SEPT. 28

FLYERS ASSIGN SEVEN PLAYERS TO LEHIGH VALLEY
11:45 a.m.

Flyers general manager Ron Hextall announced today that the following players were released from Flyers training camp and will report to the club's AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, training camp on Friday, Sept. 30:

Game Summary: Wayne Simmonds scored twice, Dale Weise and Andy Miele scored and Travis Sanheim had two assists as the Flyers picked up their first win of the preseason.Weise and Simmonds combined to pot two goals within 1:16 of one another, with Weise tallying unassisted at 17:39 of the first period and Simmonds scoring at the 18:55 mark.

Miele went to the net in traffic to score 11:22 into the second, and Simmonds finished things off just 15 seconds into the third. Steve Mason went the distance, stopping 23 shots for the shutout.

* Steve Mason made his first start of the preseason and stopped all 23 shots he faced.

NY ISLANDERS vs. PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
7 p.m. | TCN & 97.5 The Fanatic

* Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol announced that Steve Mason will get the start in net tonight with Anthony Stolarz backing up.

* The Flyers roster has 11 players with three years or more NHL experience and seven players who have played fewer than 20 games of NHL experience.

* Two NHL veterans will make their debuts as a member of the team tonight: Dale Weise and Boyd Gordon.

SEPT. 27

FLYERS ANNOUNCE ROSTER MOVES
1:06 p.m.

Following the team's morning skate and extra group of players skating in Voorhees, Flyers general manager Ron Hextall announced that the following players have been returned to their junior teams:

* 10 players appeared in their first ever NHL preseason game (Connor Bunnaman, Anthony Salinitri, Alex Lyon, Roman Lyubimov, Philippe Myers, Reece Willcox, Pascal Laberge, Carsen Twarynski, Steven Swavely, Mark Zengerle)

FLYERS 0, NJ DEVILS 2
* Alex Lyon got the start in net and played the entire game, making 29 saves, all 13 he faced in the first period, including a great stop on D Andy Greene on a breakaway less than three minutes into the game.

Goaltender Alex Lyon: "They spent some time in our zone and had some of their big guns out there. To be honest they had a few shots but we did a good job with keeping them to the outside. They didn't really have any super grade A opportunities."

After 12 years, this week will see another World Cup of Hockey championship take place as Team Canada will face off against Team Europe beginning on Tuesday, Sept. 29 with Game 2 on Thursday, Sept. 29 and, if necessary, a decisive Game 3 on Saturday, Oct. 1.

Europe posted a thrilling overtime victory on Sunday, 3-2, over Sweden to continue their run throughout the tournament. Flyers defenseman Mark Streit was a +1 in the game while logging 15:42 of ice time and leading the team with three blocked shots.

Jordan Weal arrived in Philadelphia last January from the Los Angeles Kings with nowhere near the fuss created by the departure of the players he was traded for, Luke Schenn and Vincent Lecavalier.

There had been extensive speculation regarding what the Flyers would do about a bit of a logjam on defense and the overall situation of Lecavalier. Flyers fans only saw Weal in four games over the second half of the season, so he remained relatively unknown heading into the offseason.
 
But Weal certainly isn't an unknown to Flyers GM Ron Hextall. Hextall was part of the Los Angeles front office that drafted Weal in 2010, and Weal played for two of the Manchester Monarchs AHL teams that Hextall oversaw as an assistant GM for the Kings. After Hextall's return to Philadelphia, Weal played two more seasons for the Monarchs, leading them to the 2015 Calder Cup championship while earning playoff MVP honors with 10 goals and 12 assists in 20 games.

T.J. Brennan's name is already on a banner in the rafters of a rink with a Flyers logo underneath it. However, that's not in Philadelphia - it's in Aston, at IceWorks, where Brennan once played for the Philadelphia Little Flyers. The organization has a handful of the banners honoring alumni who went on to play in college and beyond.
 
That was 11 years ago. It's funny how life works sometimes, because on Friday, Brennan had the logo on again - only this time it was for real.

Comcast Corporation announced on Sept. 22 it has reached an agreement to purchase Ed Snider's 24 percent stake in Comcast Spectacor. Upon closing, which is expected to occur next month, Comcast will own 100 percent of the company, including the Wells Fargo Center, Spectra businesses, and the National Hockey League's Philadelphia Flyers. As it pertains to the Flyers transaction, the NHL's board of governors approved the deal unanimously on Sept. 23. Mr. Snider, who was the founder of the Philadelphia Flyers and Chairman of Comcast Spectacor, passed away after a long battle with cancer in April 2016.

"Ed was a visionary in the sports and entertainment industry and is deeply missed," said Brian L. Roberts, Chairman and CEO of Comcast Corporation. "He planned for this transition and, thanks to his thoughtful approach on succession, Comcast Spectacor is in a strong position. I'm very excited we are able to carry his spirit with us by bringing the company, its leadership, and its thousands of employees fully into the Comcast family."

Main training camp is open and in three short days the Flyers slate of preseason games will get underway. Before that, a lot can certainly happen in three days and with over 60 players taking part in camp there certainly are many storylines to follow.

PhiladelphiaFlyers.com takes a look at five key areas of training camp you'll want to keep an eye on if you're making your way out to the Skate Zone in Voorhees. The first being perhaps the most obvious: