ALLENTOWN – If the Flyers were going to make additions to their operations staff, a good place to start was with ex-Flyer Wayne Simmonds, a player who epitomized the team’s spirited heritage.
General manager Daniel Briere announced on Friday that Simmonds will begin serving as the team’s community relations ambassador and hockey operations consultant.
Simmonds joins the Flyers’ staff for the first time since his playing career, having skated in eight of his 15 NHL seasons with Philadelphia (2011-19).
During his time with the Flyers, the Scarborough, Ontario native tallied 203 goals/378 points, including 91 power-play goals, 34 game-winning goals, and 786 penalty minutes in 584 games. Simmonds had two standout seasons with 60 points each in 2013-14 and 2015-16 and led the team with a career-high 32 goals in the latter. He also recorded 15 points in 30 playoff games with the Flyers.
Acquired in the summer of 2011 in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings, Simmonds quickly became a fan favorite, earning various team awards, including the Bobby Clarke Trophy as team MVP for the 2016-17 season. He was an NHL All-Star in 2017 and won NHL All-Star Game MVP honors and was a two-time finalist for the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award (2017-18 and 2018-19), and won it in 2018-19.
Prior to Friday night’s Flyers-Rangers rookie game, Phantoms head coach Ian Laperriere said having someone such as Simmonds back in the organization can only be a positive.
“I think it’s great, I think it’s cool,” Laperriere said. “He means so much to the organization. On and off the ice, everyone knows how much he did off the ice, in the community, giving back, helping those kids on the street.
“It’s just great news to have him on board because when he left and went to other places. . .they brought him back because they know how much he means to the organization.”
Off the ice, Simmonds was deeply involved in community work, founding “Wayne’s Warriors” for military members and hosting “Wayne’s Road Hockey Warriors” to give underprivileged children access to the game. Over his 15-year career with teams like Philadelphia, Nashville, and Toronto, Simmonds played 1,037 regular-season games, notching 526 points and 22 playoff points across 53 postseason contests.
Other moves:
>Reid Simpson, a former Flyer player, named director of pro scouting/Europe.
>Kedryn Orrison-Pilgrim hired as head athletic trainer for the Phantoms. She previously worked for the the Buffalo Sabres organization. Kedryn is the third woman in league history to work a regular-season NHL game behind the bench in any capacity, when she worked Sabres-Avalanche game in Colorado on Jan. 30, 2022.
>Lindsay Eastwood promoted to manager of player and hockey communications.
>Ryan Cyr hired as goaltending scout and development consultant.
>Oleg Znarok to oversee European player development and serve as scouting consultant.
>Ellyse Robert named to hockey analyst position.
