Philadelphia local news, sports, jobs, cars, homes

Category: Flyers/NHL

  • From rollerblading in California to college in the desert, Ty Murchison has taken a unique path to the Flyers

    From rollerblading in California to college in the desert, Ty Murchison has taken a unique path to the Flyers

    Ty Murchison rubbed out Jack Nesbitt along the wall during a drill on the first day of Flyers development camp last month

    The 2021 fifth-rounder, who is 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds, made sure he did it with noticeable authority. And not just because he was taking out Nesbitt, the 6-5 and 185-pound center who was drafted 12th overall four days before.

    Murchison’s game is predicated upon his size and physicality, and he has quietly developed into a left-shot prospect on defense whom the organization is watching closely.

    “He’s a late-round pick, but maybe he just has a little bit longer of a runway to get to where he’s going,” Flyers director of player development Riley Armstrong told The Inquirer in April. “And I think when you do a rebuild, you can’t just sit back, in my mind, can’t just sit there and be like, OK, we’re only going to focus on our high-end picks.

    Flyers draft pick Porter Martone explains his decision to go to Michigan State

    “You have to go in there and say we’ve got to focus on the fifth, the sixth. … And I really do think that just because you’re a sixth-, seventh-round pick, or not even drafted … if you work your butt off, and you do the little stuff, you never know what can happen.”

    Murchison, now 22, did that.

    Murchison wrapped up his four-year career at Arizona State last season as the National Collegiate Hockey Conference’s defensive defenseman of the year. Skating against schools like Western Michigan — and Alex Bump — and national semifinalist Denver, which the Sun Devils finished ahead of in the standings, the assistant captain snagged the award after blocking 98 shots.

    Those 98 blocks were a program record and also led all NCHC players. He recorded seven against Bump’s Broncos, two shy of the career high he set against Boston University as a sophomore.

    “He’s great,” ASU teammate and Calgary Flames draft pick Cullen Potter told The Inquirer at the NHL scouting combine. “He puts his body out there for the team, in any way he can, blocking shots. … So he’s just a great team guy, and I love having him around the rink, keeps it light, and has some fun with it, which I think hockey should be.”

    The Flyers selected Ty Murchison, who played collegiately for Arizona State, in the fifth round of the 2021 NHL draft.

    Ready to roll(er)

    Maybe it’s the California vibes that help him keep it light. Maybe it’s that Murchison, who will play with Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League this season, wasn’t twirling around rinks as a wee tyke.

    Correction: Ice hockey rinks.

    “I played roller hockey, pretty much since I could walk. I had no intentions of really getting into ice hockey until I was probably like 14, just for fun,” Murchison said in April. “But I got a coach from ice hockey who kind of saw me play roller and asked me to join their team. That’s how I got into it, and kind of just took off from there. But, yeah, roller hockey is really my roots, for sure.”

    Amid the NHL offseason, two Flyers team up to help spread an ‘important’ message

    Murchison’s parents moved to California from Canada so his father, Ken, could play in the Roller Hockey International, a professional inline hockey league that ran from 1993 to 1999. Ken Murchison, who played at the University of New Brunswick and in the East Coast Hockey League, also worked for the Anaheim Ducks and managed inline rinks around the state.

    Ty Murchison didn’t swap his wheels for blades until he was 11.

    “The adjustment was really the edges and the skating. I couldn’t stop when I first started playing,” the younger Murchison said with a big laugh. “So that’s kind of how I got my physical aspect. I was blowing kids up because I couldn’t stop. I was just running into kids.”

    After doing “a ton of skating lessons,” Murchison began to excel, and at 16, he moved to Michigan to join the U.S. National Team Development Program. But roller hockey was never far from his mind, and while at Arizona State, he and his dog Penny would rollerblade around Tempe Town Lake.

    Ty Murchison grew up playing roller hockey in California.

    NHL prospects?

    Murchison’s skating has drastically improved through the years, and “he’s physical, keeps it simple,” and is “in your face.” He also does “all the little things that you need guys like that to do when you want to go far,” as noted by former Phantoms coach and current Flyers hockey operations adviser Ian Laperrière.

