Flyers call up Phantoms' captain Ross
Packing his bags on April 11 at the Glens Falls Civic Center, Jared Ross was frustrated. Ross, admittedly, had a tough year. As the Adirondack Phantoms' captain, he battled through injuries and finished with his worst point total in 3 years with the team.
Packing his bags on April 11 at the Glens Falls Civic Center, Jared Ross was frustrated.
Ross, admittedly, had a tough year. As the Adirondack Phantoms' captain, he battled through injuries and finished with his worst point total in 3 years with the team.
Still, Ross thought he should have been a part of the Flyers' initial group of "Black Aces," or players who work out and practice as taxi squad players for the NHL's playoff run. Ross was heading back home to Alabama and some of his teammates were getting set to join the Flyers.
"I was disappointed, not to be a black ace," Ross said. "I thought that I'm a player the team could use. I wasn't sure if they [the Flyers] thought that. But I don't think they thought guys would be injured like they were."
When Jeff Carter (foot) and Simon Gagne (toe) went down in Game 4 against the Devils, Ross was summoned from his home in Alabama to the Skate Zone in Voorhees. Now, with a third forward lost, in Ian Laperriere, for the second round, Ross may be thrust into the Flyers lineup when they open their Eastern Conference semifinal series in Boston on Saturday afternoon.
"I was excited to have the opportunity," Ross said. "I only missed about a week of skating when I was home. I feel ready now; I've had about 3 or 4 days of skating. It only takes a day or 2 to get back in the rhythm."
Ross joined Andreas Nodl and defenseman Danny Syvret as the Flyers' extra skaters at practice yesterday. There is room for both Ross and Nodl, along with Ville Leino, in the Flyers lineup.
Stefan Legein, Jon Kalinski, Pat Maroon, Kevin Marshall, Erik Gustafsson and Joonas Lehtivuori skated as the "Black Aces" on the adjacent rink. Curiously, David Laliberte, who replaced Carter on the Flyers' top line in the Game 5 clincher, did not skate with the Flyers and remained with the others on the taxi squad.
Peter Laviolette has rotated players through practice this week in an attempt to "get to know them."
One thing Ross, a speedy 5-9 center, has going for him is his playoff experience. He played in all six games of the Flyers' first-round series with Pittsburgh last year, becoming the first-ever Alabama native to score an NHL goal and a playoff goal.
"I feel comfortable out there," Ross said. "Last year, before a few of the games, I was definitely a little nervous. Now that I was there last year, I have a little experience and I know what to expect."
Learning from the best
Darroll Powe, a player who could pick up the bulk of Ian Laperriere's minutes on the penalty kill, said he has learned a lot from Laperriere. Powe's stall in the locker room is adjacent to Laperriere's.
"Just playing with him the last couple of months, being on his line, he is always telling you tips on how to position yourself in shot lanes," Powe said. "Basically, how to compete every night. He's done it over a decade now.
"For him, it was about sacrifice. He's been doing it a long time. He's one of the guys who has figured it out."
Slap shots
Michael Leighton has experienced soreness in rehabbing his left high ankle sprain. He has not skated in the last two practices after participating in two consecutive practices on Saturday and Monday. General manager Paul Holmgren said it was "probably a long shot" to have Leighton act as Brian Boucher's backup this round . . . The Flyers will have had 9 complete days off in between Game 5 of the first round and Game 1 of the second round by the time it begins on Saturday.