The last day of Flyers' rookie camp.  It was a long week for these guys, but they survived.  And to celebrate the end of it, because they have such tired legs and are worn out, what are we gonna do?

We're going play a full game of full contact scrimmage.

Of course. There is no rest for the weary, or for players trying to make it to the NHL.

Today's scrimmage gave me a great look into the skills of many of the players that will eventually be in the AHL and NHL.  First of all, I want to give you the line combinations that were used for the majority of the game.

Black Team:

Van Riemsdyk/Matsumoto/Bellamy

Lukacevic/Powe/Nodl

Ratchuk/Zarb

Ramholt/Chad Anderson

Goalies: Duchesne/Teslak

Orange Team:

Maroon/Raduns/Giroux

Cabana/Kalinski/Laliberte

Sbisa/Parent

Bartulis/RJ Anderson

Goalies: DeSerres/Ericksson

This game was very entertaining, with some great passes and phenomenal defense. After three full periods, the final score was 6-5, with Black taking the win.  Altogether the black team was indeed the better team on the ice.

Matsumoto was the star of the game in my opinion, scoring two goals, both with great, powerful, and accurate wrist shots.  He made crisp passes, and he and van Riemsdyk worked very well together throughout the game.  Can anyone say, Phantoms' line combination?

Ned Lekacevic, who the Flyers' picked up in a trade with the Kings this summer, also looked great, scoring two goals, and using great stick work to weave in and out of traffic.  Look for him to be on the Phantoms' roster this coming year.

Chad Anderson was great in the defensive zone, using his body to shut down key players, and using the poke check to give his team an opportunity to make big plays.  His slap shot is also outstanding, as he scored a goal with a hard top shelf shot late in the game.

RJ Anderson looked okay, and had a great goal on a penalty shot.

Michael-Lee Teslak did not look as good in goal as he did last Sunday when I saw him.  Jeremy Duchesne, who was the other goalie for Black, did not do too well either.

Ericksson and DeSerres, the two goalies picked up in the 2008 draft, did not look great for Orange, either. In fact, I'm very disappointed, as it does not seem like the Flyers drafted goalies too well.  Maybe they can improve a bit with time...

Van Riemsdyk looked great, and seems to be a leader out there on the ice.  He could very well be a future captain of the Flyers once he makes the team in a couple of years.

Giroux was one of the best players out there, and although he did not score at all, he did indeed make some pretty plays and passes to other teammates.

Luca Sbisa.  That's all I have to say.  This guy was brilliant.  The fastest guy out there, a quiet guy who leads by example, and a man who made so many long, beautiful, hard, accurate passes, and a guy who was weaving through players as if it was natural.  He was clearly the best guy out there.  I am posting a Youtube video of Sbisa here.

This was a great rookie camp, and I think, from looking up at the coaches on the balcony, they were also quite impressed with some of the kids that they have drafted. It was a fun day, no doubt, and I am excited to see these guys on the big team in the future.