    Now, Murchison and Armstrong are working on his hands.

    “He is a high-end skater, really competitive and physical,” Armstrong said of Murchison, whom he compared to Nick Seeler. “Right now, we’re just working on his puck plays and his decision-making. At the junior level, maybe he runs the power play, and he gets that little bit of confidence on the blue line about doing stuff and things like that; I think it goes a long way.

    “So we’re working at that with him right now, and who knows? We’ll see where it goes.”

    Ty Murchison participated in the recent Flyers’ development camp.

    This summer, Murchison is spending time working on getting stronger and putting on weight because “at the next level, everybody’s strong, and the way I play, I need to be stronger than most guys.”

    The blueliner got a taste of what’s to come, skating in four games for the Phantoms in April after the conclusion of his college season.

    He’s also working on those hands and upping his offensive game after collecting nine goals and 14 assists in 145 career games for the Sun Devils. And of course, he’s playing roller hockey. Recently, Murchison skated in the North American Roller Hockey championships in California.

    But now he has his sights set on bigger goals.

    “I’m very proud of it, it’s been a blessing,” Murchison said of playing pro ice hockey. “I’m happy to be here. It’s what I’ve been dreaming of — even though I played roller hockey — I always dreamed of playing in the NHL when I was a little kid. So, yeah, I’m hoping to take the next step and get there one day.”

  • Flyers draft: Heavy hitter Brady Martin could be their pick at No. 6. He has a work ethic forged on a farm.

    Flyers draft: Heavy hitter Brady Martin could be their pick at No. 6. He has a work ethic forged on a farm.

    Brady Martin answered the phone last week. Was he at the rink, keeping his legs loose before he is selected in the NHL draft on Friday? Or maybe home, relaxing after a week of interviews and physical tests at the NHL scouting combine?

    Nope.

    “I’m actually sitting outside an auction right now,” the projected top-10 draft pick said. Yep, Martin was selling some of his cows just days before being drafted.

    During the COVID pandemic, the center didn’t have much to do. Martin, the middle son of Sheryl and Terry Martin, and his brothers invested their money in beef cows. He was selling some of his cows on this day.

    Flyers acquire center Trevor Zegras in latest trade with Anaheim Ducks

    “We usually buy a cow, and usually have a calf with it,” Martin explained to The Inquirer. “We raise up the baby calf, and then once it’s big enough to sell, we’ll take it to the butcher or the auction, and then someone else will buy it, or we’ll butcher it and keep it for our own meat. Depends on what the price is looking at.”

    Raising cows isn’t something new to Martin. Known for his hitting and physical game on the ice, he gets his strength from his family’s dairy farm, helping to raise and maintain 250 cattle, 4,000 pigs, and 60,000 chickens. They have a lot of land — technically two farms — outside of Elmira, Ontario, near the hometown of former Flyer Darryl Sittler, and they grow wheat, corn, beans, ryegrass, and hay to feed their animals before selling the excess.

    Brady Martin is planning on taking over the family farm once his hockey career is over.

    When the now 18-year-old Martin was younger and not training as much, his days would start at 6 a.m. doing chores for the next 2½ hours before having breakfast. After getting his fill, he’d return to the beef barn for more chores until 10 a.m. Some of his responsibilities included feeding the cows and baby calves, making sure they had dry bedding to lie on, and ensuring the herd was healthy.

    During the hockey season, he was part of a co-op and in school part-time. So, he would work most of the day, until about 5:30 p.m., before practice at 7 p.m. “That was kind of my day, and after practice, come home, watch some hockey, and then do it all over again the next day,” he said.

    “I’m not working much anymore,” he added. “I’ll get up and still do the chores around 6 before anything. I’ll get up and I’ll do the chores, and then I’ll go work out and skate, and usually have that done by midafternoon. Then I have my day to go back to the barn and do whatever. … Kind of used to working hard and working a full day.”

