At least that’s what Frank Reich is hoping. The new Jets offensive coordinator is reportedly eyeing Carson Wentz as New York’s preferred option at quarterback, per SNY’s Connor Hughes. Wentz, a pending free agent, signing with the Jets would mark the third time the pair have crossed paths. Reich previously coached Wentz, now 33, with the Eagles and the Colts.
A source told SNY that “no one loves Wentz more than Frank.”
As the Eagles offensive coordinator, Reich coached Wentz during the quarterback’s rookie season of 2016 and then in 2017. In his second year, Wentz was the MVP favorite, throwing for 3,296 yards and 33 touchdowns, before tearing his ACL in Week 13. Without Wentz, the Eagles would go on to win Super Bowl LII behind the heroics of backup quarterback Nick Foles.
After the Super Bowl victory, Reich was hired as head coach of the Colts. The offensive guru looked to build a contender behind then-Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, but Reich only got one year out of the Stanford grad. Luck abruptly retired at age 29, leading to a carousel of quarterbacks during the rest of Reich’s five-year Colts tenure.
In the 2021 season, Reich reunited with Wentz — who was ousted alongside former Eagles head coach Doug Pederson — via trade. Wentz passed for 3,563 yards with 27 touchdowns in 2021, leading the Colts to a 9-8 record. In the final game of the season, with a playoff berth on the line, the Colts mustered just 11 points against the lowly 3-14 Jaguars. Wentz was traded to Washington for draft capital that offseason.
The Washington Commanders are one of the five teams Carson Wentz has played for since leaving the Eagles.
After a 2-4 start in Washington, Wentz suffered a broken finger and was replaced by Tyler Heinecke for the remainder of that year. Since then, he has bounced around the league in backup roles with the Rams, Chiefs, and most recently the Vikings.
Meanwhile, Reich lasted with the Colts until a 3-5-1 start in 2022 led to his firing. He was hired as the Panthers head coach in 2023 but was fired after a 1-10 start. Before taking the Jets OC job this offseason, Reich was most recently the interim head coach at Stanford.
In the midst of Wentz’s rookie season of 2016, Reich described Wentz as “mentally and physically very tough” in an interview with The Inquirer. “You’ve got to be able to play the position and certainly to play here in this city, and he welcomes that, and we welcome that,” Reich continued.
Ten years later, the same can be said for the situation the two would enter together in New York. The Jets have not had a winning season since 2015 and finished last year 3-14 behind the play of Justin Fields, Tyrod Taylor and Brady Cook at quarterback.
NFL free agency kicks off Monday, as players and teams can begin negotiating deals, which can be officially signed on Wednesday.
The Flyers made their first big move of the trade deadline early on Friday, trading winger Bobby Brink to Minnesota for defenseman David Jiříček.
Jiříček will start his career with the Flyers organization in Lehigh Valley, but he’s got the potential to be a big part of the Flyers’ future. Here are five things to know about the organization’s newest blueliner.
Jiříček, whom the Flyers really liked at the time, was picked sixth overall in the 2022 NHL draft by Columbus, one pick after the Flyers selected Gauthier. Famously, Gauthier never played a game with the organization, requesting a trade out and getting swapped for Jamie Drysdale in January of 2024.
2. His brother is an NHL prospect, too
Jiříček‘s brother, Adam, was the St. Louis Blues’ first-round pick in 2024. He’s also a right-handed defenseman, and was one of the stars for Czechia in their silver-medal campaign at the 2026 World Juniors.
3. He’s on his third NHL team
Despite his draft pedigree, Jiříček hasn’t been able to stick at the NHL level yet. He bounced between the Blue Jackets’ AHL and NHL squads, even making the 2023 AHL All-Star team, before being traded in 2024 with a fifth-rounder to Minnesota for defenseman Daemon Hunt and first-, second-, third- and fourth-round picks. He spent time with the Wild’s NHL and AHL clubs before being flipped for Brink. He will start his Flyers career in Lehigh Valley.
New Flyers defenseman David Jiříček’s calling card is a booming shoot.
4. He’s got a hard shot
One of Jiříček‘s best attributes is his hard shot from the point. The big selling point during his draft year was his strong offensive toolkit, especially on the power play, but he hasn’t been able to carve out power-play time in Minnesota. Currently, the Flyers have Drysdale and Cam York running the two power play units.
5. He’s tall
Jiříček stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 204 lbs., according to the NHL media site. He’ll instantly be one of the Flyers’ biggest defensemen, behind just Travis Sanheim — especially with Rasmus Ristolainen likely on his way out.
The Flyers are officially in the trade column, as they started to unclog their logjam on the wing by trading Bobby Brink to the Minnesota Wild for defenseman David Jiříček on Friday.
Although Rasmus Ristolainen, who ultimately was not moved, was the biggest name in play for the Flyers, many felt Brink could be moved ahead of the 3 p.m. trade deadline. Brink, who will be a restricted free agent at season’s end, also will relish the destination as he is a native of Minnetonka, Minn.
“He’s helped me a ton with my game, [and] hopefully he can say the same about me,” linemate Noah Cates said after the team’s practice in Voorhees. “Both being from Minnesota, there’s a lot of good things; it’s sad, but obviously happy. He’s going back home and going to a really good team.
“But definitely a shock, and still processing it. This still doesn’t feel too real. So, obviously, just a great kid, and [he] means a lot to me. So, hoping nothing but the best for him.”
Can confirm the reports, Bobby Brink is heading home to Minnesota. Heard this was a possibility yesterday. Defenseman David Jiricek is coming back in the deal.
The 24-year-old winger, who was a second-round pick in 2019, has 13 goals and 26 points in 55 games this season, and is on pace for a career-high 17 goals. Brink, who developed chemistry and increased his all-around effectiveness on a third line with Cates and Tyson Foerster the past few seasons, tallied 36 goals and 94 points in 201 career games with the Flyers.
It was quite a spell in Philly for Brink, who went from John Tortorella’s doghouse — the coach said two years ago that Brink couldn’t spell “check” and, interestingly enough, scratched him for what would have been his first game in Minnesota — to someone he relied on heavily.
“He’s come a long way,” captain Sean Couturier said in October. “We’ve always seen his offensive skills and his ability to make plays and create offense, but the defensive side and the reliability of him have really improved. Feels like he’s a complete player, can play in all situations, and he’s going on a nightly basis against top lines. So, credit to him for developing that side of the game.”
Cates did not see Brink before he left for Las Vegas, where the Wild play on Friday night, and hadn’t sent him a text just yet. But he will be seeing him on Thursday, when the Flyers are in Minnesota (8 p.m., NBCSP).
“He went through some tough times with Torts and being a younger player, smaller player, skilled player. And he really helped me,” Cates said. “And I think our games kind of meshed well together and found some good chemistry. … He grew a ton. And credit to him. He’s seen as a critical piece to the Wild that they want and for them to go on a playoff run. So, obviously, an awesome kid, and we’re going to miss him.”
Once known for his shot and overall offensive skills, David Jiříček has yet to fire at the NHL level.
Coming back the other way is the intriguing Jiříček, who will be joining a third team since being selected sixth overall — one pick after the Flyers selected Cutter Gauthier — in the 2022 NHL draft. The 6-foot-4, 204-pound blueliner has split time this season between Minnesota and its American Hockey League affiliate in Iowa and has no points in 25 NHL games and two goals and 10 points in 24 AHL contests.
Still just 22, Jiříček has yet to deliver on the promise that made him such a highly touted prospect in his draft year. Blessed with great range, puck skills, and a bomb of a shot, Jiříček’s combination of size, offensive ability, and edge has yet to translate since he moved over to North America.
The Flyers, who were known admirers of Jiříček in his draft year, still obviously believe he’s a worthy reclamation project, given his age and toolbox. With the Flyers likely to entertain trades this summer for Ristolainen, Jiříček, although a different player, could fill the size void and could be viewed as an heir apparent. The Flyers announced that Jiříček will report to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the AHL to start.
The questions with Jiříček largely center on his foot speed and clunky skating. Alongside his injury history, they was the other concerns entering his draft and have only been magnified since he turned pro. He struggles to catch up when forwards get around him, and his decision-making often has gotten him in trouble in the NHL. He has bona fide power-play traits, but has yet to receive those opportunities.
It is worth noting that the Flyers are buying low on Jiříček, as Minnesota traded defenseman Daemon Hunt plus first-, second-, third- and fourth-round picks for Jiříček just 16 months ago.
Flyers make minor league swap
Forwards Massimo Rizzo and Alexis Gendron are shipping up to Boston in a swap with the Bruins that sees forward Brett Harrison and defenseman Jackson Edward heading to Philly. They will report to Lehigh Valley.
A native of London, Ontario, Harrison was a third-round pick by the Bruins in 2021 and has 19 goals and 49 points in 140 games across four seasons with the Providence Bruins. The 6-foot-3, 201-pound 22-year-old is having a career year with eight goals in 46 games and tied his career high of 17 points set last season.
Edward has spent most of the season with Maine of the ECHL, producing seven assists in 21 games. A native of Newmarket, Ontario, he was teammates with Oliver Bonk and Denver Barkey, the latter of whom also hails from Newmarket, with London of the Ontario Hockey League. The 6-foot-2, 201-pound blueliner was a seventh-round pick of the Bruins in 2022 and brings a physical game to the ice. The Elite Prospects draft guide said Edward is “violent, and he uses that violence to emphatically kill plays at the blue line and end the cycle.”
Who remembers when the greatest collection of basketball talent ever assembled on one roster took the court for the first time at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona?
“Yeah,” Kyle Schwarber said, “I was too young for that.”
Too polite, also, to acknowledge that he wasn’t born yet. But never mind that the Phillies slugger didn’t come along until March 1993. Everyone’s heard about when Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird headlined a group of NBA stars that flexed U.S. basketball might on the world stage.
The story of the “Dream Team” transcends generations.
