Flyers All-Star Game Firsts

Flyers forward Kevin Hayes will play in his first career NHL All-Star Game this Saturday at the 2023 Honda All-Star Weekend gala of events. At age 30, he's one of the older Flyers to become a first-time NHL All-Star Game participant during his stint in Philadelphia's. Hayes is not the oldest, however.

The distinction of being the Flyers' oldest NHL All-Star first-timer has an asterisk attached to it: At the 1995-96 All-Star Game, 37-year-old center Craig MacTavish was added to the Eastern Conference All-Star team as a "Commissioner's Selection" for Mac-T's lone appearance in the event.
Here are some other notable "firsts" among Flyers' representatives at the NHL All-Star Game.
First Representative: Leon Rochefort
Held in Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, the 1968 NHL All-Star Game was the final one played under the format of the defending Stanley Cup champion playing a visiting team composed of top players from the other NHL teams. It was the first All-Star Game played after the NHL expanded from six to 12 teams.
The All-Star Games of yesteryear had little resemblance to the glitz and entertainment-oriented focus of latter-day events. Back then, the games were often fairly low-scoring and physical contests with an emphasis on winning.
The defending champions, playing on their home rink, took pride in defeating the All-Star team or vice versa. Players doled out -- or received -- body checks and after-the-whistle tensions were hardly uncommon.
Twenty-nine-year-old Flyers right winger Leon Rochefort represented Philadelphia. Earlier in the season, on Nov. 4, 1967, the Quebec native and former Canadiens player scored three goals (the first hat trick in Flyers history) when the visiting Flyers stunned the mighty Canadiens with a 4-1 upset at the Montreal Forum. Rochefort went on to lead the Flyers with 21 goals during the club's inaugural season.
The 1968 All-Star game was played on Jan. 16, 1968. The Maple Leafs defeated the All-Stars, 4-3. Bobby Orr sustained a broken collarbone after crashing awkwardly on a hit by Toronto's Pete Stemkowski. Rochefort, who skated on a line centered by the legendary Jean Beliveau.
First Multi-Rep Year: 1970
The 1969-70 All-Star Game was held on Jan. 20, 1970, at the St. Louis Arena; then the home of the St. Louis Blues. This year marked the first time the Flyers had more than the requisite one representative chosen for the event.
Fittingly, the distinction of being the Flyers first multi-representative selections went to two future franchise icons,Rookie center Bobby Clarke, age 20, made his All-Star Game debur Meanwhile, 24-year-old goalie Bernie Parent was in his second NHL All-Star Appearance.
Trivia note: Clarke wore uniform No. 10 for the Western Division All-Stars this year. Clarke subsequently sported No. 15 at the 1970-71 and 1971-72. The first time he donned his familiar No. 16 in the NHL All-Star Game was in 1972-73.
Better known for wearing No. 1 during his second playing stint with the Flyers (1973-74 through his retirement in 1979), Parent wore No. 30 during his initial run (1967-68 until midway through the 1970-71 season) with the Flyers. At the NHL All-Star Games in 1969 and 1970, Bernie wore No. 29. He first donned his iconic No. 1 at the 1974 event.
Parent was the starting goalie for the West in the 1970 ASG in St. Louis, playing the first 29:37 before being replaced by his mentor and childhood idol, Jacques Plante. The East won, 4-1.