    The work ethic is there

    Farming has been part of the Martin family for generations, and he plans on taking over the farm when his hockey days are over. It is this background, as a member of the Mennonite community in Canada, that has helped him build a strong work ethic akin to the blue-collar values of Philly.

    And it is at No. 6 that the Flyers could snag this highly touted prospect. This past season, the centerman put up 33 goals and 72 points in 57 regular-season games for the Soo Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League. An alternate captain, he had a team-best eight power-play goals before adding another four points (two goals, two assists) in five playoff games. He then went to Texas and put up 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in seven games for the gold-medal winning Canadians at the U18 World Championship.

    “It does not take long to find out why scouts love him so much, because he is the hardest hitter in the draft,” FloHockey NHL draft analyst Chris Peters said. “He hurts people because of how hard he hits. He’s not doing it maliciously; he’s just that devastating of a body checker. But then, he can also score, and he’s got hands, he’s got the ability.

    “Does he have the offensive upside of some of these other guys that we are talking about, like [Jake] O’Brien, [James] Hagens, [Porter] Martone? Probably not, but he does have that well-rounded capability to be defensive, to make you know that he’s there. There is still a huge value placed on that competitive element of his game. He comes by it naturally, too. Grew up on a farm, raised on a farm. … There’s a work ethic to the kid. There’s a character to the kid. And on top of it, he is this fearsome player.”

    Brady Martin has turned into “a wild card” in the 2025 draft, The Athletic’s NHL draft analyst Scott Wheeler says.

    When asked about being called a “wrecking ball on skates” by draft analysts, Martin replied quietly and modestly with a “Yeah” and a laugh.

    “I love the physical part of the game, and just a big part of my game for sure,” he said. “Yeah, to be offensively skilled and compete and work hard like that, to have that tool in my toolbox is good. To be on a hit, know when to hit, I know I enjoy it, too. So yeah, it’s a big part of my game.”

    At 6 feet and 187 pounds, the pivot is “not a behemoth,” as NHL draft analyst Scott Wheeler said at the combine in Buffalo. “But he is probably pound-for-pound, one of the strongest players in this draft, and just an absolute terror.”

    That’s a pretty good thing when you compare your game to NHL menaces — but also point producers — Matthew Knies, Tom Wilson, Zach Hyman, and Sam Bennett. The latter was named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as the playoff MVP while leading the Florida Panthers to their second straight Stanley Cup over Hyman’s Edmonton Oilers, Martin’s favorite team.

    Sounds like his work ethic and style would fit perfectly in Philly.

    Brady Martin had 33 goals and 72 points in 57 regular-season games for the Soo Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League.

    “Brady Martin is one of one in this class,” Wheeler said. “He is the most competitive forward in this class. He is arguably the most competitive player in this class. I would say that him and Kashawn Aitcheson are the fiercest competitors in this age group. He is the most physical forward in this class. He hits and hurts guys. He dominates guys physically in terms of just his intensity, the way that he goes after guys, and finishes his checks.

    “So there’s that piece of it, which every team loves, the throwback player, and then on top of that, he’s very skilled. He’s got this sort of quick-twitch hands, and he can make plays, and he’s got an NHL shot.”

    Could Flyers take a swing and draft a defenseman at No. 6? Ranking the top blueliners available in the class.

    A partner for Michkov?

    Martin met with the Flyers and was one of three players known to have had dinner with the team in Buffalo. He said they talked for a while, it was casual and, fittingly, they took him for a steak. Flyers hockey is “kind of the hockey I play, so I think it’d be a perfect fit for me,” he added.

    It may be, considering the Flyers are always searching for guys who already come with a “high compete” level. It was the edict under former coach John Tortorella, and it’s fair to say Rick Tocchet leans the same way. And of course, at No. 6, the expectation is that if the Flyers take a center, he’ll be the future linemate of Matvei Michkov.

