Many Flyers are growing their first playoff beards, but they’re not all keepers. Here are the best and worst, according to the players.
With so many young players, it’s not a surprise there have been mixed results. But one player wasn’t get let off the hook by his teammates.
During the chase for the Stanley Cup, things can get hairy — and not just metaphorically.
Growing facial hair for the playoffs has become one of the NHL’s most notable traditions. Dating back to the early 1980s, the New York Islanders are credited with starting and popularizing the tradition during their four consecutive Stanley Cup wins from 1980-1983.
Now, the tradition extends to all teams throughout the league, and the Flyers are no different.
“I remember watching the Flyers when I was a kid, and they all had huge playoff beards and stuff,” Flyers winger Tyson Foerster said. “Every team does it. It’s just kind of stuck around the league.”
Throughout the Flyers locker room, players like Foerster are growing — or trying to grow — their playoff beards as Philly looks to continue its hunt for the Cup against Carolina in the second round.
For captain Sean Couturier, who keeps a beard year-round, there is no issue maintaining one for playoffs. That’s why his teammates — Foerster, Jamie Drysdale, and Denver Barkey — unanimously agreed he had the best playoff beard on the team.
» READ MORE: Lauren Hart is singing ‘God Bless America’ again. Here's how it started and why it went away.
But the roster also features a core group of young guys who haven’t seen the same results as their captain. Barkey recently turned 21. Porter Martone, who made his NHL debut just ahead of the playoffs, is still a teenager at 19 years old. And Alex Bump, 22, said this is his first time trying to grow a beard.
“This is the best [it’s going to look],” Bump said Wednesday. “I think all of us young guys, me, Barks, Marty, there’s nothing coming in.”
Trevor Zegras, 25, has been offered less grace by his teammates for what Drysdale called “whatever he’s got going on over there.” Drysdale, Foerster, and Barkey all deemed his playoff look the worst on the team.
“It’s tough to chirp the young guys, because they’re actually, like, 19 to 20 years old,” Drysdale said. “But Z is 25 and we’re starting to see some whiskers come in on his cheeks and he’s got the soul patch.”
Even Zegras agrees his facial hair situation is less than ideal, and said his teammates let him know how bad it is every day.
“I’ve got a playoff beard for radio,” Zegras said.
But while the look he’s currently sporting is not one Zegras seems to be proud of, the opportunity to grow one, or at least attempt to grow one, is a privilege.
» READ MORE: The painted goalie mask was invented in Philly. This diehard Flyers fan keeps tradition alive.
When the Islanders started the tradition, it was reported that the team stopped shaving because they didn’t have the energy to do so during the demanding playoff chase. Now, many say that the playoff beard is a sign of sacrifice and team unity.
“I think it’s something that you look forward to almost,” Barkey said. “You freshen up right before playoffs, and you cut your hair shorter and trim up your beard and whatnot. It’s kind of like that last one before you’re going into the grind, the battle. And I think it’s kind of a cool little tradition that hockey has now.”
Participating in the whole postseason experience as a team has brought the Flyers, who are already close, to “another level,” Drysdale said. Hoping to claw their way back in this series, Drysdale said the Flyers “still have a lot of fight to give.”
“It’s a blast playing hockey right now. It’s awesome,” Drysdale said. “The fact we’re still playing, the fact that we’re still here in a battle in the second round, get to play home playoff games, it’s electric.”
And as long as they continue wearing their skate blades on playoff ice, they’ll be avoiding their razor blades, growing out their shag, and for some, their stubble.