Since leaving Philadelphia three years ago, the Adirondack Phantoms have seen their once-awesome rivalry with the Hershey Bears fall by the wayside. It took a step back in time this past weekend, however, with an incredible Phantoms win in at Citizens Bank Park in Philly on Friday night and, well, this incident on Saturday night in Hershey.

You'll want to fast-forward to the 2:18 mark of this video.

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As if the several stories on the Adirondack Phantoms or the Matt Walker jokes this week weren't a dead giveaway, we made a trip up to Glens Falls, N.Y. over this past weekend to catch a few games.

After Saturday night's game against the Toronto Marlies, a 2-1 Phantoms win in the shootout, myself, Geoff and esteemed BSH reader Don prepared for a night out in Saratoga with beers and a radio show. Much to our surprise, we actually did talk hockey for just about all of the show, despite Geoff's many attempts to sabotage the endeavor with ridiculous impersonation attempts.

We talked about several players who impressed us over the weekend (Jason Akeson and Garrett Roe lead the list), the play of tall Tommy Sestito, Matt Walker's surprising foot speed, the crowd in Glens Falls and what hockey means to the small town of 14,000, the confusion of a five-round AHL shootout as opposed to a three-round NHL shootout and much more.

Get the show after the jump.

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When looking at Zac Rinaldo and Tom Sestito, you don't really think the same thing. One is massive, the other is relatively tiny. But the reality is that, despite the difference in size, both players really serve the same function in the Philadelphia Flyers organization. 

They're both asked to drop the gloves on occasion, play a physical game and bring with them a small bit of hockey ability. Neither is exactly an enforcer nor a pest nor an "energy guy" in the traditional sense of the terms -- instead a strange mix of the three -- and these similarities are why the two were so closely linked during training camp this past year.

Our main issue with Rinaldo during camp was his reputation. He had more suspensions than goals in the American Hockey League a year ago, and he seemed unable to control himself on the ice, like an even crazier mold of another former member of the Flyers. That's something that's hard to shake.

Meanwhile, Sestito didn't hold that same reputation. He seemed to have the ability to control himself on the ice (as much as a guy who plays such a physical game can, of course), while he could still easily replace Jody Shelley as a big guy who can contribute on the fourth line and provide some physicality and some energy. 

In short, both players seemed to be able to supply the same thing, but Rinaldo came with the extra risk of hurting his team with silly penalties. Sestito, to that point, had been able to control that, and when you combine that with Rinaldo's ability to be sent down without clearing waivers, it seemed like Sestito had the upper hand on Rinaldo when it came to making the team in camp. 

It all changed direction on September 27, when Sestito was suspended two regular season games for a ridiculously dumb hit on Andre Deveaux of the New York Rangers. It was a hit that sealed his fate, and it was a hit that basically locked down a spot for Rinaldo on the Flyers' roster out of camp.

Since then, the two players have played drastically different hockey. Rinaldo has been impressive with the Flyers, especially in the controlling-his-emotions department, while Sestito, who we had a chance to watch play two games this weekend with the Adirondack Phantoms, has continued down the path he set for himself in the preseason.

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We traveled to Glens Falls, N.Y. over the weekend to take in two Adirondack Phantoms games. We'll be chiming in this week with several stories surrounding the Flyers' AHL affiliate. 

GLENS FALLS, N.Y. -- Nobody really knows exactly what former Philadelphia Flyers prospect Patrick Maroon did last season to earn a sudden dismissal from the organization, but we at least know he did something. 

Over this past weekend, he said so himself.

"Last year was a tough go for me," Maroon said after taking on his old club, the Adirondack Phantoms, at the Glens Falls Civic Center on Friday night. "Sitting out like that, being sent home. It's a reality check. You look in the mirror and realize what you did and try to fix it."

The obvious next question, then, is... so, uh, what'd ya do? But that's one of those if-I-ask-this-I'm-going-to-get-punched-in-the-face questions, so you just kind of move on and forget about it. Besides, that's exactly what Maroon has done too. 

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Nick Cousins is probably going to be a pretty decent piece in the Philadelphia Flyers organization at some point, but for now, the 2011 third round pick is still perfecting his craft at the Major Junior level. His most recent outing came on Friday night against the London Knights, when this happened, via the (perhaps slightly partisan) London Free Press:

As time expired on the 'Hounds' 4-3 victory over the Canadian Hockey League's top-ranked team before 9,046 Friday night at the John Labatt Centre, Sault Ste. Marie's pesky forward Nick Cousins taunted the Knights, earning a retaliatory slash from Ryan Rupert.

That triggered a series of end-of-game fights, serious bad blood and sets the stage for the Knights' final two regular season games against the 'Hounds - both in January in Sault Ste. Marie.

Cousins received a misconduct for inciting and Rupert received a major penalty for his slash.

There are suspensions in store for the multiple scraps. Both teams stayed on the ice surface an additional five minutes after the final buzzer as a full-scale brawl threatened to break out.

"I'm not naming names but if they go to their goalie to celebrate, then nothing happens," London GM Mark Hunter said.

The Greyhounds didn't and something happened.

Something certainly happened alright, and reading this, you'd think it was just your run-of-the-mill slash across the shin or something. No, not exactly. Video below.

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In 2007, the New Jersey Devils bought the Trenton Titans. In a continued effort to stretch their brand south towards Philadelphia Flyers territory in the state, they renamed the team the Trenton Devils and began what would be a four year experiment in the city. 