    “I think it would be good,” Martin said of pairing with the Russian star winger. “I think he’s a skilled player, and he’s one of the best players this year on that team. And, yeah, it’d be cool to play with him and, if I get the opportunity, I think it could work, get him pucks, and make room on the ice for him.”

    When asked what he loves the most about hockey, the kid who started skating at 3 and “wasn’t very good” when he started said it was “being part of a team” and “when you win at the end, it’s even more fun [because] you get to enjoy the moment with your peers and your teammates who you’ve played all season with.”

    Brady Martin is widely considered the top hitter in this year’s draft class.

    Who is Brady Martin? He’s a banger with high skill who puts the team above himself. Which is why he will not be in Los Angeles to hear his name called on Friday. He will be home in Ontario, surrounded by family and friends, as his community throws a party, too.

    “I could have went to LA, but I really enjoy my family and hockey season playing in the Soo, I don’t really get to see them much,” he said. “So to be at home and experience that with them is what I’ve always wanted to do, and to have a couple of my buddies and my peers on my side, and cousins and stuff, it’ll be pretty special.”

    And after celebrating? There will be chores to do in the morning.

  • Flyers prospect Alex Bump became a star at Western Michigan. The former fifth-rounder might prove to be ‘an absolute steal.’

    Flyers prospect Alex Bump became a star at Western Michigan. The former fifth-rounder might prove to be ‘an absolute steal.’

    ST. LOUIS — Skating around the Enterprise Center with his blond hair flowing out of his helmet, Flyers prospect Alex Bump potted a quick wrister from the slot as his linemate Matteo Costantini let out a big yelp.

    Were they celebrating a goal like the double-overtime winner that sent Western Michigan to the NCAA regional finals? No. Was it one of his team-leading 23 tallies this season? Nope. It was instead at Western Michigan’s final practice before the university’s first-ever appearance in the Frozen Four.

    While the goal came as he skated around in a white practice jersey with a black Bronco on it, it encompassed what Bump, 21, does best now, and what he will look to replicate when he suits up for the Flyers in the no-longer-distant future.

    Does Penn State’s Frozen Four berth mean the hockey program has arrived?

    Bump is a goal scorer.

    “A lot of guys are not confident in their shooting,” Flyers director of player development Riley Armstrong said. “A lot of guys don’t think they can beat a goalie, or they have to get to a certain area on the ice to be able to beat the goalie. I think Alex is a very confident shooter, he knows where to shoot the puck. He’s always known how to find the net.”

    Flyers prospect Alex Bump is tied for eighth in the nation with 23 goals this season.

    Hometown hero

    Joe Pankratz remembers Bump being at the rink, even before he starred for him at Prior Lake High School. Bump’s two older brothers played hockey for the school’s longtime coach, and a young Bump — who at the age of 8 and 9, “was a good squirt”— developed a reputation as a rink rat.

    “The biggest thing is, he absolutely loves hockey,” Pankratz told The Inquirer. “You can’t get him off the ice.”

    It was in his hometown of Prior Lake, Minn., where Bump developed that lethal shot of his. He scored 48 goals during his senior season as the Lakers’ captain, including 12 in the section and state tournament playoffs; five came in one playoff game.

    “It’s a lot of snapshots, and he protects it and hides it really well. He changes the angle on his shot. … A lot of that is he’s got amazing hands, but he has a lot of poise with the puck, so he isn’t in a rush,” Pankratz said. “He doesn’t panic with it.”

    And he is a volume shooter. This season, the left-shot winger has fired 236 shots on goal with 23 goals, a 9.7% shooting percentage.

    Ivan Fedotov named Flyers’ Masterton Trophy nominee: ‘We can’t really understand what he’s been through’

    But it’s not just his shot that’s impressed the Flyers.

    “He’s very elusive of checks. He’s slippery, as you would call it in hockey,” Armstrong said. “He always finds a way to get around guys, get through guys, and then when he doesn’t have the puck, he always finds a way to get open. He has a really good stick. He’s physical. He engages with and without the puck into contact, which is something that you need to play at the NHL level.”

