With the NHL All-Star festivities set to kick off tonight at 7:30pm ET, I thought we should go over some of the best Flyers All-Star moments. There have been many epic moments in the All-Star games over the years, including John Scott being voted in, Patrick Kane’s Superman, and Alex Ovechkin begging to be picked last. This list will focus solely on the best Flyers moments in the All-Star extravaganza, because well after all this is Flyers Nation! I’ve limited my list to five entries and will be going over them in no particular order or ranking, just five of my personal favorite moments. Of course there will be some moments I missed so feel free to leave a comment or mention me on Twitter (@mquin18) to let me know some of your favorite Flyers All-Star moments!
Wayne Simmonds wins MVP (2017)
One of the most beloved Flyers of all time, the Wayne Train certainly deserved to be All-Star MVP back in 2017. During the 2016-2017 season, Simmonds didn’t miss a single game for the Orange and Black. In those 82 games he totaled his third-best season in points with 54 (31G/23A), scored his career high in powerplay goals with 16 and even snagged himself 2 short-handed goals. By the time he was named an All-Star on January 10th, 2017, Simmonds had already scored 21 goals and 38 points in only 50 games. In the championship game of the All-Star festivities, Simmonds made his presence known with three goals, most importantly the game-winning goal. I don’t think there’s any argument when I say that Simmonds is the best “Wayne” to ever play hockey. No debate.
“Suck it, Phaneuf!” (2012)
Scott Hartnell is right up there with Wayne Simmonds on the list of Flyers fan favorites. He was brash, hilarious, tough as nails, and owned the slot on the powerplay. In the 2011-2012 season, Hartnell had the best season of his career with 67 points (37G/30A) in 82 games. 16 of those goals came on the powerplay and I can distinctly remember Giroux feeding him one-timers in the slot all year long. Hartnell’s All-Star appearance back in 2012 was filled with great moments, including the HartnellDown Foundation in which he donated $1,000 every time he fell down (which was a lot). CBSSports also landed themselves a gold-mine of content when Hartnell was mic’d up for the game. Which leads me to this legendary chirp from Hartnell himself.
Jake Voracek: Master of Puppets (2015)
Speaking of brash and hilarious, Jake Voracek has always been one to take things into his own hands and get the job done. In this instance, what he grabbed onto was Calgary Flames All-Star, Johnny Gaudreau (did you know he’s from New Jersey?). Voracek, being the funny guy he is, decided to mock Ryan Johansen’s earlier trick of bringing in a kid to help with his breakaway challenge. Except Voracek’s “kid” was 22 year-old rookie sensation, Gaudreau. During the 2014-2015 season, Voracek racked up 81 points (22G/59A) in 82 games, his career highest at that time, but second-highest overall. Voracek, the noted powerplay specialist and certified apple-server, dished out 33 points (11G/22A) on the powerplay that season.
Silky Sean Couturier (2012)
Way back when Coots was a baby-faced, toothless 18 year-old, he pulled off one of the slickest moves I’ve ever seen in the breakaway challenge. I remember being 13 years-old frantically voting for Couturier to win the competition on my good ol’ flip phone. As an 18 year-old, Couturier solidified himself in a Flyers uniform as someone who could shut-down the oppositions top line every night, like he did in the 2012 playoffs against Evgeni Malkin. Couturier didn’t light it up every night in his rookie season, but he certainly wasn’t invisble scoring 27 points (13G/14A) in 77 games. We’ve seen some pretty nifty moves from Couturier, like that Forsberg move in the shootout in 2019 vs the Devils, but none as silky as this one.
Roenick’s Snipes (2004)
Jeremy Roenick must have been feeling some Wendy’s on that faithful night back in 2004, because he really wanted that 4 for 4. Participating in the accuracy shooting challenge, one of the most nerve-racking events at the All-Star game, Roenick feasted on those targets and knocked out all four in rapid succession. Not only is JR one of the most interesting personalities to ever wear a Flyers uniform, he was a dang good player too. In the 2003-2004 season Roenick potted 47 points (19G/28A) in only 62 games, in a shortened season due to a broken jaw. In Roenick’s entire career he tallied 1,216 points (513G/703A) in 1,363 games and was an NHL All-Star 9 times. JR made the accuracy shooting look easy but his legendary lettuce looked even better that night.
There you have it! Five of my most memorable Flyers All-Star moments. Feel free to comment or mention me on Twitter with some moments I missed. Being only 22 I’m limited to mostly recent events, so fill me in on some old school Flyers All-Star memories! Don’t forget to watch Claude Giroux captain the Metropolitan Division on Saturday, February 5th at 3pm ET!
