1967–68 Philadelphia Flyers season

NHLTeamSeason
Season=1967–68
Team=Philadelphia Flyers
Division=West
DivisionRank=1st
Record=31–32–11
HomeRecord=17–13–7
RoadRecord=14–19–4
GoalsFor=173
GoalsAgainst=179
GeneralManager=Bud Poile
Coach=Keith Allen
Captain=Lou Angotti
AltCaptain=Bill Sutherland
Ed Van Impe
Arena=The Spectrum
Madison Square GardenCite web|url=http://flyers.nhl.com/team/app?service=page&page=NewsPage&bcid=1891|title=News: This Date In Flyers History... March 1, 1968... Roof Blows Off Of Spectrum|accessdate=2007-10-27|publisher=PhiladelphiaFlyers.com|year=2005]
Maple Leaf Gardens
Le Colisée
Attendance=9,625 [FlyersHistory.net, [http://www.flyershistory.net/cgi-bin/attend.cgi All Time Team Attendance] ]
GoalsLeader=Leon Rochefort (21)
AssistsLeader=Lou Angotti (37)
PointsLeader=Lou Angotti (49)
PIMLeader=Ed Van Impe (141)
PlusMinusLeader=Joe Watson (+12)
Larry Zeidel (+12)
WinsLeader=Bernie Parent (16)
GAALeader=Doug Favell (2.27)
DivisionWin=YesThe 1967–68 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers inaugural season and the first National Hockey League (NHL) season in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania since the Philadelphia Quakers' 1930–31 season.

Philadelphia waited almost 35 years from when the Quakers' played their last home game (a 4–0 loss to Chicago on March 17, 1931) for the NHL to return when the city was awarded an expansion franchise on February 9, 1966. Philadelphia was a bit of a surprise choice since a group from the nearby city of Baltimore were considered favorites to land a team. [FlyersHistory.net, [http://www.flyershistory.net/cgi-bin/hm.cgi?014hm Philadelphia Gets NHL Expansion Team.] ]

— was chosen over the Baltimore group.

On April 4, 1966, Putnam announced there would be a name-the-team contest and that orange, black and white would be the team colors.Cite web|url=http://www.flyershistory.com/cgi-bin/jerseyhistory.cgi|title=Flyers History - Flyers Jersey History Gallery|accessdate=2008-09-09|publisher=FlyersHistory.net] Wanting what he referred to as "hot" colors, Putnam's choice was influenced by the orange and white of his alma mater, the University of Texas, and the orange and black of Philadelphia's previous NHL team, the Quakers. Also announced on April 4th was the hiring of a Chicago firm to design the team's arena.

Details of the name-the-team contest were released on July 12, 1966. As sponsor of the contest, ballots were available at local Acme Markets grocery stores and included a top prize of a RCA 21" color television, two season tickets for both the second and third prize winners, and a pair of tickets to a game for the next 100 winners. Among the names considered behind the scenes were Quakers, Ramblers, and Liberty Bells. The first two were the names of previous Philadelphia hockey teams and given the connotations of losing (Quakers) and the minor leagues (Ramblers), were passed over. Liberty Bells, though seriously considered, was also the name of a local race track. Bashers, Blizzards, Bruisers, Huskies, Keystones, Knights, Lancers, Raiders, and Sabres were among the other names considered.

, who had spelled it "Fliers" on his entry, [Professional Hockey Server, [http://moo.hawaii.edu:1749/hockey/misc/teamnames.html Origins of NHL Team Names] ] won the drawing and was declared the winner.

With the name and colors already known, Philadelphia advertising firm Mel Richmann Inc. was hired to design a logo and jersey. With Tom Paul as head of the project, artist Sam Ciccone designed both the logo and jerseys with the concept to represent speed. Ciccone's winged P design, four stylized wings attached to a slanted P with an orange dot to represent a puck, was considered the "obvious choice" over his other designs which included a winged skate. Ciccone's jersey design, a stripe down each shoulder and down the arms, represented wings.

