swflyers25
7-08-05, 1:54 PM
Guess the CBA will be signed, sealed and delivered pretty soon if he is talking about a draft:
Flyers' assistant general manager keeping busy
http://images.comcast-spectacor.com/flyers/story//12990.JPG
Mike Richards (left) and Jeff Carter proved their value to the Flyers during the 2005 Calder Cup playoffs.
Flyers Assistant General Manager Paul Holmgren recently took some time for a question and answer session with philadelphiaflyers.com. Holmgren addressed such topics as the championship runs of the Philadelphia Phantoms and Trenton Titans, the emergence of Jeff Carter and Mike Richards during the Calder Cup playoffs, and how the Flyers are preparing for the next draft should that occur this summer.
Question: How pleased are you with the Phantoms? season this year?
Holmgren: ?We were all very pleased. The Phantoms had a real good mix of veterans and young players that head coach John Stevens had said a number of times that really cared for each other. More than any other sport, that is what hockey is all about. Near the end of the regular season, we were able to add Jeff (Carter) and then we were able to get Mike (Richards) after the first round of the playoffs. Those two guys came in and were accepted by the team that was there all year and that really speaks highly for the team. Throw into the mix that these two athletes are pretty good players and that makes it easier to accept. It worked well and the coaches did a great job of keeping the group together. Also, our East Coast Hockey League affiliate, Trenton Titans, won the Kelly Cup. They played tremendous hockey, too.?
Question: Did you get to see any of the Trenton games?
Holmgren: ?I was only able to watch a couple of their games in the finals, but it was pretty neat. To win a championship at any level is really special. The kids that went through that are going to be better prepared when they make the jump to the Phantoms next year.?
Question: What was it like watching the Phantoms? final game at the Wachovia Center in front of 20,000 fans?
Holmgren: ?That was a very neat experience and I am sure it was quite an experience for those kids on the ice.?
Question: Did you have any idea that Jeff Carter would perform as well as he did by leading the entire league in playoff scoring?
Holmgren: ?Based on what Jeff did last year in the playoffs we knew he would help make an impact. Nobody knew he was going to lead the league in playoff scoring. The strides he made from last year to this year were tremendous. He is bigger, stronger, is more mature and his confidence level was sky high. If he gets a step on an opposing player, he can separate himself pretty quickly. That comes from playing a key role in two World Junior tournaments and winning the gold medal for Canada. He is ready to move on. His junior career is over and now he is ready to turn pro.?
Question: As you mentioned, Mike Richards joined the team after the first round and he too was an immediate impact player.
Holmgren: ?Mike was injured for about six weeks just prior to his junior team (Kitchener) competing in the Ontario Hockey League playoffs. He got a chance to recover and get some rest. Mike literally carried his team through their playoff run. They were down two games to none against Erie in the first round and his team came back and won four straight games. Kitchener was a heavy underdog against Owen Sound in the second round and Kitchener won four straight again. In one game Mike recorded six points in a 6-5 win against Owen Sound. Kitchener was a heavy underdog again playing against London and the team actually stole a game. Kitchener was not nearly as talented as London, who actually ended up winning the Memorial Cup in Canada. We did not know what to expect when he joined the Phantoms, but we obviously knew Mike was an exceptionally good two-way player. There is a trade deadline similar to the NHL called the ?clear-day? period where you submit your playoff list. We had opportunities to make roster changes and in the back of our minds we were hopeful all along that we could get Jeff and Mike to play for the Phantoms. Obviously, they added immensely to the success of the Phantoms? playoff run.?
Question: Bob Clarke said that there could be as many as six to eight players from the Phantoms who could end up on the Flyers? roster next year. That has to be encouraging.
Holmgren: ?I would even expand that number two to three years down the road. If you take the Phantoms team from this year, there may be 10 guys from this team who in a couple of years could become the core of the Flyers. There are probably five or six players that will make the jump next year for sure. I really like our prospects.?
Question: The Flyers have done such a good job on scouting future players. Is it luck or is there a science in projecting what athletes are going to be NHL players?
Holmgren: ?There is some luck involved. Picking players in the amateur draft is not an exact science. A lot of times you do not even know what number you are picking. You do as much homework as you can but you still do not know as much as you would like to when you are drafting these 18-year-old kids. We are able to interview prospects and have them go through psychological and physical fitness testing, but you still don?t know. There are a lot of things involved and luck is one of them. Our scouting staff works extremely hard. We communicate and interact very well as a group. No egos are involved. Our scouting staff?s number one goal is to make the Flyers a better team. If you look at some of our recent drafts, we have had good success with our picks in the later rounds. Guys like Simon Gagne (22nd overall) and Justin Williams (28th overall). Bob Clarke made a real good trade in order to move up in the 2002 NHL draft in order to select Joni Pitkanen. We were not even scheduled to have a pick that year until the second round. The 2003 NHL draft was loaded. We were able to secure a first round pick from Phoenix and were able to secure a number of third round picks in that draft. Not only did we get Carter and Richards, we got Stefan Ruzicka (81st pick), Alexandre Picard (85th), Ryan Potulny (87th) and Rejean Beauchemin (191st). These are names that are going to be heard in the Philadelphia area because they are going to be good players in our system.?
