On Bump, Martone and the tyranny of trajectories

Courtesy of SportsTalkPhilly

by Bob Herpen

Phanatic Hockey Editor

So, fifth-round draft pick Alex Bump and first-round selection Porter Martone are receiving their baptisms of fire as the Philadelphia Flyers are fighting for the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference.

With 5 games remaining in a tense stretch run, one collegiate prospect looks like a thoroughbred and the other a Clydesdale. Guess which is which.

Bump was taken five rounds deep in 2022 and proceeded to have three unspectacular seasons in American juniors before two surprising years (37 goals, 83 points over 80 games) at Western Michigan that included an NCHC tournament best player honor ahead of a national title. 

Martone was drafted No. 6 overall last June after two dominant campaigns in Canadian juniors, then proceeded to have a stellar season at Michigan State (25 goals, 50 points in 35 games) although Sparty bowed out early in the NCAA playoffs for a second straight season.

At 22 years old, with 45 games of total professional experience, Bump has established himself as both a shot taker and a shot maker. With 4 goals (on 20 shots, 20% shooting) and 4 assists in 14 starts, including a marker in his very first National Hockey League appearance, the dark horse has proven he can run.

That doesn’t mean he hasn’t had hiccups – head coach Rick Tocchet picking him as a healthy scratch for last Tuesday’s regulation home loss to the Red Wings after back-to-back shotless performances in two key Flyers victories was an obvious choice – but he responded on Saturday with an early goal.

And since his successful debut on March 7 at Pittsburgh, Bump has outscored the following name brands usually slotted in the top 6: Christian Dvorak (3), Trevor Zegras (2); Matvei Michkov (1). Only Owen Tippett (9) has more.

“Going down there and playing down there, I really saw a different player,” Tocchet said after Bump’s NHL debut in Pittsburgh on March 7. “It’s good that he (was) taking the information down there (in Allentown) and coming up here. Hell of a shot. Holding onto pucks, not scared of shooting pucks, that’s what we need.”

Martone, thrown into the thick of things at age 19 with 4 games at the NHL level, hadn’t done much except garner the laser focus of barely-functional referees and linesmen until his first NHL goal doubled as a hero overtime moment to beat the Bruins, 2-1, more than 24 hours ago. Just as he praised Bump’s slow-cook mantra to make the Show, Tocchet kept citing preparedness as a key factor for Martone.

“You can just tell he’s a hockey player. He loves the game. He’s a very engaged kid,” Tocchet said. “He’s not afraid to say something, on the bench talking about the power play to some guys (and said) ‘hey, I’ll be here, you be here,’ I like that – a young kid doing that?”

Just so we’re clear, you win games by scoring goals, not by running up shot totals, individually or collectively. The only way to ensure you score is to shoot the puck past the goaltender, not by throwing as many shots on net and hoping that the volume *eventually* wears down the guy with all the pads. That’s true inside and outside the high-danger areas.

More than that, it was the way Bump scores. On Long Island Friday night, he gathered the puck along the left-wing boards near the circle and fired high when no clear opening was visible on Islanders netminder Ilya Sorokin. However, Sorokin, not thinking a shot would come from that direction and angle, failed to seal off anything high and the Flyers’ second goal in an eventual 4-1 victory beat him under the crossbar and to the short side. 

Martone set an NHL record for rookies with 14 shots on goal in his first two NHL appearances. He’s up to 20 over four games. With one goal. That’s a 5% effort folks.

Even considering the brilliant timing of his first red light, Martone needs to strike more often to contribute anything meaningful as a high first-round one-and-done. Of his registered SOGs, all but one (a nifty glove save in a 1-on-1 situation by Detroit goalie John Gibson in Thursday’s loss) were of the “shoot at the net and see what happens” variety, where the goaltender didn’t have to move in any direction on the x or y axes, guess or cover open territory. 

Multiple times at Michigan State, Martone proved he can score from distance and he needs to embrace those chances instead of being satisfied as the down-low presence. And with Tocchet’s offensive plan focusing on less shot generation and more quality shots in prime scoring areas, there’s enough opportunity.

Here’s the thing: I recognize both players are asked to run the same course, but with staggered starting points. Bump was given more track to start and worked his way through, while Martone was slotted closer to the finish line and just needs to sprint to the tape. Both players, blessed with similar skill sets we *hope* the organization can’t foul up, are being asked to do the same thing – score goals.

From MSN.com

Unfortunately, Martone who was expected to do so right away, took 4 games to do it. Bump did it in his first. 