The men hired to build the expansion Flyers were Bud Poile as General Manager and Keith Allen as Head Coach. Both were former NHL players and were Western Hockey League coaches in the years preceding expansion, Poile with the San Francisco Seals and Allen with the Seattle Totems. On May 8, 1967, the Flyers purchased the American Hockey League's Quebec Aces and with them acquired the NHL rights to eleven players, including Bill Sutherland and Ed Hoekstra. The NHL Expansion Draft was held a month later on June 6. The six expansion franchises selected 20 players from the Original Six teams, though most of the players available were either aging veterans or career minor-leaguers before expansion occurred. Among the Flyers' 20 selections were Bernie Parent, Doug Favell, Ed Van Impe, Joe Watson, Lou Angotti (who would be named the Flyers' first captain), Leon Rochefort, and Gary Dornhoefer. The following day, the Flyers made two selections in the 1967 NHL Amateur Draft, notably Serge Bernier 5th overall from the Sorel Eperviers.

Regular season

The Flyers made their debut on October 11, 1967, losing 5–1 on the road to the California Seals. [FlyersHistory.net, [http://www.flyershistory.net/cgi-bin/hm.cgi?001hm Flyers First Ever Game.] ] Bill Sutherland scored the first goal in franchise history. They won their first game a week later, defeating the St. Louis Blues on the road, 2–1. [FlyersHistory.net, [http://www.flyershistory.net/cgi-bin/hm.cgi?002hm Flyers First Ever Win.] ] The Flyers made their home debut in front of a crowd of 7,812, shutting out their trans-Pennsylvania rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins, 1–0 on October 19. [FlyersHistory.net, [http://www.flyershistory.net/cgi-bin/hm.cgi?003hm Flyers First Home Game.] ] The Flyers' top goal scorer that first season, Leon Rochefort, scored only 21 times. With all six expansion teams grouped into the same division, the Flyers were able to win the division with a below .500 record and after being forced to play their last seven home games on the road due to a March 1st storm blowing parts of the Spectrum's roof off.

The team was led offensively by Leon Rochefort in goals (21) and Lou Angotti in assists (37) and points (49). Bill Sutherland was the only other player on the team with at least 20 goals and Gary Dornhoefer was the only other player with at least 30 assists. Rochefort was the only Flyer to take part in NHL All-Star Game. Despite the lack of offensive firepower, the Flyers were strong enough defensively to be a respectable 8–15–1 against Original Six teams, winning at least one game against all six and winning three of their four games against the defending Stanley Cup champion Toronto Maple Leafs. 22-year-old goaltenders Doug Favell and Bernie Parent split time in net and put up similar numbers. Favell finished 3rd in Calder Memorial Trophy voting. [FlyersHistory.net, [http://www.flyershistory.net/cgi-bin/awardvotes.cgi Flyers History - NHL Award Votes] ]

eason standings

Game log

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Player stats

katers

"Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes"

Milestones

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Draft picks

Philadelphia's picks at the 1967 NHL Amateur Draft in Montreal, Quebec. [hockeydb.com, [http://hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/nhl1967a.html 1967 NHL Amateur Draft] ]

Farm teams

The Flyers were affiliated with the Quebec Aces of the AHL, whom they purchased on May 8, 1967, the Seattle Totems of the WHL, and the Knoxville Knights of the EHL. [FlyersHistory.net, [http://www.flyershistory.net/cgi-bin/otheraffiliates.cgi Non-AHL Affiliates] ] Quebec finished second in their division and made it to the Calder Cup Finals before losing to the Rochester Americans in six games. Head coach Vic Stasiuk was awarded the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award as coach of the year and Simon Nolet won the John B. Sollenberger Trophy as the league's leading scorer. [FlyersHistory.net, [http://www.flyershistory.net/cgi-bin/ml-season.cgi?1967-68 AHL Season Overview: 1967–68] ] Seattle finished 2nd in the 5-team WHL and won the Lester Patrick Cup as league champions. Knoxville finished 9th in the 12-team EHL and missed the playoffs in what proved to be their final season in existence.

ee also

*1967–68 NHL season

References

*General: [http://www.flyershistory.net/cgi-bin/season.cgi?1967-68 1967–68 Flyers season] on FlyersHistory.net
*Regular season game log: [http://www.flyershistory.net/cgi-bin/games.cgi?1967-68 Philadelphia Flyers regular season game log] on FlyersHistory.net
*Playoffs game log: [http://www.flyershistory.net/cgi-bin/poffs.cgi Philadelphia Flyers playoffs game log] on FlyersHistory.net
* [http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1080867/index.htm Expansion's Bright New Heroes - Sports Illustrated - 2/19/68]