Last September, Adrian Frankland took in one NHL hockey game between the Los Angeles Kings and the Arizona Coyotes. It might not sound like a huge deal. After all, millions of people take in an NHL game each season. But Adrian would have to fly about 8,000 miles from Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena (where he saw the tilt) to visit the nearest NHL rink in Los Angeles this coming season to attend an NHL game. And to see his beloved Philadelphia Flyers play at home it would be roughly 10,300 miles in the air.
Adrian is Australian, residing in the state of Victoria which is in the most southeast portion of the country and home to Melbourne. He says he became a Flyers fan in the late ’90s thanks to playing video games and watching movies like The Mighty Ducks and Mystery, Alaska.
“It was around 98-99,” Adrian says. “A friend of mine who started playing roller hockey got NHL on PlayStation and it spawned from there. He was a Penguins fan, so when I started playing NHL on the PlayStation when I went over, I wanted a team to follow. I asked, ‘Who is the Penguins’ biggest rival?’ That’s how I became a Flyers fan.”
Adrian says he latched on initially to Flyers star Eric Lindros as his favorite. However, as he got older — and had more access to watching Flyers games — his favorite players became Jeff Carter and Mike Richards which “really grew my love for the team.” If he had to pick a favorite between the two who were traded from the Flyers hours apart, Adrian says he’d go with Carter as his favorite Flyer of all time. “I think it’s the time period where I fell in love with the team.”
In terms of Flyers fans in Australia, Adrian knows for sure he helped double the fan base down under as a friend of his became a Flyers fan thanks to him. He also says the NHL fan base is more of a small but avid community across the continent.
“My brother follows Tampa, that’s just the team he chose at the same time I did,” he says. “My partner watches games with me now and she goes for the Avs based purely off the colors of their jerseys (laughs). But I have a work colleague who goes for the Predators and another couple of childhood mates who go for Boston and Calgary; they’re always good to hang with. And I have another group of friends that watch the game. Their teams are Vegas and Seattle.”
Although Nathan Walker seems to have been the only NHL player to emerge from Australia, Adrian and his friends sometimes go to Melbourne to see the Melbourne Mustangs of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL), a semi-professional league and “the highest level of ice hockey over here in Australia.” The Mustangs, much like the Flyers, wear orange and black.
Although most of the home games in Philadelphia would start somewhere between 9 a.m to 10 a.m. local time in Melbourne the next morning, Adrian says he’s able to keep up to date much better than when he was a kid where he’d “watch whatever games were being broadcasted on Foxtel.” And while there’s no local sportsbar he knows of that airs NHL games, he says technology has made access a lot more easier nowadays thanks to FetchTV, an IPTV (internet protocol television) provider.
“I use my FetchTV account to sign-in to the ESPN app on my phone and cast it to the television from there,” Adrian says. “Basically I can watch any game I want live on there, and that usually suits me just fine as most games are on during the day over here and I work night shift. I always try to watch the Flyers games. But I’ll watch any game, I just love hockey. With social media these days, I rarely miss any news on the team or anything in the NHL at all. Between social media and podcasts (Note: This writer spotted him chatting during a PHLY Flyers podcast during the summer.) it’s extremely well covered.”
As mentioned Adrian attended one of the two games in September, 2023 between the Kings and Coyotes along with his girlfriend and nephew. He loved the game and was excited to see Logan Cooley score “the goal of the year.”
As few current or former Flyers make their way to Australia often Adrian has never met any Flyers players. But he has some merchandise he’s had for some time, including a Flyers KOHO jersey he purchased at Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Market when he was 16.
Besides the jersey, he also has a Flyers baseball cap, a commemorative Flyers 50th anniversary puck and a puck celebrating the 100th anniversary of the NHL.
The Australian fan is eager to see what happens this 2024-25 season for the Flyers. He was surprised by last season in some respects but disappointed in others, especially one special teams aspect. “Our power play is trash,” he says. “And I’d say if this coming season it repeats, then Rocky Thompson won’t have anything else to do with it anymore. But all in all, we did better than expected. York is making leaps forward. Foerster’s two-way game is looking really good and should only improve.With Michkov here and the hard work through the off-season, we’re bound for a step up on last year.”
Adrian’s fond of Tyson Foerster and has high hopes for recent first round pick Jett Luchanko (“the kid lives up to his name”). But his favorite current Flyers is Travis Konency. He’s ecstatic Flyers general manager Danny Briere locked him up and feels he’ll finish his career as a Flyer. “Hands down it’s TK,” he says. “Awesome player, can do anything, and those chirps are always on point. The attitude he brings is next level. I’m also a big Tyson Foerster fan. That kid is a weapon.”
Finally, with the almost unending circus-like atmosphere with coach John Tortorella and his antics, is there an apt Australian phrase or adage that might best describe Torts? “He’s mad as a cut snake but he’s a ripper bloke.”