After all the huffing and puffing of the last 6 weeks, the Flyers still need to vault over three teams – Ottawa, Detroit and Columbus and stay there – regardless of exterior outcomes to ensure a playoff berth and every player needs to do what he was put on the club to do.

Bump, the fifth rounder, is holding up his end of the bargain. Martone, the first-round flash, finally has something to build on but needs immediate and repeat performances.

We’ve also been assured by one legacy media outlet that everything he did in East Lansing this year led up to this moment.

“An overtime winner as a first NHL goal, it’s pretty special,” Martone said when asked if it was a weight off his shoulders to finally produce after the work he put in so far. “Just to continue to keep playing my game, that’s who I am. I’m gonna get a lot of chances. For me, every shift (I need to) come back to the bench and reset.”

The instant glazing of Martone was such that shortages might be reported at several Krispy Kremes and Dunkin Donuts in the Delaware Valley upon start of business this morning. Worse, the MSU admin thought it was being clever but created a wicked self-own on Sunday evening, touting Martone as “built for big moments.” 

Take off the orange-tinted glasses and come down from the Easter candy sugar rush for a second. If Martone *really* was made for big moments, the Spartans (armed with two other Hobey Baker Award finalists in forward Charlie Stramel and goaltender Trey Augustine – also a finalist for the Mike Richter Award) wouldn’t have been eliminated in the NCAA regionals last week. Instead, Sparty would be set for Las Vegas next weekend and Martone would be pressing for a championship. 

As I close out this column, I’m reminded of some wise words from a fictional mastermind. Never get involved in a land war in Asia. Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line. Never let a good social post get in the way of reality. Never question the irrational optimism of Flyers opinion leaders.

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.

BC downs Ferris State, caps dream season with NCAA crown

by Bob Herpen

Phanatic Hockey Editor

Steven Whitney tallied twice and Parker Milner stopped 27 shots as Boston College downed Ferris State, 4-1, in the NCAA men's ice hockey championship game on Saturday night at Tampa Bay Times Forum.

"We've always tried to have excellent defensemen, and our forwards have been very explosive, but they all share great team bonding," said BC head coach Jerry York, whose senior class finished their careers an impressive 22-2 in the postseason.

Paul Carey and Johnny Gaudreau also scored for the Eagles (33-10-1), who claimed their fourth national crown in the last 12 seasons by winning their 19th straight game.

The streak began following back-to-back losses at Maine on January 20-21 and grew to be the longest in the country. Only Cornell, which took all 29 of its games in 1969-70, won more in a row to cap a title season.

Milner earned most outstanding player honors by only giving up two goals in four tournament games as BC took home its fifth championship in program history. The Eagles turned in a rare quintuple triumph, taking the preseason Icebreaker Tournament, the Beanpot, the Hockey East regular-season and playoff titles as well as the national championship.

"It's incredible. It's everything you dream about," said the junior netminder.

Garrett Thompson notched the lone goal for the Bulldogs (26-12-5), who were bidding for the school's first ever Division I title in any sport.

Taylor Nelson was dented three times on 33 shots for the loss, FSU's first since suffering CCHA quarterfinal defeats to Western Michigan.

"This team has really blazed a trail," said Ferris State head coach Bob Daniels, who nonetheless took home national coach of the year honors after battling atop the national rankings with BC during the middle part of the season. "This team broke some new ground for us and this senior class will leave with three straight winning years and three really great seasons. I think it will give us confidence moving forward that we can be successful on a national stage and with that hopefully we'll continue to grow."

Both goaltenders were on their game as time ticked away in a one-goal contest.

Milner dove from right to left across his crease to deny Travis Ouellette's one-timer with 7:07 left in regulation, and Nelson flashed his right pad to deny Chris Kreider less than two minutes later.

Gaudreau then salted away the title with 3:02 on the clock, beating a defender with several stick moves and lifting a backhander under the crossbar.

"I just went with it, and luckily it happened to work for me, and luckily it went in," said the freshman winger and Flames draft pick.

Nelson was pulled for an extra skater 1:28 remaining and Whitney hit the empty net to clinch it.

"I think it's the quality of kids that we have in our program," said senior captain and defenseman Tommy Cross, who leaves The Heights as one of six players to win it all twice in the last three years. "There's a huge trickle down effect here. It's 25 brothers."

Whitney opened the scoring just 3:18 after the opening faceoff. A Ferris State turnover deep in its own endended up on the stick of BC's Barry Almeida on the right wing, and he dished across the crease for an easy tap-in.

The Bulldogs equalized at 5:19 when Thompson followed up an Andy Huff shot and scored inside the right post.

