Future Flyers Report: Bourdon’s issues, Stolarz nearing a return, Laughton continues strong play

Image courtesy of CSNPhilly.com
It’s been a tough few years for Marc-Andre Bourdon. The 24-year-old defenseman is struggling again with post-concussion symptoms after it seemed as though he was cleared of such issues in the middle of January. As the Flyers and their fans have seen in recent memory with the career and life of Chris Pronger, Bourdon’s situation has now become pretty serious and it is important to make sure the young defenseman is living fine rather than making sure he can play again.

Bourdon had taken part in seven games with the Adirondack Phantoms before his issues occurred again. According to Dave Isaac of The Courier-Post, Phantoms’ head coach Terry Murray said the incident that lead to Bourdon’s concussion symptoms again came in the team’s 3-2 loss to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on February 8th. Murray said the defenseman went to check a Penguin in the neutral zone, but the Pen “dipped down on him” which led to Bourdon smacking his head on the glass. Bourdon needed stitches after the incident, as he was bleeding from above his eye. Murray then went on to add that Bourdon will have days where he seems fine, and then he’ll have days where he will call the medical staff and tell them he isn’t coming in because he’s been up all night due to headaches.

Bourdon has played a total of 24 games for the Phantoms over the last two seasons, as he has compiled one goal and six assists in the process. The defenseman is a restricted free agent this summer.

In other AHL news, the Phantoms dropped their contest at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers by the count of 3-2. Nick Cousins and Chris VandeVelde scored for Adirondack in the loss, while Carsen Chubak made 26 saves on 29 shots against. Anders Nilsson recorded the win for the Sound Tigers with a 26-save effort.

The tilt started with a scrap between Brandon Manning and Anders Lee just 28 seconds into the game. Later in the first period, Bridgeport gained the lead with Johan Sundstrom’s sixth of the season off of helpers from Joel Broda and Matthew Pistilli. The opening frame concluded with Bridgeport d-man Brett Gallant recording 29 PIMs with four seconds left, as he also took part in a bout with Manning.

Cousins’ tally equalized the game at one 6:40 into the middle frame, as his wrist shot squeaked through Nilsson’s left hip and arm for his fifth of the season. Brandon Alderson recorded the lone assist on Cousins’ goal.

To start the third period, the Phantoms took advantage of a 5-on-3 man advantage to take the 2-1 lead. With Matt Donovan recording a holding penalty after the final whistle of the second period, Sundstrom was called for boarding just 1:05 into the final stanza to hand Adirondack a 55-second 5-on-3 power play. It took 30 seconds for the Phantoms to convert, as Jason Akeson set up VandeVelde with a perfect cross-ice pass to allow the forward to slam it home for his ninth of the season and the Phantoms’ first lead of the game.

The lead didn’t last long, as Chris Langkow scored a shorthanded tally to make it 2-2 with 18:03 left in regulation. Daymond Langkow’s cousin was set up with a pass from Scooter Vaughan. Unfortunately for the Phantoms, Aaron Ness recorded the game-winning goal with 10:39 left in the tilt, as Chubak sorely misplayed a weak shot from the blue liner.

In the OHL, Anthony Stolarz has returned to practice for the London Knights. The Orange and Black’s second-round pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, who suffered a severe cut on the back of his leg in a game against the Saginaw Spirit on January 17^th and needed 55 stitches, began practicing again on Friday, according to GM Paul Holmgren. Stolarz is 21-4-2 this season with the Knights, who are fourth in the OHL’s Western Conference with 89 points.

Scott Laughton was named the OHL Player of the Week for the week of February 17th to February 23rd, as the forward had seven points and a plus-2 rating in four games for the Oshawa Generals. Laughton’s performance on Sunday night against the Kingston Frontenacs helped him earn the honor, as he recorded a hat trick and produced an assist as well in the Generals’ 7-2 win. Laughton also had a two-assist game in the Generals’ 6-3 loss to the London Knights on February 17th and a goal against the Frontenacs in Oshawa’s 3-2 win over the club on Friday.

With his hat trick on Sunday night, Laughton gained control of the team lead in goal for the Generals, as the forward has 37 to his credit on the season. Michael Dal Colle still leads Oshawa in scoring with 87 points.