    Alex Bump’s skill has popped at multiple Flyers development camps. Next year, he hopes to crack the NHL out of main training camp.

    The NHL could come as soon as the Broncos’ season ends, either Thursday against the University of Denver (5 p.m., ESPN2) or after Saturday’s national championship game (7:30 p.m., ESPN2). And it sounds like Bump will be coming with an ax to grind.

    “Our guys, Brent [Flahr, assistant general manager] and [amateur scout] Shane Fukushima in Minnesota, had seen him play a lot [in high school], and they were very comfortable with him. They couldn’t believe that he had fallen this far,” Flyers general manager Danny Brière said this week.

    At the time, Brière was an adviser to then-GM Chuck Fletcher. He jokes that his nephew Zaac, the team’s runner at the Montreal draft, “still claims he made the pick for us” after seeing Bump’s name high on the team’s draft board and saying they should take the Minnesotan.

    Bump was eventually selected by the Flyers in the fifth round with pick No. 133 — and it lit a fire.

    “He came up to the suite after. He had his brothers there, his family, and he came in and he was [ticked] off that he went so late. He felt he should have went earlier in the draft,” added Armstrong, then an assistant coach with Lehigh Valley.

    “I think he’s proven a lot of people wrong, or for our sake, right.”

    Resetting the Flyers’ future: Which prospects beyond Jett Luchanko and draft picks do the Orange and Black have on the way?

    ‘An absolute steal’

    Why Bump, the 2022 USA Today High School Hockey Player of the Year, fell is irrelevant now. Just like the round he was drafted. As Flahr always says, it’s all about what you do after that matters. And what Bump, 21, has done has been impressive.

    But first, Bump had to face some adversity. He played USHL hockey wrapped around his senior year but didn’t put up the biggest numbers the year after he graduated. A University of Vermont commit, he had to make a last-minute pivot when the Catamounts’ coach was fired, and found a home at Western Michigan in Kalamazoo, Mich.

    Alex Bump, pictured at Western Michigan’s Frozen Four practice on Wednesday, was the NCHC’s top forward this year.

    “I think that we’ve seen over the last two years is that his development has seemingly gone into hyperdrive. I think he’s ahead of schedule where we thought he would be this time two years ago,” FloHockey’s prospect analyst Chris Peters told The Inquirer. “So that’s a pretty positive development, because he was good in the USHL, but he wasn’t dominant. And now this year, you could say he was one of the best players in college hockey.”

    Broncos coach Pat Ferschweiler, who was a linemate at Western Michigan with Flyers president Keith Jones, and the Flyers organization work in lockstep. Armstrong speaks with the coaching staff and Bump consistently, and goes over videos with the player to make sure they are all on the same page as far as his development and making sure he is NHL-ready.

    How it will translate at the NHL level is to be determined. Ferschweiler says the Flyers got “an absolute steal.” He notes Bump’s “incredible hockey sense and incredible vision,” but feels what will really separate him and “what the Flyers fans are going to love, is, he’s got incredible compete.”

    “Alex does not lack for confidence,” he said. “He’s got inner belief, because he works really hard, and that’s how belief is earned. He does that every day. So he’s not a cocky kid, but he does have self-belief, which I think there’s a fine line there and he walks on the right side of it.”

    A pure goal scorer, Bump does need to continue to work on his skating. But those who know him best have seen improvement. This past winter break, Bump skated with his old high school team and Pankratz noted “how much stronger, more powerful of a skater he is.”

    And they all know he will put in the work because he wants to succeed.

    “I don’t think he’s ever really been a passenger.” Peters said. “He’s a driver, and especially at his age, and that program, and based on what they have surrounding him, like they needed him to be that, and he’s delivered. So he’s risen to the occasion.”

    The Flyers and their fans will love to hear that because maybe, just maybe, he becomes another game-changer for a team that needs more of them to take that next step.

    “I really do,” Armstrong said, when asked if Bump could be that type of guy. “I think, with Matvei [Michkov] as well. … You just have to have a little bit of patience to kind of see the rebuild through and wait for these kids to get there.

