Around The Rink

by Bob Herpen
The Phanatic Magazine

Let's See What The Kid Can Do

The Flyers' second-overall pick in the 2007 draft is now available for an
audition.

James vanRiemsdyk, once the leading scorer in all college hockey, and his New
Hampshire Wildcats were eliminated from the NCAA men's ice hockey tournament
on Sunday by conference rival and top-overall seed Boston University.

The club eased his path to the show earlier this week, plucking him from
obscurity in Durham and dropping him at the Wachovia Spectrum with the
Phantoms.

There has been talk that the organization was not happy with the 19-year-old's
decision to remain in school, and equally unhappy at his "progress" while
under UNH head coach Dick Umile's watch.

Translation: He wasn't putting on enough weight and not showing enough
toughness that a typical "Flyer" is supposed to.

Why? Because the Wildcats have for years embraced a mindset of speed and
skill, helped along by the fact that their home rink is an olympic-sized
200-by-100 sheet instead of the usual 200-by-85 or smaller.

Now, Paul Holmgren, the source of much of this discontent, gets a chance to
see the New Jersey native up close. He'll either prove them all right, or all
wrong, and do it in the next week and a half.

The scouting report alone should be thorough enough for the final portion of
the AHL season that either a draft-day deal or stern talking-to about the true
Flyer ethic should solve the "problem" once and for all.

Motor City Meltdowns

On St. Patrick's Day, the Flyers blew a 2-0 lead halfway through regulation
into a 3-2 loss at Detroit, making it 16 consecutive games over more than 20
years since the orange and black won at Joe Louis Arena.

The streak of bad luck was most likely set in Philly's last victory there,
4-3, on November 4, 1988.

Steve Yzerman recorded a hat trick, but Murray Craven got the game winner with
15 seconds to go -- beating Greg Stefan just as he was whacked in the side of
the face by a diving two-hander from Miroslav Frycer.

Since then, the Flyers have lost 14 times with two ties. They've fallen in
games which they scored six goals (9-6, on February 16, 1990), when they had a
one-goal lead in the final 90 seconds of regulation (3-2, October 18, 2001),
rallied from two-goals down in the third period only to lose in OT (March
28, 1999), and turned a 1-1 tie after two periods into a 6-3 defeat (January
12, 2006).

Under the current three-year blocked scheduling system, it's a safe bet that
it will be two more seasons before the Flyers get another chance to reverse
this particular curse.

Exit...Staged Bouts

One of the smartest and best rule changes the NHL Board of Governors has been
investigating is the prevalence of staged fights.

Unlike bouts caused when two players have been running at each other, or when
one team's skilled player is assaulted and retribution is in order, staged
fights happen just after a stoppage in play, when two so-called tough guys
okay it with one another then drop the gloves as soon as play resumes.

It's a dumb, contrived and pointless exercise which is one of only a true
handful of events that really slow down the game.

Ostensibly, it's a twofold system: a way for a young player to prove himself
to a reigning fighter, or a way for a player to reverse momentum if his club
faces an early deficit.

But it comes off as too artificial and distracting, as when Dan Carcillo and
Greg Campbell wrestled to a draw off the opening faceoff last Thursday in
Florida's 4-2 win. Riley Cote participated in a similar fraud on Saturday,
following another Carcillo bout at Long Island with the Flyers down two goals,
and hurt his left hand enough to miss Sunday's home loss to Boston.

The penalty should be light at first, but pointed. I'm leaning towards an
automatic 10-minute misconduct on top of the fighting major. Accumulate three,
and it's a one-game suspension. Four or more, and it's an additional game
suspension each time.

Of course, that puts the ruling at the discretion of the officials - which
hasn't been a smart course of action in recent years - but it's a start.

Honors for The Elder Statesman

At 36 years of age, Mike Knuble is the oldest player on the Flyers roster, as
well as the longest-tenured player here in terms of total NHL games played.

He's also the most involved in charitable causes: taking up a toy collection
at Christmas, holding two separate golf tournaments for cancer research, and
speaking on behalf of breast cancer awareness.

In addition, his mother is a Holocaust survivor, along with other members of
her family.

On Monday, the NHL honored Knuble as one of the 30 finalists for the Masterton
Trophy which is given to the person who "best exemplifies the qualities of
perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey."

Tim Kerr was the last Flyer to win the award, in 1989, one season removed from
reconstructive shoulder surgery which cost him all but 10 games the previous
campaign.

Franchise icon Bobby Clarke took home the honor in 1971-72 for his distinguished
play despite living with diabetes.