Flyers' Read making case for Calder Trophy
"Hockey runs my life and takes me everywhere I want to go." - From Matt Read's bio on Twitter (@read1mat)Matt Read is going places, all right. And though it's several months away, one of those places may be Las Vegas, where they honor the NHL award winners after the season.
"Hockey runs my life and takes me everywhere I want to go."
- From Matt Read's bio on Twitter (@read1mat)
Matt Read is going places, all right. And though it's several months away, one of those places may be Las Vegas, where they honor the NHL award winners after the season.
The Flyers have never had a player win the Calder Trophy as the NHL's best rookie.
Not Bobby Clarke, Bill Barber, or Ron Hextall. Not Mikael Renberg, Mike Richards, or Jeff Carter.
Not anybody.
Read, whom the Flyers signed as an undrafted free agent, may end the drought.
In the season's first six weeks, the 25-year-old rookie winger has showcased blazing speed, a laser of a shot, and a knack for pouncing on loose pucks around the net. He has five goals in his last four games, the best streak for a Flyers rookie since Renberg had five goals in a three-game span in 1994.
"He's getting comfortable and understanding the way we're trying to do things," coach Peter Laviolette said.
Entering Sunday, Read led NHL rookies with eight goals, and he was tied for second in the plus-minus ratings at plus-6. Sean Couturier, the Flyers' other rookie-of-the-year hopeful, has five goals and is tops among first-year players at plus-9.
Because his father was in the military, Read and his family lived all over North America when he was growing up, including Calgary; Vancouver Island; Colorado; and Ilderton, Ontario.
Five years ago, Read starred in the United States Hockey League, scoring 28 goals in 58 games with the Des Moines Buccaneers.
Read then signed with Bemidji State, a tiny Division I school in hockey-crazed Minnesota. In his sophomore season, he helped the Beavers stun the college hockey world by reaching the NCAA Frozen Four.
NHL teams tried to lure Read to leave school and sign as a free agent. The offers weren't lucrative, and Read decided to finish school and get his degree in physical education.
Along the way, he was the Beavers' leading scorer in two of his last three seasons.
The Flyers eventually signed him to a one-way pact, a three-year, $2.7 million free-agent deal.
At the time, it seemed extremely generous for a player who went undrafted. With each game, however, it's looking more like the Flyers got a bargain.
Read, who raised eyebrows by collecting seven goals and 13 points in an 11-game stint with AHL Adirondack last year, has scored his eight goals in just 16 games with the Flyers.
On Saturday, Read had his first two-goal game in the NHL, but the Flyers lost in Winnipeg, 6-4, to end their eight-game points streak (6-0-2). The Jets jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first 10 minutes, 15 seconds and never trailed.
"We came out kind of slow and it cost us," Read said. "Hopefully, we can learn from it. You can't play 50 minutes. You have to show up for all 60."
It marked the first time in the last 11 games that the Flyers did not score first.
Read, who plays in all situations, and his teammates will try to get back on track Monday when they host Carolina. The Flyers have 5-1 and 5-3 wins this year over the Hurricanes, who feature 19-year-old Jeff Skinner (eight goals, 20 points), last season's Calder winner.
Breakaways. Jaromir Jagr, who missed Saturday's game with a groin injury, skated on his own Sunday but did not practice. The Flyers listed him as day-to-day. . . . The Winnipeg crowd was waiting Saturday for Ilya Bryzgalov, who made critical remarks about their city last season. Before the game, a boy held a sign that read, "Boo Bryzgalov." As the Flyers goalie skated off the ice, he handed the kid his hockey stick. . . . Mark Howe said he was "humbled" with the announcement that his No. 2 will be retired March 6 before the Flyers host Detroit. . . . The Flyers will unveil their Winter Classic jerseys at a Monday news conference.
