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Strange but true, the undivided attention of those still paying attention to the hockey scene in Philadelphia will be squarely focused on that "other" team that plays in that "other" league for the foreseeable future.

 

Thanks to the NHL lockout and the resulting absence of the beloved Flyers, the American Hockey League’s affiliate Phantoms are the only team in town. And, if there were ever a perfect time for the “Purple and Black” to be thrust into the spotlight, it would appear to be now.

 

After spending the preceding few seasons mired in a swill of mediocrity, the Phantoms returned to prominence and the realm of the AHL elite in 2003-04.

 

Bolstered by a much-needed cast of fresh, new faces, an inexperienced defensive unit that far exceeded expectations and, most of all, the emergence of second-year goaltender Antero Niittymaki, the team finished with 101 points (third best in the league) and captured its first division title in four seasons.

 

Now, on the eve of the new campaign, the Phantoms are among a handful of teams being labeled as early Calder Cup favorites. With a strong returning cast and a roster highlighted by the addition of four would-be Flyers – Niittymaki, center Patrick Sharp, and defensemen Joni Pitkanen and Dennis Seidenberg – it is not difficult to see why.

 

With this in mind, the following is a position-by-position look at the 2004-05 Phantoms.

 

 

FORWARDS

 

Returning players: B.J. Abel, Ben Eager, Boyd Kane, Mark Murphy, Patrick Sharp, Jeff Smith, Ben Stafford, Peter White

New arrivals: Josh Gratton, Eric Meloche, Ryan Ready, Tony Voce, R.J. Umberger

Key departures: Brett Engelhardt, Steve Gainey, Kirby Law, Ian MacNeil, Mike Peluso, P.J. Stock, Peter Vandermeer

 

Jeff Carter (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, OHL) and Stefan Ruzicka (Owen Sound Attack, OHL) are currently back playing for their respective junior teams. Both suited up for the Phantoms in last season’s playoffs after signing amateur tryout contracts.

 

Craig Berube, a player/coach last season, retired as a player and is now a full-time assistant.

 

The Phantoms took something of a hit at the forward positions during the offseason, but it had more to do with design than bad fortune. In order to make way for a host of young prospects, the team allowed leading scorer Kirby Law, reliable foot soldiers Steve Gainey and Ian MacNeil, and veteran enforcer/team conscience Peter Vandermeer to seek employment elsewhere via free agency.

 

In their place, a core committee led by youngsters Patrick Sharp, R.J. Umberger, Ben Eager and Tony Voce and veterans Eric Meloche, Peter White and Boyd Kane are left to pick up the slack.

 

Two seasons ago, Sharp was the new guy in town. As an impressionable rookie out of the University of Vermont, he joined a veteran-laden Phantoms squad and began to assimilate himself into the rough and tumble lifestyle of the AHL. Now, 132 professional games later (88 with the Phantoms, 44 with the Flyers), the 22-year-old center/left wing carries himself like a mature, hardened veteran.

 

Sharp, one of many NHL-caliber players affected in a big way by the lockout, has already proven that he can put up big numbers while playing a strong two-way game in the minors. Thus, expect the Phantoms to rely heavily upon the contributions of the Thunder Bay, Ontario native this

season.

 

Umberger, on the other hand, is something of an unknown entity at this point. While his credentials are undeniable, the fact that the Pittsburgh native sat on the sidelines all of last season (while in contract dispute with the Vancouver Canucks) brings many questions to the forefront.

 

Can the former first round pick re-establish himself as a top prospect? Will he regain the form that made him one of the top collegiate players in the nation during his time at Ohio State? How long will it take him to readjust to the game and get his timing back? When the questions are answered, Umberger is expected to make an impact with the Phantoms this season.

 

Eager is expected to make a smooth transition to the pro game, as he is much suited to the AHL’s rugged style of play. The 20-year-old left wing was acquired from Phoenix in the big Sean Burke/Mike Comrie trade last spring. He is coming off of a solid, albeit unspectacular, four-year junior career with the Oshawa Generals of the OHL.

 

Ideally, the Flyers are holding out hope that the Ottawa native turns out to be a late-blooming power forward in the John LeClair mold. More realistically, however, he looks to be on track to develop into a decent NHL checking line winger one day.

 

The Phantoms also have high hopes for Tony Voce, who became the first ever Philadelphia native to sign with the organization when he inked a free agent deal in mid-July. The 23-year-old center is coming off of a stellar NCAA career at Boston College, where he totaled 167 points (90 goals, 77 assists) and 209 PIMs in 159 games over four seasons.

 

Voce was one of 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award (presented annually to the top collegiate in the nation) last season. He brings with him an impressive resume, but questions about his size (listed at only 5’8, 188 lbs.) will continue to haunt him until he can prove his worth at the professional level.

 

One of the more intriguing new faces on the team this season is Josh Gratton. The aggressive left winger earned a contract after an impressive tryout performance at the Flyers prospect mini-camp in July. Gratton, who will essentially take over for Vandermeer as the Phantoms’ primary enforcer, recorded 239 PIMs in just 30 games with the San Diego Gulls of the ECHL last season. He is the cousin of former Flyer Chris Gratton.