Thirty-four years later, USA Baseball has put together its version to compete in the triennial World Baseball Classic and avenge a 3-2 loss to Japan in 2023 on Shohei Ohtani’s championship-clinching strikeout of Mike Trout.
A few names on the team of U.S. manager Mark DeRosa’s dreams:
Aaron Judge. Paul Skenes. Cal Raleigh. Tarik Skubal. Bryce Harper. Bobby Witt Jr. And, yes, Schwarber.
“It’s a great team,” Schwarber said on Phillies Extra, The Inquirer’s baseball podcast. ”Another stacked lineup. The lineup that we had out there in ’23 was full of studs, MVPs, All-Stars, everything. This lineup, All-Stars, MVPs, and the cool thing is there’s a little bit more youth on it, too.
“You’re starting to see some of these younger faces that could really have those chances to be future MVPs. Those future perennial All-Stars are going to be on this team, as well. I’m just excited about it.”
It makes you dream, doesn’t it? And not just about whether the most talented American baseball team ever assembled can win the WBC for the first time since 2017.
No, dream bigger. Dream of 2028, the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, where baseball will return as a medal sport for the first time since 2020. And dream of a best-on-best international tournament made possible if MLB chooses to pause the season, just as the NHL did in 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, and again for 11 riveting days last month in Milan.
“We have the WBC, but it’s not the same,” said Harper, who has lobbied MLB for years to make concessions for the Olympics. “People can say as much as they want, but the Olympics is so worldwide. The WBC is great and brings a lot of people together, but the Olympics is something you dream about playing in.”
Indeed, although the WBC generates interest, there are limits to how seriously it can be taken given its timing on the sport’s calendar. It’s still spring training, after all, and for years, many of the best pitchers — American pitchers, in particular — declined a WBC invitation to focus on building arm strength for the season.
DeRosa, USA Baseball’s “Uncle Sam,” said there was more buy-in for his “I Want You” recruitment this time around, and not only from Skenes, the NL Cy Young Award winner who pitched in college at Air Force and is unlikely to start meaningful games down the stretch for the perennially noncontending Pirates.
“I just think it was the fear of missing out,” DeRosa said at baseball’s winter meetings in December. “I think guys watched in ’23 and saw the game against Japan, the iconic moment between Trout and Ohtani, Trea Turner’s [grand slam] against Venezuela.
“These are moments in time. It’s like, you’re going to miss out on three weeks of the greatest time of your life as a professional if you never win a World Series. That’s what this is.
“You see the way Latin America and Japan is. I just feel like there’s been a groundswell with the United States player that, all right, it’s time for us to go.”
Yankees slugger Aaron Judge captains a USA team full of All-Stars and future Hall of Famers looking to avenge their WBC title game loss to Japan in 2023.
Sure, but the WBC lets players go only so far. Pitchers are capped at 65 pitches in the preliminary round, 80 in the quarterfinals, and 95 in the semis and final.
WBC managers also organized their pitching rotations in consultation with major league teams. Webb started Team USA’s opener Friday night against Brazil because the Giants need their ace to line up for opening day. Skubal will pitch only once. If the U.S. gets to the final, Mets rookie Nolan McLean will likely start, not Skubal or Skenes.
Most of the restrictions and guardrails could be lifted for the 2028 Olympics, which are scheduled from July 14 to 30. Injuries are unavoidable no matter the time of year. But pitchers will be fully built up, so workloads won’t need to be massaged.
Harper was among the first players to commit to Team USA in 2023 but withdrew after Tommy John elbow surgery. He signed on for this year’s tournament in December and said he was excited to play for the country for the first time since he was 18 — 15 years ago.
Yet it feels like only the appetizer before the main course if major leaguers are allowed to play in the Olympics.
“I think that would be awesome,” Schwarber said. “We all grew up watching the Olympics and watching sports that you never thought that you’d watch.
“I feel like it would be such a great thing for our game just to have major leaguers there who are performing at the highest level to represent their countries. It would be amazing to have that, not just on the WBC size but on the world size.”
And then the U.S. could field a baseball Dream Team.
But a lot can change in two years. Using the WBC roster as a base, and organizing players into tiers (with their 2028 age in parentheses), let’s examine who might get to wear “U-S-A” across their chest when L.A.’s Olympic flame is lit.
Pirates ace Paul Skenes will anchor Team USA’s World Baseball Classic pitching staff.
The ‘pillars’
Aaron Judge, RF, Yankees (36)
Paul Skenes, SP, Pirates (26)
After skipping the WBC in 2023, the captain of the Yankees agreed to be Captain America. But Judge’s commitment didn’t signify as much as Skenes’.
“Every other country, their best arms show up,” DeRosa said. “For whatever reason, in the United States, our best arms don’t show up. We’re trying to change that narrative. [Skenes] has certainly changed it.”
DeRosa often refers to Judge and Skenes as Team USA’s hitting and pitching “pillars.” They’re set in stone.
Bryce Harper (right), with and Bobby Witt Jr., would be 35 during the 2028 Olympics, but he’d still be a surefire pick.
The core holdovers
Bobby Witt Jr., SS, Royals (28)
Gunnar Henderson, SS, Orioles (27)
Roman Anthony, OF, Red Sox (24)
Pete Crow-Armstrong, CF, Cubs (26)
Corbin Carroll, OF, Diamondbacks (27)
Cal Raleigh, C, Mariners (31)
Bryce Harper, 1B, Phillies (35)
Tarik Skubal, SP, Tigers (31)
Nolan McLean, SP, Mets (26)
Mason Miller, RP, Padres (29)
Turner smashed five homers, including a grand slam, in six WBC games in 2023. This time, the Phillies shortstop said he didn’t even get a call from DeRosa, who went younger at shortstop.
A new wave of talent will wash ashore by the summer of 2028. But Witt, Henderson, Anthony, and Crow-Armstrong will still be under 30 and difficult to supplant. Ditto for Carroll, who dropped out of the WBC after breaking a bone in his hand.
At 35, Harper would be an elder statesman. But unless he gets injured or his production drops off a cliff, his face-of-the-sport star power gets him a place on the roster.
Kyle Schwarber laughs while talking with Byron Buxton during a Team USA workout for the World Baseball Classic on Thursday.
The veteran leaders
Kyle Schwarber, DH, Phillies (35)
Alex Bregman, 3B, Cubs (34)
Schwarber’s presence in the middle of Team USA’s loaded order is undeniable. But here’s a word on his influence within the clubhouse:
“He’s the chemistry guy for me,” DeRosa said. “He was the guy. He’s in the dugout going, ‘Everyone relax. Do what you do.’ Even to me, he’s coming up, rubbing my shoulders, just like, ‘I got you.’ There’s just no panic with this guy. … He’s an infectious personality, and everyone loves him. And he backs it up.”
Bregman brings a similar vibe as a leader and a winner.
Others whose roster spot will be challenged by younger players: Will Smith, C, Dodgers (33); Byron Buxton, CF, Twins (34); Brice Turang, 2B, Brewers (28); Paul Goldschmidt, 1B, Yankees (40); Logan Webb, SP, Giants (31); Joe Ryan, SP, Twins (33); David Bednar, RP, Yankees (33).
After playing in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Mookie Betts is not on the 2026 squad.
Imagine if Team USA had Crochet and Brown in the rotation behind Skenes and Skubal. Or if Greene or Tucker were in left field. And how the heck is Betts not on the WBC roster? Wheeler said he considered playing before getting injured last season. Maybe he or Cole could fill Clayton Kershaw’s role on the staff in 2028.
This is only a partial list of stars who won’t compete in the WBC. And the omissions serve only to amplify the pool of talent that Team USA has at its disposal.
Young stars like the Athletics’ Nick Kurtz will be in the mix for a 2028 Olympics team.
The next generation
Nick Kurtz, 1B, Athletics (25)
James Wood, OF, Nationals (25)
Wyatt Langford, OF, Rangers (26)
Jackson Merrill, OF, Padres (25)
Drake Baldwin, C, Braves (27)
Konnor Griffin, SS, Pirates (22)
Colson Montgomery, SS, White Sox (26)
Kevin McGonigle, SS, Tigers (23)
Jackson Holliday, 2B, Orioles, (24)
Trey Yesavage, SP, Blue Jays (24)
Jacob Misiorowski, SP, Brewers (26)
Bubba Chandler, SP, Pirates (25)
Andrew Painter, SP, Phillies (25)
Another partial list. Another trove of talent that will elbow its way into the conversation in two years, assuming that the door to the Olympics is opened to major leaguers.
“To be able to say that you’re an Olympian, that would be a really cool thing, a bucket-list item that you could cross off,” Schwarber said. “I guarantee you’d have a really big pool of players that would want to sign up and put their name in a hat to represent their country.”
After 65 years of honoring athletes, organizations, and teams for their on-field success, the John Wanamaker Athletic Award is entering its next chapter — and it’s bringing a new legacy with it.
The newly renamed Montgomery-Wanamaker Citizens Award pays tribute to both Wanamaker and former Phillies president, the late David Montgomery.
As part of the change, the award — which was previously presented to “the athlete, team or organization which has done the most to reflect credit upon Philadelphia and to the team or sport in which they excel” — will now focus more on athletes’ off-field accomplishments. It will honor recipients’ work in their communities and their love for the city.
This year, that’s Jordan Mailata. The Eagles offensive tackle will be the first to receive the Montgomery-Wanamaker Citizens Award, in recognition of his work with The Philly Specials.
The award, which was previously presented by PHL Sports, is now under the direction of the Philadelphia Youth Sports Collaborative, a group with the mission to enrich the lives of every child through the power of sports.
The name change is intentional. And the inspiration behind it came to Beth Devine, the executive director of PYSC, when she was walking through City Hall and saw the Wanamaker statue.
“It just came crashing into my brain,” Devine said. “This article was written after Dave died, and the author said in his opportunity working with Dave, he asked him how he wanted to be remembered. And Dave never liked to answer that question. … But, then he finally answered by saying, ‘Go to Wanamaker statue at City Hall and see what it says. That’s how I want to be remembered.’
