Sbisa, Palin (Palin!) are in
Luca Sbisa, the 18-year-old defenseman who was the Flyers' No. 1 pick in the June draft, will be on the club's opening-night roster, general manger Paul Holmgren said today.
Sbisa, Palin (Palin!) are in
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
Luca Sbisa, the 18-year-old defenseman who was the Flyers' No. 1 pick in the June draft, will be on the club's opening-night roster, general manger Paul Holmgren said today.The Flyers can keep Sbisa for as many as nine games and then send him to juniors. If he is on the Flyers’ roster for 10 or more games, he must be on it for the entire season.
Asked if Sbisa would stay on the roster for the whole season if he performed well in the first few weeks, Holmgren was non-committal.
“It’s something we’ll have to monitor on a daily basis and see how he’s doing,” he said.
“I don’t think anyone expected Luca to be here this long; we all felt he was a good prospect and he’s certainly done better than anyone expected _ and that’s a good thing.”
For the time being, the Flyers will carry three goalies because they want to make sure Antero Niittymaki is healthy.
Niittymaki, who has recovered nicely from recent hip surgery, was cleared today by a doctor in Nashville, but the Flyers are playing it safe.
Here's how the roster looks:
Goalies: Marty Biron, Anetero Niittymaki and Jean-Sebastien Aubin.
Forwards: Arron Asham, Danny Briere, Jeff Carter, Riley Cote, Steve Downie, Simon Gagne, Scott Hartnell, Mike Knuble, Joffrey Lupul, Glen Metropolit, Mike Richards and Scottie Upshall.
Defensemen: Kimmo Timonen, Braydon Coburn, Randy Jones, Steve Eminger, Ossi Vaananen, Lasse Kukkonen and Luca Sbisa.
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Palin (not Poulin) at Flyers' opener
Vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin will drop the puck at Saturday night's opener against Rangers at the Wachovia Center.
In an e-mail sent to the Flyers and news organizations, a former season ticket holder said he was "appalled" that the club was using Saturday's NHL opener as "a billboard for political advertisement" by having Palin drop the first puck.
The fan wrote that those attending the game "should be able to check their political and ideological beliefs at the door and come together as one to support the Flyers. It is one of the last refuges we have for unbridled enjoyment. To invite an atmosphere of polarization and dissent amongst Flyers fans is appalling to me."
Ed Snider, the Flyers' chairman, said having Palin at the game has "nothing to do with politics." He said Palin was invited because of her comments about hockey moms.
"We were so excited when she talked about hockey moms in her acceptance speech," he said. "She did a great service to our sport.....This is all about having fun with what she said."
Still, it says here that Palin could have been asked to drop a puck AFTER the election and before the inauguration on Jan. 20, 2009.
That would have ended all appearances that the Flyers were using their arena for political purposes.
The McCain campaign may end up regretting the Palin puck drop when she gets booed voraciously off the ice...heck it might be the one time in history that the majority of Rangers fans and Flyers fans are booing the same person at the same time at the same game. Bring out the BOOO BIRDS and give her a real Philly welcome!— slucas_2- They should have gotten Michele Obama to drop it.. then Sam and all his liberal friends at the Inquirer and Daily News could cheer like Olberman and Matthews.— stoky
- well we all know what happened the last someone from way up north visited a philly sporting event. here's to a repeat performance!— mrkmcc
- Play HOCKEY not Politics! I'm outraged that politics would enter the hockey arena! I've been a Flyers Fan since 1973 and I always had respect for Ed Snider-until now! I love the Flyers but I'm want Mr. Snider to know he's stepped over a line. Athletes are merely entertainers-not heroes. I even think athletes could be considered role models to some-but political pawns?— Jon L
- Here's to the hope that Palin gets the standard Philadelphia greeting. Tons of heckling, loud boos, name calling, etcetera.— OUTOFTOWN
- Jon, I am willing to bet that Snyder did not have that much to do with it. The Flyers marketing and PR team most likely ran with the "hockey mom" thing and pitched it to the Republican campaign. As for those who are proposing to boo Ms. Palin, that would just add to the great fan history of Philadelphia and their fans. How about respecting her as a hockey fan as yourself who just happens to be running for office who may or may not be your choice. If you dont like her, just show indifference and say nothing!— rvb2321
- maybe she can hang out with andy reid, since both of them treat the press (and therefore the public) as if we dont exist. republican or democrat, how can a VP candidate in the USA in 2008 not have a press conference and answer questions for americans? it's like the andy reid post game dictatorship. BOOOO HER FOR THAT— jb99
- By the way, in 2004, John Kerry threw out the first ball at Fenway during the playoffs that year in peak election season.— rvb2321
- Get a grip. In case you haven't noticed, the public treats hockey as a fringe sport shown on - WTF network? Is she giving a speech or asking for money? Hockey can use all the mainstream publicity it can get. It's a great sport. I can see Obama has his work cut out for him getting his own supporters to "change" their approach and work together for a common cause.
- I wonder if she has any idea what a traditional Philly welcome is? Good luck to her.— SoJerseyGuy
- John Kerry is from Mass. - he's entitled to throw out a pitch at a Sox game. If Palin wants to drop a puck to start some Junior league in Anchorage, let her have at it. She'll undoubtedly get the same treatment here that Bush got when he threw out the first pitch at the Nats game.— K,M
- Kerry represents Massachusetts so it makes sense regardless of him being in an election. What the hell does Palin have to do with Philly? Your comment is meaningless rvb. And stoky, no offense, but you're just being stupid. She might be the mother of a hockey player, but that doesn't make her a "hockey mom." Either she was schleppin' her kids all over Alaska to play, OR she was busy being a mayor and a governor. Neither is compatible timewise with the other. Just another politicians cute little sound bite to make them seem like a regular Joe Sixpack. (Joe's a light weight, by the way, a sixer is lunch, maybe.)— Bazalite
- I am glad to see that rational thinking is going on with you Baz since you find differing opinions as "stupid". What is the difference between face time on a nationally televised game in one of the grandest stages in sports (the world series) and a game covered on a local cable channel. As for being a fan of the Red Sox, that should not matter because that would have entitled George Bush to throw out the first ball at every rangers game since he was an owner. Ms. Palin is just a fan of hockey which encompasses the entire sport and that works since hockey really is just a fringe sport compared to the power of the MLB and NFL. By the way, the drop of the puck is 30 seconds of a game, I really hope people an sacrifice that...Maybe they can listen to a Bruce concert instead.— rvb2321
- If you thing Ed Snider and the Flyers should rethink mixing Flyers Hockey and politics then let them know here: http://flyers.nhl.com/team/public_relations.htm— slucas_2
- this really should have waited until after the election; she will have plenty of time on her hands then. i'm not sure what kind of family-friendly PR involves inviting probably the most controversial person in america at this very moment to drop the puck. the PR department does not live in a hole, they understand what they are doing.— Marrrk
