The Flyers Sicko’s guide to Puckdoku

If you are anything like me these past couple of weeks, you cannot stop playing and thinking about playing Puckdoku. The latest daily game took what Immaculate Grid had in baseball and applied it to hockey. A three-by-three grid with teams, statistics, or awards on the two axes, and all you have to do is name a player that fits into each cross-section.

The magic in it is the simplicity but also the time spent diving deep into your mind palace to re-discover names that you have not thought about in maybe decades. Sure, if you are reading a blog about hockey during the summer you are most likely able to get most of the nine spots filled with some popular players.

But what about the sub-1 percent? What about some of the sicko picks?

Part of the fun of Puckdoku lately is getting the most obscure names in your little boxes. Sometimes they are NHL journeymen who you remember playing less than 20 games for one of the teams, or a goon that just bounced around a whole lot. It is just so satisfying to get that name right in your little text box and have it pop up to tell you that only 0.3 percent of people playing answered it with that specific guy.

When it comes to the Philadelphia Flyers and the 55 seasons they have existed for, there have been countless Guys going through this locker room. With that in mind, we have decided to go over the 31 other teams and see what sicko names you can jot down for when the Flyers come up in the future. You will be prepared to shock the world by Remembering Some Guys.

I might be just scratching the surface with some of these names, so bear with me.

Danny Syvret – Anaheim Ducks

Those that have been with BSH for the long haul may know him as Danny Syvret, Offensive Dynamo, for his exploits in a certain outdoor hockey game back in the day. For those a little more new to the scene, Syvret is a personal favorite of mine to think about for Puckdoku. I have put him in my back pocket for the perfect use – and I used his name in an earlier game. The left-handed defenseman appeared in a total of 23 games for the Flyers through the 2008-09 and 2009-10 season and managed to score a total of four points. A supreme guy.

Well, after being drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in the third round (you could use him for that team as well) and appearing for the Flyers, he was signed by the Anaheim Ducks to be a depth guy, played six games for them, and then was traded back to the Flyers in the trade that sent Patrick Maroon to start his career in Anaheim.

Jean-Marc Pelletier – Arizona Coyotes

Pelletier is a distinguished member of the One Game Club. After being a second-round draft pick in 1997, the goaltender from Atlanta was thrust almost immediately into an NHL game. He played one season for the QMJHL’s Rimouski Oceanic after being drafted and then made his NHL debut less than 12 months later.

Funnily enough, on his 21st birthday, Pelletier found himself up against the Ottawa Senators and the Flyers suffered a 5-0 shutout where Alexei Yashin scored a hat trick. He didn’t play in another game in the NHL until he made his way to the Pheonix Coyotes via the Carolina Hurricanes (Pelletier was in the Rod Brind’Amour trade to Carolina) and suited up for two games in the 2002-03 season and then four the following year. In his seven NHL games, he has an .857 save percentage and he last played professional hockey in Germany for the last four years of his career.

David Fenyves – Buffalo Sabres

Fenyves was a real journeyman. An undrafted defenseman who made his way through the OHL and then was signed on by the Buffalo Sabres’ AHL team, eventually made his NHL debut in the 1982-83 season, playing with the likes of Phil Housley, Gilbert Perrault, Mike Foligno, and Dave Andreychuk.

From then, Fenyves wen on to play for four more years in Buffalo, bouncing between the AHL and NHL roster through the years before he eventually was claimed off the waiver wire by the Flyers on Oct. 5, 1987, just three days before the first game of the season.

He didn’t even play in the NHL that year until November and then after five games, was sent down to the AHL for the remainder of the season. He would then go on to do the same thing – bounce between the minors and majors – for another three years and then retired in 1993.

Guillaume Lefebvre – Boston Bruins

One of the very last draft picks in the 2000 NHL Draft at 227th overall, Lefebvre was a winger that steadily made his way through the minor system and eventually made his way to the Flyers to play three total games in the 2001-02 season, after his rookie season in the AHL finished and Philadelphia was in a hot race to win the division (they ended up doing that).

Lefebvre would go on to play for one more season, amassing 14 games for the Flyers before getting traded to the Coyotes for Tony Amonte near the 2003 trade deadline, and then getting shipped back to Pennsylvania a day later, after Phoenix sent him to the Pittsburgh Penguins along with Dan Focht and Ramzi Abid for Francous Leroux and Jan Hrdina. Those are certainly some names.

Where does Boston come into this? Well, after playing in the goon-filled Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey in his home province of Quebec for two seasons, he went back to the AHL and made his way to playing one single game for the Bruins in the 2009-10 season for his final ever NHL appearance.