“There’s only one word besides his name and it’s ‘Citizen.’ Dave was just a true citizen of Philadelphia. Everything he did was for the betterment of the city and the people of the city. That was when my hesitancy on the whole thing just melted away and I said of course, that’s what it is.”
Former Phillies president and CEO David Montgomery (right) and chairman Bill Giles attend Pat Gillick’s 2011 Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Cooperstown, N.Y.
While the Montgomery-Wanamaker Citizens Award is named after two native Philadelphians, its first recipient was born halfway around the world. Still, Mailata’s contributions to the city are undeniable.
The Philly Specials, the holiday band featuring fellow Eagles tackle Lane Johnson and former center Jason Kelce, raised over $4 million with their first two albums, and used the proceeds from their third to launch “Operation Snowball,” which provided Christmas gifts to every public and charter school student and teacher in Philadelphia.
But it’s about more than just the former Australian rugby player’s charity work.
“There are a lot of worthy people, but I think that the way people take to him is a little different,” Devine said. “He comes across as just this down to Earth guy. If you think about his path, it’s almost accidental. He was a rugby player from another country. But I think the way he has embraced Philadelphia is important.
“He seems like the down-to-Earth guy that reminded me of David. I think he shared his love for the city and I think it’s interesting that he’s not a Philadelphian, certainly, because he has embraced Philadelphia as his own. He’s ours and I think he knows that and embraces that too. He makes you feel good about what he is and what he’s doing and that’s how Dave was.”
Montgomery was the team’s president when it moved to Citizens Bank Park in 2004.
Montgomery, who was the president of the Phillies for 17 years, passed away from cancer in 2019 at 72 years old. During his tenure, he oversaw the team’s transition to Citizens Bank Park and its most recent World Series title in 2008.
In 2020, Montgomery was posthumously named the winner of the Buck O’Neil Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and in 2024, he was inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame.
There are plenty of accolades Montgomery will be remembered for, but Beth will always remember him for his dedication to the community. He always showed up — even if that meant making meetings right after cancer treatment.
“We had a meeting [scheduled] in this really specific place, and I was like, that’s interesting,” Devine recalled. “But me and two other board members went down to meet him and it turns out he wanted it there because he had treatment. He came across the street from treatment to talk through next steps for the organization. He definitely was not a chair in name. He did the work.”
Now, under the stewardship of PYSC, his impact will continue to grow with the Montgomery-Wanamaker Citizens Award.
“We couldn’t be happier that PYSC, an organization that does fantastic work, is taking the torch and moving forward with the award and connecting it to David and his family,” said Larry Needle, the executive director of PHL Sports. “It just feels right and David would be so proud of the legacy of PYSC and the thousands of young people that they impact every year.
“It’s just the perfect time, perfect fit.”
Jordan Mailata has gone from a seventh-round pick to an All-Pro left tackle and Super Bowl champion.
The Montgomery-Wanamaker Citizens Award will be presented to Mailata, who was also the Eagles’ 2025 nominee for Walter Payton Man of the Year, at the new Philadelphia Sports Legacy Honors on May 20 at the Alan Horwitz Sixth Man Center.
As the award enters its next era, Devine is excited to preserve the Wanamaker Award’s tradition, while also being able to honor Montgomery.
“The legacy doesn’t change, it just shifts,” Devine said. “I don’t look at this lightly by any stretch because it couldn’t be more like the stars have aligned. And I feel that every day.”
Needle added: “The idea that the award will carry on in his name just couldn’t be more special and more perfect.”
When Temple last played Tulane on Feb. 11, the Green Wave handed the Owls an 11-point loss that started their six-game skid and subsequent slide in the American Conference standings. What doomed the Owls was the Green Wave outscoring them 26-8 to open the second half.
On Thursday, with Temple’s hopes of clinching a spot in next week’s conference tournament hanging in the balance, the circumstances were the exact opposite.
The Owls went into halftime up eight points, then outscored the Green Wave (17-13, 8-9) by 21 for a 29-point lead at the midway point in the half. Tulane never rallied as Temple (16-14, 8-9) picked up a 89-60 win — the most one-sided win in its history in the conference — to punch its ticket to the league tournament in Birmingham.
“To be able to come back and respond, it’s kind of that shows the resiliency of this team,” head coach Adam Fisher said. “We’ve seen a lot of adversity on and off the court this season, and I thought these guys were tremendous.”
Temple head coach Adam Fisher gets a hug from his daughter Livi after the team punched its ticket to the conference tournament.
Statistical leaders
Temple clicked in nearly every facet of the game, shooting 53.4% from the floor, and hit 13 three-pointers. Guard Aiden Tobiason led the team with 21 points, while guards Gavin Griffiths and Jordan Mason each had 15.
What we saw
The Green Wave knocked down their first three shots for a 7-5 lead two minutes into the game, but the Owls struck back. They hit five of their first seven shot attempts, while the defense held Tulane at bay for a 14-9 lead.
Then, Temple began to sprint and left the Green Wave in the dust.
Tobiason charged the offense at first but then other Owls chipped in. Guard Masiah Gilyard drilled a three-pointer, prompting a 17-7 run in five-and-a-half minutes. Griffiths dished out most of the damage with nine points, and despite some late Green Wave buckets, Temple had a 40-32 halftime lead.
Aiden Tobiason (right) celebrates with Masiah Gilyard after Gilyard’s three-point basket against Tulane.
Temple looked like the team it did during its 15-8 start coming out of the locker room. It smothered Tulane with the first 10 points of the half a little more than two minutes in, building a 50-32 lead. The Green Wave answered with a three, but Griffiths hit one 18 seconds later.
The Owls hit 60.7% of their shots in the second half while knocking down eight three-pointers. Mason and guard Derrian Ford both had 11 points in the half as the lead grew to as much as 34.
Game-changing play
Temple had momentum going into halftime but needed an extra jolt to make the score a little more comfortable out of the break. Fisher has stated that the Owls’ issues have stemmed from first-half miscues being exploited after the break.
They got that boost immediately.
“I think the biggest thing I was hoping for coming out of halftime was to get a stop.” Fisher said. “We harped on the first possession, ‘you got to get a stop, you got to get a stop.’ Then we strung three stops in a row. That was something we have really emphasized, and the bench was going crazy.”
Forward Jamai Felt swatted a shot from Green Wave guard Rowan Brumbaugh, leading to a three from Mason. Tulane missed its first four shots of the half and the Owls capitalized. Mason’s three turned into one from Tobiason, and then one from Ford, and it became an avalanche of points.
A lob from Griffiths to Tobiason pushed the score to 68-43 eight minutes into the half to put an exclamation point on the run, and the eventual win.
Up next
Temple closes out its season on the road against Tulsa (24-6, 12-5) at the Reynolds Center on Sunday (ESPN+, 3 p.m.). The Owls enter the final weekend tied for eighth place in the American standings, with just one game separating five teams (Florida Atlantic, Charlotte, North Texas, Tulane and Temple) between fifth and ninth place. The American conference tournament will feature 10 teams.
The NHL trade deadline passed at 3 p.m., but Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, who appeared to be player most likely to be dealt, remains with the team.
Tyson Foerster hasn’t played since injuring his arm back in December, but GM Danny Brière said Friday that if the Flyers made the playoffs, the winger would be on track to return following surgery.
“Tyson is doing really well,” Brière said. “I think when we announced he had the surgery that he was going to be out until the playoffs, or somewhere [around] the beginning of the playoffs. He’s pretty much on pace. It would be nice if we could get in the playoff hunt, but so far it’s going well.
“He’s starting to skate and shoot pucks. It’s trending in the right direction. I know he’s going to start knocking on my door soon to get back in the lineup early, he’s just that type of person. He’s going to push to get back earlier, but it’s exciting.”
Sielski: Acquiring David Jiříček is worth the risk
David Jiříček is just 22 years old.
With one trade Friday morning, the Flyers got more interesting. Not immediately. They’re still likely to miss the playoffs this season, which would be the sixth in a row that they’ve failed to qualify for the postseason. For all that time and longer, they’ve been the NHL’s version of late-career Martin Scorsese: Back in the day, they were great and fascinating, and now they’re one suspenseless snoozefest after another. (Seriously, has Killers of the Flower Moon ended yet?)
Their decision to send winger Bobby Brink to the Minnesota Wild for defenseman David Jiříček was an eyebrow-raiser, though. The move in and of itself wasn’t all that surprising, in that the Flyers have a surplus of wingers both on their roster and in their farm system. They were bound to say goodbye to one of them at this trade deadline, and Brink was a prime candidate: At 24, he’s a relatively promising player on a cap-friendly contract.
No, the intrigue of the Brink trade comes from its context. It’s the latest thread in a larger pattern that general manager Danny Brière and team president Keith Jones have been weaving since they took control of the Flyers’ player-personnel department in 2023. Rather than having the team bottom out over a full season or two and ending up with a pick or picks that are at worst among the top five in their drafts, the Flyers are taking risks, some more calculated than others, by acquiring young players who were high draft picks for other clubs.
Flyers lost a ‘great teammate’ and a ‘heart and soul guy’ in Nic Deslauriers
Former Flyer Nic Deslauriers never backed down from a fight.
While the return for Nic Deslauriers isn’t much — a conditional seventh-round draft pick — the move was more about the organization doing right by a popular veteran who seemed to want a change of scenery and a chance to chase a Stanley Cup, which he certainly will get with the Metropolitan-leading Carolina Hurricanes.
“A great teammate, a great protector for our guys the last few years,” Danny Brière said of Deslauriers. “We had a discussion, him and I, Nic wasn’t looking to leave, he loves it here, I think he even said his family is not going anywhere, they’re staying in the area. But he said if you need to trade me, I’m open to it, I don’t have a problem. I said, look, we’re not trying to trade you, but if you want to have the chance to go chase a Cup, I’ll give you that opportunity.