FORWARDS

1. Scott Laughton (Oshawa Generals, OHL) – 80 points (37 goals and 43 assists), plus-16, and 65 PIMs in 48 games.
2. Taylor Leier (Portland Winterhawks, WHL) – 67 points (32 goals and 35 assists), plus-35, and 27 PIMs in 53 games.
3. Jason Akeson (Adirondack Phantoms, AHL) – 48 points (18 goals and 30 assists), minus-16, and 24 PIMs in 52 games.
4. Tyrell Goulbourne (Kelowna Rockets, WHL) – 30 points (12 goals and 18 assists), plus-19, and 96 PIMs in 57 games.
5. Tye McGinn (Philadelphia Flyers and Adirondack Phantoms) – 28 points (17 goals and 11 assists), minus-16, and 61 PIMs in 52 games.
6. Michael Parks (University of North Dakota, NCAA) – 26 points (10 goals and 16 assists), plus-11, and 20 PIMs in 30 games.
7. Ben Holmstrom (Adirondack Phantoms, AHL) – 24 points (10 goals and 14 assists), minus-7, and 121 PIMs in 51 games.
8. Petr Straka (Adirondack Phantoms, AHL) – 22 points (Seven goals and 15 assists), minus-4, and 18 PIMs in 46 games.
9. Andrew Johnston (Orlando Solar Bears, ECHL) – 18 points (Three goals and 15 assists), plus-2, and 36 PIMs in 44 games.
10. Nick Cousins (Adirondack Phantoms, AHL) – 14 points (Five goals and Nine assists), minus-6, and 25 PIMs in 50 games.
11. Brandon Alderson (Adirondack Phantoms, AHL) – 12 points (Seven goals and Five assists), minus-5, and 18 PIMs in 47 games.
12. Kyle Flanagan (Adirondack Phantoms, AHL) – 10 points (Four goals and Six assists), minus-2, and eight PIMs in 39 games.
13. Marcel Noebels (Adirondack Phantoms, AHL) – Seven points (Two goals and Five assists), plus-3, and 20 PIMs in 34 games.
14. Tyler Brown (Adirondack Phantoms, AHL) – Six points (One goal and Five assists), plus-4, and eight PIMs in 32 games.
15. Matt Mangene (Adirondack Phantoms, AHL) – Six points (Three goals and Three assists) and 32 PIMs in 48 games.
16. Petr Placek (Harvard University, NCAA) – Zero points, minus-1, and two PIMs in one game.
17. Derek Mathers (Adirondack Phantoms, AHL) – Zero points, minus-3, and 77 PIMs in 26 games.

DEFENSEMEN

1. Samuel Morin (Rimouski Oceanic, QMJHL) – 27 points (Seven goals and 20 assists), plus-9, and 100 PIMs in 46 games.
2. Shayne Gostisbehere (Union College, NCAA) – 26 points (Eight goals and 18 assists), plus-15, and 18 PIMs in 32 games.
3. Brandon Manning (Adirondack Phantoms, AHL) – 20 points (Five goals and 15 assists), minus-11, and 193 PIMs in 52 games.
4. Mark Alt (Adirondack Phantoms, AHL) – 14 points (Two goals and 12 assists), minus-12, and 21 PIMs in 51 games.
5. Terrance Amorosa (Sioux City Musketeers, USHL) – Nine points (Two goals and Seven assists), plus-13, and six PIMs in 36 games.
6. Robert Hagg (MODO HK and MODO J20) – Nine points (One goal and Eight assists), plus-2, and 24 PIMs in 48 games.
7. Maxim Lamarche (Adirondack Phantoms and Elmira Jackals) – Eight points (Three goals and Five assists), plus-2, and 31 PIMs in 46 games.
8. Oliver Lauridsen (Adirondack Phantoms, AHL) – Eight points (One goal and Seven assists), plus-3, and 133 PIMs in 52 games.
9. Tyler Hostetter (Wichita Thunder, CHL) – Six points (Two goals and Four assists), minus-1, and 15 PIMs in 19 games.
10. Reece Willcox (Cornell University, NCAA) – Six points (Two goals and Four assists), plus-2, and six PIMs in 26 games.
11. Nick Luukko (University of Vermont, NCAA) – Six points (Three goals and Three assists) and 22 PIMs in 30 games.
12. Fredric Larsson (Tri-City Storm and Youngstown Phantoms) – Six points (One goal and Five assists), minus-8, and 79 PIMs in 39 games.
13. Cullen Eddy (Adirondack Phantoms, AHL) – Four points (One goal and Three assists), plus-3, and 30 PIMs in 27 games.
14. David Drake (Des Moines Buccaneers, USHL) – Four assists, minus-8, and 12 PIMs in 37 games.
15. Marc-Andre Bourdon (Adirondack Phantoms, AHL) – Three assists, minus-2, and 12 PIMs in seven games.
16. Valeri Vasiliev (Spartak Moscow, KHL) – Three assists, minus-9, and 14 PIMs in 35 games.
17. Matt Konan (Adirondack Phantoms, AHL) – Two assists, minus-7, and 22 PIMs in 26 games.

GOALTENDERS

1. Jakub Kovar (Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg, KHL) – 19-15-10, .934 save percentage, and 1.91 GAA.
2. Anthony Stolarz (London Knights, OHL) – 21-4-2, .925 save percentage, and 2.58 GAA.
3. Cal Heeter (Adirondack Phantoms, AHL) – 15-19-0, .916 save percentage, and 2.48 GAA.
4. Merrick Madsen (Minot Minotauros, NAHL) – 8-13-0, .908 save percentage, and 2.64 GAA.