Jim Vandermeer – Calgary Flames

Jim Vandermeer spent the first several years of his career in and around Philadelphia. He got an AHL contract after playing all four years in the WHL, played one season for the then-Philadelphia Phantoms, and during his second professional season, got to make his NHL debut.

He was a good enough defenseman to hang around for 24 games after his Jan. 3 debut during the 2003-04 season and then appear in 23 more the following year before getting sent to the Chicago Blackhawks mid-season for the Flyers to acquire Alexei Zhamnov. After four seasons in Chicago, Vandermeer was then sent back to Philadelphia in December 2007 in a one-for-one for Ben Eager.

He didn’t last long though, and after 28 games for the Flyers, was sent to the Calgary Flames just a few months later for a third-round pick in the 2009 NHL Draft. He went on to play two seasons for the Flames and then travel around the league for three more years.

Lindsay Carson – Carolina Hurricanes

Remembering Guys is great when you associate one dude with one team for so long and then they just finish their career for one season in a different city.

Lindsay Carson was drafted in the third round of the 1979 NHL Draft, then played over 300 games for the Flyers from 1981 to 1988. And then, in the middle of the 1987-88 season, was traded to the Hartford Whalers straight up for winger Paul Lawless, who would play a total of eight games in Philadelphia.

Thankfully, Puckdoku counts relocated franchises so Hartford is Carolina and we can remember Lindsay Carson and his 146 points.

Matt Walker – Chicago Blackhawks

Transactions help make some players memorable and besides being a lumbering, 6-foot-4, right-handed defenseman, Matt Walker’s name is at least remembered because he was the player that the Flyers got back when they traded Simon Gagne to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

But before he was with the Lightning, Walker played his longest season with 65 games on a very good Blackhawks team in the 2008-09 season and was eventually defeated in the Western Conference Finals by the Detroit Red Wings.

Walker would finish his career in Philadelphia, playing a total of eight games in the NHL and 44 in the AHL. A big contributor.

Kerry Huffman – Colorado Avalanche

Just like other names, linking the relocated team to their geographical past is just so incredibly fun and there is just so many options when it comes to the Quebec Nordiques whenever the Colorado Avalanche logo pops up on the game.

Kerry Huffman was a first-round pick by the Flyers in 1986 and did the typical jump of a player drafted that high straight into the NHL from juniors. Played nine games after his junior career was done, split time in the minors and majors the following couple of years, and then became slightly more full-time in the early-90’s.

And then he was just another guy who was in the legendary trade that got Eric Lindros to Philadelphia, and Huffman – along with some guys named “Peter Forsberg” and “Ron Hextall” – was sent to Quebec. Huffman did finish his career with the Flyers as well, after he was traded straight up for future considerations by the Senators to appear in four games for Philadelphia. (No extra points, unfortunately, for his work as a coach with the Phantoms.)

Kevin Dineen – Columbus Blue Jackets

Dineen played over 1,100 games in the NHL so he’s no an obscure player by any means, but he spent the middle section of his career playing in five seasons for the Flyers and then finished up his career playing in the first three seasons of the Columbus Blue Jackets’ existence.

To think of someone that played for multiple legendary teams like the Hartford Whalers and a Flyers team that featured Lindros, Brind-Amour, and Mark Recchi, to then wrap it all up with over 100 games in Ohio.

Brian Propp – Dallas Stars

Propp was a long-time Flyer, playing in 790 total games for the team and scoring 840 points, so it might not be the most out-there name you could grab for this combination of teams. Hell, he led the team in scoring enough through the 80’s to make his name stick in some people’s heads.

But, it’s always nice to think about the Minnesota North Stars and him going over there as a free agent to play with a young Mike Modano. Of course, the North Stars count as the Dallas Stars and we will just continue to go with that.

Brent Fedyk – Detroit Red Wings

Brent Fedyk is a Dude. He isn’t a name that is so obscure that maybe only members of their family would ever guess them in a round of Puckdoku, but he is the perfect balance of being around.

The winger from Yorkton, Saskatchewan was a top Detroit Red Wings prospect and then eventually made his way to the NHL and never lived up to where he was selected in the 1985 NHL Draft. He played 162 games for Detroit and then was traded for nothing but a fourth-rounder at the age of 25 to the Flyers. He would go on to live up to some of his potential – scoring 59 goals and 124 points in 200 games for Philadelphia – and then was sent off to the Stars. A guy.

Shjon Podein – Edmonton Oilers

Podein should be known for another transaction that happened in Flyers history and one that got a little more famous in the last few months. The young winger was drafted and developed by the Edmonton Oilers and then hit the free agent market where he was swooped up by the Flyers.

He then went on to play on those good Lindros teams and then in Nov. 1998, was sent to the Colorado Avalanche for veteran winger Keith Jones. That guy.

