Five of the most forgettable Flyers in team history

When you have a hockey franchise that has existed for more than fifty years, it’s natural that there will be players who contributed at some point or another who time has forgotten, regardless of the level of contributions they made.

The Flyers are certainly no exception, and today, I thought I’d take a little trip down memory...or rather...forgotten lane, and reminisce about these Flyers’ players who you may not remember laced up for the franchise, either because they didn’t play very much, or rather, that they were so terrible we’ve collectively erased them from memory.

Johnny Oduya

Who could forget that one game he played for the Orange and Black in 2017-18. He played 12:22 against the Florida Panthers before getting injured, and as I said, never played again! He had some decent years with Chicago and Atlanta/Winnipeg, but as for his Flyers legacy, it’s one of complete and utter mediocrity that in five years, we’ll never remember.

Photo by Len Redkoles/NHLI via Getty Images

Branko Radivojevic

The Czech forward played two seasons in Philadelphia, 2003-04 and 2005-06. Playing in 88 games he scored 23 points playing as a bottom six forward on teams that were pretty stacked with talent. When looking at this era of Flyers history (one can argue they represent different eras pre and post lockout) one can think of Keith Primeau, Simon Gagne, Jeremy Roenick, Mark Recchi, and Peter Forsberg as standout talents whose legacies live on today. As for Radivojevic, he played two more NHL seasons with Minnesota after he left the Flyers and then never played in the NHL again.

Photo by Hunter Martin/NHLImages

Nikolai Zherdev

He had a pretty good year in Columbus as a 23 year old in 2007-08 (61 points in 82 games). However, after spending the following season in New York with the Rangers, he was out of the league in 2009-10, as he went to play in the KHL. However, you can’t keep the good man down, as just a year later, he returned to the NHL with the Flyers! 22 points in 56 games wasn’t the worst tally in the world, but I could not remotely remember he played on that team.

Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

Niko Dimitrakos

From 2005 to 2007, Dimitrakos appeared in 24 games for the Flyers, scoring 9 points. He arrived in a trade from San Jose, where he had played pretty well (24 points in 68 games in 2003-04). However, this didn’t really translate in Philadelphia. He never played in the NHL after his stint with the Flyers, and to think they traded a third round pick for Dimitrakos really makes you think about how little the Flyers valued their draft picks back then.

Photo by Len Redkoles/Getty Images

Tyrell Goulbourne

As Goulbourne played with the team recently, we all know who he is. However, I can guarantee you that in five to ten years from know the answer in a pub quiz to “who was the energy call up during the Hakstol years who scored zero points” will be...Tyrell who?

In 2017-18 and 2018-19, Goulbourne was called up to the Flyers to provide a metaphorical spark to the team when they became uninspired. In eleven games, he scored zero points, played an average of five minutes a game, and really didn’t do anything of note. His call up was the most nothing move that I can think of, and Goulbourne perhaps takes the cake as the most forgettable Flyer. Sorry Tyrell.

Photo by Len Redkoles/NHLI via Getty Images