I did it! As I write this on my Blackberry I'm hiding in Jon Kalinski's bag dressed like a fisherman. I know you said if I was hiding I didn't need a disguise but I thought best to double bag it. Why a fisher man? Because if I get caught I'll just say "this isn't my boat!" and act all surprised. Genius I know.

Anyway, in about an hour I'll have pictures of all the Flyers rookie's wangs and then we can post them on the internet and get rich and famous. Our fail proof plan is proving to be just that! I've even been thinking of nicknames they'll call us while lay here sweating my ass off - Ryan and Fran Perez TMZ. What do you think?

Also, operation Berube Balls was a failure. We can discuss during WarCraft tonight.

Running backs come from the Big Ten, point guards come from the ACC, and left fielders come from The University of Miami. But as to where the NHL's superstars come from little is known except for "Canada." Well that's right. A lot of the best NHL talent comes directly from three Major Junior Leagues in Canada that are collectively referred to as the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). They are the Western Hockey League (WHL), the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). As a matter of fact, 16 of the 20 guys on the Flyers roster today came from the CHL. Each of the next three mornings during Rookie Week I'm going to shine some light on one of these leagues in a Flyer fan friendly manner. Letting you know why you should care about these leagues as a Flyers fans and hopefully getting some of you off along the way. Bare minimum, you'll be able to make someone who does not know anything about the Flyers but proceeds to tell you he does as he sits there in his orange Roenick jersey look like an assdick by letting him know that even though Ole-Kristian Tollefsen is Norwegian he actually played his junior hockey in the WHL for the Brandon Wheat Kings. Today, we’re taking a look at le QMJHL.

As far as reputations go this league has one that rivals your mom’s. The Q has produced players like Mario Lemieux, Guy Lafleur, and Patrick Roy – some of the most skilled players in the history of the game. But it also happens to exist in a region that has at times been at war with the rest of Canada. Many Canadians feel strongly about le Provence, and by strongly I mean in a negative way, in case you were wondering. That negativity comes out in many forms when discussing les Quoi.

"It was typical of most French guys in our league with a visor on, running around and playing tough and not back anything up."

While that quote comes from clown mouthpiece Sean Avery after someone ran a teammate of his it echoes many of the sentiments that are shared, at least among friends over a few beers, throughout the provinces west - Canadians look at French Canadians and everything they do with a bit of skepticism and a bit of distaste. But The Q as a league is personified by its alumni on the Flyers roster - 3 gentle players and one crazy guy. You can’t accuse a league that produced Georges Laraque and Donald Brashear of “not backing anything up.” Unless you’re an idiot Ranger. Then I suppose it’s expected.

This map is a little outdated as that team you see way up in the Northeast corner in St. John's will be playing the rest of their days as the Montreal Junior Hockey Club right in Montreal. Otherwise, this is it. The Q is composed of teams from not only Quebec, but also Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, P.E.I., and one American team in Lewiston, Maine. The Maineiacs. I don’t get it…

The Q has always been about scoring and therefore it should come as no surprise that the top 6 all-time single season scorers in CHL history from this league:

1st - 282 - Mario Lemieux, Laval Voisins, 1983–84 (70 games)
2nd - 251 - Pierre Larouche, Sorel Éperviers, 1973–74 (67 games)
3rd - 234 - Pat LaFontaine, Verdun Juniors, 1982–83 (70 games)
4th - 227 - Michel Deziel, Sorel Éperviers, 1973–74 (69 games)
5th - 216 - Real Cloutier, Quebec Remparts, 1973–74 (69 games)
6th - 214 - Jacques Cossette, Sorel Éperviers, 1973–74 (68 games)

Those are some serious points per game right there.

All those points, however, have not led to much success when these QMJHL teams faceoff against The W and The O for the Mem Cup. A team from The Q has only been able to capture the cup 8 times since the tournament started. Not even the 73-74 Sorel Eperviers could win the cup despite having numbers 2, 4, and 6 in all-time single season scoring on their team. (As a matter of fact the Eperviers didn’t even win the President’s Cup that season, losing to the Quebec Remparts and Real Cloutier, #5 on that list. What a season for The Q. I think that was the year they tried the 8x8 nets.) Hell, even Lady Luck herself, Sidney Crosby, couldn’t win the Mem Cup when it came down to a showdown between his Rimouski Oceanic and the mighty Danny Syvret’s London Knights.