First Goal Scorer: Simon Nolet
At the 1972 All-Star Game in Bloomington, Minnesota, the Eastern Division All-Star beat the West, 3-2, after rallying back from a 2-deficit. At 1:11 of the second period, Flyers representative Simon Nolet received a pass from Dennis Hull and fired a shot past goalie Ken Dryden to establish a 2-0 lead for the West.
The East battled back to tie the game. Finally, at 19:16 of the third period, the East's Phil Esposito stashed home the winning goal on a power play. Legendary defenseman Bobby Orr, named the game's MVP, assisted on the final goal.
First Assist: Bobby Clarke
It is appropriate that amid the first of his three Hart Trophy seasons as the NHL's most valuable player, Bobby Clarke became the first Flyers rep to record an assist in an All-Star Game. To this day, Hockey Hall of Famer Clarke remains the all-time leading assist-getter (852) and point-scorer (1,210) in Flyers franchise history.
The game's first period was scoreless. Fifty-five second after the opening faceoff of the 1973 All-Star Game at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan, Clarke set up Pittsburgh Penguins left winger Greg Polis for the game's first goal to give the West a 1-0 lead. As with the previous year, the East pushed back from a deficit and went on to defeat the West, 5-4.
First Brother Duo: The Watson Brothers
Flyers Hall of Fame defenseman Jimmy Watson played in five NHL All-Star Games during his stellar career, His older brother, fellow Flyers Hall of Fame defenseman Joe Watson, played in two NHL All-Star Games.
However, only once did the siblings from Smithers, British Columbia, play in the All-Star Game in the same year. In 1977, when the event was held in Vancouver, the Watson boys were selected to represent the Campbell Conference All-Stars. Among a slew of family members in attendance, a very proud Joe Watson Sr. was on hand, letting anyone and everyone in earshot know that two of his sons (the Watson had six children, all boys) were All-Stars.

First All-Star MVP: Reggie Leach
The 1980 All-Star Game was held at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. The Flyers were very well-represented in this game: goalie Pete Peeters, defensemen Jim Watson and Norm Barnes, along with forwards Bill Barber, Reggie Leach, Rick MacLeish and rookie Brian Propp.
That year, Leach became the first Flyers to take MVP honors home from the All-Star Game. He also became the first Flyers' representative to record a multi-point game (1g, 1a) at the All-Star Game. Leach tallied a first-period goal and later assisted on a Propp goal. MacLeish chipped in an assist for the Campbell Conference side.
The Wales Conference prevailed, 6-3, but Flyers reps figured in every goal that the Campbell team scored. In addition to winning MVP honors, Leach had a game-high seven shots on goal.
In 2017, Flyers right winger Wayne Simmonds (in his first and only NHL All-Star Game appearance) became the second Flyer to take All-Star MVP honors. Claude Giroux accomplished the feat in 2022, winning the MVP in his sixth and final ASG appearance as a Flyer.
First multi-goal game: Brian Propp
At the 1985-86 All-Star Game in Hartford, the Wales Conference team was coached by Mike Keenan. Excluding the late Pelle Lindbergh (who was posthumously elected as the starting goaltender), the Flyers had five players represent the team: goalie Bob Froese, defenseman Mark Howe and forwards Tim Kerr, Brian Propp and Dave Poulin.
The Wales Conference All-Star prevailed in overtime against their Campbell Conference counterparts, 4-3. Propp notched a pair of goals, including a go-ahead tally at 17:38 of the third period. Wayne Gretzky forced overtime with a goal at 19:17. Finally, at 3:03 of sudden death, Bryan Trottier scored the winning goal for the Wales side.
Propp's two-goal performance marked the first time that a Flyers representative scored more than one goal at an All-Star Game.

First Four-Assist Game: Mark Recchi
For many years, Mark Recchi's five-point outing (1g, 4a) at the 1993 All-Star Game at the Montreal Forum (Feb. 6, 1993) stood as the all-time single-game record for points by a Flyers representative. Recchi's points mark was later eclipsed (see below) but his four assists from the 1993 ASG still holds up as the most assists by a Flyers rep at the annual event.
The 1992-93 season on the whole marked Recchi's career-year offensively. He set a still-standing Flyers scoring record with 123 points (53 goals, 70 assists) that year.
First Hat Trick, First Six-Point Game: Jakub Voracek
The 2015 NHL All-Star Game in Columbus, which ended in a 17-12 victory for "Team Toews" over "Team Foligno", set a variety of scoring records. A Flyers-specific distinction was the three-goal, three-assist performance by right winger Jakub Voracek.
Voracek became the first Flyers rep to compile a hat trick. Simmonds matched the feat two years later.
Voracek also became the first Flyer to notch a six-point game, breaking Recchi's record from 1993. No Flyer since has reached six points in an All-Star Game.