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Richard Skinner chuffed to represent Flyers fans from UK

The Philadelphia Flyers have fans all over the world and Richard Skinner is just one of many from the United Kingdom. He tells his story.

Richard Skinner is a huge Philadelphia sports fan. He loves the Sixers, the Phillies, and the Eagles. And now he’s developing an affinity for the Flyers. It wouldn’t be a huge stretch for a resident in the City of Brotherly Love to follow those teams. But Skinner is located in Lancaster, a city that is roughly 50 miles to the northwest of Manchester, England. And he’s taking it upon himself (with some help from a few other neighboring fans) to spread the word of the Flyers on the other side of the Atlantic.

“I became a Flyers fan actually just last year,” Skinner says. “I’ve been a big Eagles fan for a while, and became a fan of the Phillies too. I was on a trip over with the British and Irish Eagles fan group to watch the Eagles versus the Jaguars (on Nov. 3) at the Linc (Lincoln Financial Field). We got to go to two Flyers games while we were out in Philly, really enjoyed it, and have been invested ever since!”

Skinner’s view from one of the Flyers games he took in last season.

Skinner, who runs a Bluesky account for British Flyers fans, says his first NHL game was on Halloween night, when the Flyers defeated St. Louis 2-1. “That’s what really got me into it,” he says. “Seeing Michkov playing live was great.”

He was also happy to get some Flyers merch during the game, including a Jamie Drysdale jersey. “I wanted to get a black Michkov jersey when I was at WFC,” he says. “They didn’t have any in the store, I couldn’t decide who to go for and I assumed number 9 must be a good choice (9 is usually a number for good players in soccer teams).

“I asked if it was a good jersey to pick and then found out he was a player which some people are unsure about. But I’ve grown to really like him as a player. There was actually a video of the group of us from the UK chanting for Jamie on the SEPTA back into Philly from WFC that night. That ended up getting a ton of views on Twitter.”

Skinner and his group didn’t have much time to prepare to see his first NHL game. He says he was “literally straight off the flight” when they made their way to Wells Fargo Center. And although he’s new to the game, he was of two minds watching the past 82 games. “I enjoyed watching the 2024-25 season, it was tough at the end almost wanting the team to lose for draft purposes, but seeing them go on some good streaks,” he says. “Obviously the power play and goaltending were poor but I think there’s things to build on.”

Richard Skinner (right) with a friend (who has a makeshift Jamie Drysdale jersey).

In terms of trying to catch games, there’s a five-hour time difference between Philadelphia and Lancaster, meaning a 7:00 p.m. local start time makes it so the puck drops after midnight. The matinee games in Philadelphia are a little easier for him obviously. “The Flyers game times certainly make it more difficult to follow than the Eagles or Phillies,” he says. “We get about one game a month that’s at 6:00 p.m., otherwise they’re after midnight. I try to watch replays of full games when I can if I’ve successfully avoided seeing the score.”

The closest Flyers team to Skinner is the Fife Flyers, a Scottish-based professional team (3.5 hours north of Lancaster) that is also the longest-running club in the Elite Ice Hockey League. Those Flyers have over 60 different Cups and titles over their history since their inception in 1938. As for NHLers born in the United Kingdom, there’s been a few, including Owen Nolan, Nathan Walker, Steve Thomas, and Steve Smith. A Welsh goalie, Wilf Cude, played for the Philadelphia Quakers for over a decade from 1930 to 1941.

But like most Flyers fan, Skinner is looking ahead. He says he’s a big fan of Matvei Michkov, but also has plenty of time for Drysdale, Garnet Hathaway and Travis Konecny. He’s also looking forward to the upcoming NHL Draft and who the Flyers might land with the sixth pick overall. “I’m hoping we might try to swap with Utah and get Hagens, although there’s a chance he falls to sixth anyway,” he says. “I’d be happy with any of the guys that should be available, just a shame we missed out on Misa. O’Brien would be a reach at six.”

Skinner says he’s yet to meet a current or former Flyer in his travels but is hoping to return to Philadelphia this coming season and take in another home game at Xbox Infinity Arena. He and some friends are still working out the logistics and will make more concrete plans once the schedule has been released. Ideally, Skinner is hoping the Flyers wing of Philly Sports International (a British fan base focused on Philadelphia sports teams) grows in the coming years.

“I’d say ice hockey is probably the least popular of the ‘American’ sports over here, but we’re hoping to grow a better following,” he says. “There’s a good amount of Eagles, Sixers, and Phillies fans in our groups, so we’re hoping they catch the hockey bug too. We’re just trying to get the Flyers started!”

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