Fantasy Camp Brings Alumni and Fans Together

Team KLYR (4-0-0) won the championship trophy at this year's Fantasy Camp Cup tournament, overcoming a 3-0 deficit in the second period to defeat Team Neumann University (2-2-0) in the championship game. Last year's championship game finalist Team Toyota (1-2-1) and defending champion Team River Rock Academy (0-3-1) played in Monday's consolation game.

This year's coaches: Ian Laperriere and John LeClair were behind the bench for Team KLYR. The trio of Keith Jones, Bob "the Hound" Kelly and first-time participant Glenn "Chico" Resch handled coaching duties for Team Neumann. Team Toyota was coached by Mark Recchi, Brad Marsh and Joe Watson. Team River Rock had Mark Howe and Dave Poulin at the coaching helm.

While everyone plays to win -- it doesn't take long for the competitive instincts to kick in -- the Fantasy Camp is not really about wins and losses. At its root, its about the bonds between the camp participants (players and coaches alike). The off-ice activities are just as much a highlight of the weekend as the team practices and the eight games played on the ice.

Camp families by blood and by choice

Each and every year, the Flyers Fantasy Camp sells out all of the available registration spots. The demand for places exceeds the number of slots. However, a major aspect of the camp's allure is its relatively small and close-knit nature with a host of regulars who participate annually. Meanwhile, there's enough space annually for some first-timers to attend; many of whom become returnees in subsequent years.

As Brad Marsh, the Flyers' vice president of community development and the president of the Flyers Alumni Association, puts it, there's very much a "camp family" that's emerged: both in the sense of direct relatives participating in camp and lasting bonds between former strangers that first met at camp.

"When you look at how the camps have developed, there's a lot of families that get involved -- fathers and sons, brothers, cousins -- like the Jaffes, the Stahls, the Flanagans and so forth. Last year, we had the Patel brothers, Amit and Amish, both playing. (Team River Rock Academy leader) Steve Capoferri and (teammate) John Romano are cousins. This year, we've added the Maenners and the Yuters among the father-son duos we've had. It's very special," Marsh said.

A member of the Flyers Warriors Hockey program whose brother plays in the Flyers Special Hockey program, Andrew Maenner suited up at camp this year with Team Toyota. As a 50th birthday present to his dad, Jim, Andrew helped arrange for his dad to take part in his first Fantasy Camp.

"This has been an amazing experience, taking it all in," Jim Maenner said. "Next year, I'll register myself."

In recent years, it's also become a tradition for members of Andrew Maenner's "other family" -- the Flyers Warriors -- to participate in Fantasy Camp. Along with Maenner, participating Flyers Warriors in 2023 included Dave Nawrocki (Team River Rock), Matt Berbeza (Team River Rock), Thomas LaCorte (Team Toyota), and Brian Burke (Team Toyota). Flyers Warriors president and goaltender Bill Duffy was one of the 2023 Fantasy Camp directors, and Flyers Warriors Rob Pomroy was one of the equipment managers at Camp.

Jordan Yuter of Plymouth Meeting, PA, is a perennial camp participant who has become close friends with Joe Watson. Better known as "Yutes" around camp, Yuter recruited his now 22-year-old son, Ben, to participate in camp this year. Ben is a goalie, while Jordan is a forward. Both played for Team Neumann.

"It's a different kind of camp experience," the elder Yuter said. "Ben has stuck with playing goal -- he was playing simultaneously for two teams at one point -- and it's really cool that we're getting to do this together."

Players from near and far

While many of the players at Fantasy Camp reside in the Delaware Valley, there are also players who travel significant distances to attend. This year, three Team KLYR players -- Tommy Neugebauer (Sugar Land), Dave Rosenthal (Richmond) and Thomas Scutti (Houston) -- traveled from Texas. Some, like camp veteran Brian George, a Chicagoland resident, are transplanted Delaware Valley natives. Others, however, have never lived in this area but are lifelong Flyers fans and recreational players who've come to Philadelphia just to attend Fantasy Camp.

A returnee from previous camps, Team KLYR defenseman Curtis Peddle is a diehard Flyers fan hailing from Conception Bay, Newfoundland. First-time attendee Todd Hickman, a defenseman for Team Neumann and a Flyers fan since the Broad Street Bullies days, hails from Keith Jones' hometown (also Wayne Gretzky's hometown) of Brantford, Ontario. "Jonesy" got dibs on Hickman for his squad this year.

Another first-time attendee, Geoff Patterson of Cobden, Ontario, has a unique story behind his participation. A longtime Flyers fan who grew up idolizing Bobby Clarke and rooting for the Flyers, entered a contest organized by the Flyers Alumni last December as part of the annual "12 Days of Christmas" giving program during the holiday season. The prize: one free registration (a $4,000 value) for the 2023 Fantasy Camp.

" I couldn't believe it when I was picked," Patterson said. "What an incredible experience this camp is! A great group of guys, the chance to be coached by players you watched for years, and it's the Flyers. Just a lot of fun."

