ORIGINAL STORY AND PHOTO GALLERY FROM PBJ.COM
When NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman stepped up to the podium for the first time at the 2014 Entry Draft this weekend in Philadelphia, he probably expected a few jeers. Perhaps quick rounds of booing here and there.
Instead, Philadelphia greeted Bettman with a symphony of sheer disgust, heckling not only the commissioner, but nearly every other NHL team that checked in during the pre-draft roll call as well.
If you weren’t the Flyers, you were the enemy.
The hundreds of prospects that attended the draft quickly became acquainted with the passion that defines our city’s sports. While hockey is not the go-to sport of the country, the hockey culture surrounding Philadelphia is undoubtedly strong.
Anthony DeAngelo, a Sewell, NJ native and the 19th overall pick by the Tampa Bay Lightning, said the local hockey scene is steadily improving.
“We’ve got a lot of good development camps and development coaches around here, so it’s starting to get better and better,” said DeAngelo. “I’m happy to be a part of it.”
The defenseman sees himself fitting in well with the Lightning in terms of the team’s youth and knack for speed. While DeAngelo grew up a Flyers fan, he won’t have a problem abandoning his old loyalties in favor of his possible future home in Tampa Bay.
“I’m ready to have them as my rival, I don’t care,” stated DeAngelo.
Another prospect that may eventually face off against the Flyers as an enemy is Kasperi Kapanen, son of former Flyer Sami Kapanen and the Pittsburgh Penguin’s first round pick.
The elder Kapanen played five seasons for the Flyers before returning to Finland to play for Kalevan Pallo of the Finnish SM-Liiga. In the 2012-2013 season, a familiar face joined his team: his son Kasperi.
“It was a dream come true for me and for him, and probably a bigger thing for him. Just being with the same person you just ate breakfast with is pretty weird, but it was unique and I really enjoyed it,” said the younger Kapanen. “He’s been my influence in everything. He’s been my coach, my trainer, my fan, my dad all at the same time. That’s special and I’m really excited that I got to play with him.”
Like the other prospects, Kapanen enjoyed the intensity of the draft.
“In Philly [they have] great fans. They’re loud, they boo, they do a lot of stuff,” Kapanen stated. “I was surprised that the fans were so into this. It’s been great.”
The Philadelphia management passed over the hometown boys in favor of Travis Sanheim, a defenseman from Elkhorn, Manitoba, with their first round choice. Sanheim’s rapid development over the past season with the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League put him high on the draft radar only recently.
“The last few months for me have been crazy and I wasn’t sure whether I was going to be selected first round or not,” said Sanheim. “I knew I had a chance to go to the Flyers, I knew they were really interested. I’m just proud to be selected by them.”
When Flyers General Manager Ron Hextall announced the pick, Sanheim did not take the exuberant welcome from the Philadelphia fans for granted.
“Being in the building tonight, the fans were crazy and you could see the passion,” said Sanheim. “It’s a hockey city and I’m lucky to be here.”
The Flyers scooped up five additional prospects in the draft, including C/RW Nicolas Aube-Kubel, D Mark Friedman, LW Oskar Lindblom, LW Radel Fazleev, and D Jesper Pettersson.
Leading up to the draft, whisperings regarding the Flyers’ desire for a higher first round pick indicated the possible move of several big-name players on the team. This never came to fruition, and Ron Hextall did not show signs of frustration.
“Somebody else has got to be willing to move. A lot of teams try to get up, it’s hard to do it… you’ve got to judge every conversation you have and if something makes sense, then you do it,” stated Hextall. “But if you don’t, you can’t move up or do something that you don’t want to do and overpay. It’s a feel, and if you feel like you’ve got the right deal, you do it. If you don’t, you don’t. We’ve got some good young prospects.”