As far as the Flyers are concerned, as mentioned previously, three of their most skilled forwards and one new addition are former QMJHL snipers:

Daniel Briere – Drummondville Voltigeurs
Simon Gagne – Quebec Remparts
Claude Giroux – Gatineau Olympiques
Ian Laperriere - Drummondville Voltigeurs

I bet ten grand (or a Klondike bar) you couldn’t rank these players by highest single season point totals. Oh, now you know something’s fishy, eh? Well I hope you guessed already because here it is: Briere (163), Laperriere (140), Gagne (120), Giroux (112). Lappy can snipe! I know it’s probably just due to the fact that Lappy played in The Q 20 years ago when there was no such thing as “defense” but I like how I used it to trick you!

As opposed to the two other leagues we’ve looked at a lot of the Flyers future might depend on The Q. Getting ready to play the Caps this afternoon we have our two best defensive prospects, Kevin Marshall and Marc-Andre Bourdon, who were integral parts of their respective teams’ post-season runs in the QMJHL playoffs last season. We have recently signed goaltender Nicola Riopel and one of this year’s 6th round picks David Labrecque. Other players in the system that have moved on from The Q to pro hockey include Mario Kempe, Oskars Bartulis, Frederik Cabana, and David Lalibertie.

All in all, for some biased reason I’m sure, I’m not very interested in The Q. I like the guys we have from there but the stigma is real and really sticky. Maybe it’s the language, maybe it’s the Crosby, I’m not sure. It’s strange too because I’ve always wanted to go to a CHL game and this league is probably my best chance, but it just doesn’t get me revved up the way the other two leagues do. As a matter of fact I think over the last three days the WHL may have overtaken the OHL as my favorite league. It’s too bad we have almost no prospects to follow this season in any of the leagues. Here’s to the 30th pick overall in next year’s draft.

Running backs come from the Big Ten, point guards come from the ACC, and left fielders come from The University of Miami. But as to where the NHL's superstars come from little is known except for "Canada." Well that's right. A lot of the best NHL talent comes directly from three Major Junior Leagues in Canada that are collectively referred to as the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). They are the Western Hockey League (WHL), the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). As a matter of fact, 16 of the 20 guys on the Flyers roster today came from the CHL. Each of the next three mornings during Rookie Week I'm going to shine some light on one of these leagues in a Flyer fan friendly manner. Letting you know why you should care about these leagues as a Flyers fans and hopefully getting some of you off along the way. Bare minimum, you'll be able to make someone who does not know anything about the Flyers but proceeds to tell you he does as he sits there in his orange Roenick jersey look like an assdick by letting him know that even though Ole-Kristian Tollefsen is Norwegian he actually played his junior hockey in the WHL for the Brandon Wheat Kings. Today, we’re taking a look at the OHL.

The first thing you need to know about the OHL is this:



Yes, that is Rob Lowe of the fictitious Hamilton Bulldogs scoring a game winning goal against the also fictitious Thunder Bay Bombers that sends his teammates, who include Patrick Swayze, Peter Zezel, Steve Thomas, and Keanu Reeves, into a frenzy.

Now that we’re all operating on the same level….here’s the OHL. On a map!

I’ve always considered the OHL to be the real-deal Junior league, and I think getting an impartial opinion from a Canadian would be just about impossible so that’s what I’m going to continue to think. The OHL has without a doubt produced most of the top North American players to be drafted over the past 15 years. Of last season’s 50 leading scorers 12 were from the OHL while the WHL and QMJHL had 8 a piece. When you look at leading scorers among defenseman, however, you’ll find only 3 compared to the WHL’s 7 and the QMJHL’s zero. This actually may not be that surprising as when I think of The O I picture defensemen like Luke Richardson and Ryan Parent. Not necessarily guys who put up a ton of points but definitely play solid defense and smash the occasional unsuspecting forward.