“I had a chat with Carolina, they were interested, and Nic was interested as well. It was one of those things, Nic has earned that right, for everything that he’s done for his teammates, for our players, our organization, [I] thought it was the right thing to do for him.”
And those now-former teammates are glad to see Deslauriers get a chance to contend for a Cup.
“I’m happy for him. I think he still has gas in the tank, too,” forward Garnet Hathaway told The Inquirer on Friday after the Flyers’ practice, which Deslauriers participated in. “I see it every day. I see the work ethic, I see how much he cares, and I see the teammate he is. So Carolina has got a great player [and a ] great guy.”
Deslauriers’ time in Philly will be defined by his willingness to stand up for his teammates and take on all comers. Long one of the most feared and toughest customers in the league, the fourth-line winger managed nine goals and 20 points in 195 games with the Orange and Black. He also had 33 regular-season fights, including spirited bouts against heavyweights like Matt Rempe, Ryan Reaves, and Tanner Jeannot.
“One of the toughest guys in the league around. So we’ll definitely miss him,” center Noah Cates said.
He was also beloved by his teammates for his selflessness, toughness, leadership, and the space he created for teammates with his physicality. Whether Deslauriers will have a nightly spot in Carolina’s lineup remains to be seen, but he does bring a physicality and toughness that many have criticized the Hurricanes for lacking in recent playoff runs.
“A heart and soul guy who has your back no matter what, competes every night, and is a guy, regardless of how many minutes or how many games or how things are going, you know he’ll be a guy to support you, and will always be around to help too,” said Hathaway, who laughed when asked if he’s happy the Flyers don’t play the Hurricanes again this year.
“It’s probably tougher than most people think, to be so competitive, as I think all of us are in this league, and not have the role you want, or the ice time you want.
“And so be able to have that role, and personality-wise, not let it affect you, is special for a locker room to have and intricate for it to have, too. So I’m going to miss him.”
Briere believes Flyers have assets to go after top center in offseason
One of the things the Flyers need is a bonafide No. 1 center. They haven’t found one through the draft — but with the way some of their other young players are developing, Danny Brière believes the team may be close to having the assets to acquire one in the offseason.
“It’s all about value, and also your draft picks. As they get closer, you draft players, you get to know them, they become — they have more and more value,” Brière said. “It’s tougher to let them go, but at the same time, we have a lot of good young players who are coming. We have more and more assets. Three years ago, we almost had noithing to work with in terms of good young players coming, so it wasn’t enticing to other teams to trade young guys to us.
“But more and more with the way our young guys are coming along, and a lot of centers, those are always a lot of value, we have more and more assets. It’s going to hopefully get us a chance to get in on a player, or sometimes one of those players is just going to come and take it, like [Denver] Barkey did this year, surprised us a little bit. There’s going to be opportunities for our young guys to do that as well.”
Brière sees high potential with Jiříček, likens development to that of Jamie Drysdale
Jamie Drysdale, like Jiříček, entered the NHL at 18 years old.
Despite trading away an NHL player to acquire him, the Flyers announced that new defenseman David Jiříček will report to Lehigh Valley. The former top-10 draft pick hasn’t quite developed as quickly as some hoped — as evidenced by him joining his third team in the last four years — but general manager Danny Brière was optimistic that the 22-year-old defenseman will make an impact with the big club at some point.
Why? He pointed to the team’s development of another reclamation project: Jamie Drysdale.
“I think a little bit about Jamie Drysdale, totally different style of players, but I think about the development of Jamie Drysdale, where they both came in [to the NHL] at 18 years old, probably a bit too early to turn pro yet, go through some ups and downs, probably lose their confidence along the way,” Brière said. “He’s going to need some love, he’s going to need some reps, especially. He needs time, he needs to play a lot of minutes and build his confidence. The talent is there, it’s working with him.
“Defenseman, it seems, they need time. We saw it with Jamie, to see him kind of come into his own this year is really exciting, but we went through a learning curve with Jamie. I expect the same thing with David, we’re going to give him the chance to build his game, we’re going to work with him, I really like what Todd Reirden and Rick Tocchet’s staff has done with a lot of our young guys, especially Jamie, and I hope the same kind of wave can be on for David.”
As for whether or not he can make an impact this season, Brière said that remains to be seen. More important, he explained, is making sure Jiříček is ready to roll next season.
“I didn’t make him any promises [about NHL playing time], but yeah, at some point, if we have the chance I’d like to give him a look, give him a few games,” Brière added. “The most important, we felt, is for him to start in Lehigh, give him high minutes and lots of reps, and if things go well, I’d like to see him play a few games here, and get him ready for next season would be the ideal part.”
Once he does make the jump back to the NHL, the team thinks he could play a key role, especially if he’s able to return to the top-4 defenseman potential the Flyers saw when they considered drafting him with the fifth pick.
“The potential is high,” Briere said. “Yeah, he hasn’t maybe come out of his draft year as high as people expected, and look, that’s why he’s available as well. If he was playing like Matthew Schaefer we wouldn’t be talking about him. But we still see a high potential. You know, 21-22 year old, 6-foot-4 defensemen of his caliber are tough to find. We know we have to work with him, we need to be patient, we need to give him a bit of rope to develop him, but that’s why I go back to the Jamie Drysdale learning curve. [It] gives us hope that he can get on the same track and eventually become a difference maker for us.”
David Jiříček will hope the third home is a charm as he joins the Flyers after stops in Columbus and Minnesota.
It’s no secret that the Flyers have previously shown interest in defenseman David Jiříček, whom they acquired Friday for Bobby Brink. Chuck Fletcher nearly drafted him over Cutter Gauthier with the fifth pick in 2022. Then, last deadline, they were reported to be one of the teams interested in him when he was traded from Columbus to Minnesota.
“We inquired about him, we were in the mix before, when he was traded to Minnesota we were very interested,” GM Danny Brière admitted during his post-deadline press conference. “I didn’t think he was going to be available, all of a sudden we started talking to Minnesota, they liked Bobby, he’s from there too, so there’s something special. They knew Bobby very well because of him being from Minnesota, and all of a sudden the conversation turned to that.
“They paid a huge price for David when they acquired him — I think he was supposed to be part of their future, and then all of a sudden, they resigned [Kirill] Kaprizov, traded for Quinn Hughes, and everything opens up for them and they become contenders this year.
“David was a piece for them, because they thought he was not ready to play a big, heavy role that we just talked about yet, so he became a piece they could use to acquire someone who could help them. That’s kind of how it came around, and the price was reasonable at this point since we had so many wingers.”
Why did the Flyers keep Ristolainen? Brière explains.
The Flyers are keeping defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen.
Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen was considered to be the Flyer most likely on the move ahead of Friday’s deadline, but when the deadline passed, he was still with the team.
After practice, GM Danny Brière explained why the team stuck by their reportedly high asking price and ultimately didn’t move him.
“You guys made a big story, I didn’t know I was trying to sell him, but you guys made it sound like we were dumping Risto for next to nothing,” Briere said. “At the end of the day, Risto has a lot of value to our team. I wasn’t trying to dump Risto. I wasn’t trying to get rid of him. I think the media turned it into a little bit of a circus to be honest, and that’s OK. I get it’s part of the job, part of my job to deal with that.
“But the reality is, Risto is an important part of our defense. He’s still under contract next season, so we weren’t looking to dump him. Where do you find 6-foot-4, physical, top-4, right-shot defenseman? There’s not a lot [of them]. We saw it on the market, and when that came out, we did get a lot of calls. We took them seriously, and we went through all the teams that were serious, but at the end of the day it just did not make sense value-wise. There’s nothing that made more sense to trade him.
“Risto’s an important leader in our room. I can promise you that our guys prefer having him on their side than playing against him. He’s the type of defenseman that brings guys to the fight, he runs around, he hits guys, he pisses off the opponents, there’s a lot of value to that. At the end of the day, it made more sense, we listened, but it made more sense to have Risto with us.”
When asked if a first-round pick was ever on the table, Brière declined to comment, only saying that “the value wasn’t as high as we needed for us moving forward.”
As for whether or not keeping the 31-year-old blue-liner, who could still be dealt around the NHL draft in June, creates a logjam for the organization’s defensive prospects, Briere said they’ll worry about that when the time comes.
“When they’re ready, we’re going to make room for them, a little bit like the Bobby Brink trade,” he said, referring to the team’s other log jam at left wing. “We feel like guys are almost there and we’re trying to make a little bit of room. It’s the same thing, I can’t say that David [Jiříček] and Oliver Bonk are ready to come in today, especially in a top-4 position. It’s one thing to come in and play in a bottom pairing as they start, but they haven’t even done that yet. I think they need a little bit more time, and we need to protect them a little bit. You ask those two guys to come in and play — Risto’s playing top pairing with Sanheim right now. I don’t think it would be fair to ask David or Oliver to come in and play those minutes yet.
“We hope that at one point it comes to that, but I don’t think they’re ready for that role yet. Risto has shown since he’s come back that he can handle those minutes, he’s shown at the Olympics as well how valuable he can be for a team. We hope they get there, but we want to protect them.”
Danny Brière on Bobby Brink trade: ‘Not an easy one’
Flyers GM Danny Brière made a couple of moves ahead of Friday’s deadline.
Following the passing of the NHL trade deadline, Flyers general manager Danny Briere spoke to reporters at the team’s practice facility in Vorhees.
Here are this thoughts on the biggest deal the Flyers actually made on deadline day, trading Bobby Brink to Minnesota for defenseman David Jiříček …
“Not an easy one. I was part of the development staff when Bobby came along. We had some long discussions about his future and his career, so having been part of that, and seeing him blossom into the player he has become, selfishly there’s a lot of pride in that, so he wasn’t an easy one to let go of,” Briere said. “But when you look at the way our team is coming along, you look at the depth that we’re building on the wings — [Travis] Konecny, [Matvei] Michkov, [Owen] Tippett, [Trevor] Zegras; Tyson [Foerster], who’s going to come back next season; [Porter] Martone that’s getting close; [Denver] Barkey, who surprised us this year in how well he’s played; you have Alex Bump; and then other guys behind that who are also pushing.
