Jody Shelley: 7 Reasons the Philadelphia Flyers Need Him

If you want to make yourself unpopular with Flyers fans, you can do one of two things. Firstly, you can praise their goaltending. Secondly, and more directly, you can say these five words: Jody Shelley should play more.

Jody Shelley, due to his oversized contract and overall lack of skill, has been the bane of Flyers fans for the last 18 months. And while I must say that I will never profess to being his fan, to call him altogether useless would be incorrect.

So yes, I will say it: Jody Shelley should play more.

And here are seven reason why.

Protection

This is, and will always remain, the most obvious reason to have Jody Shelley on the ice. There are few who can play the role of enforcer better than Shelley.

Not only does his 6’3”, 230-lbs frame cut an imposing figure on the ice, but he is fiercely loyal to his teammates, more so than former enforcers Todd Fedoruk and Donald Brashear. With the threat of a vengeful Jody Shelley on the bench, opponents will be less likely to take runs at the Flyers' depleted player corps.

Seasoning

As well as some of the Flyers’ youngsters have played this year, there is always room for improvement. Particularly, Brayden Schenn and Harry Zolnierczyk could probably benefit from a bit more time in the minors. Getting Jody Shelley on the ice would allow the Flyers to send these guys up the road to Adirondack.

Schenn has arguably not had a fair shot at success at the NHL level so far, due mainly to injuries. However, an extended stint at the AHL level may teach him to play his game with a smaller risk of injury.

Zolnierczyk has not played poorly in any particular way. However, he has, in limited stints, proved to be a fairly effective penalty killer. Unfortunately for him, the Flyers have better options in Giroux, Talbot, Couturier (who seems primed to return in a week or two) and Read. More time with the Phantoms would mean more time for Harry Z to further hone this skill set, turning him into a potential A1 penalty killer.

Physicality

In the last nine games, the Flyers have out-hit their opponents just once. In that time span, the team has compiled a decent 5-3-1 record. While the record isn’t indicative of their troubles, that the Flyers lost to the two best opponents they faced in that time (NY Rangers and Boston Bruins) by a combined score of 10-2 sure seems to be.

There's no question, the Flyers were physically pushed around by the Bruins in the playoffs last year, and this year, they have yet to show that they can really push back.

Jody Shelley brings noticeable physical presence to the team. And naturally, the team will play a more physical game with him in the lineup.

Morale

Whenever the value of Jody Shelley is questioned, one thing that is always brought up is that Shelley is a great locker room presence. With the team coming off a disheartening blowout loss to a bad Tampa Bay Lightning squad, the dressing room could certainly use a little bit of a boost.

Inserting Jody Shelley should liven up the room a bit, and give the whole team a lift heading into their big match with the Penguins.

Leadership

This is talked about a little less than the locker room presence, but they are part and parcel of each other. Shelley, at 34, has been around the NHL awhile. He has seen ups and downs that a roster full of younger players has not.

Lower-line guys like Zac Rinaldo, Zolnierczyk and Marc-Andre Bourdon could use a little coaching in how to deal with the NHL grind while playing a much smaller role than they are used to having. Keeping a guy like Shelley around would certainly be a boon to their development.

Less Fighting for Others

Without Shelley, the Flyers' designated fighter is Zac Rinaldo. Rinaldo is under 6’ tall, he cannot take on the heavyweights of this league, and that includes the larger power forwards (like Milan Lucic) who fight in addition to their scoring role.

Because of that, someone like Scott Hartnell or Wayne Simmonds ends up fighting them. Having Shelley in the lineup makes it so that those guys don’t have to fight.

A Change

Look, the team is in a bit of a rut right now. The Flyers have won only one of their last five games, and were embarrassed by the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday.

Shelley was not in the lineup for the beating and had he been, it’s probable that it would have been Shelley and not Simmonds who took to fighting and change the momentum. Inserting Shelley should give the team a fresh look and inject some energy into the lineup.