The results were less than pretty. As has been the case in a million other places where the Devils have set up their minor league shop, they proved that they didn't really care about the team winning on the ice, nor did they necessarily care about the fans. (See: Devils, Lowell.)

The Titans had been one of the most successful franchises in the ECHL, both in terms of on-ice success and fan support, prior to the Devils taking over operations in '07.

Affiliated with the Philadelphia Flyers and Phantoms (and the New York Islanders briefly as part of a dual affiliation) from 1999 to the sale in '07, the Titans finished first in their division twice, lost in the Kelly Cup Finals once and won the Kelly Cup one time in their first eight seasons. They only missed the playoffs once during that period. 

When the Devils stepped in, everything fell apart. Fans of the team, primarily located in Flyers country (albeit on the Northern reaches of it), were alienated by the Devils name and the tossing out of the old Titans brand they had learned to love. More importantly, the product on the ice quickly fell from first-class to something much less, and the team missed the playoffs in three of the four years under Devils control.

As was the case in Lowell (and as could be the ultimate case in Albany, N.Y. with the Devils current AHL affiliate), attendance dwindled and fan support evaporated. The team officially ceased operations following the 2010-11 season, in which they finished dead last in the 19-team league. The Devils said in making the announcement that they lost money in every season they owned the team. In other words, they ran a proud franchise into the ground. 

ECHL hockey will stay alive in Trenton thanks to a new local ownership group called Blue Line Sports, run by a couple from Lawrenceville, and they'll of course be called the Titans. Once again, they'll be affiliated with the Flyers organization. Last year, the Flyers sent ECHL players to Greenville, S.C. as part of a dual affiliation with the New York Rangers. Less than ideal, to say the least. 

The Titans roster will be filled out by Flyers ECHL-level prospects, as well as players on contract with the Titans, and hockey operations will be out of the hands of the Devils organization. Just like the good old days of Titans hockey. Fans in Trenton are surely just happy to have hockey to watch this fall, but who knows? Maybe it'll be winning hockey as well. 

VOORHEES -- There's one feeling that permeates the air inside the Skate Zone, as you stand along the glass or sit on the cold metal bleachers watching players that you've mostly never heard of or seen slap pucks around in black and white jerseys. 

This is boring. 

Yep, today was honestly my first prospect camp experience, and I have to say that after four hours of standing against a wall watching a bunch of kids run through drills, I haven't exactly come away with any more knowledge or anything poignant to say. And how could I, really?

Anybody who sits there and says that they were impressed with this guy or didn't think much of that guy is lying to you. Well, maybe not lying, but certainly not giving you the entire story. These are judgments made off of line rushes and stickhandling drills. Oh, and maybe five one-on-one or two-on-one attempts at the net per player.

If someone is saying they were impressed with Brayden Schenn, it's because he roofed a beautiful shot on Brad Phillips (Brad f'n Phillips), and then followed it up with a pretty backhander. Whoop de doo, two plays. If someone says they were impressed with Zac Rinaldo, it's because he was able to control the puck through a little wood thing on the ice, and then he got off a nice shot afterwards with no defense on his back.

Did he show he had some hands today? Sure, but it was in a freakin' drill. With the defensemen in the locker room.

I'm not saying prospect camp is meaningless. Far from it, in fact. The scouts know these players better than we all do and can take what they see on the ice and the hard work the players are being put through and actually use that knowledge to their advantage. They wouldn't do it if it were meaningless. Really, this camp is just to acclimate these players in the organization, have them meet people they otherwise wouldn't meet and to give them a taste of what it takes to play at the NHL level. 

For us, though, who have never watched most of these guys play the game, it's almost impossible to come away with anything that resembles an honest opinion. All I'm saying is that as much as we want to make snap judgments on all these players based on their performance in camp, we can't. None of it really matters. 

If Schenn has a horrible camp, does that mean he's horrible? No, it means he looked bad in drills for five days. Same goes for any player, good or bad or mediocre or whatever.

Besides, not one player necessarily stands out anyway. Schenn, maybe, but that's because we're all watching him closely. In reality, he doesn't look much different from Rinaldo or Tom Sestito or Mike Testwuide or Luke Pither or anybody else. These guys can all shoot, pass, stickhandle and skate. Some do it better than others, of course, but those are meaningful differences you notice in games, not drills. 

It's impossible to come away with an honest judgment of a hockey player after watching them play a single game or two games or even five games. How are we supposed to come up with honest judgments about them after five days of drills and scrimmages? 

Some more notes after the jump.

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Prospect camp, development camp, rookie camp, whatever you want to call it camp starts on Wednesday morning at the Skate Zone in Voorhees. It runs from Wednesday until next Monday, and all sessions are open to the public.

On Friday, the festivities move down to Stone Harbor for the annual Trial on the Isle, where you can see your favorite rookies get their asses kicked by the Jersey Shore sun. Always entertaining. 

Anyway, 41 players are expected to take part in camp this year, from the hyped up Brayden Schenn and Sean Couturier to the guys we already know like Zac Rinaldo, Mike Testwuide, Tom Sestito, Ben Holmstrom and others to a ton of unknowns who are ready to show us and management what they have in the tank. 

After the jump, a full schedule of what to expect at camp this week, as well as a full look at the roster expected to show up at camp this year.

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