swflyers25
12-02-05, 1:24 PM
Anthony SanFilippo, Times Sports Columnist
12/02/2005
The whispers have disappeared, at least for now. After the way Robert Esche has played in his last two starts -- a 4-3 win on Long Island Tuesday and a stellar 2-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils Wednesday, -- the contrarian?s voice has been silenced.
No, there is no goaltending controversy in Philadelphia. Esche is clearly the starter. Antero Niittymaki is clearly his backup.
But when Esche doesn?t play up to par, or his teammates fail him and leave him hanging out to dry, it would be difficult to pry that notion from the back of Esche?s mind.
That?s because he witnessed it first hand just a few short years ago, albeit from a whole different perspective.
When Esche arrived to the Flyers along with Michal Handzus in a trade that sent the popular Brian Boucher to Phoenix, he was considered a throw-in. He was the prototypical backup goalie.
During parts of four seasons with the Coyotes he was a sub-par 18-24-6, with a goals- against average hovering around 3.00 and a save percentage in the low .890s.
So, to think he was going to even challenge incumbent starter Roman Cechmanek for a job during the 2002-03 season would have been best described as asinine.
Cechmanek was coming off of back-to-back Vezina-worthy seasons in which he amassed 59 wins and 14 shutouts, with a GAA of 2.03 and a save percentage of .921.
But then Ken Hitchcock became the coach. He saw something in Esche that may have gone unnoticed in Phoenix -- a burning desire to compete, and to do so at a high level.
So, Hitchcock decided to give Esche an opportunity, and played him in 30 games during the 2002-03 season.
Esche posted the best numbers of his career, and was quietly becoming both a team and fan favorite.
Cechmanek continued to play well, even lowering his GAA to a miniscule 1.85. But as the season neared its end, and Hitchcock toyed with the idea of having Esche get some playoff time in net, Cechmanek freaked.
He crumbled like a house of cards on a windy day. He couldn?t stand that Esche was always there, a step outside the spotlight, waiting for an opportunity to thrive. Waiting for Cechmanek to screw up. Waiting for what would be the eventual meltdown.
Cechmanek lost it during Game 6 of the 2003 Eastern Conference semifinals when the Flyers were officially eliminated by the Ottawa Senators. He skated out to center ice during the game to scream at his teammates, and then made a stupid, flailing dive toward a puck in an effort to foil a breakaway, only to have the puck go in his net.
But then there was Esche, who again was the better goalie, even though the Flyers trotted out the ancient and ineffective Jeff Hackett at the start of the next season.
Esche flourished in his new role as the team?s go-to guy. He bettered his numbers from the year before, and all was well until the trade deadline -- when the Flyers traded for Esche?s best friend and mentor -- Sean Burke.
Esche started to think Burke was being brought in to replace him because Burke was such a well-respected veteran.
Esche?s confidence became shaken, and as the end of the regular season neared, Hitchcock refused to publicly name Esche as his playoff starter, even though that was his intention all along.
Esche went to see a sports psychiatrist who told him to focus on himself and block out all other distractions.
One of those distractions was the media, and he refused to speak after games, picking up the nickname, "Silent Bob."
Ironically, that was when he was at his best. He carried the team to the brink of the Stanley Cup Finals before losing in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals to eventual champion Tampa Bay.
After a year away from the sport due to the lockout, Esche returned to the Flyers, this time with an upstart young goalie as his backup -- Niittymaki.
While the young Finn hasn?t played at the level Esche did when he was behind Cechmanek, he has played well enough. Combine that with a new NHL where scoring is way up, as are goalies GAAs, and it?s easy to see why Esche became distracted again.
He started blaming teammates for screening him. He started laying the blame at their feet, saying after one loss, "there are so many (mess)-ups on the ice that I don?t know what?s going on." Of course, he used a more plucky-ducky adjective, which didn?t endear him to his teammates that night.
The next loss prompted him to say, "If we?re going to play like this, then I have to be (perfect)."
Again, discomfort in the locker room.
So, a meeting was needed with Hitchcock where the coach told his goalie to stop worrying about every one else, and to worry only about himself.
The result was a more distant Esche, avoiding the media at times, and offering vague, one-word answers at others.
But his play improved.
While it?s not quite the "Silent Bob" of playoffs past, it?s not the same loose-lipped goalie who was filling up headlines as recently as two weeks ago.
Fine. If that?s what he needs to play his best, by all means shun the media.
But at the same time know the media is not against him. Nor is his coach. Nor his teammates.
As Hitchock likes to say, "everyone is pulling the same rope."
To contact Anthony J. SanFilippo, e-mail asanfilippo@delcotimes.com.
