Flyers can’t be up to their old tricks picking at No. 6

Courtesy of the Morning Call

By Bob Herpen

Phanatic Hockey Editor

On Friday night, the Philadelphia Flyers will select at the No. 6 position in the first round for the first time since 1991, when then general manager Russ Farwell took a gamble on a Swedish prospect who ended up playing all of 100 regular-season games in this city, 11 years after his NHL debut.

Now GM Danny Briere has the chance to pick within the top 10 for the third time in the last four seasons, the first time since Keith Allen was afforded similar luck from 1969 to 1972.

While an overwhelming majority of the talk every year at this time centers on an obsession with prospect profiles, who the Flyers could pick early, I just want to remind you that there’s a bit more at stake beyond the basic scouting leg work. Fifty years since the last Cup and 13 years since the last playoff series win, fan attention and anger should center on the how and the why, NOT the who. 

It doesn’t matter whether the pick is Jake O’Brien or Brady Martin from Canadian juniors, James Hagens from Division I U.S. college hockey, the mysterious One-Armed Man or Taro Tsujimoto of the Tokyo Kitanas. It doesn’t even have to be the “right” one touted by scouts or network hacks. It does need to be the “right” one in terms of managing the player’s physical attributes and skill set, with minimal interference or malfeasance in his development.

The acquisition of Trevor Zegras earlier in the week should take some of the pressure off Briere and the braintrust, for a franchise constantly in search of a reliable 1C. But Zegras is a restricted free agent with his 3-year contract at $5.75 million AAV set to expire next July, so there is clear urgency to have an heir apparent or two at the ready. 

Yeah, there’s Jett Luchanko in the on-deck circle flush with start-of-year experience for the Flyers bookended by end-of-year experience with the Phantoms, but the cupboard is bare. 

The recent history of the organization is flush with examples of offensive-minded skaters who are centers made forwards, forwards made centers, and up-front guys simply left to grow into amoebas, playing whatever, whenever. Scott Laughton and Nick Cousins. Jason Akeson. The dear, departed Morgan Frost. An under-the-gun Owen Tippett.

Maybe one could make an argument that the focus on bulking up defensive prospects in the mid-2010s left a blind spot. That laissez-faire attitude doesn’t cut it anymore for a franchise looking to pull itself out of the doldrums. 

It should also make you want to tear your hair out that Briere pulled off the deal with Anaheim to bring in Zegras – who did not respond well to suggestions he should play wing and not his natural center with the Ducks – only to say he “hoped” Zegras could make an impact at center and then publicly punt the decision on his assignment to new head coach Rick Tocchet.

If the Flyers can so brazenly fail to come to a consensus on an established player, what’s to make you think they can’t or won’t pull the old switcheroo with the prospects?

O’Brien is a center. Martin is a center. Hagens is a center. There’s absolutely no reason for Briere et al to start toying with the haul. It may already be too late for Luchanko, a likely Mark Recchi clone who was told in April, as reported by the Inquirer, to be less selfish with the puck. The Flyers never drafting and developing a bona-fide pure goal scorer is another rant for another time.

Obie’s draft profile places him closest to what Sean Couturier could have been if Claude Giroux wasn’t the top dog on the top line. Don’t turn him into an Eric Lindros. Martin’s bona fides read more like a Joe Thornton prototype and, of course, certain outlets are already pinning him to the Lindros mold. No bueno. While through only one season at Boston College, Hagens may resist molding because the organization cannot read what one college season at age 18 means compared to two in juniors, or due to lack of exposure. He is one of BC’s gaggle of young, eager, skilled forwards who need to develop much more edge and resilience.

If the choice is Hagens, he simply cannot be allowed to turn into another James vanRiemsdyk. I still wonder if the front office has learned anything from a decade-plus of wandering through NCAA Division I prospects. If only Ray Shero still walked the Earth.

A refresher:

VanRiemsdyk was taken with the infamous No. 2 selection in the 2007 draft, one behind future Hall-of-Famer Patrick Kane. He spent two seasons flitting around on an Olympic-sized ice rink at the Whittemore Center for the University of New Hampshire. Long-time Wildcats head coach Dick Umile brought in a spate of smaller, quicker, skilled forwards to take advantage of the wider playing surface, but the Snider-Clarke-Holmgren think tank axis did little else than constantly tapping their watches impatiently for two years waiting for JVR to declare his status. 

Once loosed on the world in March 2009, the organization immediately tabbed JVR as a power forward, envisioning him mucking down low at even strength and on the power play. Development? How about all of 7 games of pro experience with the Phantoms. He was given a chance to make the NHL roster in camp the following September – which he did – and proceeded to stunt his growth.