 

As for the veterans, the Phantoms remain well-stocked with quality players who are well-versed in the rigors of a professional season and bring plenty of leadership to the table.

 

New addition Eric Meloche tops the list. The Montreal native has split the past three seasons between the Pittsburgh Penguins and their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. A feisty, energetic competitor, Meloche plays a strong all-around game and is capable of putting up solid numbers at the minor league level.

 

Peter White and Boyd Kane comprised two thirds of the Phantoms top line last season, along with the since departed Kirby Law. White, one of the most prolific scorers in AHL history, has clearly lost a step and is no longer the elite minor league forward he used to be. Still, he remains a player capable of putting points on the board and a dangerous weapon in power play situations.

 

Kane, the team’s captain, is one of the more physically intense players in the AHL. While he does not bring an abundance of natural talent and skill to the table, he more than makes up for it with determination, solid two-way play, leadership and timely scoring. The same can be said for 28-year-old right winger Mark Murphy, who, like Kane, is returning for his second season with the team.

 

Ryan Ready, another new addition is expected to supply the team with depth, defensive-minded play and penalty killing, as are checking line holdovers (and former Yale University teammates) Ben Stafford and Nick Deschenes.

 

The odd men out at this point appear to be left wingers Mathieu Brunelle, Brent Robinson and Jeff Smith, all of whom are slated to start the season with the Trenton Titans in the ECHL.

 

 

DEFENSEMEN

 

Returning players: Joe Hope, Randy Jones, Freddy Meyer, Dennis Seidenberg, Wade Skolney, John Slaney, Stephen Wood

New arrivals: Joni Pitkanen, David Printz, Rosario Ruggeri

Key departures: Les Borsheim, Kirk Furey, James Laux

 

The Phantoms’ blueline received a tremendous boost in early September, when it was officially announced that Joni Pitkanen would be joining the team for the upcoming season. Many observers believed that the 21-year-old rearguard would return to Finland to play during the NHL lockout, but he decided that his current arrangement in Philadelphia suited him best. Pitkanen has long been heralded as a future franchise defenseman. He was selected fourth overall by the Flyers in 2002 and made his NHL debut last season, tallying 27 points (8 goals, 19 assists) in 71 games and earning a spot on the league’s All-Rookie Team.

 

Though Pitkanen had some ups and downs in his rookie season with the Flyers, he had an instant and consistent impact as a power play specialist. Look for him to team with the returning Dennis Seidenberg and veteran team captain John Slaney to form a lethal man advantage trifecta for the

Phantoms this season.

 

Seidenberg, 23, a Flyers regular two seasons ago, spent the 2003-04 season in the AHL after an inconsistent training camp. A broken leg in January forced him to miss the final 42 games of the regular season, though he did rehab hard and managed to return for the playoffs. Seidenberg, who also stared for Germany in the recent World Cup, would likely have made the Flyers this season had the lockout been averted.

 

Slaney, a veteran of well over 700 pro games in the NHL, AHL and IHL, is the Phantoms’ blueline leader and an invaluable team presence on the blueline and in the lockerroom. With 392

career AHL points, he has an outside shot at catching Steve Kraftcheck (453) for the all-time league record for defensemen. Slaney already holds the AHL’s goal-scoring record for blueliners with 135.

 

The addition of Pitkanen and return of Seidenberg should allow 23-year-old sophomores Randy Jones and Freddy Meyer to ease into comfortable roles on the Phantoms’ blueline. Both had exceptionally strong rookie campaigns last season, despite being forced into roles where their offensive contributions were imperative to the team’s success. Not surprisingly, both fizzled in the latter stages of the team’s playoff run.

 

Jones tallied 32 points (8 goals, 24 assists) in 55 games and did not look at all out of place in any of the five contests he appeared in as an injury fill-in with the Flyers. Meyer, who saw one game of NHL action, posted a surprising 14 goals for the Phantoms, to go along with 14 assists, 28 total points and an impressive +13 rating.

 

After the top five of Pitkanen, Seidenberg, Slaney, Jones and Meyer, things get a little more unpredictable. Five other players – Joey Hope, David Printz, Rosario Ruggeri, Wade Skolney and Stephen Wood – are vying for essentially three remaining spots (the Phantoms tend to carry eight defensemen). At this point, Hope, Printz and Skolney appear likely to make the team, while Ruggeri and Wood are expected to start the season in the ECHL with the Trenton Titans.

 

Hope is a second-year pro who split time with the Phantoms and Titans last season. He is a stay-at-home rearguard who plays a simple, safe game. The towering Printz (6’5, 220 lbs.) spent the past few seasons mired in Sweden’s second-tier league (Allsvenskan). Considered an organizational afterthought, he was a surprise inclusion – and a top performer – at the Flyers’ prospect mini-camp in July. Skolney lacks skill and polish, but is a steady performer and the team’s most physical player on the blueline.