Delco Times (http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15678413&BRD=1675&PAG=461&dept_id=18170&rfi=6)
12/02/2005
The whispers have disappeared, at least for now. After the way Robert Esche has played in his last two starts -- a 4-3 win on Long Island Tuesday and a stellar 2-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils Wednesday, -- the contrarian?s voice has been silenced.
No, there is no goaltending controversy in Philadelphia. Esche is clearly the starter. Antero Niittymaki is clearly his backup.
But when Esche doesn?t play up to par, or his teammates fail him and leave him hanging out to dry, it would be difficult to pry that notion from the back of Esche?s mind.
That?s because he witnessed it first hand just a few short years ago, albeit from a whole different perspective.
When Esche arrived to the Flyers along with Michal Handzus in a trade that sent the popular Brian Boucher to Phoenix, he was considered a throw-in. He was the prototypical backup goalie.
During parts of four seasons with the Coyotes he was a sub-par 18-24-6, with a goals- against average hovering around 3.00 and a save percentage in the low .890s.
So, to think he was going to even challenge incumbent starter Roman Cechmanek for a job during the 2002-03 season would have been best described as asinine.
Cechmanek was coming off of back-to-back Vezina-worthy seasons in which he amassed 59 wins and 14 shutouts, with a GAA of 2.03 and a save percentage of .921.
But then Ken Hitchcock became the coach. He saw something in Esche that may have gone unnoticed in Phoenix -- a burning desire to compete, and to do so at a high level.
So, Hitchcock decided to give Esche an opportunity, and played him in 30 games during the 2002-03 season.
Esche posted the best numbers of his career, and was quietly becoming both a team and fan favorite.
Cechmanek continued to play well, even lowering his GAA to a miniscule 1.85. But as the season neared its end, and Hitchcock toyed with the idea of having Esche get some playoff time in net, Cechmanek freaked.
He crumbled like a house of cards on a windy day. He couldn?t stand that Esche was always there, a step outside the spotlight, waiting for an opportunity to thrive. Waiting for Cechmanek to screw up. Waiting for what would be the eventual meltdown.
Cechmanek lost it during Game 6 of the 2003 Eastern Conference semifinals when the Flyers were officially eliminated by the Ottawa Senators. He skated out to center ice during the game to scream at his teammates, and then made a stupid, flailing dive toward a puck in an effort to foil a breakaway, only to have the puck go in his net.
But then there was Esche, who again was the better goalie, even though the Flyers trotted out the ancient and ineffective Jeff Hackett at the start of the next season.
Esche flourished in his new role as the team?s go-to guy. He bettered his numbers from the year before, and all was well until the trade deadline -- when the Flyers traded for Esche?s best friend and mentor -- Sean Burke.
Esche started to think Burke was being brought in to replace him because Burke was such a well-respected veteran.
Esche?s confidence became shaken, and as the end of the regular season neared, Hitchcock refused to publicly name Esche as his playoff starter, even though that was his intention all along.
Esche went to see a sports psychiatrist who told him to focus on himself and block out all other distractions.
One of those distractions was the media, and he refused to speak after games, picking up the nickname, "Silent Bob."
Ironically, that was when he was at his best. He carried the team to the brink of the Stanley Cup Finals before losing in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals to eventual champion Tampa Bay.
After a year away from the sport due to the lockout, Esche returned to the Flyers, this time with an upstart young goalie as his backup -- Niittymaki.
While the young Finn hasn?t played at the level Esche did when he was behind Cechmanek, he has played well enough. Combine that with a new NHL where scoring is way up, as are goalies GAAs, and it?s easy to see why Esche became distracted again.
He started blaming teammates for screening him. He started laying the blame at their feet, saying after one loss, "there are so many (mess)-ups on the ice that I don?t know what?s going on." Of course, he used a more plucky-ducky adjective, which didn?t endear him to his teammates that night.
The next loss prompted him to say, "If we?re going to play like this, then I have to be (perfect)."
Again, discomfort in the locker room.
So, a meeting was needed with Hitchcock where the coach told his goalie to stop worrying about every one else, and to worry only about himself.
The result was a more distant Esche, avoiding the media at times, and offering vague, one-word answers at others.
But his play improved.
While it?s not quite the "Silent Bob" of playoffs past, it?s not the same loose-lipped goalie who was filling up headlines as recently as two weeks ago.
Fine. If that?s what he needs to play his best, by all means shun the media.
But at the same time know the media is not against him. Nor is his coach. Nor his teammates.
As Hitchock likes to say, "everyone is pulling the same rope."
To contact Anthony J. SanFilippo, e-mail asanfilippo@delcotimes.com.
Delco Times (http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15678413&BRD=1675&PAG=461&dept_id=18170&rfi=6)