“It’s tough, at some point we were going to have to make a change or trade some wingers for other positions. When that came in yesterday, we started thinking it’s a chance to add a big, young, strong defenseman like David, we felt that’s a good opportunity to look toward the future and add another hopefully big piece down the road to our D-core, adding the size.”
Right wing Bobby Brink (right) celebrates a goal with former teammate Noah Cates. Brink was traded to Minnesota on Friday.
Bobby Brink’s former linemate Noah Cates discussed the departure of the winger, who was traded to the Wild on Friday, after the team’s practice in Vorhees.
“He’s helped me a ton with my game [and] hopefully he can say the same about me. Both being from Minnesota, there’s a lot of good things; it’s sad, but obviously happy, he’s going back home and going to a really good team. But definitely a shock, and still processing it. This still doesn’t feel too real. So, obviously, just a great kid, and [he] means a lot to me. So, hoping nothing but the best for him.”
Cates did not see Brink before he left for Las Vegas, where the Wild play on Friday night, and hadn’t sent him a text just yet. But he will be seeing him next Thursday, when the Flyers are in Minnesota (8 p.m., NBCSP).
“He went through some tough times with Torts and being a younger player, smaller player, skilled player. And he really helped me,” Cates said. “And I think our games kind of meshed well together and found some good chemistry. … He grew a ton. And credit to him. He’s seen as a critical piece to the Wild that they want, and for them to go on a playoff run. So obviously, an awesome kid, and we’re going to miss him.”
The team’s captain, Sean Couturier, also saw considerable growth from Brink during his time with the Flyers.
“He’s come a long way,” Couturier said back in October. “We’ve always seen his offensive skills and his ability to make plays and create offense, but the defensive side and the reliability of him have really improved. Feels like he’s a complete player, can play in all situations, and he’s going on a nightly basis against top lines. So, credit to him for developing that side of the game.”
A year after the Flyers traded Scott Laughton to the Maple Leafs, the forward is on the move again. According to Elliotte Friedman, Toronto is sending Laughton to the Los Angeles Kings for a third-round draft pick. That pick can become a second-rounder if the Kings make the playoffs, according to ESPN’s Emily Kaplan.
Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen was not moved at the deadline as the team couldn’t find someone to match their asking price.
It’s after 3 p.m., and Rasmus Ristolainen is still a Flyer. The team elected to hold onto the right-handed defenseman at the deadline, after it was reported that no team met the high price the Flyers were looking for in a deal, which was reportedly at least a first round pick and a prospect. This is the third straight year that Ristolainen has been the subject of trade talks, and the third time the team opted not to move him.
Ristolainen still has one more year on his contract at an affordable $5.1 million a season, and could be a trade piece in the offseason or at next year’s deadline. He played in 24 games this year and has been regularly hurt during his five-season tenure with the Flyers, including an upper body injury that sidelined him for the first 31 games this season.
General manager Danny Brière will speak shortly on the deadline and why the team decided to hang on to Ristolainen.
While some deals could trickle in in the next few minutes — assuming they were made before 3 p.m. — it appears the Flyers are done for the day.
Gone are Bobby Brink and Nic Deslauriers, while the Flyers added David Jiricek and a conditional seventh-round pick. The Flyers also traded minor leaguers Alexis Gendron and Massimo Rizzo for Bruins minor leaguers Brett Harrison and Jackson Edward, and reportedly picked up forward Luke Glendening off waivers from the Devils.
With Bobby Brink and Nic Deslauriers both on the way out at the trade deadline, the Flyers reportedly picked up forward Luke Glendening off waivers from the Devils.
Glendening is a 36-year-old center known for being elite at the face-off dot, with a career 55.5% win percentage, and good on the penalty kill. He’s a depth center option for the fourth line, which as of late has been centered by winger Carl Grundstrom.
The Flyers have dealt Nic Deslauriers to the Carolina Hurricanes ahead of the deadline for a conditional pick.
Can confirm the reports, #Flyers forward Nic Deslauriers has been traded to the Carolina Hurricanes for a conditional pick. As Deslauriers told me the other day, he thinks he still has some gas in the tank.https://t.co/3T9dl2YaeZ
Just 16 months ago, the Wild traded a player and four draft picks (one from each of the first four rounds) to the Blue Jackets for David Jiříček.
While David Jiříček is the newest Flyer, the defenseman is a familiar figure to many holdovers from the Chuck Fletcher era that remain in the Flyers’ front office, including general manager Danny Brière and assistant GM and head of scouting Brent Flahr.
Why? The Flyers were high on Jiříček entering the 2022 NHL draft, with many believing that the decision at Pick No. 5 ultimately came down to Cutter Gauthier and Jiříček, with the Flyers selecting Gauthier and Jiříček going a pick later to Columbus. Fast forward nearly four years and the roles are reversed, as Gauthier is gone and Jiříček is a Flyer.
There were also reports that the Flyers kicked the tires on acquiring Jiříček in 2024 when he was traded to Minnesota for a massive haul that included defenseman Daemon Hunt and first-, second-, third-, and fourth-round picks. While some more of the luster has worn off Jiříček now that he’s flopped with a second organization, from an assets management standpoint, the Flyers acquiring him for just Brink seems like a win considering what he cost the Wild just 16 months ago.
The Flyers are big on reclamation projects — Owen Tippett, Trevor Zegras, Jamie Drysdale — and they obviously believe Jiříček, 22, has the offensive tools to still reach his potential as a top-four NHL defenseman.
Nick Sirianni doppelganger, Nick Foligno, is on the move
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni, left, and Chicago Blackhawks left wing Nick Foligno, right, look so similar that they went as each other for Halloween.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni is staying put, but Nick Foligno, the man who dressed like the Eagles coach for Halloween — and who Sirianni returned the favor by dressing like during his own trick or treating — is headed to a new city.
NEWS: The Blackhawks have traded forward Nick Foligno to the Wild, a source tells The Athletic.
“I had a good laugh,” Foligno said of his reaction to seeing the Eagles coach dressed as him. “He was a great sport about it. I give him credit, especially in the Philly sports market, to rip a Chicago Blackhawks [jersey]. But I think it shows his personality. He gained a lot of points in my eyes just for the fun of it.”
Foligno was scheduled to come to Philly later this month with the Blackhawks and hoped to meet Sirianni in person. While the Flyers head to Minnesota next week, the Wild aren’t scheduled to play in Philly again this season. So it appears a meeting of between the two Nicks will have to wait.
The Flyers traded minor leaguers Alexis Gendron and Massimo Rizzo for Brett Harrison and Jackson Edward from the Bruins. Harrison was a third-round pick in 2021, and spent most of his career with the Providence Bruins. Edward was drafted in the seventh round of the 2022 draft, and has bounced between the ECHL Maine Mariners and Providence.
Gendron has spent three seasons playing with Lehigh Valley, and Rizzo, who was acquired from Carolina in 2023, has played for both Lehigh and the ECHL Reading Royals.
TRADE ALERT: We’ve acquired forward Brett Harrison & defenseman Jackson Edward from the Boston Bruins in exchange for forwards Alexis Gendron & Massimo Rizzo.
The Flyers traded right wing Bobby Brink to the Minnesota Wild on Friday.
The Flyers traded Bobby Brink to Minnesota in exchange for defenseman David Jiříček, swinging a middle-six winger for a high-upside defenseman who hasn’t found his footing yet in the NHL. So, who actually won the trade?
For a team with a glut of winger prospects coming up — most notably last year’s No. 6 overall pick Porter Martone — Brink became expendable to acquire players in positions of weakness, like defense. At this stage, Jiříček is more of a reclamation project than a top prospect, but the Flyers swung on Trevor Zegras and he’s bounced back into an elite player. Could the same happen with Jiříček?
Here’s what a few hockey analysts had to say about Jiříček and the deal …
David Jiricek, acquired by PHI, is a developing offensive defenceman. Legit puck skill but defensive awareness, risk management, and especially skating have held him back from carving out more than a sheltered depth role. pic.twitter.com/4m2D09wet7
Love this trade for Minnesota. Bobby Brink is a sneaky good add that fits their ever-present defensive identity. Not a Jiricek believer pic.twitter.com/F7rN0GDf9S
David Jiricek, acquired by the Flyers, was my third-ranked Wild prospect in my upcoming pool rankings.
He's a big right-shot D with a big point shot and a desire to play a commanding game, but bad feet and inconsistent reads have limited his ability to do it at the NHL level.
Meanwhile, Erik Johnson, who spent parts of the past two seasons with the Flyers before retiring and joining ESPN as an analyst, thinks the Wild made out in the deal to acquire the Minnesota native.
Great move by the Wild. I played with Bobby and he is underrated. Defensive game has improved a ton. Can trust him on both ends of the rink. Great kid.
The Flyers acquired Minnesota Wild defenseman David Jiricek ahead of the trade deadline.
The Flyers have traded Bobby Brink to the Minnesota Wild for defenseman David Jiříček. So who did they get back?
Jiříček was drafted sixth overall in the 2022 NHL draft by Columbus, but has struggled to stick in the NHL. He was traded to Minnesota in November 2024. In 2025-26, he has played 25 games with the Wild, scoring no points, and 24 games with the AHL Iowa Wild, with two goals and eight assists.
During his draft year, Jiříček, a righty, was praised for his offensive skills, especially his hard shot, but he’s struggled to establish those tools at the NHL level.
The Flyers are officially in the trade column, as the team started to unclog its logjam on the wing by trading Bobby Brink to the Minnesota Wild for defenseman David Jiříček, a source confirmed to The Inquirer on Friday morning.
While Rasmus Ristolainen was the biggest name in play for the Flyers heading into Friday, Brink was another player that many felt could be moved ahead of the 3 p.m. trade deadline. Brink, who was set to be a restricted free agent at season’s end, will also relish the destination as he is a native of Minnetonka, Minn.
