Flyers Acquire Danny Syvret From Edmonton

[Thrillhouse]

The Philadelphia Flyers announced today that they have acquired 5’11”, 200-pound defenseman Danny Syvret (SIHV-reht) from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for forward Ryan Potulny, according to club General Manager Paul Holmgren.

“Danny is a puck-moving defenseman that sees the ice well and will improve our depth,” said Holmgren in making the announcement. “He had some success playing with Jeff Carter and Mike Richards at the 2005 World Junior Championship as a member of the Team Canada.

“Ryan was a good player for our organization, but this was a deal based on a need, as we added depth to our defense.”

Syvret, 22, recorded two goals and 18 assists for 20 points and 43 penalty minutes in 63 regular season games for the Springfield Falcons and Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League this past season.

A native of Millgrove, Ontario, Syvret has posted an assist and 12 penalty minutes in 26 regular season NHL games over two seasons (2005-06 and 2006-07). In three AHL seasons (2005-06 through 2007-08), Syvret has registered 61 points (6G,55A) and 97 penalty minutes in 182 regular season games for the Hamilton Bulldogs, Grand Rapids Griffins, Springfield and Hershey.

Syvret played parts of four seasons with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League, recording 34 goals and 88 assists for 122 points and 96 penalty minutes in 199 regular season games. As captain of the Knights, he posted 69 points (23G,46A) and 33 penalty minutes in 62 regular season games during the 2004-05 season. He registered five goals and 15 assists for 20 points and four penalty minutes in 18 playoff games as the Knights won the 2005 Ontario Hockey League Championship and the 2005 Memorial Cup. Following the 2004-05 season, Syvret was named to the OHL First All-Star Team, to the Canadian Major Junior First All-Star Team, Canadian Major Junior Defenseman of the Year and to the Memorial Cup Tournament All-Star Team. He was also a member of the gold medal-winning Canadian National Team at the 2005 World Junior Championships in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

Syvret was originally drafted by Edmonton in the third round (81st overall) of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.

Potulny, 23, posted an assist in seven games for the Flyers this past season. He also registered 21 goals and 26 assists for 47 points and 51 penalty minutes in 58 regular season games for the Flyers’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Philadelphia Phantoms, during the 2007-08 season.

Over the last three seasons, Potulny has registered 14 points (7G,7A) and 26 penalty minutes in 44 regular season games for the Flyers. He was drafted by the Flyers in the third round (87th overall) of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.

[bupz91]

Nice, I don't know much about Syvret, but i didn't really like Potulny

[Blouin]

Syvret is a big D man at 5'11" and 200 lbs, I think Philly gets the nod in this trade

[Thrillhouse]

Originally Posted by Blouin

Syvret is a big D man at 5'11" and 200 lbs, I think Philly gets the nod in this trade

What? His size is one of the biggest knocks on his game. Danny had a pretty tough season and as an RFA was not going to be re-signed. For an offensive defenceman, his numbers were terrible but after being traded to Hershey, they picked up. So who knows maybe there's hope for him, although I'd be pretty surprised if he found a role in the NHL.

It seems as though Potulny has the best chance to become an NHLer, but this trade could just be two teams trading guys who weren't in the organization's plans when their contracts ended.

[Blouin]

Originally Posted by Thrillhouse

What? His size is one of the biggest knocks on his game. Danny had a pretty tough season and as an RFA was not going to be re-signed. For an offensive defenceman, his numbers were terrible but after being traded to Hershey, they picked up. So who knows maybe there's hope for him, although I'd be pretty surprised if he found a role in the NHL.

It seems as though Potulny has the best chance to become an NHLer, but this trade could just be two teams trading guys who weren't in the organization's plans when their contracts ended.

Pilon was 6 feet 210 lbs. I'll take a 5'11" 200 lb D man who can gain another 10 lbs easily at NHL level

[Cat Smasher]

He was a little spark plug on the Knights.

[I like Boobs]

The thing is that Syvret doesn't play a physical game at all, very rarely playing the body or taking the man. Thats one of the biggest flaws in his overall game. He was a monster with the Knights as a junior and played well for team Canada in the World Juniors but he hasn't been able to parlay that success to the professional level.