    “Once they do, you’re going to have a couple of game-changers sitting right in front of you.”

    Alex Bump’s shot is his No. 1 attribute but the Flyers see more than just that in the 21-year-old.
  • What will the Flyers do ahead of the trade deadline? Here’s where Scott Laughton, Rasmus Ristolainen, and others stand.

    What will the Flyers do ahead of the trade deadline? Here’s where Scott Laughton, Rasmus Ristolainen, and others stand.

    PITTSBURGH — And just like that the NHL’s trade deadline is almost here.

    After a rambunctious two weeks focused on the 4 Nations Face-Off, all eyes are now turned to the league’s annual wheelin’ and dealin.’

    Flyers general manager Danny Brière could be busy before the clock strikes 3 p.m. on March 7 as he continues to shape the roster in his long-term vision. He already traded homegrown forwards Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost at the end of January, as he, and the brass, decide who is on the bus.

    So who is next to go, if anyone? We broke down the Flyers roster one week out from the trade deadline.

    John Tortorella reiterates that the Flyers ‘can’t fall in love’ with players like Scott Laughton as the trade deadline nears

    Which Flyers are likely to be traded?

    Scott Laughton, C/LW: Every year Laughton is rumored to be on the trade block. The forward is well-equipped to handle the chatter by now, but could this be the year he is finally moved? A reliable two-way center who can also be productive on the wing and as a penalty killer, Laughton has versatility that is attractive to teams looking to make a Stanley Cup run. He also has one year left after this season at a $3 million cap hit and would not just be a rental for rumored landing spots, including Winnipeg, which the Flyers play on Saturday, and his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs. He also would bring value to any locker room.

    Rasmus Ristolainen, D: If coach John Tortorella had his way, the Flyers would keep the blueliner because, “If you trade him Friday, then on Saturday, you say, [expletive], I need a big, right-handed defenseman.” Ristolainen also has term — two years beyond this season at a $5.1 million clip — and, what Tortorella considers, a favorable contract. But there is no denying Ristolainen is a marquee trade chip for the Flyers as teams look to get bigger for the postseason.

    Erik Johnson, D: Johnson, who turns 37 next month, is a pending unrestricted free agent and could be a good option for a playoff team looking to add depth to its defensive core. Although he hasn’t played much this season, he has looked steady when called upon and has the postseason experience — i.e., a Stanley Cup — teams look for in a sixth or seventh blueliner.

    The Flyers have a decision to make with Rasmus Ristolainen, who is signed for two seasons beyond this one.

    Which Flyers could be traded if the price is right?

    Bobby Brink, RW: Tortorella recently said Brink, in a good way, “plays every game worrying about … just staying in his spot.” The forward has played well and is setting career highs while playing a better defensive game. He shouldn’t get moved, but his stock is on the rise.

    Nick Deslauriers, LW: The veteran enforcer has one more year after this season at $1.75 million. A good guy in the room, he hasn’t played much this season — he did miss a good chunk with an injury — but could be utilized for a team as a fourth liner who protects guys during the rough-and-tumble postseason.

    Garnet Hathaway, RW, and Nick Seeler, D: Every team, including the Flyers, wants guys like this. Should they be moved? No, but it may make sense if the return is well above the asking price.

    Andrei Kuzmenko, LW: Now on his third team in three years, the Russian winger comes with question marks. He has the skill but seems to start strong with clubs before stalling. Tortorella likes what he has seen in a few short weeks, and Kuzmenko’s coachability. But there could be suitors for a guy who can find the back of the net, so the Flyers could flip him. If they do, he is an unrestricted free agent this summer and could always return on a cheaper deal if both parties were so inclined.

    Andrei Kuzmenko’s addition could help remedy some of the Flyers’ power-play issues

    Egor Zamula, D: Is the defenseman going to be on the bus? That is the big question right now. He has shown growth at times but is still struggling to find his game and could be a good fit for a team looking to rebuild its blue line.

