The Tower of Power- By: Jesse Bell
Photo courtesy of Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
This past week has been a very exciting week for Flyers fans. Philadelphia Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher, must have been paying attention to literally every single social media platform available. The fan base has had no faith in Ole Chuckie, thinking he wasn’t going to make a splash this off season. Well, they were wrong! Defenseman Philippe Myers and Forward Nolan Patrick were traded to the Nashville Predators for Defenseman Ryan Ellis. Patrick was shortly traded to the Vegas Golden Knights for Center Cody Glass. Then, Robert Hagg, a 1st round draft pick in the 2021 entry-draft and a 2nd round draft pick in the 2022 entry-draft are traded to the Buffalo Sabres for Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen. Also, the Flyguys sent Shayne Ghostisbehere, a 2nd and 7th round draft pick to the Arizona Coyotes for a relief in their capspace and now the big trade of the weekend is a straight up player for player trade with Columbus Blue jackets Cam Atkinson for Flyers forward Jakub Vorachek.
These were even bigger than I had imagined, thinking they would attack the hidden goalie issue first. In my opinion, these moves have made the Flyers, if they play to their potential, an absolute contender on paper. But….we all know you can’t always trust what’s written down in the stat books so, we’ll obviously have to wait and see what happens. That being said, let’s dive into why the title of this article is “The Tower of Power”
Ryan Ellis
Photo courtesy of NBCSPORTS.com
Ryan Ellis was probably the best case scenario to sure up the Flyers defense. Some think the Phil Myers part of the trade was a little shocking, due to the fact most teams wanted a offensive/defenseman like Travis Sanhiem, Myers is a solid d-man in need of a new city and where better to go than the “Defensive Mecca” know as Nashville. They’ve pumped out some pretty solid defenseman over there years. Notable mentions in, Kimmo Timonen, Shea Weber and Ryan Ellis? Yeah, those are some good ones in my opinion. Phil will get the needed attention he deserves down there, fingers crossed, maybe we’ll see him in orange and black again in the future.
Hailing from Hamilton, Ontario, Ellis was drafted 11th overall in the 1st round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft to the Nashville Predators. Bounced from the AHL Milwaukee Admirals and the Preds from 2010-2013, he finally made his stay permanent in the middle of the 2012-13 season with the
Predators. His 2018-19 season he racked up 7 goals, 34 assists, 41 points and a plus-minus of 21. The year before, he left the season with a plus-minus of 26. In the 2018/19 season Ellis accumulated 71 hits. Now, if you’re an old school hockey/Flyers fan like me, this is exactly what were all looking for. Last season he only had 21 due to being injured but that’s some staggering numbers in the physical department. I think Ryan Ellis is more of what the Flyers are needing than people know. A physical element is something this team has been lacking and I for one think some of these players, are going to bring the hurt more than expected.
Rasmus Ristolainen
Photo courtesy of NBCSPORTS.COM
Reigning from Turku, Finland, Risto is a 6-4, 218lbs, 26 year old right handed defenseman. Drafted by the Buffalo Sabres 8th overall in the 1st round of the 2013 Entry Draft. Now stats wise, he’s not a scorer by any means. Also, his plus-minus percentages have never been in the positives. Now that we have the cons out of the way, from 2015-2021, Rasmus has been an absolute assist machine! In 2017, he had a total of 39 assists and 35 points. Following in 2018 with a total of 38 assists and 43 points. Now, when I get into his hits, the numbers are devastating! In 2020/21, he had 193 hits. 2018/19…….he had 235 hits! Flyers fans, this is what we’ve been waiting for since the Legion of Doom days no? Team Risto and Morin up on this team and we have a Philaldelphia version of The Bash Brothers!
To sum up everything above, we finally have some force to push back the beating we’ve been taking the past couple years. Hopefully, the Tom Wilsons and what enforcers are left, will get the hint that the Philadelphia Flyers are no longer push-overs!
The Tower of Power has arrived!
Jesse Bell - Flyers Alley/Olde City Sports Network
Tower of Power courtesy of Michael Jovanov… thanks buddy!