Hilarity ensued, including injuries, inconsistency, more front office complaints about on-ice prowess, a 6-year exile to Toronto followed by a 5-year Philly reunion during which JVR *finally* grew and aged into a body which could execute the role the franchise hoped for in the first place.

If we learned anything from the William C. Gauthier fiasco, it’s that Briere might have caused affront to the young upstart in merely suggesting the club didn’t want him to leave after his freshman campaign and burn a year off his entry-level contract. The ironing is delicious given the spate of one-and-done’s coming from the NCAA. 

Briere would be wise to take that tack again with Hagens if the club hasn’t had their Eagles-eye view tainted, since he’s not quite the player sprung fully formed from the head of Zeus that Gauthier was.

And besides, if you’ve read or followed me at all over the last 15 years, you know which side of the stay-or-go scenario I favor.

Editor's note: With the 6th overall pick, the Flyers skipped the top D1 prospect in Hagens, choosing Porter Martone -- a right-handed-shooter from the Steelheads of the Ontario Hockey League. The 18-year-old finished his 3rd year of juniors with 98 points (37G, 61A) in 57 games on the wing.

By trading two later first-round picks, they moved up to No. 12 and chose a center, left-handed shooting Jack Nesbitt whose second OHL season yielded 64 points (25G, 39A) for the Windsor Spitfires. The fact the club bucked the trend to take a forward then grabbed a center within the top 15 selections dramatically underscores the point about development that takes into account each player's natural position and skill set, at slots where each player is presumably 1-2 years away from competing for an NHL roster spot. 

Can I offer any solutions after all this bleating and babbling? No, save for once again screaming into the void that the Flyers hockey operations just learn from the past and not repeat the same mistakes.

That’s a big enough ask for now. I can also ask the fandom from here on out, to think one or two levels up, to hold those who cover the team and those responsible for the decision making to account.

One man, one position. One solution. One vision. Gimme, gimme, gimme fried chicken.

Catching up with: Alexander Tertyshny

Photo credit: Taylor Christiana

By Bob Herpen

Phanatic Hockey Editor

On May 18, Alex Tertyshny officially ran out of excuses to avoid responsibility. 

Upon his graduation from Stonehill College - a small, private, Catholic institution roughly 25 miles south of Boston – the son of former Flyers defenseman Dmitry Tertyshny headed into the next phase of his life with a diploma and a calling to place his family name onto the Stanley Cup.

I caught up with Tertyshny fresh from receiving his academic bona fides, asking him to dish on college, maturity, his time with Flyers prospects, his goals for the immediate and distant future as well as life lessons he can take with him on his post-baccalaureate journey.

Phanatic: How does it feel to have earned your degree? Do you think you're "ready for the world" yet?

Tertyshny: It feels amazing as it is definitely something I sacrificed a lot for in order to secure a brighter, more stable future for my family. I love the sport of hockey of course, but I know it is very much a temporary profession that comes with uncontrollable factors. I think I am ready for the real world, yes, a lot of it has to do with the people I met and skills I developed in the classroom. Over the course of my educational journey from Choate Rosemary Hall to Stonehill, I met so many talented individuals both in hockey and outside of it, whom I am forever grateful for.

Phanatic: What are your short-term goals in terms of relocation and finding a job?

Tertyshny: Short term, I have the opportunity to go back to where I played my junior hockey for the Traktor Chelyabinsk organization. My father had played there, along with my uncles and cousin. It’ll be a two-way deal between the KHL and VHL. 

I am very lucky and fortunate as the people who run the organization were there when I played for the junior team. They liked my style of play and actually wanted me to stay and further developmental progress with them. However, they understood I had a strong desire to fulfill my parents’ wishes of obtaining a college education. Although my college career did not go as planned, I do feel very prepared for the next step and I feel very comfortable with the staff in Russia along with the style of play. The key will be staying healthy and finding consistency in my game.

Phanatic: You initially enrolled in and played for American International College before ending your academic and hockey career at Stonehill. What motivated the move - academics, better fit for your game, both, or other reasons?

Tertyshny: So I committed to AIC while I was playing junior in Russia, in the middle of my season they requested that I return to the states to continue my development. I ended up landing with the Northeast Generals, coached by Bryan Erikson. He really put a lot of trust in me from the get go, gave me a long leash to play and my game really grew with and away from the puck. 

