accept this little memento of your unpleasant experience with a smile.
Best regards,
Bernie Parent
Fran Lisa died in March. There was always a game on TV, her daughter said, and Lisa knew all the stats. When the family wrote her obituary, they mentioned how she “showered people with love and food” and invited everyone to her Shore house. Lisa, they said, was the axis of her family.
And they also made sure the obituary included that she was a member of the Loyal Order of the Unducked Puck. Lisa was 85 years old and being hit with a puck at the Spectrum was worth a mention. The family wanted all to know that their mother earned her place in the Loyal Order.
“It was her,” Friedman said. “To her, she felt like she was a Flyer because of this whole thing. She was in the club. I can’t describe it any other way but she was proud. It was a great idea.”
About two weeks ago, Jason Myrtetus received a phone call from the Flyers.
The team was figuring out its plans for the annual Hockey Fights Cancer night and wanted to know if the Flyers broadcaster and host of the “Flyers Daily” podcast would be interested in dropping the ceremonial puck.
“I said, ‘Let me think about it. Yes,’” said Myrtetus without much pause. “So, yeah, my reaction was pretty humbling.
“As somebody who grew up here, and the love of the game and the love of the team, and what it’s meant in my life, and to be asked to do that is a huge honor. I think of my dad when I hear that, if he were still here, what would his reaction be?” added Myrtetus, whose father died of lung cancer in 2016.
“My dad had season tickets at the Spectrum in Section R, Row 7, back in the day, and what would his reaction be to me dropping the ceremonial puck? All the early morning car rides to rinks all over the Northeast, going to games with me, that hits you a little bit.”
The call from the Flyers came around the same time the 53-year-old Myrtetus, who grew up in West Chester, learned his recent scans and tests showed no evidence of the Stage 3 colorectal cancer he was diagnosed with just before Christmas 2024.
Working with Penn Medicine and his oncologist, Dr. Daniel Altman, Heather Levinsky, CRNP; and his surgeon, Dr. Erica Pettke, Myrtetus underwent an aggressive treatment plan that included eight chemotherapy infusions over 16 weeks, followed by 28 oral chemo and radiation treatments. The members of his care team will drop the puck alongside him before the Flyers host the St. Louis Blues on Thursday (7 p.m., NBCSP).
Founded in 1998 by the NHL and the NHLPA, Hockey Fights Cancer has raised more than $44 million since its inception and more than $12 million in the past two seasons.
Before the game, Layton Kovol will read the starting lineup. The 15-year-old goalie was the top fundraiser in Pennsylvania for the 2025 October Saves campaign, raising over $6,000 for cancer research. Alongside him will be his mother, Jamie, who has faced a long-term battle with brain cancer.
“My brother went through a form of cancer, he beat it, so it means a lot,” said coach Rick Tocchet of his brother Dan, when asked what tonight means to him. “You forget about that, right? You’re in the day-to-day [as a] hockey coach, and you forget about what’s really more important in life, and the awareness and all that stuff really kind of clues you in a little bit.”
Several of the Flyers players worked with local kids who are cancer survivors to design custom equipment for Hockey Fights Cancer night.
Several Flyers will also wear custom SkateSkinsand goalie helmets in warmups. The items were designed by players in partnership with children, ages 8-19, battling cancer. The rest of the team will wear generic Hockey Fights Cancer SkateSkins, which allow them to write who they fight for.
“It’s honestly just awesome to always meet those kids. They’re always the happiest guys and girls in the room, so, just taking it from their perspective, they always have the best attitudes you’ll ever see, and just enjoying every moment,” said defenseman Jamie Drysdale, one of nine players who worked with the children.
“I had a blast. I know all the guys had a blast. Some pretty cool skins we made, and one of the kids gave me this bracelet, and I’ve been wearing it since. Really cool experience for us to be a part of it. We’re the lucky ones to be able to design with them, so it was awesome.”
The orange bracelet Drysdale sports on his right wrist says “Aiden Strong” and “Leukemia Awareness.” Aiden, 8, was first diagnosed with leukemia at age 5 and rang the bell to finish his treatments in March. He started playing hockey last year and is now a Junior Blue Hen.