Mike Sillinger – Florida Panthers

There is no list of sicko Puckdoku candidates complete without mentioning Mike Sillinger. The center is more famous for the amount of teams that he played for than anything he actually did for them. Appearing in games for a record 12 teams, Sillinger could really be scattered through this list after he was acquired by the Flyers in 1998 from the Vancouver Canucks for a fifth-round pick.

But, we’ll include him for the Panthers, where he suited up for a total of 68 games split between two seasons. He didn’t even last a full seasons there – was traded to the Panthers in the middle of the 1999-00 season and then Florida traded him in the middle of the following season.

Randy Jones – Los Angeles Kings

Depth defensemen are hard to remember but so vital for this silly little game. Randy Jones was a part of the Flyers from 2003 to 2009, played in over 200 games for the team during the Mike Richards era and then was sent down to the AHL on waivers. When he went on re-entry waivers from the Phantoms, the Los Angeles Kings picked him up and he finished his 2009-10 season over there.

Jim Dowd – Minnesota Wild

An interesting little tidbit that I began to notice while compiling these names are some guys just like finishing their career with the Flyers. After 16 years of playing professional hockey, Jim Dowd decided to hang up his skates after 73 games with the 2007-08 Philadelphia Flyers and scored a total of 10 points as a depth forward.

But, he was one of the expansion draft picks by the Minnesota Wild  seven years prior and he played for four seasons there until being traded to the Montreal Canadiens.

Alexandre Picard – Montreal Canadiens

Like most Quebecois players, Alexandre Picard had to go back home and play in his home province eventually. He was a third-round draft pick of the Flyers in 2003 and barely playe for them. Picard’s most significant season in Philadelphia was the 2006-07 campaign where he played in 62 games and had to play with four different jersey numbers during that time, for some reason.

After some trips though Tampa, Ottawa, and Carolina, he made his way to Montreal for the 2010-11 season. He never scored over 22 points in a single season.

Adam Hall – Nashville Predators

Adam Hall was in Philadelphia seemingly not that long ago, but it has now been over a decade since the 2012-13 half-season where he made his way to the Flyers. The former Nashville Predators draft pick – where he ended up making his debut and playing in three full seasons for the team – was on a multi-team journey and found some security with what would end up being his final NHL team.

He spent the mid-00’s on five different teams in just three years. Played three full seasons for the Tampa Bay Lightning, was then scooped up by the Carolina Hurricanes off of waivers, played six games for them, was sent back on waivers, where he then got picked by the Flyers. What a fun journey for a depth winger.

Kurtis Foster – New Jersey Devils

While it might be fun remembering the time that Jaromir Jagr or Wayne Simmonds ended up in New Jersey, thinking about how defenseman Kurtis Foster spent the final years of his career touring around North America playing for pretty bad teams, is also fun.

Foster spent the majority of his time with the Minnesota Wild, but was then traded from the Ducks (who acquired him from the Oilers) to the Devils in the middle of the 2011-12 season. He was then a part of the Marek Zidlicky trade and would get sent back to the Wild. He then signed his final NHL contract wit hthe Flyers for the shortened 2012-13 season and went off to Russia.

Andy Andreoff – New York Islanders

Hey, a guy that is still playing! Andy Andy will seemingly always be a tweener and just either a very good AHL player or a pure depth NHL forward. He spent two years with the Flyers, through some of the COVID bubble, and then would eventually go to the New York Islanders as a free agent two years ago. Not many people know current Islanders, so you could score pretty well with this one.

Alexandre Daigle – New York Rangers

Daigle is a favorite player of mine for Puckdoku, because of course people remember him in Ottawa, but then as his career just fizzled away it is a little bit more difficult to remember where he ended up. His first non-Ottawa team was the Flyers, when they acquired him for a couple players and a second-round pick.

Daigle lasted just over one full calendar year in Philadelphia after they acquired him. After getting traded mid-season the year prior, he would then be traded again to the Edmonton Oilers in the middle of the 1998-99 season, and the Oilers flipped him immediately to the Tampa Bay Lightning the very same day. The Lightning would then trade Daigle to the New York Rangers for future considerations and he was bad enough to then get sent to the AHL.

That is where his two-year break away from hockey would start and he would make his return with the Penguins organization.

Braydon Coburn – Ottawa Senators

Daigle could be used for the Senators as well, but that’s boring! Long-time Flyers defenseman Braydon Coburn is a little bit more fun. After winning a Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning – after he was traded by the Flyers for Radko Gudas – Coburn was then acquired by the Senators as part of the cap dump when Marian Gaborik’s contract was sent to Tampa so they could get the right amount of LTIR dollars. He lasted just one season in Ottawa before being traded to the Islanders months later.