The 24-year-old winger, who was a second-round pick in 2019, has 13 goals and 26 points in 55 games this season, and was on pace for a career-high 17 goals. Brink, who really developed chemistry and increased his all-around effectiveness on a third line with Noah Cates and Tyson Foerster the past few seasons, tallied 36 goals and 94 points in 201 career games with the Orange and Black.
Nic Deslauriers has been a good soldier since signing a four-year, $7 million deal in July or 2022. One of the league’s toughest and most feared customers, the 35-year-old has played a hard and physical game and has fought 33 times as a Flyer, many of which were in defense of or to stand up for fallen teammates.
The Flyers could look to do right by the popular veteran and trade him to a team where he can get more ice time and play a regular role. Deslauriers, who has only played in 24 of the Flyers’ 61 games this season, would be a particularly good fit for a team looking for someone to protect their youngsters and help mentor them off the ice.
Deslauriers told Jackie Spiegel recently he still thinks “I have some in the gas tank” and hopes to play a few more years. But with the Flyers upgrading American Hockey League tough guy Garrett Wilson’s contract to an NHL one on Thursday, it looks like his time with the Flyers is coming to an end.
Was Thursday night’s loss to the Mammoth the final game in a Flyers jersey for defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen?
The list of potential landing spots for Rasmus Ristolainen, the Flyers’ rugged right-shot defenseman, shrunk overnight. With Buffalo adding a pair of big blueliners in Logan Stanley and righty Luke Schenn, and Anaheim making a surprising move for veteran righty John Carlson, you can cross two more potential suitors off the list. This came after Dallas, Edmonton, and Utah, three other clubs that had been linked with Ristolainen, made moves for defensemen in recent days.
Detroit and Boston now seem to be the two most likely trade partners for Danny Brière. The Red Wings and Bruins are both well-stocked when it comes to future first-round picks and young centers and defensemen. Detroit center prospect Nate Danielson would be an intriguing name for the Flyers, as would 6-foot-7, 230-pound Bruins pivot Dean Letourneau. The Bruins, who have four first-rounders over the next two years, are also dangling 21-year-old center Matthew Poitras and 25-year-old offensive defenseman Mason Lohrei in potential trades.
The Flyers are still holding out for a first-rounder plus an A- or B-level prospect in return for the Finnish defenseman. Ristolainen, 31, has one more year remaining on his contract and carries a $5.1 million cap hit. The Flyers could offer to retain 50% of Ristolainen’s deal to sweeten the pot as well.
Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen could be on the move ahead of the trade deadline.
It’s deadline day.
The Flyers, six points out of the last wild card spot, are expected to be sellers, and the loudest rumors have surrounded defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, who has another year on his contract at $5.1 million after this one. That extra year could keep him in Philadelphia past the deadline if Danny Brière doesn’t get the offer he wants.
“I can’t really control that,” Ristolainen said after Thursday’s loss to the Mammoth. “I just try to come in here every day, and obviously tomorrow, we’ll see what happens.”
The d-market has been moving in the lead-up to 3 p.m., with the Capitals trading John Carlson to Anaheim in the dead of night for a conditional first-round pick. The Sabres acquired Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn after striking out with Colton Parayko, and the Stars acquired Tyler Myers earlier in the week.
Other Flyers who could potentially be moved are wingers Bobby Brink and Owen Tippett, and pending free agents Garnet Hathaway and Nic Deslauriers.
Capitals trade John Carlson to the Ducks in ‘jaw-dropping’ move
The Washington Capitals traded defenseman John Carlson to the Anaheim Ducks early Friday morning.
John Carlson is going to the Anaheim Ducks as part of a surprising deal from the Washington Capitals agreed to just after midnight on NHL trade deadline day.
Anaheim sent a conditional first-round pick in either this or next year’s draft plus a 2027 third-rounder to Washington for Carlson, a 36-year-old defenseman who has only played in the league for the Capitals since 2009 and helped them win the Stanley Cup in 2018.
Longtime hockey insider and former Daily News reporter Frank Seravalli called the move “jaw-on-the-floor shocking,” describing it as the “end of an era in Washington.”
“John Carlson brings leadership, character, a high hockey IQ and a presence to our lineup,” Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek said. “We are very excited to add a Stanley Cup winner to complement our group and make a big push down the stretch.”
Carlson is a pending free agent without a contract beyond this year but was not expected to get moved before the deadline. He joins the Ducks as they look to end a seven-year playoff drought.
With a surplus of wings, the Flyers could move Owen Tippett ahead of the trade deadline.
The Flyers aren’t moving Dan Vladař, Travis Konecny, Travis Sanheim, Matvei Michkov, Trevor Zegras, or top prospect Porter Martone, but everyone else would seem to be — and should be — in play.
Topping that list is rugged but oft-injured defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, who has been on the trade block each of the past two seasons but has so far stayed put. The 31-year-old doesn’t fit the team’s timeline, has a year remaining on his contract, and is exactly the type of player that contenders tend to overpay for due to his physicality and “playoff brand of hockey.”
Trading him at this deadline would at minimum land a second-rounder and a legit prospect, and potentially a first-rounder. The Flyers should look to cash in on the 6-foot-4, 208-pound Finn on the heels of his eye-catching Olympics and should be seeking a first-round pick or a high-end center or blueline prospect in return.
The Flyers also have a surplus of wings with Konecny, Michkov, Zegras, Tyson Foerster, Owen Tippett, Bobby Brink, Denver Barkey, and Nikita Grebenkin, and more on the way, headlined by Martone and Alex Bump. Sooner or later the Flyers are going to have to make room for guys, and parting with Tippett or Brink would start that process and recoup the Flyers something in return, potentially at a position of need.
With teams always looking for a scoring punch this time of year, trading the 27-year-old Tippett, who is cost-controlled for the next six seasons and on his way to a third 25-plus-goal season in four years, would yield the largest return, assuming Konecny and Zegras are off limits. The Flyers reportedly have a high ask on the speedy Tippett, including a first-round pick, but could a package that includes a center be enticing? The Flyers could opt to hold fast for a better return at the draft, when this type of trade may be easier to complete, but trading a winger or two before next season seems inevitable.
The Flyers don’t seem willing to meet the high price for St. Louis Blues All-Star Robert Thomas, but Detroit’s Nate Danielson, Minnesota’s Danila Yurov and Charlie Stramel, Buffalo’s Noah Ostlund, Tampa Bay’s Conor Geekie, and Seattle’s Shane Wright are some younger center prospects who could be available in a package involving Ristolainen, Tippett, or someone else.
In addition to trying to move pending unrestricted free agents Nic Deslauriers, Noah Juulsen, and Carl Grundström, the Flyers could explore trading depth center Noah Cates or restricted free agent defensemen Jamie Drysdale and Emil Andrae, all young players with runways to improve who would generate some interest around the league. Like Ristolainen, Cates is a player that contending teams could view as a final piece due to his versatility, penalty killing, and two-way play. Andrae looks to be in need of a change of scenery and could be swapped for a player in a similar boat.
Nick Seeler would have some value as a steady, stay-at-home defenseman, but the 32-year-old, who is currently nicked up, would have to waive his no-move clause. Maligned backup goalie Sam Ersson also could be offloaded for a mid-round pick, especially if the team has already decided it won’t extend a qualifying offer to the pending free agent.
Flyers trade talk: Rasmus Ristolainen, Bobby Brink, and others
There’s a good chance the Flyers trade away defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen.
The NHL trade deadline is Friday at 3 p.m. and there are plenty of questions on how the Flyers will approach it. Ahead of the deadline, Inquirer reporter Jackie Spiegel took to Reddit to answer fans’ questions ahead of the deadline. Here are some highlights from her Reddit AMA — “Ask Me Anything” — on Wednesday.
Q: There’s been a lot of talk about selling at the deadline, with guys like Owen Tippett and Rasmus Ristolainen as top candidates. Is there anyone else who might be on the block and could be a ‘surprise’ player dealt at the deadline?
A. It’s a good chance that Ristolainen is gone with how he’s been playing, his friendly contract, the farm system, and that he’s a right-shot defenseman. Tippett is less of a sure bet as he brings elements — size, speed, goal-scoring ability — that any team, including the Flyers, would want. However, Tippett does have a modified no-trade clause that begins on July 1, so if they’re going to do it, time is ticking.
The Flyers do have a logjam on the wings, and one surprise, at least for this week, could be Bobby Brink, who has long been rumored to be on the way out because of who is waiting in the wings. There’s always a chance Danny Brière could do right by some veterans like Noah Juulsen and Nic Deslauriers, each on expiring contracts, and trade them to a contender looking for depth.
Q. Where do you see us getting an actual top-line center option from and what would it realistically take?
A. This is a great question. I think part of the issue for the Flyers is that they were banking on this upcoming offseason to get that No. 1 center and all those guys inked extensions. Could Trevor Zegras be that guy? Maybe. Could they swing for a Robert Thomas? Maybe, but from what I’ve been told, that deal would require sending at least one of the Flyers’ young centers in the system the other way. I’m starting to wonder if a true No. 1 center is needed, because if you have enough talented high-end wingers — like Tyson Foerster, Martone, Travis Konecny, Matvei Michkov, Tippett — maybe a less elite center works too?
Q. What do the Flyers plan to do about Sean Couturier?
A. From what I can tell, there are zero plans for Couturier. From the outside, yes, his production is down, but a lot of that, in my opinion, has to do with his focus on defense as he lets his younger, more skilled wingers take charge offensively. And heading into the return from the Olympic break, his analytics were actually some of the best on the team. There’s also the leadership in the room that fans do not see. As assistant coach Todd Reirden mentioned, while he was taking over media responsibilities with Rick Tocchet at the Olympics, Couturier’s “voice carries a lot of weight. He’s not [a captain] that’s rah rah, but when he does talk, no one’s not listening. I can tell you that much. So he’s the leader of our team for a reason.”