Aiden worked with Dan Vladař, who will start on Thursday, to design the mask the Czech goalie will wear during warmups. Sam Ersson will also wear a mask he created with 11-year-old Brayden, a two-time cancer survivor who plays for Team Philadelphia 12U in West Chester. Langhorne’s Franny Drummond of Paint Zoo Studios, who is the artist behind Vladař’s game mask, brought their designs to life.
Noah Cates, Travis Konecny, Travis Sanheim, Trevor Zegras, Garnet Hathaway, and captain Sean Couturier will each wear the specialty skins they helped create.
“He did a nice job,” said Couturier of 14-year-old Emile, who was diagnosed with craniopharyngioma and hails from Quebec. “He drew a lot of stuff about the Flyers, hockey, and stuff like that. But I told him to draw something about himself, and he likes nature, likes climbing, fishing. So he put a fishing [rod and reel].”
Konecny said ideas bounced around on what to put on the skates but 11-year-old Frankie, who was diagnosed at 10 with Ewing sarcoma, “was the one doing it all.” Drysdale is a fan of how the design came out and is looking forward to sporting the skates as all the kids who designed the skins watch warmups from the bench.
“We’re fortunate that we get to do things like this and be around those kids because they’re troopers. They’re awesome. Their attitudes. Perspective is the biggest thing,” said Drysdale, who worked with 10-year-old Chase.
“Obviously, they’ve battled much harder than any of us. So, yeah, just puts things in perspective. It’s really cool that we get the opportunity to work with them.”
Trevor Zegras and Juliette, 19, pose with their designs for Trevor’s Hockey Fights Cancer SkateSkins. Juliette is currently battling brain cancer.
The Flyers will honor Bernie Parent, who died at age 80 in September, at 6 p.m. Friday with a public celebration of life at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Coach Rick Tocchet and the Flyers attended Parent’s funeral last month.
Parent, whose No. 1 jersey was retired by the Flyers in 1979, was one of the Flyers’ all-time greats, backstopping the team to its only two Stanley Cup victories in 1974 and 1975 and winning back-to-back Vezina and Conn Smythe trophies in the process. But even with the Hall of Fame goalie’s legacy in Philadelphia, many of the younger members of the current team didn’t know much about Parent until his death, Tocchet said.
“History is big with me, and the young players maybe don’t know a little bit about Bernie,” Tocchet said. “I think it’s important. He’s a foundational piece for the organization over the years. What’s good about the Flyers, he’s one of those guys, right? I think you pay respects to the team and the guys have learned a little bit too, some guys that didn’t know much about Bernie, that asked questions about him.”
The team is paying tribute to Parent through its postgame celebration item, a vintage goalie mask like the one Parent used to wear, which goes to the player of the game after wins. The Flyers are also donning No. 1 patches on their jerseys this season, and have painted Parent’s No. 1 on the ice behind the net they defend twice at each game at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
The Flyers are honoring the late Bernie Parent with a No. 1 jersey patch this season.
“Bernie Parent did a lot for this organization, for this city, was involved off the ice as well, in the community,” captain Sean Couturier said after the season opener. “ … Definitely will be missed around here. We’d always see him around at games. Always had that quality of lighting everyone up, putting a smile on everyone’s face.”
Many Flyers alumni will be returning for Friday’s ceremony, Tocchet said, including members of the 1974-75 team like Bobby Clarke, to honor their teammate. Tocchet said this is a great opportunity for the current team to see the impact that legacy Flyers have had on the organization and the fans, on and off the ice.
Parent was a pillar in the community even after his retirement from hockey. He stayed in the Philly area and served as the Flyers’ goalie coach and in other roles within the organization.
“He lived out on the Shore,” Tocchet said. “Everybody knew him. I know a couple of my buddies live in Avalon. They’d see Bernie on his boat, walking around. He’s part of the fabric of that, of the Shore down there, too. He was accessible.”
Parent also will be honored during Saturday’s game against the New Jersey Devils, including a special puck drop from his family and tributes from former teammates and friends.
