Flyers Find Their Captain

  The Philadelphia Flyers have found their captain as it was announced Friday that veteran defenseman Chris Pronger will wear the “C” as the Flyers’ 18th captain in franchise history. He becomes the fifth defenseman in club history to be named captain.

“With Chris’ experience and presence, we felt that he was the perfect player to take over as captain of the Philadelphia Flyers," said Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren.

  Pronger will wear the “C” for the third different club in his 17 year career, having captained the St. Louis Blues and Anaheim Ducks. Pronger has shown great success throughout his tenure in the NHL. Approaching the age of 37, Pronger still stands strong as a solidified top tier defenseman and team leader. He has always been well known for his involvement in spurring his respective teammates on whether it be on or off of the ice.

  The James Norris, Hart, two times Gold Medal, and Stanley Cup winner is the obvious and right choice for the club to choose after the Philly reform we’ve seen over the off-season, as former captain Mike Richards was traded to the Los Angelis Kings in a plethora of jaw dropping moves by GM Holmgren.

  Through two seasons with the Flyers Pronger has appeared in 132 games and scored 14 goals and 66 assists for 80 points, with a plus-29 rating and 123 PIMs. Pronger’s season was cut short by hand, wrist, and back injuries last year limiting the veteran to 50 regular season games and just 3 post season appearances. His numbers were below average for the defenseman, but after an apparent successful off-season herniated disc surgery, Pronger looks to rebound and continue his ways of winning.

  When asked whether the status change would affect his approach, Pronger gave the right answers.

“I don’t think so,” Pronger said. “You have to be who you are and play the way you always played, whether you have a letter on your jersey or not. If you’re a leader, lead. If you’re a quiet, unassuming type of guy, who just goes out and works hard and plays to the best of his ability, then do that.

“Don’t do anything outside your comfort zone or outside anything you have done to this point to be successful. Everybody who comes into that locker room and wears the jersey and that Flyer emblem has done something to impress upon somebody that they’re going to provide something our team needs. I don’t think they need to change that one bit.”

  Pronger’s experience through 17 NHL seasons, playing in 1,154 NHL games for five different organizations has seen him post 156 goals and 686 points with a +182 rating and 1,580 penalty minutes. This experience makes him the second most experienced player on the team behind newly acquired Jaromir Jagr, and the only one of four skaters to have won the Stanley Cup.

  Pronger was a force to be reckoned with in the Flyers’ Stanley Cup Finals run against the Chicago Blackhawks, where the Flyers fell just short of attaining their first Stanley Cup since 1975, the year after Chris Pronger was born. The new-look Flyers will be missing their captain through training camp and pre-season as he recovers from surgery, but GM Paul Holmgren suspects his 6’6 220lbs. blue-liner will be ready for the season opener against the Boston Bruins on October, 6th.

“You’re always going to be a little different with the experiences you go through,” Pronger said “Age and just everything you’ve gone through, throughout the course of your career …

“Whether it be Olympics, Stanley Cups, five different teams I’ve been on, different captains I have had and been. There’s no question you will always be a little bit different. I don’t think that changes how I play or how I need to perform.”

  Paul Holmgren also announced that defenseman Kimmo Timonen and forward Danny Briere will be assistant captains for the 2011-2012 season. Both of these players have experience in captaincy in their former clubs, too. Holmgren and head coach Peter Laviolette are thankful to have so many experienced players left on their club, and have honored them with letters on their sweaters.

“Having Kimmo and Danny, both former captains in the NHL, serving as alternates, really gives us a strong, dedicated leadership group.” Holmgren said.

“All three of these players know what it takes to win and are excellent role models both on and off the ice.”

  The Flyers are a very different team heading into next season. Many seem to have very different views on the radical changes made on the off-season, but only time will tell if the club has the presence and leadership to take them all the way.

- Kendall Grubbs