Flyers Have Officially Changed!!

I was skeptical because Danny Briere had zero front-office experience outside of the mess that was the Flyers’ front office. I was skeptical because Keith Jones had zero front-office experience anywhere. I was skeptical because Bill Barber and Bobby Clarke are still listed as Senior Advisors. Then, it happened. The Flyers drafted Matvei Michkov with Ryan Leonard still available.

Michkov is Russian and most likely won’t play in the NHL for two or three years. Ryan Leonard isn’t Russian and was considered one of the grittier and strongest players in the draft at 6-foot 190 pounds. Leonard, who compares to Matthew Tkachuk, fits the prototypical mold of players the Flyers organization has desired for the past four decades. And, still, they went Michkov.

Patience is a thing the Flyers have never possessed. They’ve always chased players to win now. Those players tended to be star players past their prime. Drafting a kid who probably won’t play in the US for years proves that the new Flyers leadership is finally playing the long game—HALLELUJAH!

A Russian looks to be the centerpiece of the first official rebuild in recent Flyers’ history. That’s huge given the history the Flyers franchise has had with Russia. They did take Ivan Provorov at #7 in 2005, but that felt different. Provorov was supposed to be a dependable blue-liner years to come. Michkov, also taken at 7th overall, looks to be the face, the star, of the rebuild in a few years. Ed Snider may be turning in his grave.

The Flyers have a notorious past with Russian Hockey. Back in 1976, the Soviet Union’s HC CSKA Moscow team, known as The Red Army, came to Philadelphia to play the Flyers in an exhibition game in the midst of Soviet-Western political tensions. During the game, the Flyers’ toughness overcame the Soviet’s skill. After four hits by Flyers within a minute culminating with defenseman Ed Van Impe knocking out Soviet star Valeri Kharlamov, The Red Army’s coach pulled his squad off the ice and refused to come back. Snider argued with the head of the Soviet Hockey Federation threatening not to pay them unless they returned to finish the game. They eventually did and lost 4-1.

I find it hard to believe that if Snider was still alive or if Clarke or Barber were involved in selecting picks they would center their rebound around a Russian player with Leonard still available.

This feels like a total 180-degree turn for the Flyers franchise. It’s a turn we, the fans, have been begging for for decades.

I am skeptical no more. On with the rebuild!