Breakaways
Oliver Bonk continued to skate with the Flyers in a noncontact jersey. He is recovering from an upper-body injury that kept him out of training camp. … Sam Ersson and Dan Vladař wore custom goalie masks at practice designed by two local children battling cancer. Thursday’s game against the St. Louis Blues is the team’s annual Hockey Fights Cancer night, and both goalies will wear the masks again during warmups.
When Ethan Ruiz was diagnosed with leukemia in 2024, he decided to tackle it rationally, just like he tackled the monsters under his bed.
“Why would a monster want to jump me specifically, right?” Ruiz joked. “That never really went away. Even as things got scarier and bigger, I was able to rationalize that I’m going to be able to get through things.”
Ruiz is this year’s recipient of the Flyers’ Building Hope for Kids grant, which will renovate his family’s home in Northeast Philadelphia in an attempt to “create a more comfortable, accessible, and uplifting space as he continues treatment.” But the 19-year-old isn’t the type to ask for help, his mother said, which is part of why Blair Listino and Flyers Charities were drawn to the family for this year’s grant.
“Building Hope for Kids is one of the most meaningful programs we’re part of each season,” saidListino, the chair of Flyers Charities and an alternate governor of the Flyers, in a news release. “It’s about more than transforming a home. It’s about surrounding families with care, comfort, and love during some of life’s hardest moments. The Ruiz family’s strength and positivity are inspiring, and we can’t wait to see their faces when they walk into their new home this March.”
“Partnering with Flyers Charities is amazing. Everyone jumps in with such enthusiasm and dedication,” added Chris McElwee, founder of Michael’s Way and president of Fastrack Construction. “It’s a huge team effort from start to finish. We all share the same goal: to create a peaceful, supportive space for Ethan throughout his fight and during his recovery. This project is, without question, a labor of love.”
This year's Building Hope for Kids recipient is 19-year-old Ethan Ruiz of Philadelphia. 🧡
Ruiz is still living in his childhood bedroom, so one major piece of the renovation will be taking the family’s basement and turning it into a new, much larger bedroom for him to stay in while he attends the Community College of Philadelphia.
“I’ve lived in the exact same room that I’ve always lived in since I was a little baby, the smallest room in the house, and I’m going from there to the biggest room in the house,” Ruiz said. “As my interests and I have grown up, I feel like I’ve gotten too big for it. The main thing is just taking all my interests and being able to have a space for me to actually output that into something that I feel like is representative of me now, instead of me as a kid.”
Having their home renovated will help Ruiz and his mother, Yomayra Carrer, focus fully on his treatment and care, instead of saving up for what repairs might be needed on their house at any given time.
The Flyers announced this year’s recipient of the Building Hope for Kids initiative on Tuesday as part of a fashion show. The show featured children receiving treatment for cancer who are beneficiaries of Michael’s Way, modeling outfits they chose themselves from the Flyers’ store, and some of their own favorites.
From left, Ethan Ruiz, Adonis Carlos Ruiz, and Yomayar Carrer pose for a photo after becoming the recipients of the Building Hope for Kids initiative during the Michael’s Way Fashion Show on Nov. 18.
The group included three former Building Hope for Kids recipients, and the wives and girlfriends of Flyers players, coaches, and staff, many of whom take the lead in decorating the home for the initiative each year.
“We have a great turnout,” Alex Sanheim said. “Everyone’s always willing to help. All the new ones, I feel like the first thing when you come in, we all discuss this project, and no one really understands the hype of it until you’re a part of it. Once you are, it’s truly magical, and everyone looks forward to it every year.”
Flyers Charities increased its financial contribution to the initiative to $100,000 in 2025 because of the increased cost of building materials and the success of the previous home renovations.
The Ruiz family is the 10th beneficiary of the Building Hope for Kids initiative, which returned last year for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. The finished renovation will be unveiled in March.
“This means the world to my family and me. I don’t think I fully believed this blessing was real until people showed up at my door,” Ruiz in the news release. “It’s incredibly reassuring to know I’ll have a home tailored to our needs. Everything I’ve needed has been provided, and having no loose ends or added worries has been such a relief.”
Sloane, 5, and Laurence Couturier walk the runway during the Michael’s Way Fashion Show.
