Just past mid-season report

At 26-13-4 the Flyers currently sit in 4th place in the Eastern Conference. They trail the New York Rangers by 4 points in the standings. So at the half way point of the season there have been a few pleasant surprises and a few disappointments. Overall the team has played very well in the first half of the year and we look forward to seeing what they can do down the stretch into the playoffs.

What I would like to do is to give you my mid-season report on just how each and every player has done so far. Due to the number of players that have skated for the orange and black this season, only players who have played in 20 or more games will be reviewed.

First we'll start with the guys who have played in every game.

Scott Hartnell: Scotty too hotty has played exceptionally well so far in the first half. He has scored a team leading 19 goals and has benefited from a lot of time on ice. He has seen the third most ice time on average among Flyers forwards. Still no stranger to the penalty box, Hartsy is 2nd on the team in penalty minutes with 65. Just imagine the type of impact he would have if he were on the ice more. And by on the ice we mean on his skates. Grade: B+

Kimmo Timonen: Looking back on that Peter Forsberg trade I would say that the Flyers made out pretty well with this guy. With the absence of captain Chris Pronger for the remainder of the season, Kimmo has stepped up big time. Timonen is 5th on the Flyers in points and 2nd on the team in assists. Without Timonen who knows where this defense would be. Grade: A

Jakub Voracek: This kid is fast. Not only is he fast, we have seen flashes of great plays from Voracek this season. Tied with Timonen with 26 points on the season, Jake is one of four Flyers players to have more than 20 assists on the season. He has made the absence of Jeff Carter less noticeable and has benefited from playing on lines with guys like Briere and Simmonds. Grade: B

Wayne Simmonds: Raise your hand if you like what you've seen so far. Keep your hand raised if you knew this was what you were getting with Simmonds. Hand still up? Cool. Simmonds has done a decent job so far this season. He has a pretty balanced offensive game with 12 goals and 11 assists. He has seen a good amount of time on the power play this season and it has benefited him greatly. He is tied with Giroux and Jagr for second on the team in power play goals with 5. Grade: B

Matt Carle: Carle has looked lost out there at times this year and it usually results in the other team celebrating. About a week ago he had a game against Ottawa in which he was a -4. Then there are times when he makes a great play and stops an oppositions rush. He has had a pretty wishy-washy first half of the season and with the Flyers signing Braydon Coburn to a long term deal a few months back Carle hasn't really been helping his free agent to be status. Grade: C

Maxime Talbot: What a pick up this has turned out to be. Talbot has scored 10 goals this season and I don't think many were expecting him to have that at the half way point of the season. He has played well since coming over from Pittsburgh in the offseason and looks to be a focus of what this team is built to do in the few years. He is a tremendous back checker and penalty killer and a leader on the ice. He adds a necessary grit to this team and he is kind of like the sandpaper of the tool box. Grade: B+

Andrej Meszaros: As hard as it is for me to say this, Mes has kind of let me down this far into the season. Now, before you get upset, that doesn't mean I don't think he has played well. He has. I just thought of him as the number 3 defensemen on this team before Pronger went out and I still think hes the number 3 defensemen in the line up today. Mes has 6 goals and 10 assists so far this season and plays almost 21 minutes a night. But with only a +5 rating, playing with Matt Carle has kind of slowed him down a bit this season. Flyers fans hope Andrej the Giant shows up come playoff time because when he plays a great game he is very noticeable. When he plays poorly he is noticeable as well, and not in the good way. Grade: B-

The players mentioned below have all played in 35-42 games on the season.

Braydon Coburn: Coby has played well but his numbers would not reflect it. Having had his presence felt mostly on the penalty kill, Coburn is only a +1 rating. With only 1 goal on the season Coburn has to shoot more. He has fired the puck at the net 54 times on the season and not with much success. His 1.9 shooting percentage is the lowest on the team among players with a ranking. Grade: B

Danny Briere: Briere has been absent more times than not this season and has been a bit of a disappointment offensively. Briere gets the second most time on ice among forwards and has only tallied 29 points so far this season. Undoubtedly Briere brings a level of leadership and respect when it comes to the younger players and that can not be over looked. Briere needs to pick it up down the stretch and start living up to that contract in the regular season as well as the playoffs. Grade: B-