Ed Van Impe – Pittsburgh Penguins

Enough players have walked through both Pennsylvanian locker rooms that some creativity could be had if these two teams were partnered up one day. But there is a fun name in Ed Van Impe.

Van Impe was taken by the Flyers in their expansion draft in 1967 from the Chicago Blackhawks and would last a total of nine seasons in Philadelphia. But then he was traded to the Penguins for Gary Inness during the 1975-76 season and went on to play just 22 games for Pittsburgh split between two seasons.

Tye McGinn – San Jose Sharks

A dude among dudes. The fourth-round selection by the Philadelphia Flyers in 2010 would be a depth forward for some interesting Flyers teams from 2012 to 2014, but would mainly just be a role player and spent the majority of his time in the AHL.

He would eventually get sent to the San Jose Sharks for a third-round pick (mainly because he was just young enough to trick people into his potential) and then would go on and play 33 games for the Sharks in just one season before he was claimed off of waivers by the Coyotes.

That third-round pick was then used by the Flyers to select current netminder Felix Sandstrom, so the all-important Tye McGinn Trade Tree continues.

Martin Jones – Seattle Kraken

There’s no one really else to pick from in the two seasons the Seattle Kraken have existed. So, remember when Martin Jones was the goalie here?

Jesse Boulerice – St. Louis Blues

Boulerice was a fighter and one that barely made it to the NHL, as well. He was selected in the fifth round of the 1996 NHL Draft y the Flyers, eventually made his way to play three games for the team in the 2001-02 season, and then was sent to Carolina in a trade for a guy who played one single NHL game named Greg Koehler.

But interestingly enough, Boulerice blossomed in Carolina and played full seasons for the team, including during the regular season of the 2005-06 campaign when the Hurricanes were crowned champions. Unfortunately, that team was loading up and Boulerice was part of a deadline trade to acquire Doug Weight from the St. Louis Blues. He went on to play 12 games for the Blues before eventually making his way back to the Flyers and played five more games for the team.

Rob DiMaio – Tampa Bay Lightning

Rob DiMaio was a depth winger for the Islanders who was eventually selected by the Lightning in their expansion draft. He went on to play two seasons for them before being traded to the Flyers for Jim Cummins and a fourth-round pick.

He played just over 100 games for the Flyers through three seasona and then went on to play for the Bruins, Rangers, Hurricanes, Stars, and back to the Lightning for his final seasons. Somehow, this guy who never scored more than 28 points in a season played 894 NHL games. That rocks.

Jay Rosehill – Toronto Maple Leafs

Rosehill only played for two NHL organizations so this one is easy. The fighting forward did nothing really but punch faces and he did exactly that for terrible Toronto Maple Leafs teams and weird Flyers teams.

After his NHL career he amassed 186 penalty minutes in 42 games while playing for the Manchester Storm over in England.

Gino Odjick – Vancouver Canucks

Gino is a one-of-a-kind player and someone that I just personally like remembering. The bruising winger got so many damn penalty minutes for the Vancouver Canucks during one of the most brutal eras of the NHL in the early-90’s. And on a very good Canucks team too!

After playing eight seasons for the Canucks and then parts of three for the Islanders, he was then sent to the Flyers for Mikael Andersson and a fifth-rounder in Feb. 2000. He would only end up playing 30 games for Philadelphia before getting traded to Montreal, but that must have been pretty cool.

Patrick Brown – Vegas Golden Knights

There are some other former Golden Knights that you could use for any matchup with the Flyers but no one is more obscure than Mr. He Was Here, Patrick Brown. He wasn’t even part of the cool inaugural Vegas team, and then was claimed off of waivers by the Flyers right before the 2021-22 season.

Wayne Stephenson – Washington Capitals

Remembering goalies might be a little bit cooler than remembering any old forward or defenseman. Wayne Stephenson played his best hockey with the Flyers from 1974 to 1979, keeping his goals against average below three for the majority of his time here as part of the tandem with Bernie Parent and played in the win over the Soviet Red Army hockey team.

He was then traded to the Capitals in 1979 where he would go on to play two seasons before retiring.

Tomi Kallio – Winnipeg Jets

To finish off this extensive list of Dudes, we have Tomi Kallio, a Finnish winger who would play three seasons for the inaugral Atlanta Thrashers – after being part of the expansion draft – and would then be claimed off waivers by the Flyers on New Year’s Day of 2003. He would go on to play seven games and score one goal for Philadelphia in his final year of North American hockey.

Kallio would go on to become a long-time SHL forward and was a reliable scorer through almost 20 years of a post-NHL career.

Well, good luck with your future games, I guess. Let’s hope the Flyers are on Puckdoku game in the near future.