Timonen holds special place with these Flyers

When retired defenseman Kimmo Timonen is honored before Wednesday's game against Chicago at the Wells Fargo Center, the players on the Flyers bench can be excused if they nearly pound holes in the sideboards with their heartfelt stick-tap salute.

Timonen, a longtime Flyers defenseman before being dealt to Chicago last February and winning his first Stanley Cup, was not only a terrific player and leader, but he defined perseverance during an exceptional 16-year career.

"He played through so many injuries and was just a warrior out there," winger Matt Read said after Tuesday's optional practice in Voorhees. "He came to play every night and never took a night off. Coming in my rookie year, he was one of the guys I looked up to. He was a good leader in the locker room and kind of showed you the ropes, on and off the ice."

"He was so good to me from day one," winger Brayden Schenn said. "I wouldn't say he was hard on me, but he wanted the young guys to be respectable and play hard. He was an older guy who's been around the league for a while. Kimmo didn't talk a whole lot in the dressing room, but when he did, you sure listened."

Timonen, 40, who was in Chicago for Sunday's ring ceremony, will have his parents travel from Finland to be at Wednesday's event.

"I'll probably be emotional," he said.

Based on social media, most Flyers fans rooted for the Blackhawks in last season's Cup Finals against Tampa Bay.

Timonen, who missed most of last season because of blood clots, was the reason. (With all due respect to former Flyers Matt Carle and Braydon Coburn of the Lightning.)

"That's the way Philly is," Wayne Simmonds said. "They obviously still felt like Kimmo was one of their own - and he is. They adopted Chicago, even though they beat the Flyers" in the 2010 Finals. "It just shows how much the fans really appreciated him."

Simmonds acknowledged the Flyers "miss Kimmo's complete presence; his leadership and his play on the ice."

The young players are adapting to their new leadership roles, Simmonds said, calling it a "learning process. We're growing in here together."

Breakaways. Before Wednesday's game, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Bill Daly, the deputy commissioner, will present a $950,000 check to the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation on behalf of the league and the NHL Players Association. -Sam Carchidi