The Flyers’ chances ending their five-season playoff drought became a bit slimmer Thursday night after their 3-0 loss to the Utah Mammoth.
Eight teams in the Eastern Conference will move forward to the NHL playoffs – the top three teams in each division, plus two wild cards.
The Flyers currently sit in sixth place in the Metropolitan Division 6 points out of a playoff spot. But with 21 games remaining on their schedule, the odds of making the playoffs are slim but not impossible. The New York Times currently pegs the Flyers’ chances of a postseason berth at 14%.
Metropolitan Division
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Eastern Conference
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Scott Bandura and the other San Francisco Giants minor leaguers dropped their bags Tuesday morning in the dugout of Team USA and headed for the clubhouse. They were called to be extra players, dreamers who would be part of the Dream Team for the day.
The clubhouse doors opened, and there they were — Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, Aaron Judge, and a cast of former MVPs and future Hall of Famers — preparing for an exhibition game in a cramped spring training clubhouse.
It was a final tuneup for the stars before the World Baseball Classic. Bandura, who grew up in Mt. Airy and fell in love with the game at a rec center in South Philly, was in the same room.
“We walked straight into every guy in there getting ready to go, and we were like a deer in headlights,” Bandura said. “It was surreal. The older guys on that team were the guys I grew up watching and were winning MVPs when I was in middle school and high school. Those are the guys who inspired me to play, and then the two Phillies are two of the top five most beloved athletes in Philly. It was unreal.”
Bandura was the catcher for Mo’ne Davis with the Taney Dragons, a team of 12-year-olds who captured Philly’s imagination at the 2014 Little League World Series while playing in front of 40,000 people. He played youth baseball across the country with his dad’s Anderson Monarchs, had a terrific college career at Princeton, and was drafted in 2023 by San Francisco.
Yet Bandura told his dad on Tuesday night that his hourslong stint on Team USA was the best day of his career. The back of his jersey was blank, no name or number. But Bandura was a teammate of the stars.
Team USA’s Bryce Harper (left) Aaron Judge, and Alex Bregman sit in the dugout before an exhibition game against the Rockies on Wednesday.
“Draft day in 2023 was No. 1 to start because that’s the day that dreams started to come true,” Bandura said. “But this was the next step up from that. Now, all of a sudden, I’m sharing the dugout with Hall of Famers and guys I grew up watching and feeling somewhat like I’m meant to be there. They were telling us to go show everyone something. This had to be No. 1.”
Bandura and the other minor leaguers heard how Team USA plucked a few Giants prospects in 2023 when they played an exhibition before the World Baseball Classic. They hoped it would be their turn this year. Bandura received a text on Monday from the Giants front office: He was playing Tuesday for Team USA.
The minor leaguers were to be late-inning substitutes as most of the Team USA players were not going to play nine innings against the Giants.
Team USA manager Mark DeRosa welcomed the Giants minor leaguers, and Judge — “He’s way bigger than he looks on TV,” Bandura said — told them to be themselves in the dugout. They were part of the team, the reigning two-time American League MVP said.
Bandura, a 24-year-old outfielder who finished last season in double A, has spent some time the last two springs with the Giants big-leaguers. But this was different. He entered in the sixth inning, played in the outfield next to Pete Crow-Armstrong, and hit a single in the 10th. The game was on ESPN, and his phone buzzed all night.
“Some people thought I was actually on the team,” Bandura said. “I had to explain to them that I’m not quite there yet.”
Bandura’s parents, Steve and Robin, were watching on TV when their son came to bat for Team USA.
Scott Bandura is a former Anderson Monarch and went to the Little League World Series as a member of the Taney Dragons. He’s pictured here while playing for Princeton.
“There was a camera shot from behind the dugout just panning across all the guys who were up on the railing,” Steve Bandura said. “It panned across all those jerseys and names. [Cal] Raleigh, Harper, Schwarber, Judge, [Bobby] Witt Jr. All those guys. Then, bang. Right to him. It was like, ‘Wow.’ Oh my goodness. It was a big-time proud parent moment.”
Bandura grew up a diehard Phillies fan and was in high school at Springside Chestnut Hill when Harper signed with the team. The 2022 World Series, which came in Schwarber’s first season with the team, was a year before Bandura was drafted by the Giants, so he still was a Phillies fan. For a few hours, he called those guys his teammates.
“The first thing I thought about was how any of my friends from back home would think if they were in that situation,” Scott Bandura said. “I didn’t even know what to do. I wasn’t going to bother them, but these guys were huge inspirations. It was just weird. I’ve seen those guys so many times on TV. I’ve rooted for them so many times. And then to be in the dugout as somewhat equals, it was just weird.”
Taney’s Scott Bandura celebrates as he slides home to score in a Little League World Series game in 2014.
Bandura will start his season next month at a minor league outpost still a few steps from reaching the major leagues. He showed enough promise last season (Bandura hit .307 in 81 games in high A) that getting there feels tangible. He reported to spring training last month 26 pounds heavier than he was last season. This was the first fall, his father said, since he was 3 years old that Bandura did not go to school as he finished his college degree during the last two offseasons. Finally, it was just baseball.
“I’m just so proud of him because I see how hard he works,” Steve Bandura said. “I’ve seen how hard he’s worked to get here. I saw how every morning he was up and worked on his diet, measuring everything, and following his plan.”
For now, the No. 1 moment of Bandura’s career was being close to the guys he admired. In a few years, Bandura could have a new moment at the top of his list. Perhaps his few hours on Team USA could propel him there.
“The goal is to have a really good big league career,” Bandura said. “And I got a taste of that with the Team USA environment. The only way to get there is to have an All-Star-caliber career. As cool as that was the other day, it definitely served as motivation to get where I want to go.”
A lot of NFL general managers are a lot less capable than Howie Roseman.
As for A.J. Brown, the impact of the Bills’ acquisition of Moore is being overstated.
Roseman may get the first-round pick he reportedly is seeking in exchange for Brown, but it’s no more likely now that the Bears have somehow managed to finagle a second-round pick out of the Bills for Moore. If anything, Roseman might deserve credit for driving up the price for Moore, who was the Bears’ fourth receiving option by the end of a season in which he caught just 50 passes for 682 yards. Buffalo had a clear need for a primary receiver. Dealing a second-round pick for Moore might sound more reasonable when your other option is trading a first- and second-round pick for Brown. What we know for sure is that the small pool of teams that made obvious sense as a trade partner for the Eagles just shrunk by one.
The Trent McDuffie trade could be just as much of a harbinger in the opposite direction.
A two-time All-Pro at a premium position (cornerback) entering his age-26 season, McDuffie is headed to the Rams for the No. 29 pick in this year’s draft, a future third, and change. I don’t think it’s accurate to say that the McDuffie deal is an indication of the elite cornerback market, at least not relative to Brown. Keep in mind, the Colts traded away two first-round picks and Adonai Mitchell for Sauce Gardner at the deadline. One of those picks ended up at No. 16 this year. Who knows what next year’s will be. That’s the elite cornerback market.
The McDuffie trade does give us a neat and tidy for-instance. Given the sacrifice the Chiefs just made at a more premium position, would they then be willing to turn around and trade the No. 29 pick they received for McDuffie to the Eagles for Brown? Maybe they would. Hey, maybe they will. They sure do need a wide receiver. That said, it seems far more likely that they are looking at that No. 29 pick the same way the Eagles would in justifying a trade of Brown: as a chance to add another five years of well-below-market-rate production in the form of a rookie.
The overall point is that you can talk yourself silly trying to project the market based on one deal. The Moore deal can just as easily be construed as the price a team is willing to pay to not pay the price the Eagles are asking for Brown.
Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie (left) was traded to the Rams for the 29th pick in this year’s draft. Could Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown fetch a similar haul?
The Eagles are justified in asking for a first- and second-rounder for Brown, assuming what they really expect is a first-rounder and an assortment of mid-to-late-round picks.
There are plenty of comps.
The Raiders acquired 29-year-old Davante Adams from the Packers for No. 22 overall and No. 53 overall in 2022.
The Bills acquired 26-year-old Stefon Diggs for No. 22 overall and change from the Vikings in 2020.
The Chiefs acquired No. 29 overall, No. 50 overall and change from the Dolphins for 28-year-old Tyreek Hill in 2022.
It’s easy to see the genesis of Roseman’s current reported asking price. It’s also easy to see why that asking price has drawn snickers.
Consider:
The first-round pick the Bills traded to the Vikings turned out to be Justin Jefferson.
The second-rounder that the Raiders traded to the Packers turned out to be Alec Pierce (after Green Bay traded the pick to draft Christian Watson). The first-rounder was Quay Walker, a four-year starter at linebacker.
The Chiefs used the No. 29 pick they landed for Hill to trade up to draft McDuffie at No. 21.
On the other side of these deals were two of the worst organizations in the NFL (Dolphins, Raiders), and the team that just traded a second-round pick for Moore and has the second-most expensive wide receiver room in the NFL without a true WR1 to show for it.
There aren’t many other for-instances. The Texans traded away DeAndre Hopkins for No. 40 overall in 2020, but that deal included running back David Johnson in the return and was universally panned regardless. Last offseason, the Steelers traded away No. 52 overall for 27-year-old DK Metcalf, whose four-year averages were worse than Brown’s 2025.
There aren’t many teams that can give the Eagles what they need.
I use the word “need” for a reason. The Eagles need a first-round pick to justify trading Brown. The only way they might otherwise justify it is by landing a future first plus a 2026 second, i.e. the “Ravens Scenario.” We’ll get to that in a second. First, let’s explain what we mean when we say the Eagles “need” a first-rounder.
This is not abstract. Concretely, the Eagles need to be able to replace Brown. The best way to do it is via the draft, where there happens to be a number of players who could help them and who are projected to be within striking distance of No. 23. But the Eagles need plenty else besides a replacement for Brown. We saw that this year, when they had Brown. To justify trading Brown, they need to at least end up with a pick that maximizes their odds of replacing him (even if they end up “replacing” him with a star at another position). Bare minimum is a top-50ish pick. But only if they feel like they need to trade him for the best offer. Right now, their best leverage is their willingness to bring him back. Which is why they are making that willingness known.