Stephen Weidler had committed me to AIC, but shortly before I had arrived on campus he accepted a job at Vermont. It was difficult to see him go as he was the one who gave me my shot, showed me that belief… which is all a player in college could ever want. During my freshman year I ended up getting injured during a training camp scrimmage and missed the majority of the season. After that it was just difficult to find my footing and find consistency in my game. I lost a lot of confidence in myself and struggled with depression as all I had ever wanted to do with my life was play the sport of hockey and achieve that storybook ending of lacing up the skates for an NHL club, carrying on what my father had started, and giving my family what they had lost when my father had passed. 

It was all I thought about. I constantly viewed myself as a failure. I questioned myself, my decision making, everything. My decision to leave AIC was ultimately due to health issues surrounding my mother. With my father not being around, it has been a very difficult life for us. I have two younger siblings who I also love and care deeply for, and it was simply a situation where I needed to be home for my family. 

It was also just nice to get away from the everyday grind of hockey/school and focus on my own mental health, which the presence of family, even in gloomy conditions can help tremendously. While I was home, I entered the portal as I needed a change and wanted to improve my academic situation. 

American International College, located in Springfield, Massachusetts, inaugurated its men’s program in 1948. The Yellow Jackets competed in the Atlantic Hockey America conference until this past season, when it was announced the program would move down to Division II.

While Tertyshny transferred from American International to Stonehill, its men’s and women’s hockey programs moved up from Division II to Division I and played as independents. A right-handed shooting defenseman, he posted five assists across 39 games in two years for the Skyhawks.

Tertyshny: I was recruited by Darrell Borges to Stonehill and ultimately ended up committing largely because he showed that same belief that Wiedler had shown me. The concept of it being a transitioning program to the D1 level was also intriguing, I knew it wouldn't be perfect, but I wanted to be a part of creating a culture that past and future players of Stonehill can be proud of. 

Unfortunately, it was difficult to stay fully healthy, and I never really got to show myself at full strength, this ultimately affected consistency. With all this being said, through all the trials and tribulations, I am very grateful for the entire experience and everyone I met throughout my college career. 

Phanatic: Describe your experience two summers ago in Flyers development camp and  what you took from it back to Stonehill. 

Tertyshny: My trip to the Flyers development camp was a surreal experience and definitely one I will always be thankful for. I learned a ton from guys like Samuel Morin, Riley Armstrong, and John LeClair. I just wanted to be a sponge and take in as much as I could. Being surrounded by all the players there was fantastic; the Flyers are definitely in good hands with the likes of Alex Bump, Emil Andrae, Oliver Bonk to name a few from the camp and I think Flyers fans should be very excited. 

(The fans) should remain patient, which I know can be difficult to do especially in a passionate sports town like Philly, but all that is good, and I mean truly good, takes time. In regard to how I felt, obviously I was nervous, but once I was in it, I felt very good, held my own, made plays, competed and just kept it simple while implementing what I learned over the course of the week. At the end of the day it's just hockey, and it is always a privilege to play the sport. 

Phanatic: What was your major and subsequent degree and what do you think you want to do with it in the long term? 

Tertyshny: I ended up with a degree in management.

It’s funny, I had actually emailed (former Flyers GM) Paul Holmgren a few years back asking him what would be best to major in, as I have a strong desire to stay involved in the game after I am done playing. He ultimately recommended management and so I pursued that. When all is said and done, I want to have achieved my ultimate goal of getting the Tertyshny name on the Stanley Cup. I want that for my family because I have no doubt in my mind my father would have ultimately achieved that goal if he had more time.  So the management degree is ultimately to give me another avenue to reach that goal. One day, I simply just want to bring the cup to my father, with his last name etched on there. 

Phanatic: How will you use your time in Russia that’s just ahead to achieve your long-term ambition? 

Tertyshny: There are people with the Traktor organization that still have a belief in my ability to play the game at a high level. They know all the ins and outs of my situation, they watched the games, they know me as a player and they know me as a human being so I am extremely lucky and thankful for the opportunity.

When I was there I took part in training camp with the KHL team (Traktor) and the second team (Chelmet) where I felt more than comfortable. Sometimes there are days I wish I had just stayed over there solely due to the support system. But I know getting this degree would set me up for a future with more opportunity. Of course I wish things had panned out better on the ice, but all you can do is move forward. The Tertyshny family has never been known to go down easy and my mother is a driving force behind that.  

Phanatic: You've said that gaining an education was important to both your mom and dad. What are your mom and other members of your family feeling right now as you earned your degree? 