    Ivan Fedotov/Aleksei Kolosov, G: Although there is rampant speculation as to why Kolosov is still on the NHL roster, the Flyers cannot persist with the three-headed monster in net. One of the guys should either get sent down to the American Hockey League — Kolosov is waiver-exempt — or one should be traded.

    Which Flyers are unlikely to get traded?

    Sean Couturier, C: It’s no secret the former Selke Trophy winner hasn’t been the same since undergoing two back surgeries in 2022. The injuries came just after he had signed an eight-year, $62 million ($7.75 million average annual value) contract to become the face of the Flyers. Couturier is still a responsible defensive center, but no team is trading for a 32-year-old whose best hockey looks to be behind him, and who has five years remaining at his hefty cap hit.

    Emil Andrae, D: Limited in stature but not in heart and drive, Andrae is ready to become an NHL regular now. It should be with the Flyers, who need his puck-moving ability. The one exception would be if he’s part of a larger package to land the big-time center the Flyers need.

    Jamie Drysdale, D: Teams need guys like Drysdale, with his ability — like Andrae — to move the puck and generate offense from the back end. That said, he is still very much a work in progress. If they were to move him, the only positive for the Flyers is that he looked fantastic against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night, especially when he broke up a pass intended for Sidney Crosby and then delivered the primary assist up the ice.

    Could Cam York be a surprise trade candidate ahead of March 7?

    Cam York, D: He was once thought to be untouchable, but York’s status is not as defined with the Flyers. After a stellar 2023-24, in which Tortorella called him the team’s best defender, he has struggled to find that level this season. He did deal with a shoulder injury early in the year that seemed to stunt his growth but has played better of late.

    Noah Cates, C, and Tyson Foerster, LW/RW: Highly unlikely, but they are both restricted free agents who are expected to earn big raises this summer after the seasons they are having. The Flyers need centers and Cates has finally emerged as a top-three pivot, so there’s a low probability he will be moved. Foerster’s chances are a bit higher as teams would love his defensive game with a big shot brimming under the surface.

    Sean Couturier has taken on a teaching role with linemate Matvei Michkov and it’s paying dividends

    Ryan Poehling, C, and Owen Tippett, LW/RW: Very unlikely. When confident, Tippett is becoming the guy everyone expected with his speed and skill. He should score 30 goals consistently. Like Tippett, Poehling adds speed to the lineup and is the solid bottom-six center the Flyers have use for, especially if Laughton dealt.

    Jakob Pelletier, LW: The Flyers just got the winger, who has some upside as a former first-round pick. He’s a restricted free agent this summer and will be signed for cheap, so no reason to make a rash move — unless he’s part of that big center package we talked about it.

    Who on the Flyers is untouchable?

    Travis Konecny, RW: Signed to an eight-year extension last summer, the All-Star winger is just hitting his prime and his stride. Konecny has established himself as a bona fide top-line player and is on pace for a career-high 86 points.

    Matvei Michkov, RW: Obviously.

    Travis Sanheim, D: The other half of “The Travii” is having a breakout season, becoming one of the NHL’s top defensemen in terms of stamina and versatility. The top-pair blueliner boasts a rare combination of size (6-foot-4, 222 pounds) and skating ability, which he just showcased on the international stage. Sanheim, who turns 29 next month, also has a full no-trade clause through the 2026-27 season.

    Sam Ersson, G: People want to question whether he is a No. 1 goalie. Why? The Swede continues to prove he can carry the load of games and the weight of being among the NHL’s best. Just look at his stats since the Christmas break — 11-4-2 with a .912 save percentage — and that doesn’t include his stellar performance vs. the United States at the 4 Nations Face-Off.

    Goalie Samuel Ersson has played himself into untouchable status, according to Jackie Spiegel.
  • Ivan Provorov refused to wear Flyers’ Pride Night jerseys because of his religion. He’s getting Christianity all wrong.

    Ivan Provorov refused to wear Flyers’ Pride Night jerseys because of his religion. He’s getting Christianity all wrong.