[BROWN - KOCUR]

Originally Posted by Blouin

Syvret is a big D man at 5'11" and 200 lbs, I think Philly gets the nod in this trade

Syvret is another smallish(by todays standards) puck moving D-man that wasn't even ranked in the Oilers top 20 prospects. Not very physical as he is more of an offensive type d-man. I liked Potulney as a prospect so I'm not thrilled but we'll see. Have to give Homer a pass because he has done wonders but I wish they'd get a guy who will punish people in their end. Still early so maybe he has more up his sleeve (hopefully not Brian Campbell)

[flyersrule]

who? stick him on the phantoms

[PhlyerPhanatic]

Originally Posted by flyersrule

who? stick him on the phantoms

Trust me,if Danny gets a chance with the Flyers,you won't be saying this for long. Carbon copy of Dennis Wideman.

[fansince65]

I watched this player for four years when he played for the London Knights .

He was good enough to be named Captain of the team that some say was the best Junior team ever put together .

He plays A game simular to Dennis Wideman of the Bruins,moves the puck well and has a good shot from the point . Just hope the Flyers give him more of a chance then the Oilers ....

[OilersHockey]

Originally Posted by fansince65

I watched this player for four years when he played for the London Knights .

He was good enough to be named Captain of the team that some say was the best Junior team ever put together .

He plays A game simular to Dennis Wideman of the Bruins,moves the puck well and has a good shot from the point . Just hope the Flyers give him more of a chance then the Oilers ....

It was hard to keep giving him "chances" when his offensive numbers at the NHL level were atrocious, and he seemed to be minus something every single game he played...

He was terrible at the AHL level, never mind the NHL level.

Let me put it this way - he's no longer in the Oilers top 10 D men, and he's not exactly young...

I know NOTHING about Potulny so I won't say the Oilers "won" this trade - but Syvret has been an absolute bust since the OHL - not just at the NHL level, but at the AHL level as well.

[PhlyerPhanatic]

Originally Posted by OilersHockey

and he's not exactly young...

Danny Syvret turns 23 on June 13th. Yah yer right...he's over the hill and should retire.

26 games at the NHL level on a team like the Oilers can hardly be considered giving a kid a chance. The Oilers were letting Syvret rot in the A, much like they are letting Robbie Schremp rot. This is the best thing that could have happened to Syvret IMHO.

[lampington]

Originally Posted by OilersHockey

It was hard to keep giving him "chances" when his offensive numbers at the NHL level were atrocious

well he IS a DEFENSEMAN. offensive defensemen are not the norm. (although I do question his plus minus as you pointed out - that is IMO a defenseman's #1 important stat.

Let me put it this way - he's no longer in the Oilers top 10 D men, and he's not exactly young...

he is only 22. (he'll be 23 next week)

the average NHL age is 28.66 years old (28.64 in the east, and 28.68 in the west) source that means he is 5 1/2 years below the league average age - in fact there are only 41 players on the NHL.com/ stats / bios page who were born after june 13, 1985(syvret's DOB) ... i guess my question is what is your definition of young then?

if it makes any difference, philly has been waiting in vain for potulny to start contributing to his potential and it really never happened yet.

both players are young still and time will tell but as someone said already, this may end up being a trade of career minor leaguers.

[OilersHockey]

Originally Posted by PhlyerPhanatic

Danny Syvret turns 23 on June 13th. Yah yer right...he's over the hill and should retire.

26 games at the NHL level on a team like the Oilers can hardly be considered giving a kid a chance. The Oilers were letting Syvret rot in the A, much like they are letting Robbie Schremp rot. This is the best thing that could have happened to Syvret IMHO.

Exactly.. he's 23. He's been pro almost 4 years, and he has had a very difficult time adjusting to life after the OHL... he's not even close to NHL ready and he's four years out... There are a number of guys that were drafted his year OR LATER in the Oilers organization who have now surpassed him in development - I don't mean he should retire mr. sarcastic - I mean a guy who is almost in his mid-20's and not even close to NHL ready is likely not going to be an impact player at that level. Period.

They were letting him rot in the AHL because he could not keep up DEFENSIVELY at the NHL level - they simply couldn't bring him up. It wasn't for lack of trying. They would have loved nothing more than to have him ready for the NHL and given Gilbert a year to develop in the minors after college - the problem is that all of the young Oilers D guys in the system (Greene, Gilbert, Smid, Roy, and others) have all PASSED Syvret in development, and there is a truckload more coming (Chorney, Petry, Bissaillon, Peckham, etc) - why keep the the guy? He's a bust so far - plain and simple.

An offensive defenseman who has 6 goals and is -24 in 182 career AHL games is not "being left to rot" - he's just not ready. In the 26 games he played in the NHL, he had 0 goals and was -11... How long do you let a D man stay on your roster who is -1 every two games with no offensive contribution?