The 2007 Flyers’ rookie camp has officially come to a close with a 5-3 exhibition victory for the Flyers rookies over the Washington Capitals’ rookie squad, and now, attention will shift toward the real meat and potatoes run-up to the regular season.
Training camp will open this Friday, and as part of the camp activities, the Flyers have announced the creation of a round-robin format tournament to be held from Friday to Sunday.
The first-annual “Clarke Cup” will be awarded to one of four teams that have been assembled out of the scheduled camp attendees. The four teams have been named after members of the Flyers Hall of Fame, and will be known as Team Snider, Team Allen, Team Barber, and Team Parent.
The team rosters are as follows…
Team Snider
Simon Gagne Danny Briere Mike Knuble
Kyle Greentree Frederik Cabana Jesse Boulerice
Garrett Klotz Pete Zingoni Darroll Powe
Randy Jones Lasse Kukkonen
Oskars Bartulis Nate Guenin
Chad Anderson Mike Vannelli
Brian Boucher
Team Allen
Scott Hartnell Mike Richards Sami Kapanen
Adam Henrich Pat LeBeau Claude Giroux
Josh Beaulieu Mario Kempe Riley Cote
Braydon Coburn Derian Hatcher
Lars Jonsson Kevin Marshall
Rory Fitzpatrick Adam Bourque-LeBlanc
Antero Niittymaki
Scott Munroe
Team Barber
Ben Eager R.J. Umberger Stefan Ruzicka
Boyd Kane Jim Dowd Steve Downie
Matt Stefanishion Pat Maroon David Laliberte
Brad Schell Ryan Potulny
Kimmo Timonen Jason Smith
Jussi Timonen Martin Grenier
Ryan Wilson
Martin Biron
Martin Houle
Team Parent
Scottie Upshall Jeff Carter Joffrey Lupul
Denis Tolpeko Jon Matsumoto Darren Reid
Triston Grant Jared Ross Gino Pisellini
Denis Gauthier Alexander Picard
Ryan Parent Tysen Dowzak
Mike Rathje Maxime Ouimet-Desjardins
Rejean Beauchemin
Jeremy Duchesne
At first look, Team Allen appears to be the most balanced squad in terms of veterans and young talent. But that particular team is not likely to draw the most attention.
Instead, Team Snider’s top line of Simon Gagne, Danny Briere, and Mike Knuble will be watched very closely. It will be the first time Flyers fans will get to see the projected 1st line work together on the ice, and great things will be expected quickly.
Another interesting lineup is the top line of Team Allen. Scott Hartnell was originally expected to be placed to the left of Jeff Carter on the 2nd line, but instead has been lined up with Mike Richards and Sami Kapanen. Richards and Kapanen will be the anchors of the Flyers checking line. Is it just an experiment? This would be the time for experimentation, and it should be interesting to see what Hartnell can do alongside checking forwards.
But even though the top lines of all the squads offer an interesting look at what the Flyers’ opening night roster could look like, the aim was to balance the offensive firepower throughout, and not give a definite edge to any one group. That could explain Hartnell’s placement on the Richards line, rather than Carter’s.
Also, note that although Gagne, Briere, and Knuble are together in Team Snider, but they do not have much more in terms of offensive threat through the rest of the team. That’s probably good news for the other three teams, as that top line should be able to do plenty of damage on its own.
Who will take the first-ever “Clarke Cup”? Make your predictions.
My pick…Team Allen. But I wouldn’t be surprised to see Team Snider give them everything they can handle.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 12th, 2007 at 8:43 PM and is filed under "Fly" On The Wall, Alexandre Picard, Braydon Coburn, Danny Briere, Denis Tolpeko, Derian Hatcher, Flyers, Jason Smith, Jeff Carter, Jesse Boulerice, Joffrey Lupul, Kimmo Timonen, Lasse Kukkonen, Martin Biron, Mike Knuble, Mike Richards, Nate Guenin, Randy Jones, Riley Cote, Ryan Parent, Sami Kapanen, Scott Hartnell, Scottie Upshall, Simon Gagne, Stefan Ruzicka, Steve Downie, Training Camp.
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September 12th, 2007 at 9:01 PM
Id pick team Allen, watch out for Mario Kempe i heard i was impressive in the rookie game.
September 13th, 2007 at 6:06 AM
I’d have to go with team Allen as well. Just because of what has been said, they are the most balanced.
September 14th, 2007 at 6:06 AM
I’m taking team Barber because I feel bad for them.