Tertyshny: My mother, grandmother, and my family back home in Russia were filled with pride and joy. I am very proud I was able to achieve this goal for them, now I just want to give back and provide them with whatever they need. It took all of them to raise me and for that I am forever thankful. 

Phanatic: How has the Flyers organization been present for you and your family as you've grown and do you expect that presence to continue?

Tertyshny: I mean from an early age, I was always a huge Flyers fan. They were never really drastically involved in my life to be honest, but there were individuals who were. 

My biggest strength as a player is my skating and this can be attributed to Slava Kuznetsov who instilled a strong stride and good technique in me from a young age. In this day and age you have to be a strong skater, and I am forever thankful for him. Most fans know him as a translator, but he is much more than that and a true master of the game. 

Jim McCrossin would allow me to visit the locker room when I was younger, he allowed me to meet so many of my idols including Danny Briere, Mike Richards, Jaromir Jagr, and Kimmo Timonen and for that I am forever indebted to him, he provided me with some of my most fond childhood memories. 

They weren’t really much involved in our lives until recently with Keith Jones back in the organization. Going forward, I want to stay in touch with Keith, with whom I connected at development camp. One day I want to be involved with the team in whatever capacity they may need. 

It’s the reason I went to school to get the degree I did. I don’t want anything given or any handouts. I know the Flyers are very family oriented, but if I am to be a part of that front office, I want to contribute in an effective manner for the betterment of the organization, team, and city.

Flyers hire of Tocchet a calculated gamble on nostalgia, but shows lack of long-term vision

Photo courtesy of the Toronto Star

By Bob Herpen

Phanatic Hockey Editor

On Friday morning, the Philadelphia Flyers welcomed another former player into a position of influence over hockey decisions, naming Rick Tocchet the club’s 25th head coach.

Tocchet arrived fresh from his escape of the Canucks, where he won the Jack Adams Award as the league’s top bench boss in 2024 before circumstances with the organization grew sour enough that he disengaged.

Tocchet, who was selected in the sixth round of the 1983 draft, made his Flyers debut in October, 1984 and played 621 games here in two stints until retiring in 2002. He posted 232 of his career 440 goals in orange and black along with racking up a franchise-best 1,815 penalty minutes.

But general manager Danny Briere and the rest of the Flyers front office is apparently looking at Tocchet as a kinder, gentler hand while continuing to embrace the familiar.

The 61-year-old, who worked with such talents at previous coaching stops like Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, Phil Kessel, Wayne Gretzky, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, gets his chance to work his magic for the club that took a chance on him as a scrappy 19-year-old out of Scarborough, Ontario.

With his hiring two days prior, Tocchet became the sixth former player to step up to the bench here. He follows Paul Holmgren, Bill Barber, Terry Murray, John Stevens and Craig Berube unto the breech. He’s only the second (after Murray, who came up through the ranks with the Washington Capitals) not to first ply his trade in assistantships or head slots somewhere in the Flyers organization.

But it’s still a familiar and friendly face in a familiar place, after a decidedly unfamiliar and unfriendly face in John Tortorella was summarily dismissed in March.

The connection with “past is prologue” as CEO of Comcast Dan Hilferty put it less than 2 years ago came into sharp focus when you consider on his May 16 public introduction, Tocchet had a hand in two memorable playoff moments coming up on five-and-zero anniversaries:

In 2000, 25 years ago, Tocchet’s two-goal effort helped the Flyers beat the Devils, 4-3, to even their Eastern Conference Finals series at a game apiece;

And in 1985, 40 years ago, his deflection score off a Mark Howe point drive in the first period was the opener (and eventual GWG) in a 3-0 series clinching win over Quebec in a Game 6 of the Wales Conference Finals.

So, let’s count. That’s former Flyers John LeClair, Patrick Sharp, Keith Jones, Danny Briere and Rick Tocchet holding sway over decision-making in Philadelphia. With an as-yet-undetermined number of other ex-Flyers who could fill two assistant coaching spots, now that Brad Shaw confirmed he would not return. 

In the National Hockey League, it’s a fact of life: coaches are hired to be fired. These relationships are not long-term, hardly analogous to the real world and never remain lovey-dovey, even if the commitment is strong from the start. 

And when one situation sours, there’s always another which offers a promise of renewal.

Call it the Coaches Carousel, Retread Roulette, The Old Boys Club, call it exclusive, call it unstable, call it whatever you want; but recognize that situations often change from one season to the next, personnel changes from one season to the next, injuries and discontent can change the on-ice chemistry on any given roster, so the sands quickly slip through the hourglass. 