Patterson, 60, is a retired manager from the Parks and Recreation Department, who is active in playing senior hockey. Geoff serves as the communications director and the play-by-play radio broadcaster for the CCHL's Pembroke Lumber Kings. An outdoor sporting enthusiast, Geoff enjoys paddling, fishing and hiking.

Geoff recounts that former Flyers forward Dainius Zubrus got his start with the Lumber Kings before he was drafted by the Flyers in the first round of the 1996 NHL Entry Draft, but his personal rooting interest in the Flyers goes back long before that happened.

"You could tell right away that Zubie was going to play in the NHL," Patterson said of the player, who went on to a 20-year career in the NHL. "He could do things physically and play with a natural skill that was over and beyond anyone else on the ice. That was pretty cool to see a Lumber Kings player not only break into the NHL but do it with my favorite NHL club."

Fantasy Camp: On and off the ice

The Flyers Fantasy Camp would not be possible without the yeoman work done be organizers Bob "the Hound" Kelly, Rob Baer (the Flyers director of Amateur hockey programs) and Duffy, and the behind-the-scenes, professional hockey caliber services provided by the training and equipment staff, featuring the likes of NHL alumni Jim "Turk" Evers and Dave "Sudsy" Settlemyre, longtime Flyers Alumni team trainer Dave "Culpy" Culp, and Philadelphia Phantoms alum Joe Rivera.

Annually, two of the main features of Alumni camp are the opening reception at Level 28 of AKA University City, the yearly camp outing on the second night (the destination changes), and the farewell dinner and Hot Stove Q&A session emceed by Steve Coates. This year, the featured speakers were Resch and alum Philadelphia Phantoms enforcer Frank "the Animal" Bialowas.

Last year, the Saturday night camp outing was a Phillies vs. Mets game at Citizens Bank Park. The Flyers Alumni rented a party suite for all the players, coaches and staff. There, they were joined in the suite by various Phillies Alumni,including Mickey Morandini, Gary Matthews and Dickie Noles. This year, with the Phillies out of town this past weekend and looking for a once-in-lifetime experience, the Alumni arranged a surprise event: a private guided tour, drinks and dinner aboard the USS New Jersey, the largest and most illustrious battleship in 20th Century U.S. naval history. As an added surprise, Flyers general manager Danny Briere (a coach at past camps) attended the event, along with other members of the Flyers staff.

Meltzer's Tournament "All-Star Team"

There are no "official" individual honors at the Flyers Alumni Fantasy Camp. It's all about coming together as a team, and the bond in general among the camp participants and the revolving cast of Flyers Alumni who serve as the coaches. Additionally, participating players come from widely differing levels of hockey experience and ability levels. Even so, it's fun to recognize some of the players who demonstrated impressive levels of hockey ability over the weekend. Here are my selections for an unofficial "all-star" team.

G: Dan Rieber (Team Toyota)-- New York native Rieber and fellow Team Toyota goalie Chris Schultz kept their team competitive despite the squad's 1-2-1 record. In the consolation game against Team River Rock, Rieber made arguably the most impressive-looking save of the weekend; a full-extension glove save while down on the ice. It should also be noted that the tournament's lone shutout was a tandem effort between Team Neumann's Phil Brady and Ben Yuter against Team River Rock. Fantasy Cup champion Team KLYR's Amit Patel and Glenn Moir had a knack for coming up with crucial stops at key times. The Team River Rock brother duo of Jim and Brendan Flanagan backstopped their team to the championship last year and matched Schultz/Rieber save in the consolation game this year.

D: Marc Wiczkowski (Team River Rock) -- Even minus his signature mustache, the offensive-minded defenseman was instantly noticeable on the ice. He lacks height, but is a very fleet and agile skater with an excellent shot. He loves to activate up ice and gets most of his shot attempts on net. Wiczkowski led all defensemen with four goals and six points in four games.

D: Alberto Maiocco (Team KLYR) -- Maiocco, of Olivette, MO, capped off a well-played tourney by scoring what proved to be the championship-winning goal for Team KLYR. His rising left point shot found the net in the third period, capping off his side's comeback from a 3-0 deficit to an eventual 5-3 victory. Maiocco also chipped in three assists over the course of the tourney.

F: Zach Stahl (Team KLYR)-- The single most dangerous scoring threat in the Fantasy Camp Cup tournament was Stahl of Brockport, NY. The Stahl family -- Greg and Zach -- are perennially among the tournament's most skilled players. This year, Zach led all players in scoring with eight goals and 12 points in four games played. He's especially dangerous in transition and has a sniper's touch even from the deep slot.

F: Mark Jaffe (Team Neumann)-- The brother trio of Delaware Valley native forward Mark and defensemen Howard and Fred Jaffe are annual participants in the camp and among the best-liked and most-respected players in the camp. Mark often finds his way onto the scoring sheet. This year was no exception. Only Zach Stahl outpaced Mark Jaffe's seven goals and 11 points in four games.

F: MIke Zuccato (Team Neumann) -- The forward tandem of Zuccato (Campbellville, OB) and Jaffe excelled for Team Neumann throughout the tournament. Zuccato's zenith was a four-goal game against Team River Rock, registering a natural hat trick along the way.