Since the Memorial Cup Tournament went to the three league format in 1972 an OHL team has won only 13 times in those 37 years, but the league currently has possession of the cup after Eric Wellwood and the Windsor Spitfires ran the gamut this past Spring. All three leagues post their fare share of talent in the NHL, but just know this season that when you’re watching Joe Thornton, the Staal boys, Marc Savard, Patrick Kane, and Rick Nash that they’re all exports of Ontario.

As far as the Flyers go, this league is arguably the source of the team’s core and most talented players. Like the WHL, there are six Flyboys on today’s roster who spent their formative years in the OHL:

Daniel Carcillo – Sarnia Sting
Mike Richards – Kitchener Rangers
Jeff Carter – Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds
Ray Emery – Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds
Chris Pronger – Peterborough Petes
Ryan Parent – Guelph Storm

Factoring out Kimmo as a football (soccer) loving Euro, Richards, Carter, and Pronger are going to be the nucleus of the Flyers for at least the next two years.

Over the past 20 season the Flyers have taken 20 kids from the OHL, which is far below the WHL (33) and the QMJHL (28). Interestingly enough however the trend is reversed for the 1st round, which we all know is the only round that isn’t a complete crap shoot. Whereas the organization has gone to The Q three times during the 1st round over the past 20 years and The W four times, they’ve hit up The O five times with mixed results. Carter and Richards seem to be panning out in ways that Justin Williams, Mike Ricci, and Steve Downie just didn’t.

We currently only have a few guys we drafted in the system who are OHL affiliated. Josh Beaulieu who is looking more and more like an AHL lifer, Patrick Maroon who the Flyers shipped off to London for a year to give him that smoky Canadian flavor , and Zac Rinaldo who I’d wager to guess will be returning to The O after training camp. We’ve also acquired some former OHL talent in Danny Syvret, Jeff Szwez, Jason Ward and few other floaters.

Now if you’re still having any doubts that the OHL is the real deal then listen up good – Chris “Fucking” Therien played in the OHL. So there’s that. Up tomorrow, the lady of the CHL, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

Running backs come from the Big Ten, point guards come from the ACC, and left fielders come from The University of Miami. But as to where the NHL's superstars come from little is known except for "Canada." Well that's right. A lot of the best NHL talent comes directly from three Major Junior Leagues in Canada that are collectively referred to as the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). They are the Western Hockey League (WHL), the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). As a matter of fact, 16 of the 20 guys on the Flyers roster today came from the CHL. Each of the next three mornings during Rookie Week I'm going to shine some light on one of these leagues in a Flyer fan friendly manner. Letting you know why you should care about these leagues as a Flyers fan and hopefully getting some of you off along the way. Bare minimum, you'll be able to make someone who does not know anything about the Flyers but proceeds to tell you he does as he sits there in his orange Roenick jersey look like an assdick by letting him know that even though Ole-Kristian Tollefsen is Norwegian he actually played his junior hockey in the WHL for the Brandon Wheat Kings. First up, the WHL.

As you can see above the WHL is comprised of teams in the western provinces of Canada and maybe surprisingly the Northwestern United States. Both of the other leagues in the CHL have teams in the U.S. too but the WHL is the only one with an entire division of American teams. If you're a Grey's Anatomy fan, which apparently it's very cool not to be since everyone said so, this is the league for you.

The WHL is the league with all the farm boys. Kids who play major junior tend to stick to their provinces for the most part and out West, well, is out West. There are some exceptions like Ryan Parent who is actually from Prince Albert and, as you'll see tomorrow, went to play in the OHL. It can turn out to be all about the draft. And yes, these leagues draft 15 year old's like the NHL later drafts 18 year old's. These farm boys, however, know how to play puck. One thing I have failed to mention up until this point is that winning your own league within the CHL is a great accomplishment, but after the league championships are done the 3 winners and a 4th wild card play in a round robin tournament for the Memorial Cup. The WHL has taken the Mem Cup home 2 times in the last 3 years and 18 times in all. Some big names who helped their teams to these championships include Luke Schenn of the Maple Leafs, Milan Lucic of the Bruins, and Mike Green of the Capitals.

