Flyers Have the Perfect Mix of Youth and Experience

The Philadelphia Flyers have a good mix of veterans and young players on their roster this season. You never know what you are going to get from a player when he is at the start of his career, or when his career is winding down. Luckily for the Flyers, they are getting good results from all the players that fall into that category.

Kimmo Timonen 36, Chris Pronger 37, and Jaromir Jagr 39 are all great players who are at the tail end of their respected careers. They may not be the same players they once were, but they have the knowledge and experience to keep competing and excelling at their age. Danny Briere who is 34 years old, is still performing in his prime and he also shows great leadership skills to the younger players, especially Claude Giroux. Grioux 23, is the future of this team. He is the reason the Flyers could afford to trade away Mike Richards and Jeff Carter.

Some of the younger players that they have are Matt Read, who is a 25 year old rookie. Sean Couterier 18, Jakub Voracek 22, James van Riemsdyk 22, Brayden Schenn 20, and Wayne Simmonds 23. They are fitting in well. It’s not hard to though when you have future Hall of famers on your team. These young players bring speed and energy to the ice every night. The team seems to be gelling very nicely this season. The last few years they have seemed to be hot and cold, on and off. They just did not look like a team out there, they were not working as one unit, and not getting the job done. There were rumors of divisions in the locker room over the past few seasons. This season they seem to be playing as one. The role players are doing what they were brought here to do and seem happy with that role.

This just shows that older players can keep playing in the NHL. They may not put up the same number they did when they were 28 years old, but they contribute in ways that they could not have when they were that age. Experience and maturity go a long way in this league. I personally like to see when teams keep older players around. Players that have been in the league for 10-15 years. Just because a player is getting older doesn’t mean he can’t play in the NHL anymore. Cut his ice time back if you have to, but he will contribute in ways the younger players can’t.

That being said, having a wide variety in age on any team is great for your season. Youth and experience work well with eachother.


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