Matt Read: What a find this kid has turned out to be. A clear contender for the Calder trophy this year Read is the top rookie on a Flyers roster that leads the NHL in points from rookies. With 13 goals on the season, 3 of them on the power play and one short handed, Read is the top point getter for Flyers rookies as well with 27. Grade: A-

Claude Giroux: Stud muffin. Plain and simple. G has been the best Flyer all season long and is going to be a top 3 vote getter for the MVP when all is said and done. With 49 points on the season Giroux is the most exciting Flyers player since Lindros. I just wish he would grow back that mustache. Grade: A+

Sean Couturier: Cooter has been the steal of the draft. Getting him that late in the top 10 was one of the best draft picks since Brady went to New England. The kid has no teeth and just looks like a hockey player. With 9 goals on the season Couturier looks to become the 9th Flyer to eclipse the 10 goal mark on the season, an NHL best. Couturier has seen precious time on the penalty kill with Talbot and they are easily one of the leagues best combo's. Grade: B

Jaromir Jagr: This is a toughie. Jags has been about what I expected. For the whole season. This was obviously a tremendous signing for this hockey club. He has helped the development of Claude Giroux so much and has really gotten a lot out of Scott Hartnell. Jaromir was always my mothers favorite player and I could never figure out why. Until now. Grade: B+

James VanReimsdyk: Oh JVR, I sense your time in Philadelphia is coming to an end soon. It is unfortunate too. There are times during the games when JVR looks like a big presence on the ice, and then he disappears for two to three games. Maybe a change of scenery will do the kid some good. Grade: C-

Zac Rinaldo: Rinaldo made his splash last season in a playoff game and Lavy fell for it. Rinaldo was an instant replacement for oft troubled Dan Carcillo and I think its safe to say a lot of Flyers fans who weren't Carbomb people are Rinaldo people. The kid hits like thunder and has a heart the size of an ox. He just seems like a liability late in games. He has been a spark for this team all season long with his energy and that certainly helps. Grade: C+

The remaining three players all played between 20-35 games this season.

Harry Zolnierczyk: Harry Z as they like to call him has been another rookie to see ice time this season. Not much but when Z sees the ice he tries to make the best of it. Looking like a kid who plays with his heart not his head Harry Z is a little too spunky for his own good sometimes. He has a -11 rating on the season and is by far the lowest on the team in those regards. For a fourth line winger Z has played as well as anyone else has in the past few years on the 4th line. Grade: C

Andreas Lilja: This guy is a bum. How he is a +3 is beyond me. Grade: D

Marc-Andre Bourdon: Bourdon has come up in light of Prongs being out for the season and has played better than expected. Bourdon has seen just over 15 minutes of ice time per game and has made a few plays to help win some games. Hes also made a few to help lose some. That's what you get. Another season in Adirondack could have helped but to me this has Jim Vandermeer and Dennis Seidenberg syndrome written all over it. Bourdon will be good enough for someone to want him and then a few years down the road don't be surprised to see him in the playoffs playing big games. Whether its for us or not remains to be seen but Bourdon has a big future if he can learn to play a little cleaner and learn to clear the puck.

In the final section we will grade the goalies.

Ilya Bryzgalov: Flyers fans have had such high expectations for Bryz all season long it is easy to blame him for a lot of the losses. Rightfully so, Bryz has been the goalie of record in 13 games this season in which the opposition has scored 4 or more goals. The Flyers are 3-11 in those games. Bryz has to do a better job of not giving up rebounds. He has been getting beat on some of the craziest shots and deflections. You could also make an argument that it has been the fault of the defense which has blown countless 2 goal leads in the 3rd period this season. Bryz must get better if he wants to be the starting goalie come playoff time. Grade: B-

Sergei Bobrovsky: Bob has put up numbers this season that are better than Bryz' all around. However, Bob isn't getting paid $51M a season so he rides the pine. For now. He has a GAA of 2.42 and it keeps going lower. Expect to see Bob in a lot more big games than you would think down the line even though Bryz is Lavy's guy. Grade: B+

Please send all questions and comments to Phlyers1967@gmail.com and thank you for reading.