    On Tuesday, Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov refused to wear a rainbow warmup jersey during the team’s LGBTQ Pride Night game against the Anaheim Ducks. He was the only player to do so. Provorov, who hails from Yaroslavl, Russia, cited his Russian Orthodox faith as the reason for abstaining from rainbows, telling reporters after the game that he had chosen “to stay true to myself and my religion.”

    As a queer woman, a former hockey player, a Christian, and an NHL fan, I am disappointed at the league and the Flyers’ response. In refusing to wear the Pride Night jersey, Provorov refused to acknowledge the humanity of LGBTQ people. And the league, in defending his stance, went right along with it.

    Ivan Provorov shuns LGBTQ+ community as Flyers miss a chance to make a difference on Pride night

    In a statement released Wednesday, the NHL said: “Clubs decide whom to celebrate, when and how — with league counsel and support. Players are free to decide which initiatives to support, and we continue to encourage their voices and perspectives on social and cultural issues.”

    In other words: There’s no problem with players being vocally antigay. Flyers head coach John Tortorella doubled down on the support of Provorov’s homophobia, telling reporters after the game: “This has to do with his belief and his religion. It’s one thing I respect about Provy, he’s always true to himself. That’s where I’m at with that.”

    Too few people understand that this tacit acceptance of discrimination — especially as it relates to sexuality and religion — is a matter of life or death for members of my community.

    Provorov is entitled to his personal convictions. He can believe that only marriages between a man and a woman can be blessed by God, or that homosexuality is a sin. But I wish he knew this: For other populations, when they adopt the church, the suicide rate decreases. For LGBTQ people, when they adopt the church, the suicide rate increases.

    Provorov should have donned that rainbow jersey and, yes, put rainbow tape on his hockey stick — not because he accepts gay marriage or because he’s eager to march in a Pride parade — but to stand up for LGBTQ people who are suffering. The defenseman had a chance to make a statement against bullying, against hatred, and against violence, without even opening his mouth. Instead, he chose not to step on the ice for warmups. That is shameful.

    I would recommend that Provorov, Tortorella, NHL leadership, and anyone who disagrees with me — take a moment to read the book Heavy Burdens by sociologist Bridget Eileen Rivera. In it, she shows how generations of LGBTQ people have been condemned and alienated by churches. That legacy has caused immeasurable harm to my community. It is a heavy burden to carry.

    Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov sat out warmups on Tuesday night to avoid wearing the team’s Pride Night jerseys.

    Next, dive into Affirming: A Memoir of Faith, Sexuality, and Staying in the Church by Sally Gary. Gary is the executive director of CenterPeace, a nonprofit organization that helps members of the LGBTQ community feel a sense of belonging in the church — and provides resources for Christian leaders and parents of LGBTQ kids to respond to the queer community as Christ would: with love and acceptance.

    After that, I would recommend that Provorov sit down and spend time with his Bible.

    If Provorov truly wants to follow Jesus, the best thing to do is to stand up for the vulnerable. One of the first things Jesus said in announcing his ministry was: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19)

    That is how close the vulnerable were to Jesus’ heart. If Provorov’s Christianity does not center on helping the vulnerable — and I mean every vulnerable population — then he’s missing the mark.

    And LGBTQ people are one of the most vulnerable populations here in the United States, and in Russia. In December, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law that makes it illegal to spread “propaganda” about “non-traditional sexual relations.” Closer to home, the Central Bucks school board earlier this month banned teachers from hanging Pride flags.

    The NHL, John Tortorella comment on Ivan Provorov’s boycott of the Flyers’ Pride Night festivities

    My heart goes out to Provorov. He’s trying to follow God with the knowledge and resources he has.

    In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus had some of the strongest warnings for the most religious of his day. He warned his followers to be wary of those who “preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.” (Matthew 23:3-4)

    I’m asking Provorov to move his finger. Clear these burdens. Reading the Bible with fresh eyes might open his mind.

    (And at least Gritty isn’t a homophobe. Bless that creature.)