Nick Piccone
Remember when the Flyers chased the Soviets off the ice in 1976? Ah, good times. I wasn’t born yet. Anyway, some Flyers alumni are gonna head to the Russian mainland next week, according to the Courier-Post’s Dave Isaac.
[Joe Watson] had played against the Russians in European tournaments and always promised he’d visit their country with a full team in tow. He’ll make good on that next week when he takes a few Flyers alumni to play a series, including an outdoor game on Moscow’s Red Square.
One Russian in particular wants to play the Flyers: Vladimir Putin.
Yes, that Vladimir Putin.
His hockey stats are actually impressive. In an exhibition in 2015 he had eight goals in an 18-6 win against a team of retired NHLers. Russia’s defense minister had a hat trick, too, with assists coming from Hall of Famer Pavel Bure and Stanley Cup champion Valeri Kamensky.
While Putin isn’t necessarily a shoe-in to step on the ice with the Flyers’ alumni, Watson said “they never release Putin’s schedule until 24 hours before because of security reasons,” so it remains to be seen whether he’ll take the ice.
Will Donald Trump be on hand? THE WORLD AWAITS!
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