BC moved ahead on a power play with 9:27 to go in the opening period, when Brian Dumoulin's left-point floater changed direction off the edge of the blade of Carey's stick in the slot. A brief review revealed the stick was well within the legal height.

Milner stayed in position to stone Kyle Bonis on a breakaway with 5:22 remaining, then made a pad save on his belly to deny Huff at the right post in the final seconds of the first.

Bonis was hooked on a breakaway just after the midway portion of the second, and on the ensuing advantage, Nelson turned away an Almeida shot off a 2-on-1.

"What a year," said Nelson. "I'm extremely proud of every individual in that locker room. All season long, we sacrificed for one another and bled for one another. And, as far as what it means to the program, I think in our minds, it made history."

Notes: BC ended the year 25-0-1 when leading after two periods...Cornell had future Montreal Canadiens Hall of Famer Ken Dryden in goal in that perfect season...RPI finished the 1984-85 campaign 32-0-1 in its final 33 games en route to the crown, with the tie part of a two-game opening-round series where the winner advanced on total number of goals...York won his fifth career national title (four with BC, one with Bowling Green)...The Eagles' only two playoff losses in four years came in the 2009 Hockey East semifinals to eventual champion Boston University and to Colorado College in last year's first round...FSU defenseman Scott Czarnowczan left the game in the second period with a knee injury and did not return...Four of the last five NCAA titles have been won by Boston-area schools with BC winning three times (2008, 2010, 2012) and Boston University in 2009...Attendance was 18,818.

Frozen Four coming to Philly

INDIANAPOLIS--The NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Committee has announced the host sites for the 2013 and 2014 Men's Frozen Four. Pittsburgh, Pa., will host the 2013 Men's Frozen Four at the Consol Energy Center, while Philadelphia, Pa., will serve as the host for the 2014 championship at the Wachovia Center. The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) will serve as the host for the event on April 10 and 12, 2014.

"The Frozen Four is one of the premiere national championships and a showcase of hockey's top collegiate student athletes," said Comcast-Spectacor President Peter Luukko. "This awarding of the event is a true testament to both the development of ice hockey programs here in the Greater Philadelphia Region which  has produced young ice hockey players who have gone on to compete in the Frozen Four, as well as to the die-hard hockey fans here in our region who will be able to show their passion for the sport of hockey on the national stage. We would also like to congratulate the ECAC on their tireless efforts in  helping to bring the event to Philadelphia."


"We are extremely excited about the opportunity to host the 2014 Frozen Four," said ECAC Commissioner Rudy Keeling. "To do so in such a wonderful facility in a completely sports-minded community will go a long way toward making this one of the best Frozen Fours in recent history."

The Wachovia Center, home to the National Hockey League's Easten Conference Champion Philadelphia Flyers, will also host the 2011 NCAA Wrestling Championships, as well as the 2013 NCAA Men's First and Second Round Basketball Tournament Games. The Wachovia Center, which opened in 1996, has already hosted the 2000 NCAA Women's Final Four, the 2001 NCAA Men's East Regionals, the 2006 and 2009 NCAA Men's First and Second Round Basketball Games.

The Consol Energy Center is set to open in August 2010 and will be the new home to the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins. Robert Morris University, a member of the Atlantic Hockey Association, will serve as the host institution for the championship taking place on April 11 and 13, 2013.

"The number of quality bids submitted made the process of choosing the host sites extremely difficult for the committee," said Bill Bellerose, chair of the Division I Men's Ice Hockey Committee and associate athletic director at College of the Holy Cross. "We are extremely pleased with every aspect of both winning bids - from the venue, to the community support to the cities themselves, everything will be first-class. We are confident both sites will put forth the ultimate championship experience for the student-athletes and fans alike."

"The City of Philadelphia is thrilled to welcome the NCAA Frozen Four and its many fans to the City of Brotherly Love in 2014," said  Mayor Michael A. Nutter. "Kudos to all of the local partners involved in bringing this prestigious sporting event here."

"The Frozen Four is one of the NCAA's premier championships and will bring thousands of visitors to Philadelphia from around the country," said Larry Needle, Executive Director, Philadelphia Sports Congress, a division of the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau. "We are excited to partner with Comcast-Spectacor, the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) and the City, in hosting this great event."

These two championships will be the first two NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Championship events held in the state of Pennsylvania.

The 2011 Men's Frozen Four will be held in St. Paul, Minn., at the Xcel Energy Center, April 7 and 9. The 2012 championships will be held at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Fla., April 5 and 7.