Hello and welcome to the Tuesday edition of Between the Pipes. Hockey season has officially started as there were 12 preseason games played on Monday, with the Flyers and Islanders splitting their squads between Allentown and Brooklyn. With excitement and anticipation growing, let's take a look at a few headlines from around the league.
Flyers ink defenseman Philippe Myers to entry-level contract – [Rob Riches – Flyerdelphia]
Ron Hextall and his staff have become masters at evaluating talent and they were at it again by signing 18-year-old Philippe Myers to an entry-level deal. Myers, who was undrafted, is entering his third season with Rouyn-Noranda of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League where he has registered 10 points in a little over 100 games played. While he is not known for his offensive prowess as a defenseman, his positional play is fundamentally sound and is continually improving. In training camp on an amateur tryout, the soaring 6-5, 196-pound blueliner seems to fit the bill as a player the team would like to develop long-term as part of an evolving defensive corps that will hopefully help the club become annual contenders.
Travis Konecny opens eyes in first NHL preseason game – [Dave Isaac – Courier Post]
This past June, all eyes were on Ivan Provorov, the talented and possibly NHL-ready defenseman from Brandon of the Western Hockey League whom the Flyers were targeting (and selected) with the seventh overall pick in the 2015 entry draft. With the Flyers slated to pick again towards the end of the round as a result of trading Braydon Coburn to Tampa Bay, the club through a curve ball by moving up a handful of slots and drafting Konecny 24th overall after the Ottawa 67's forward slid down the draft board, possibly due to size and concerns over an injury from the 2014-15 season. Konecny was one of the best players on the ice on Monday as he scored a goal and made it difficult for the opposing Islanders to keep up with his feverish skating and energy. The 18-year-old is a natural leader and he caught the attention of first-year coach Dave Hakstol as well as veterans such as Vincent Lecavalier. While it seems unlikely that he can push for a roster spot this season, the future is bright for the London native.
John Tortorella named Team USA's head coach for upcoming 2016 World Cup of Hockey – [Scott Burnside – ESPN]
This is a good appointment made by GM Dean Lombardi and his crew — including Flyers President Paul Holmgren. Tortorella, a fiery, yet passionate coach has won just under 450 NHL contests and his 936 games behind the bench place him at the top of the list all-time for American-born coaches. Having won the Stanley Cup with Tampa Bay in 2004 after knocking the Flyers out in the Eastern Conference Final, Tortorella knows what it takes to put a successful product on the ice. Team USA will face staunch competition as one of hockey's most exciting tournaments is resurrected next September in Toronto. If anybody knows how to motivate a team, it's Tortorella. Let's see what you got, Torts!
Zach Hopkins is a contributing writer for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @healedbyhockey.
