As we settle in to the rest of the season, just about the only thing we have to look forward to is the play of The Kids, as it were: the college signings, the AHL call-ups, new guy Owen Tippett. And it would appear that Coach Mike Yeo’s focus has also turned to the young players.
Sources within the Flyers organization have informed Broad Street Hockey that the team plans to use its one remaining AHL call-up slot on Wade Allison, the 24-year-old winger who impressed during his short stint with the Flyers last season but has missed significant time due to injury. Since returning to the Phantoms’ active roster back on March 5, Allison has impressed, to say the least. His first game back on the ice was a three-point effort against the Laval Rocket, leading the Phantoms to a 4-3 victory after the team found itself in a 3-1 hole early in the game. He’s since gone on a 7-game point streak and potted 7 goals for the Phantoms, so it is easy to see why the Flyers want to use the remainder of the season to get a longer look at what he can do against NHL talent.
While we are all looking forward to seeing Allison on the roster, his addition to the squad may make things difficult for Owen Tippett, who has looked pretty good in his first six games with the Flyers.
We’re told that Mike Yeo has informed both Tippett and Wade Allison that one of them must dye his hair ahead of Allison’s arrival. Yeo has been heard telling members of the Flyers front office, “how the f**k am I supposed to tell these two apart? Look at them! They have the same g*dd*mn face! We’ve got to do something about this.” Assistant Coach John Torchetti reportedly suggested placing stickers on the back of their helmets to make things easier on Yeo in-game, but that wasn’t enough for the head coach.
Both Tippett and Allison initially refused, but after the two met with Special Assistant to the GM Danny Briere, they agreed to comply on one condition: they would play five rounds of Rock, Paper, Scissors to determine who had to dye his hair. Briere, who is clearly embracing his role as statesman within the organization, agreed to their terms and offered to oversee the competition.
It didn’t take long, though, for things to get messy. Our source tells us that before the competition could even begin, the two wingers nearly came to blows over whether they would throw ON “3” or right AFTER “3”. Briere was able to calm things down after reminding them that it is insane to throw after “3”, everyone knows you throw on “3”. In the end, it was Wade Allison who came out on top. Tippett was reportedly angry after the competition ended and was heard yelling “I can’t believe he threw paper 4 times in a row!” as he made his way to the locker room.
In the end, we’re told that Owen Tippett is happy with the outcome, against all odds. After a recent practice he was heard telling Travis Konecny, “I look f*cking insane. This is awesome. No one is going to come for me in the corners looking like this.” Our source also tells us that after a contentious beginning, Tippett and Allison have become fast friends, even agreeing to alternate the hair dying throughout next season.
We were able to obtain an exclusive photo of Tippett’s new look, thanks to our man inside:
Fans have found the choice controversial to this point. One fan, sporting a Robert Esche jersey with both ketchup and mustard stains, was overheard saying, “Are those Sharks colors? You gotta be kidding me! Ed Snider wouldn’t have allowed this.”
Flyers Chairman Dave Scott could not be reached for comment.