Not many teams are in a position to give them what they need. Cross off the Bills. Presumably the Chiefs, unless Andy Reid and Brett Veach have radically changed the philosophy under which they traded away Hill to pave the way for McDuffie. Nobody is giving up a top-10 pick for Brown, so cross them off too.
Could the Ravens be in the market to trade for Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown?
The Dolphins (No. 11) are more likely to trade Jaylen Waddle for a Brown-type package than to trade for Brown. The Cowboys (No. 12) don’t need a wide receiver, nor do the Rams (No. 13), who just traded their expendable first-rounder to the Chiefs for McDuffie. The Bucs (No. 15) are brimming with wide receivers, including last year’s first-rounder Emeka Egbuka. The Lions (No. 17) have a lot of needs more pressing than the skill positions. Same goes for the Vikings (No. 18). The Panthers (No. 19) spent significant draft capital on Tetairoa McMillan last year. Brown doesn’t fit their timeline.
Next up is Dallas again at No. 20, then the Steelers, who just traded for Metcalf and like to build from within. The Chargers don’t have the luxury of trading No. 22 for Brown. Forget the Browns (No. 24). We’ve already covered the Bears (No. 25). Cross off the Texans (No. 28), who have Nico Collins and youth around him.
That leaves us with the Ravens at No. 14, the 49ers at No. 27, the Broncos at No. 30, the Patriots at No. 31, and the Seahawks at No. 32.
If the Eagles are reluctant to trade Brown to a fellow NFC contender, that would leave three teams: Ravens, Broncos, Patriots. Denver and New England would need to offer their first-rounder, because the next best 2026 picks are No. 62 and No. 63, which isn’t nearly good enough. The Ravens are in the opposite boat. Their No. 14 overall pick is too high. Their second-rounder (No. 45) is borderline, and would only make sense if coupled with a high future pick.
The Eagles’ ability to land a first-rounder is contingent on the Ravens’ willingness to give up a future first or the Patriots/Broncos (or Seahawks/49ers) belief in the players who will be on the board at the end of this year’s first round.
None of that is impacted by the cost of trading for Moore. The Ravens and the Patriots are the two obvious teams, assuming we remove the Chiefs and the NFC contenders. The Ravens aren’t going to give up No. 14 for Brown, and No. 45 is only worth it for the Eagles if they have 45 players they love on their draft board. A future first from Baltimore would give them an opportunity to move up. The Pats’ first-rounder would work if coupled with a pick that also gives the Eagles ammo to move up from No. 23 or No. 31 to draft a guy they covet.
This is a pass-fail sort of thing. There is a bare minimum return the Eagles need in order to justify the competitive hit they’d take without Brown in 2026. It is a return where only a team’s best available draft pick is good enough. There are only a few teams that might consider it. That was the case before the Bills traded for Moore. It remains the case now.
To casual followers of the U.S. women’s soccer team, Erica Dambach’s name might not be familiar. But to many years’ worth of players and coaches, it means a lot.
Nineteen years into her tenure as Penn State’s head women’s soccer coach, Dambach hasn’t just built one of the nation’s top college programs. She has built a pipeline from State College to the sport’s biggest stages.
If the first name you think of is Alyssa Naeher, you’re right. But the legendary goalkeeper is far from alone. Christine Nairn arrived in Naeher’s senior year, then overlapped with Raquel Rodríguez, who won a 2015 national championship and later a NWSL title.
Wiesner later welcomed Olivia Smith, who spent just one year on campus before rocketing to the pros. Her move from Liverpool to Arsenal last year was the first in women’s soccer to earn a transfer fee of over 1 million British pounds (around $1.4 million).
Erica Dambach (left) with a trio of future pros who won Penn State’s 2015 national championship: Mallory Weber, Britt Eckerstrom, and Raquel Rodríguez.
Along the way, Dambach has had her own turns with U.S. Soccer coaching staffs. She was an under-19 team assistant in 2004, the under-17 head coach from 2004 to 2007, and a senior team assistant from 2008 to 2012 and in 2020.
It’s been quite a run for the 50-year-old, with room for plenty more to come.
“There’s been opportunities to to look in different directions or to think about is the grass greener,” Dambach told The Inquirer. “And I think every time I’ve looked in a different direction, all it does is reaffirm that this is who I am, and this is what I enjoy.”
But go back before all that, and you’re standing in the Philadelphia suburbs.
‘These women live out their dreams’
Dambach was born in Bordentown, N.J., and moved across the Delaware River to Huntingdon Valley at a young age. She played high school soccer on the boys’ team at Lower Moreland, then was recruited to play college soccer at another historic program, William & Mary.
A clipping from the Bucks County Neighbors High School Sports section of The Philadelphia Inquirer on November 30, 1992, featuring Erica Dambach (née Walsh) playing for Lower Moreland’s boys’ soccer team.
Her coaching career began a year after she graduated in 1996. She started at Bucknell, then went to Dartmouth, Lehigh, Florida State, and Harvard before Penn State called in 2007.
Now Dambach’s mantel includes 11 Big Ten regular season titles, five conference tournament crowns, that 2015 national championship, runner-up in 2012, and five more Elite Eights.
And there have been so many players who’ve made it to the pros.
“It’s a big reason why I’m in the college game for sure, to see these women live out their dreams,” Dambach said. “Obviously, when they sit in our office when they’re 14 years old, they talk about lifting a World Cup trophy. And now to see these players get an opportunity to wear the crest and to represent the country and watch their dreams come true, it’s certainly proud moments around here.”
Erica Dambach (right) with Marissa Sheva and Alyssa Naeher at the U.S.-Ireland game in April 2023, where Sheva and Naeher were on opposite sides.
Dambach faces the same headwinds as other college coaches these days. No one bats an eye anymore when a talented teen turns pro without going to college.
“What I’ve learned is that when a player and a family has their mindset on it when their daughter’s 16, you need to be careful because they’re going to find a way to get there [to the pros] very soon,” she said. “The generational talent of Claire Hutton? Yeah, good move.”
But while Hutton already has 15 caps at age 20, there’s still plenty of room for college products. Dambach believes that can remain the case.
“I would argue that our ability to help the 17-, 18-, 19-year-olds right now, that time is too valuable in their life and too precious in their life,” she said. “This is an environment where I do think that they can get to all the same points with having a little bit more guidance in their first time away from home. And having people that are educated and care about that side of the human and the player.”
Erica Dambach taking notes on the sideline during a Penn State game in 2024.
Another is the fight every college coach has: to get NIL money and attract top players with it. Dambach is comfortable with where she is on that front.
“There are 10 programs historically, five to 10 programs, that are competing for a national championship,” Dambach said. “You’ve got those teams that have seniors that bubble up and have a particularly good year. But when those programs go head to head for a player, you’re splitting hairs, and the dollars do matter.”
It also helps that Penn State just opened a $21 million expansion of its soccer facilities a few days ago. And Dambach has the privilege of a veteran staff, including three assistants who’ve been there for 15 years or more. One of them, Ann Cook, was her roommate at William & Mary.
“I think [players] walk in here and they know that they’re going to be coached by four head coaches, four coaches that have been sought after by so many different programs,” Dambach said, “and they look at it, and everywhere they turn it’s going to be a professional environment for them.”
Erica Dambach giving her players some instructions during a 2024 game.
Tributes from the stars
Dambach knows Hayes well and keeps in touch with Coffey and other former players. Ahead of the U.S.’s return to north Jersey for Saturday’s SheBelieves Cup against Colombia (3:30 p.m., TBS, Telemundo 62), that duo paid tributes to their friend.
“I could, like, write a book on her just to give an answer,” said Coffey, who transferred from Boston College after her sophomore season (and could indeed write that book as a journalism major). She was an attacking midfielder at the time, and Dambach helped convert her to the ball hawk she is now.
“I came from B.C. as a player that was so one-dimensional, and it might sound shocking, but I really had no interest in defending whatsoever,” Coffey said. “I just think that she developed me so much as a player and a person.”
The latter still resonates.
“She is so focused on us being this complete person,” Coffey said. “Especially when you’re at a college age, it can so easily be so much about just what you do on the field, but for her it’s all about who you are in all aspects of your life.”
Erica Dambach (second from right) and her family with Sam Coffey at the USWNT game vs. Portugal in October at Subaru Park.
Hayes recalled that when she came to the U.S. from England to begin her coaching journey in the early 2000s, Dambach was “the first coach I looked at and that I was in close contact with. I thought she’s the best, and I think she’s quietly had an influence on my own career.”
Now Hayes gets to take Dambach’s players on their next journeys. Coffey is a star, and Wiesner is a World Cup contender. (She was to be on this SheBelieves Cup squad until suffering a calf injury last month.)
“It’s the way players speak about her, it’s the way other colleagues speak about her,” Hayes said of Dambach. “It’s a real testament to not just the quality she has, but the longevity to keep doing that, and to keep producing players whose characters you can clearly see have been well-shaped.”
There even was praise from a U.S. player who played against Penn State back in the day and has worked with Dambach over the years since. Emily Sonnett was part of a 5-1 Virginia rout of the Nittany Lions in 2013, before earning well over 100 national team caps.
Veteran U.S. national team defender Emily Sonnett (right) worked with Erica Dambach when Dambach was an assistant coach in the program.
“When she was in [the national team], she led a lot of our small-group meetings in terms of defending and was] very detailed,” Sonnett said. “That short amount of time, the impact that she had on me, and the intentionality … I really enjoyed working with her, and when I see her, I remind her how much I enjoyed it.”
Told of this, especially the players’ words, Dambach was moved.
“Honestly, you know, that means a lot,” she said. “That’s never going to get old for me. … Those are two world-class players and world-class humans, and the fact we can play a small part in it is everything.”