Of the Flyers currently on the roster, 6 spent their Junior years in the WHL:

Arron Asham - Red Deer Rebels
Scott Hartnell - Prince Albert Raiders
Riley Cote - Prince Albert Raiders
Braydon Coburn - Portland Winterhawks
Brian Boucher - Tri-City Americans
OKT - Brandon Wheat Kings

One thing you're going to find out over the next few days is that all Major Junior teams in the CHL have badass names. It's the combination of those crazy Canadian towns and cool nicknames like the Hitmen, Blades, and Oil Kings that combine to form unique club monikers that you'll never find in the U.S. You can tell me that you don't want a Moosejaw Warriors or Chilliwak Bruins t-shirt but you'd be shittin' me, so don't even bother.

Of those guys above I'd have to say Scott Hartnell left the biggest mark on the league, purely because he was the league's first pick in 2000 NHL draft at sixth overall. Coburn was also the WHL's first NHL draft pick when the 2003 draft came along, but was taken at the 8th spot. Who went higher is probably moreso a measure of the other players in the draft than their worth to the league, but I'll do whatever the hell I want. Arron Asham tore the league up in his own right, with both his stick and his fists and was picked in the 3rd round of the '96 draft and we all know the Riley Cote story. Brian Boucher took the road less traveled for a Rhode Island boy and headed off to Kennewick, WA after some stellar goaltending at the RI prep school Mount Saint Charles. And OKT was one of those rare cases where an NHL team drafts a European player and actually manages to get him to come learn the North American style of hockey in the CHL. Probably why OKT is such an ass kicking robot.

Over the last 20 years the Flyers have drafted more players from the WHL than any of the three CHL leagues, although they haven't had much luck with those picks. Some of the more prominent names include Todd Fedoruk, Bouch himself, Luca Sbisa, and Triston Grant. Currently in the system the Flyers only have two goalies from the league: Adam Morrision and Jacob DeSerres. If I was to have gone 30 years back the Flyers first round pick from 1979 would have squeezed in and thrown of my whole data set (yeah I have data sets). That summer the Flyers used the 14th overall pick to draft a kid from the Brandon Wheat Kings by the name of Brian Propp. A kid who had just scored 194 points in 71 games and would go on to score over 1,000 points in his NHL career.

So now you know that these places - British Columbia, Manitoba, Alberta, Saskatchewan - yeah, they're real. And they're not near the north pole (even though parts of them are). They are in fact home to some of the best junior hockey teams in the world. And all I'm asking is that maybe next time you recognize that.

Tomorrow, the big, bad OHL.

Can I just say thank God for Philabright? Blood injections, Rabbit laughing, and now Blair Betts coming to Camp?

This is significant news, for Betts not only poses a threat in the sense that some Flyers hopeful will be playing for the Phantoms this season, but also that the addition of Betts means the subtraction of someone who is currently under contract for the Flyers. Which smells like a Dingle for a 6th rounder kind of deal. It's also significant because the alliteration that is Blair Betts is much more promising for hilarity than all we're currently working with in Arron Asham. Because his name's Blair.

Betts is an excellent penalty killer and a solid 4th line center. He was most recently in the headlines when Donald Brashear broke his face in the playoffs last year, which led to the Rangers season ticket holders booing Brash when he was introduced at some team function last week. Man would these stupid New Yorkers be confused if they saw their beloved Blair Betts wearing number 15 for the Flyers this season.

Betts will turn 30 this year and could be a very integral piece of a 4th line that sees 7 to 8 minutes a night. If he somehow finds his way onto the Flyers roster this season he could be a steal at $600k or less. He's no Todd Bertuzzi, but he has Dowd Appeal. His profile on Hockey's Future very closely resembles this of Jim Dowd's from Dowd's days in college:

"Excellent two-way forward who can pot the occasional goal. Loves gold mining and wearing top hats. His monocle helps him to see things on the ice that other forwards simply do not. Was almost included as part of the Louisiana purchase."

Well, maybe just the first sentence actually. Betts did have a 52.3% faceoff win percentage last season, which we all know is something that is very high on the Flyers list of wants. Just behind a night with the newly unsuspended Fran. If Betts is willing to sign a two-way deal we could be fielding quite the team in Adirondack this season, although he would spend most, if not all, of his time with the Flyers I'd think.

Poor Rockin' Riles! That mountain just keeps getting bigger and bigger, steeper and icier. Just impossible.