Question: How is this year?s draft compared to others?
Holmgren: ?I mentioned earlier we do not know when we pick and that is certainly the case this year. There is one clear-cut player who everyone has heard of and he is Sidney Crosby. There is no question he will be the first pick in the 2005 draft. After that, there are a fair number of players remaining. This draft is not as deep as the 2003 draft, but it is a good draft.?
Question: How important is the development of players within the system?
Holmgren: ?Very important. We talk about how important the draft is, but the development of our players in the system is equally as important. We have a tremendous developmental staff. Our minor league coaching staff is one of the best in the American Hockey League and the East Coast Hockey League. We also have a great strength and conditioning coach in Jim McCrossin. Things like having an athlete out of shape or a little overweight do not faze me because I know once that player joins our stable Jimmy will do a great job at getting this player into shape. As an 18-year-old hockey player, you might not have everything going for you. You might be a good hockey player but you might need to lose some body fat or get stronger. Our staff explores every option to give this player every opportunity to make the NHL.?
Question: You mentioned Sidney Crosby. Any other names pop out in this year?s draft?
Holmgren: ?Bobby Ryan from Cherry Hill, NJ would be one of the names. He can be drafted anywhere from two to 10 in this draft. Benoit Pouliot, Marc Staal, who is the brother of NHL player Eric Staal, Jack Johnson, Ryan O?Maara, Brendan Mikkelson, and Jacub Kindl. There is also a good group of goalies including Tuukko Rask, Ondrej Pavelec, and Carey Price. Like I mentioned earlier, this draft is not as deep as 2003, but it is a solid draft.?
Question: How did your job as assistant general manager change during the NHL work stoppage?
Holmgren: ?My job really did not change that much at all other than the fact that I did not attend any NHL games. We were very fortunate as a scouting staff at the pro and amateur level because Flyers ownership allowed for us to operate business as usual. Heading into this new NHL, the entry draft, player development and the knowledge of young players are the three most important keys in moving forward and making sure our team is a contender for years to come. Our organization knows the AHL better than we have ever known it.?
Flyers (http://www.philadelphiaflyers.com)
Flyers' assistant general manager keeping busy
http://images.comcast-spectacor.com/flyers/story//12990.JPG
Mike Richards (left) and Jeff Carter proved their value to the Flyers during the 2005 Calder Cup playoffs.
Flyers Assistant General Manager Paul Holmgren recently took some time for a question and answer session with philadelphiaflyers.com. Holmgren addressed such topics as the championship runs of the Philadelphia Phantoms and Trenton Titans, the emergence of Jeff Carter and Mike Richards during the Calder Cup playoffs, and how the Flyers are preparing for the next draft should that occur this summer.
Question: How pleased are you with the Phantoms? season this year?
Holmgren: ?We were all very pleased. The Phantoms had a real good mix of veterans and young players that head coach John Stevens had said a number of times that really cared for each other. More than any other sport, that is what hockey is all about. Near the end of the regular season, we were able to add Jeff (Carter) and then we were able to get Mike (Richards) after the first round of the playoffs. Those two guys came in and were accepted by the team that was there all year and that really speaks highly for the team. Throw into the mix that these two athletes are pretty good players and that makes it easier to accept. It worked well and the coaches did a great job of keeping the group together. Also, our East Coast Hockey League affiliate, Trenton Titans, won the Kelly Cup. They played tremendous hockey, too.?
Question: Did you get to see any of the Trenton games?
Holmgren: ?I was only able to watch a couple of their games in the finals, but it was pretty neat. To win a championship at any level is really special. The kids that went through that are going to be better prepared when they make the jump to the Phantoms next year.?
Question: What was it like watching the Phantoms? final game at the Wachovia Center in front of 20,000 fans?
Holmgren: ?That was a very neat experience and I am sure it was quite an experience for those kids on the ice.?
Question: Did you have any idea that Jeff Carter would perform as well as he did by leading the entire league in playoff scoring?
Holmgren: ?Based on what Jeff did last year in the playoffs we knew he would help make an impact. Nobody knew he was going to lead the league in playoff scoring. The strides he made from last year to this year were tremendous. He is bigger, stronger, is more mature and his confidence level was sky high. If he gets a step on an opposing player, he can separate himself pretty quickly. That comes from playing a key role in two World Junior tournaments and winning the gold medal for Canada. He is ready to move on. His junior career is over and now he is ready to turn pro.?