 

Ruggeri was a 2002 fourth round pick of the Flyers (105th overall). He starred on the blueline for the QMJHL’s Chicoutimi Sagueneens over the past three seasons, and will likely get a chance to show what he can do at the AHL level at some point this season. Wood, a former Providence College standout, signed on with the organization after his collegiate career ended last season. He was also a top performer at the July mini-camp, and is still considered a dark horse prospect in the organization.

 

On paper, the Phantoms’ blueline corps looks as good as ever. It is a testament to the depth of the unit that talented players like Ruggeri and Wood will be playing in the ECHL at all.

 

 

GOALTENDERS

 

Returning players: Chris Houle, Neil Little, Antero Niittymaki

New arrivals: None

Key departures: None

 

The Phantoms appear to be in very strong shape between the pipes, with up-and-coming Antero Niittymaki and veteran fan favorite Neil Little returning to anchor the team.

 

Niittymaki was one of the top stories in the AHL last season. After a sub par first North American campaign in 2002-03, the Turku, Finland native took over for Little as the Phantoms' undisputed starter and emerged as one of the top goaltenders in the circuit. He finished fifth in the league in wins (24), tied for fifth with a club-record seven shutouts and ninth in GAA (2.02). The former TPS Turku star (SM-liiga) also posted a sparkling .924 save percentage.

 

The highlight of Niittymaki’s season came in February, when he received his first taste of NHL action. Subbing for the injured Robert Esche, prior to the team's acquisition of Sean Burke from Phoenix, Niittymaki ran up an impressive three wins in three starts. This included a stellar 4-1 victory over the Devils on Feb. 10, which endeared him to the Philadelphia fans. "Frank" (nicknamed after the 1930s gangster Frank Nitty by Flyers head coach Ken Hitchcock) then returned to the Phantoms for a stellar stretch drive and playoff run.

 

Hitchcock indicated on numerous occasions during the offseason that Niittymaki was penciled in to replace Burke as Esche's backup with the Flyers this season. Obviously, the lockout changed those plans. Still, such a vote of confidence speaks volumes about Niittymaki's standing within the organization.

 

Little is a solid, steady pro who is probably better known for his willingness and ability to drop the gloves than he is for backstopping the Phantoms to the Calder Cup title back in 1997. A 12-year pro, Little, like defenseman John Slaney, is an indispensable veteran presence on the team. He serves as a mentor to Niittymaki just as he has with Brian Boucher, Jean-Marc Pelletier and Maxime Ouellet in the past, and is likely to be offered some sort of coaching job with the organization once his playing days are over.

 

The third-stringer this season will once again be former London Knights (OHL) star Chris Houle (not to be confused with recent Flyer draftee Martin Houle, who plays for Cape Breton of the QMJHL). Houle will start the season with the Trenton Titans in the ECHL, where he was an All-Star last season. The 22-year-old Caslan, Alberta native appeared in four games with the Phantoms last season, posting an 0-2 record in spot duty, despite recording an excellent 1.63 GAA.

 

 

COACHES

 

Head coach: John Stevens

Assistant coaches: Craig Berube, Kjell Samuelsson

 

Stevens, a former defenseman who captained the Phantoms to the Calder Cup championship in 1996-97, returns for his fifth season behind the bench. A detail-oriented specialist who is known for his preparation skills and ability to coach young players, he currently boasts a 148-119-33-(20) career record. Stevens has worked closely with Flyers head coach Ken Hitchcock over the past two seasons in an effort to streamline the latter’s defensive-oriented system throughout the organization.

 

Berube joined the Phantoms around the midpoint last season as a player/coach. He retired after the conclusion of the postseason, and is now a full-time assistant with the team. The former Flyers enforcer will work primarily with the forwards.

 

Kjell Samuelsson, another former Flyers defenseman, is heading into his fifth season as an assistant with the Phantoms. The well-respected native of Sweden earned rave reviews for his work with the team’s young rearguards last season.

 

 

OUTLOOK

 

Even before Joni Pitkanen was added to the roster a few weeks back, the Phantoms were considered to be strong preseason contenders for the Calder Cup. With him, it is difficult to argue against the notion that the team boasts one of the most talented lineups in the AHL.

 

John Stevens’ squad can claim quality depth at every position, a strong combination of promising prospects and proven veterans, and a stud minor league goaltender in Antero Niittymaki.

 

The road to and through the playoffs is anything but guaranteed, however.

 

With “would-be” NHLers like Patrice Bergeron (Providence Bruins), Marc-Andre Fleury (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins), Zach Parise (Albany River Rats) and Jason Spezza (Binghamton Senators) dotting the AHL map, the league as a whole has never been better.

 

The Phantoms’ ultimate chances for success rest upon the establishment of player chemistry, general health, and the continued development of the younger prospects on the team. If those three elements pan out, the “Purple and Black” have as good a shot at the Calder Cup as any team in the circuit.

 

Copyright 2004 Hockey’s Future. Do not duplicate without permission of the editorial staff.