Add in the fact that, when coaches reach the level where they are considered for NHL jobs, their vision and philosophy has been finely tuned and is set in stone. The conditions which make a candidate a great fit on Day One often make a bad fit by Day One Thousand.

Here’s the Flyers’ quandary.

In Friday’s press conference, the question was never asked, nor did Danny Briere offer a response, as to what Tocchet’s long-term role as head coach would be.

We heard online ad nauseam about how ex-teammates such as Chris Therien (Flyers of the early 2000s, former players like Sidney Crosby (Penguins in 2016-17) and recent charges such as Travis Sanheim (Canada, 4 Nations) all lauded Tocchet as a “great communicator,” with Briere and Tocchet himself offering his credentials at the presser as a “teacher.”

Well, great.

That gets us through the first couple years.

But when you consider that no Flyers head coach has lasted as long as four whole seasons since Mike Keenan – and that was 37 years ago – and given the naturally short leash inherent in any NHL head gig, where does that leave the organization long term? 

Whether it’s Tocchet or any other coach under consideration for the job, the hope with rebuilds are that the players develop properly, the coach is able to grow with the roster and the club progressed from an afterthought to a serious contender. 

That’s the positive spin.

The downside is that, over the course of 3 to 4 seasons, players may not develop properly, the coach may wear out his welcome and the whole thing collapses sooner than anticipated. Then, the hockey braintrust is back to square one. The process is hardly ever linear.

From the perspective of the ever hopeful, the faith and belief is that Briere got it right. But from the view of the perpetually disappointed, it’s another turn in the spin cycle with the stains of the past still visible.

And Tocchet has certainly been subject to the soap-and-rinse as much as any other head coach thrown continually in the washer.

Hired and fired as an assistant in Colorado.

Hired and removed (unceremoniously) as an assistant in Phoenix.

Hired as an assistant in Tampa, promoted to head coach of that slo-mo train wreck, then fired.

Hired in Pittsburgh but left amicably to be head man in Phoenix, then fired.’

Hired out of the broadcast booth to Vancouver, then parting ways within 2 seasons.

Charlie O’Connor over at PHLY Sports floated his theory that Tocchet’s selection was motivated by a need to take all the good Tortorella offered while leaving out all the bad parts, i.e. the things that drove players crazy, might have driven others not to come here as free agents, those things which directly led to his firing. 

If Charlie’s analysis holds any water – and G-d help him, he’s got a degree from the University of Pennsylvania and  *still* chose to make a living in sports media – all the Flyers have done is to hire Dr. Jekyll and excised Mr. Hyde. You’re still getting the guy willing to experiment on himself, without the gruesome outcome of those experiments. 

On the bright side, however, that theory tracks with what I believe to be Hilferty’s and the hockey ops’ focus: to goose interest, whether it be veteran free agents or season-ticket holders – many of whom due to the dearness of the professional league ticket are in Tocchet’s age range and remember his impact as a player.

Still, as a matter of practicality, suppose Tocchet is evaluated after three seasons and is found lacking?

Or blown out in the middle of a future campaign when injuries prove detrimental to the team’s record?

Briere and the Flyers braintrust would be forced to endure yet another round of deep digging and hand wringing and hopes and fears and the fate of the franchise teetering on the precipice to make another head coaching decision, with fans again seething at another fine mess. Why not make your intentions clear at the start? 

Wouldn’t have taken much for Briere, or Hilferty or Keith Jones other than to say: “we have full faith in Rick to guide this team through the rebuild and beyond, to recapture the glory of the franchise.”

There. Expectations set. 

Even if the contract, as reported by multiple sources, is in the range of $25 million for 5 years, a public statement cements a mandate to be in control at least that long. 

“Bridge” coaches are few and far between in the NHL, those who are tasked at the start with taking over a young team and remain in place by enjoying a sustained run atop the standings. Joel Quenneville is one. Jon Cooper another. Stevens ended up being another but his rocket ride endured a steep parabolic climb before it cratered prematurely.

The Flyers need a guy like this. Right here, right now. And we didn't get a definitive answer either way.

History tells us Tocchet will most likely be punching his ticket elsewhere and updating his contacts and change-of-address forms before new terms are discussed. 

Since Keenan, only Ken Hitchcock came close to hitting the four-full-season mark, with his tenure submarined by the cancelled season and then a radical shift to a youthful core which undermined his communication structure.

If Tocchet bucks the trend, great. It’s a badly-needed win on this regime’s ledger and a cause for celebration for the fanbase.

If he doesn’t, well…at least we can dig up YouTube clips of that time he beat up Bob Probert.