PHILADELPHIA – There was a rangy left wing wearing No. 12 at the
first practice session on the first day of training camp Thursday
morning.It may not have been the No. 12 the fans were hoping for, but if the
Flyers scouts are correct, this No. 12 could bring a new love affair
between player and fan.Meet Michael Raffl, the sniper winger whom the Flyers signed last May.
Raffl, 24, made his first appearance in a Flyers jersey at that first
session and even though it was just one practice, the Flyers like what
they see in him.“Our guys really liked him in the Swedish League,” general manager Paul Holmgren
said, and then (Chief Pro Scout) Dave Brown and (Director of Scouting)
Chris Pryor followed him around at the World Championships and liked him
too.“He’s a bigger, thick kid with a nose for the puck and he can really
shoot. The fact that it’s a one-year deal and it’s an entry-level deal
(two way contract) means it’s a no-brainer for us.”And it should be no secret that the Flyers think he can help the big
club right away and that was made known when he practiced on a line with
Vinny Lecavalier and Wayne Simmonds on day one.“We have to see if he can adjust to playing in the smaller rink,”
Holmgren said. “He might get bounced around a little bit, but we’ll
see.”However, Pryor thinks Raffl has the game to adapt rather quickly.
“He’s got skill,” Pryor said. “He thinks the game. He’s a versatile guy and can do a lot of different things.
“He’s a good player, who we think can be NHL ready. There’s going to
be a learning curve, but he’s got enough in his game to be able to make
that adjustment rather quickly.”Raffl was sought after by several teams, but ultimately it came down to the Flyers and the Nashville Predators.
The Flyers won out, signing Raffl after seeing him play for Austria
in the World Championships. He had a standout game against Russia, a
team loaded with NHL-caliber talent, scoring a goal and adding an
assist.Raffl said he chose the Flyers because it was the best fit for him.
“I had the feeling that they wanted me the most,” Raffl said. “They
kept calling me and stuff. It’s a great organization. There’s a lot of
history here you dream to play here. I was kind of in shock to hear it.
It had me pumped all summer. I was so happy to hear that.”Raffl credited a relationship he forged with fellow Austrian Thomas
Vanek of the Buffalo Sabres uring the World Championships last spring
for helping him showcase his talent and be prepared for the NHL – if a
team came calling.“He’s one of the nest players in the world at what he does,” Raffl
said. “He helped me a lot. He told be that if I get the chance in the
NHL I better [take] it.”The Flyers hope Raffl can have a similar impact as Damien Brunner did for the Detroit Red Wings.
Brunner, 27, was a first-year NHL player after playing for a decade
in Switzerland. In his first season, Brunner finished with 12 goals and
14 assists for 26 points in 44 games.Raffl was playing for Leskands IF in Leskand, Sweden, which has been a
member of the HockeyAllsvenskan, the country’s second-highest
professional league.He led his team with 24 goals and 46 points this past season as the
team won the regular season title and as a result earned a promotion to
the Swedish Elite League for next season.There’s no doubt Raffl is a bit of a late bloomer, but he caught the
attention of NHL scouts this season in Sweden and capped it with a fine
world championship tournament.Raffl, 6-0, 192, has played seven full seasons in Austria and Sweden,
appearing in a total of 312 games. He has 101 goals and 100 assists for
201 career points, along with 305 PIM and a plus-63 rating.Some believe that the Flyers flirtation with Dan Cleary, which
officially ended Thursday when Cleary agreed to a one-year contract in
Detroit, may have opened a door for Raffl, however the Flyers likely
would have looked to play Raffl anyway if Cleary was on the team.“We probably had the same questions about Matt Read
prior to his first season,” Pryor said. “But, a good player is a good
player, if he happens to develop later, so be it. At the end of the day,
Raffl’s a young guy who we can add to our other young guys on the
roster and improve our team.”
Von der Flyers Homepage.
Es ist jetzt erst der erste Tag des Training Camp vorüber und man darf da jetzt auch nicht gleich zu euphorisch werden oder zu voreilige Schlüsse ziehen, aber es gibt da schon einige Indizien die stark dafür sprechen, dass die Flyers viel von Raffl halten und er eher früher als später die Chance in der NHL erhält. 1. wird nur in den höchsten Tönen von ihm gesprochen, 2. haben sie ihn mit Simmonds und Lecavalier gleich mal zu 2 absoluten Leistungsträgern in die Linie gesteckt und 3. ist ja bekanntlich noch immer ein Platz im line-up frei, nachdem Cleary jetzt doch nicht kommt und Gagne überhaupt nicht ins Camp eingeladen wurde (Raffl hat übrigens mit der 12 auch gleich dessen Nummer bekommen 
).
Aber ich bin wirklich schon richtig gespannt was die nächsten Tage und Wochen für Raffl und uns so bringen und freu mich darauf, ihn hoffentlich möglichst bald im Dress der Flyers spielen zu sehen! 
