Defenseman raises eyebrows at Flyers' camp
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Flyers Report: Broad Street Bull
Defenseman raises eyebrows at Flyers' camp
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
In all likelihood, towering defenseman Oliver Lauridsen will start the season with the AHL Adirondack Phantoms.
But the 6-foot-6, 236-pound Denmark native with the l-o-o-o-n-g reach raised some eyebrows during the opening of the Flyers' prospect camp Wednesday in Voorhees.
He was one of the most impressive players on the ice _ outshining highly touted Brayden Schenn in a one-on-one drill _ and could be in the mix as the Flyers try to figure out who will be their sixth defenseman during training camp in September.
That Dman will replace veteran Sean O'Donnell, who signed as a free agent with Chicago. (I would have re-signed O'Donnell, but that's a story for another day.)
The Flyers' top five defensemen are Chris Pronger, Andrej Meszaros, Braydon Coburn, Kimmo Timonen and Matt Carle.
The sixth spot figures to go to either Oskars Bartulis, Erik Gustafsson, recently signed Andreas Lilja or Matt Walker, whose $1.7 million cap hit may work against him.
That said, Lauridsen, 22, is an intriguing prospect. He is expected to start the season with the Phantoms, but you never know. (Remember how 18-year-old Luca Sbisa was the surprise of camp in 2008 and made the big-league team?)
Drafted in the seventh round in 2009, Lauridsen played just two games with the Phantoms last season before injuring his shoulder in March and requiring surgery.
"It's hard to find a 6-6 guy who can get around the ice like that," GM Paul Holmgren said. "It's really remarkable the turnaround he's made since the injury."
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Holmgren is still negotiating with RFA Wayne Simmonds....The GM said there is still a chance he adds a (low-level) free agent, but that nothing is imminent.
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Follow Sam Carchidi on Twitter at BroadStBull.
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I am fine letting O'Donnell walk. Nice guy but his best days are waaaay past him.— hey buddy- Hopefully he can skate well and is nasty at 6'6"— shawnmac
- If this kid could be Kjell Sammuellson 2.0, I'd be very, very pleased!!— kjuggs77
- Me too but if he is the next Kjell Sammuelson he'd would have been less than a 7th round pick.— BLUEBELLION
- heh, who needs O'Donnell or Lauridsen when we have 35yo Lilja for the next 2 years..— Nitroglycerin
- It would be nice if this kid follows in the footsteps of his current coach( Derian Hatcher if memory serves me correct). It is hard to teach a mean streak like Hatcher had but he was a really strong defenseman until his knee gave up on him.— flyerrod
- With the way Danny Syvret played in the playoffs, he deserves every chance to lose the 6th defenseman spot. Lilja is really just insurance.— SweetsErik
