At 27 years of age, Johan Backlund isn't a prospect in the traditional sense. A five-year veteran of the Swedish Elite League, the 6-2, 198-pound netminder signed a one-year contract with the Flyers in late March. He is expected to push for a roster spot with the team at training camp in September.
In 49 games with Timra this season, the undrafted Backlund registered a 2.56 goals against average, .907 save percentage and four shutouts. After sharing the net with two different goaltenders over the past two seasons, Backlund earned the team's starting role in 2008-09.
Johan Backlund is a five-year veteran of the Swedish Elite League. (Getty Images)
Denis Bodrov, D
Lada Togliatti/Atlant Moscow (Russia)
Among the Flyers' more intriguing prospects, Denis Bodrov endured a somewhat tumultuous campaign. The 22-year-old rearguard opened his fourth pro season with Togliatti in the new Kontinental Hockey League, recording six points (one goal, five assists) and 20 penalty minutes in 24 games.
In November, he was suddenly transferred to Atlant Moscow. Officials from Togliatti cited "bad behavior" as the reason for the dismissal, but declined to offer an official explanation. Bodrov appeared to be surprised by the move and struggled initially with his new team. Within a week or so, he settled in and would go on to enjoy a strong second half.
Chris Pryor and the Flyers staff are hopeful they can get Denis Bodrov in for training camp. (Getty Images)
Joacim Eriksson, G
Brynas Jrs. (Sweden)
When the Flyers selected Joacim Eriksson in the seventh round (198th overall) of last summer's entry draft, many observers labeled the pick a potential steal. While only time will tell to what extent this is true, the early returns have been promising.
Widely considered to be the second best goaltending prospect in Sweden behind fellow Brynas product and 2008 draftee Jacob Markstrom (Florida Panthers, 31st overall), Eriksson bolstered his standing within the Flyers organization with a terrific 2008-09 campaign.
Mario Kempe, LW
Rogle BK/Mora IK (Sweden)
At just 20 years old, Mario Kempe's career has already taken him from Sweden to Canada, back to Sweden, and then to Philadelphia. It is the latter destination where the talented forward hopes to permanently hang his skates.
Originally a product of the MoDo system in his homeland, Kempe opted to play hockey at the major junior level in North America, suiting up for the St. John's Fog Devils of the QMJHL for two seasons (2006-08). Prior to this past season, he decided to head back to Sweden to begin his pro career, signing with Rogle of the Swedish Elite League.
Mario Kempe has spent time playing in North America as well as Europe. (Getty Images)
Jakub Kovar, G
Ceske Budejovice (Czech Rep.)
Like Kempe, Jakub Kovar is a prospect who came over to play at the major junior level in Canada before returning to Europe to make his pro debut. The 20-year-old split the 2007-08 season with the Oshawa Generals and Windsor Spitfires of the OHL. He signed with Ceske Budejovice of the Extraliga in his native Czech Republic last summer.
Jakub Kovar acted as a backup to former NHL player Roman Turek this past season. (Photo courtesy Windsor Spitfires)
Overall, the lanky, 6-0, 185-pound netminder made a solid transition to the next level. While he struggled with inconsistency and focus at times, he performed well in recording a 2.69 goals against average and .916 save percentage in 23 games as a backup to former NHLer Roman Turek.
Joonas Lehtivuori, D
Ilves Tampere (Finland)
A smooth-skating if undersized (5-11, 167-pound) defender with deft puckhandling skills and strong hockey sense, Joonas Lehtivuori continued to show promising signs of development in 2008-09.
The 20-year-old rearguard's numbers actually went down noticeably during his third full season of play for Tampere in Finland's SM-Liiga. He notched 12 points (four goals, eights assists), an even rating, and 16 penalty minutes in 44 games this year after posting 21 points (eight goals, 13 assists) a plus-nine rating, and 10 penalty minutes in 48 games the previous season.
Not sure if this was mentioned or not, but Bourdon hit someone from Windsor so hard that he broke their collarbone with the hit. Warren Rychel, the GM and co-owner of Windsor, called the hit a thing of beauty and said it was a clean and hard hit.
Not sure if this was mentioned or not, but Bourdon hit someone from Windsor so hard that he broke their collarbone with the hit. Warren Rychel, the GM and co-owner of Windsor, called the hit a thing of beauty and said it was a clean and hard hit.
collarbones are fickle. I broke mine, not a huge blow, just an awkward angle.
collarbones are fickle. I broke mine, not a huge blow, just an awkward angle.
Yeah, sometimes it happens on completely innocuous stuff. A kid I was friends with in HS broke his collar bone wrestling when nothing really happened at all.
Yeah, sometimes it happens on completely innocuous stuff. A kid I was friends with in HS broke his collar bone wrestling when nothing really happened at all.
Yes, but that's not really the point. The collar bone breaking may have very little to do with the actual force of the hit, but just the dumb luck of how he was hit.
Yes, but that's not really the point. The collar bone breaking may have very little to do with the actual force of the hit, but just the dumb luck of how he was hit.
Yes, but that's not really the point. The collar bone breaking may have very little to do with the actual force of the hit, but just the dumb luck of how he was hit.
It doesn't matter if the collar bone breaking was due to the hit, or just dumb luck. The point is that Bourdon is a big, punishing hitter. That's the point. That's what matters. If an injury occurs after the fact, then oh well.
Did he ever! Drummondville wins in OT; Rimouski has to try to find something left in the tank tomorrow night vs Windsor.
If you guys in the US have a chance to watch this, I think you'll find out in a hurry why we love junior hockey so much. Every game this tournament has been outstanding.
I didn't get to see the game, but I see that Bourdon managed to pick up another assist. Hopefully Rimouski can beat Windsor and extend their season.
Bourdon turns 20 in September, so does that make him eligible to play in the AHL next year? It would be nice to see how JVR, Marshall, and Bourdon look playing together for the Adirondack Phantoms (that's still weird calling them that).
Kempe signed a 2 year deal with Rogle in the Elitserien.
Quote:
Originally Posted by UseYourAllusion
That's a shame, I was hoping to see what he'd look like after a full season in North America.
That means we will lose his rights May 30th, as we drafted him out of the QMJHL.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dick van Riemsdyk
[...]
Bourdon turns 20 in September, so does that make him eligible to play in the AHL next year? It would be nice to see how JVR, Marshall, and Bourdon look playing together for the Adirondack Phantoms (that's still weird calling them that).
Yes, he can play AHL next season because he qualifies as an overager in the CHL.
Dude's going to destroy some people when he gets here. He kind of seems like Phaneuf in the limited time I've seen. Even down the the jersey number.
i just hope he's not more like Denis Gauthier, getting out of position just to make a hit and end up giving up a scoring chance against. I mean Phaneuf isn't very good in his own zone so I'd be happy if he could hit somewhat like him and play defense like him. That would probably be ok for the 2nd pairing.
To clarify, I can deal with "Phaneuf" bad in his own zone but not "Gauthier" bad in his own zone.