Question: As you mentioned, Mike Richards joined the team after the first round and he too was an immediate impact player.
Holmgren: ?Mike was injured for about six weeks just prior to his junior team (Kitchener) competing in the Ontario Hockey League playoffs. He got a chance to recover and get some rest. Mike literally carried his team through their playoff run. They were down two games to none against Erie in the first round and his team came back and won four straight games. Kitchener was a heavy underdog against Owen Sound in the second round and Kitchener won four straight again. In one game Mike recorded six points in a 6-5 win against Owen Sound. Kitchener was a heavy underdog again playing against London and the team actually stole a game. Kitchener was not nearly as talented as London, who actually ended up winning the Memorial Cup in Canada. We did not know what to expect when he joined the Phantoms, but we obviously knew Mike was an exceptionally good two-way player. There is a trade deadline similar to the NHL called the ?clear-day? period where you submit your playoff list. We had opportunities to make roster changes and in the back of our minds we were hopeful all along that we could get Jeff and Mike to play for the Phantoms. Obviously, they added immensely to the success of the Phantoms? playoff run.?
Question: Bob Clarke said that there could be as many as six to eight players from the Phantoms who could end up on the Flyers? roster next year. That has to be encouraging.
Holmgren: ?I would even expand that number two to three years down the road. If you take the Phantoms team from this year, there may be 10 guys from this team who in a couple of years could become the core of the Flyers. There are probably five or six players that will make the jump next year for sure. I really like our prospects.?
Question: The Flyers have done such a good job on scouting future players. Is it luck or is there a science in projecting what athletes are going to be NHL players?
Holmgren: ?There is some luck involved. Picking players in the amateur draft is not an exact science. A lot of times you do not even know what number you are picking. You do as much homework as you can but you still do not know as much as you would like to when you are drafting these 18-year-old kids. We are able to interview prospects and have them go through psychological and physical fitness testing, but you still don?t know. There are a lot of things involved and luck is one of them. Our scouting staff works extremely hard. We communicate and interact very well as a group. No egos are involved. Our scouting staff?s number one goal is to make the Flyers a better team. If you look at some of our recent drafts, we have had good success with our picks in the later rounds. Guys like Simon Gagne (22nd overall) and Justin Williams (28th overall). Bob Clarke made a real good trade in order to move up in the 2002 NHL draft in order to select Joni Pitkanen. We were not even scheduled to have a pick that year until the second round. The 2003 NHL draft was loaded. We were able to secure a first round pick from Phoenix and were able to secure a number of third round picks in that draft. Not only did we get Carter and Richards, we got Stefan Ruzicka (81st pick), Alexandre Picard (85th), Ryan Potulny (87th) and Rejean Beauchemin (191st). These are names that are going to be heard in the Philadelphia area because they are going to be good players in our system.?
Question: How is this year?s draft compared to others?
Holmgren: ?I mentioned earlier we do not know when we pick and that is certainly the case this year. There is one clear-cut player who everyone has heard of and he is Sidney Crosby. There is no question he will be the first pick in the 2005 draft. After that, there are a fair number of players remaining. This draft is not as deep as the 2003 draft, but it is a good draft.?
Question: How important is the development of players within the system?
Holmgren: ?Very important. We talk about how important the draft is, but the development of our players in the system is equally as important. We have a tremendous developmental staff. Our minor league coaching staff is one of the best in the American Hockey League and the East Coast Hockey League. We also have a great strength and conditioning coach in Jim McCrossin. Things like having an athlete out of shape or a little overweight do not faze me because I know once that player joins our stable Jimmy will do a great job at getting this player into shape. As an 18-year-old hockey player, you might not have everything going for you. You might be a good hockey player but you might need to lose some body fat or get stronger. Our staff explores every option to give this player every opportunity to make the NHL.?
Question: You mentioned Sidney Crosby. Any other names pop out in this year?s draft?
Holmgren: ?Bobby Ryan from Cherry Hill, NJ would be one of the names. He can be drafted anywhere from two to 10 in this draft. Benoit Pouliot, Marc Staal, who is the brother of NHL player Eric Staal, Jack Johnson, Ryan O?Maara, Brendan Mikkelson, and Jacub Kindl. There is also a good group of goalies including Tuukko Rask, Ondrej Pavelec, and Carey Price. Like I mentioned earlier, this draft is not as deep as 2003, but it is a solid draft.?
Question: How did your job as assistant general manager change during the NHL work stoppage?
Holmgren: ?My job really did not change that much at all other than the fact that I did not attend any NHL games. We were very fortunate as a scouting staff at the pro and amateur level because Flyers ownership allowed for us to operate business as usual. Heading into this new NHL, the entry draft, player development and the knowledge of young players are the three most important keys in moving forward and making sure our team is a contender for years to come. Our organization knows the AHL better than we have ever known it.?
Flyers (http://www.philadelphiaflyers.com)