Monday, October 18, 2004
No, it's not the Flyers, but at least faithful "Inky" readers like myself are still getting a regular dose of Tim Panaccio via his Phantoms coverage. Item of note, especially to Memphis fans:
Riley Cote, a 6-foot-1, 170-pounder who looks like he just left a bar brawl in Fishtown, joined the Phantoms on a 10-day tryout. He had 258 penalty minutes in 57 games for the Dayton Bombers of the ECHL last season. Cote began the game on [Patrick] Sharp's line with Northeast Philly's Tony Voce.
Just remember, going to the AHL does not count as bailing on your contract, and it's especially not the same thing as going to the UHL. And the lockout does not mean there are more jobs in the AHL, it means there are less. Why do you think the likes of Crowley, Lundbohm and Chris Hartsburg are playing in our league?
It's a bit mystifying really, that the Phantoms don't already have a full-time enforcer, or someone to call up from the ECHL. And it would truly suck (and would count as bailing on his contract even if it's not legally enforceable) if, after the tryout, the Phantoms wanted to sign Cote to a contract and keep him up I-95 in Trenton.
But if it came down to that, he'd be crazy not to do it -- so long as he really had a shot to stick with the organization and get chances to keep playing at the next level.
Ideally, the Phantoms will just send him back to Memphis and hang on to his phone number. It's a real feather in the cap for Cote that he's even up there now -- there were dozens of CHL players in AHL camps this year, none of whom have gotten called back up just yet. Granted, it's all about the role, but the Phantoms were a deep team to begin with and are carrying three Flyers who wouldn't otherwise be on the club. Again, there's fewer jobs to go around, not more.
Riley Cote, a 6-foot-1, 170-pounder who looks like he just left a bar brawl in Fishtown, joined the Phantoms on a 10-day tryout. He had 258 penalty minutes in 57 games for the Dayton Bombers of the ECHL last season. Cote began the game on [Patrick] Sharp's line with Northeast Philly's Tony Voce.
Just remember, going to the AHL does not count as bailing on your contract, and it's especially not the same thing as going to the UHL. And the lockout does not mean there are more jobs in the AHL, it means there are less. Why do you think the likes of Crowley, Lundbohm and Chris Hartsburg are playing in our league?
It's a bit mystifying really, that the Phantoms don't already have a full-time enforcer, or someone to call up from the ECHL. And it would truly suck (and would count as bailing on his contract even if it's not legally enforceable) if, after the tryout, the Phantoms wanted to sign Cote to a contract and keep him up I-95 in Trenton.
But if it came down to that, he'd be crazy not to do it -- so long as he really had a shot to stick with the organization and get chances to keep playing at the next level.
Ideally, the Phantoms will just send him back to Memphis and hang on to his phone number. It's a real feather in the cap for Cote that he's even up there now -- there were dozens of CHL players in AHL camps this year, none of whom have gotten called back up just yet. Granted, it's all about the role, but the Phantoms were a deep team to begin with and are carrying three Flyers who wouldn't otherwise be on the club. Again, there's fewer jobs to go around, not more.
# posted by JC @ 3:20 AM 
