Presented by Scotiabank Group
GLOBAL SPECTRUM FACILITY MANAGEMENT WELCOMES THE PHILADELPHIA FLYERS AND THE TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
TO THE JOHN LABATT CENTRE SEPTEMBER 17
PRESENTED BY SCOTIABANK GROUP
Tickets go on sale on Monday, July 27 at 10:00 a.m.
London, ON – Global Spectrum Facility Management, operators of the John Labatt Centre, announce today that a pre-season National Hockey League game featuring the Philadelphia Flyers and the Toronto Maple Leafs presented by Scotiabank will take place at the John Labatt Centre on Thursday, September 17th at 7:00 p.m. Tickets go on sale Monday, July 27th at 10am. Ticket prices range from $46.75 to $96.75 including GST and facility fee. This will be the sixth NHL pre-season game that the Flyers have played at the John Labatt Centre since the building opened in October 2002. It will be the second time the Flyers have played a Canadian team; The Ottawa Senators came to London in 2007. Both the Flyers and Global Spectrum are subsidiaries of Comcast-Spectacor.
"The Flyers consider the John Labatt Centre our 'home away from home,'" said Comcast-Spectacor President and Global Spectrum Chairman Peter Luukko. "Our players truly enjoy visiting London every preseason and playing in the John Labatt Centre. We are very excited to be hosting that other home town team, the Toronto Maple Leafs this year, in a big preseason game at the John Labatt Centre this September. It's going to be a terrific night of hockey and a very memorable one for the City of London and all of Ontario."
It is with good reason that Luukko describes the John Labatt Centre as a “home away from home” for the Flyers. The team is 4-1-0 in their previous five contests and have outscored their opponents by a combined score of 21-10. Their lone loss came in 2006 against the current Stanley Cup Champion, and interstate rival, Pittsburgh Penguins when the Pens recorded a 2-1 win.
As is customary when the Flyers come to town, there is a local connection between the City, the building and the Flyers hockey team. Jeff Carter, the Flyers all-everything forward, is a London, Ontario native. Carter had a breakout season this year leading the team in points (84 – 12th in NHL), goals (46 – 2nd in NHL), power-play goals (13), game-winning goals (12 – 1st in NHL), overtime goals (3 – T-1st in NHL), shots (342 – 4th in NHL) and plus/minus (+23).
Playing alongside Carter is Keno, Ontario native Mike Richards. Richards is known as one of the absolute toughest players in a league full of tough guys. Highly regarded as one of the best defensive forwards in the game Richards was able to show his offensive side last year to the tune of 30 goals and a team leading 50 assists. For the second consecutive season he was also voted the winner of the Bobby Clarke Trophy as the team’s most valuable player. On February 15, 2009 in a game against the New York Rangers Richards accomplished something no player in NHL history has been able to do. He recorded his 3rd career shorthanded goal while his team was down on a 5-on-3 advantage. Richards finished second on the team in points (80) and plus/minus rating (+22) slightly behind Carter in both statistics.
Of course the local connections don’t start and end with Carter and Richards. The London Knights hockey club is well represented in the Flyers organization with former Knights defenceman and team captain Danny Syvret who won the 2005 Memorial Cup while in London. Syvret played the majority of the 2008/2009 season with the Flyers AHL affiliate, the Philadelphia Phantoms, where he registered 57 points in 76 games played. He was called up to the NHL franchise on March 26, 2009 and played in 2 games. Fans will be able to get a preview of Syvret when he competes in the 2009 EuroCan Cup at the John Labatt Centre from August 25th – 31st for the London Pro Knights.
The Flyers aren’t the only team with a connection to the London Knights and the John Labatt Centre. The Toronto Maple Leafs recently selected London Knights centre Nazem Kadri with the 7th overall selection in last months NHL entry draft. Kadri, a solid two-way player, tallied 25 goals and 53 assists in 56 games last year as one of the offensive leaders for the Knights. He will be part of a rebuilding process in Toronto as the team strives to make it back to the playoffs in 2009/2010. Another part of the Leafs rebuilding process is London native Mike VanRyn. The defenceman recorded 11 points in 27 games last season for the Leafs. The connection with VanRyn (apart from being born in London) is that he has two sisters who currently work for Ovations Food Services at the John Labatt Centre.
“This game is such a great opportunity for hockey fans from London and all across Ontario and surrounding areas to come see two of the most talented and storied franchises in the NHL at the John Labatt Centre,” General Manager and Regional Vice President Brian Ohl said today. Ohl added, “This will be a chance for Londoners to once again showcase their passion for hockey, no matter the team or the league. The success that we have enjoyed as a company and as a sports and entertainment venue is due in no small part to this passion and the continued support of the community and its leaders.” The Flyers vs. Leafs game will continue the Philly vs. Toronto theme at the John Labatt Centre that began with the announcement of the October 6th NBA pre-season game between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Toronto Raptors.
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