Flyers UFC Fighter DELCO Fight Training

Flyers hire UFC Fighter from DELCO to resurrect the Broad Street Bullies and I’m conflicted as hell about it

The Philadelphia Flyers have officially hired UFC middleweight and Delco native Andre Petroski to help teach them how to fight. Petroski, a Delco native and one of the most ferocious wrestlers on the UFC circuit, is now working with the team.

On the surface, it looks great. While hockey has become more and more about skill and speed as it evolves, grit and toughness will always remain a key attribute for true contenders.

Flyers hire UFC Fighter to resurrect the Broad Street Bullies…?

Andre Petroski, for the uninitiated, is 13-5 in the UFC, one of the best wrestlers ever out of Delco, and quite literally a man who wakes up every day hoping somebody tries him.

It’s a genius play from the front office. There isn’t a better man for the job, either. This guy is a Delco Dawg through and through, and I’m excited to see exactly how he impacts the roster.

He’s not here to teach soft “hockey fights” where two guys hug until the linesman steps in. He’s here to teach the Flyers how to dismantle someone.

Andre Petroski speaks on being hired to train the Flyers to fight on the ice

Here’s what I don’t like…

Once again, the Flyers are digging up the old “Broad Street Bullies” narrative like it’s 1975 all over again. I’m sorry, but we’ve gotta stop doing this. That era’s been dead for years and the Flyers haven’t been relevant in the playoffs, let alone feared, in well over a decade.

The Flyers are like your buddy who won’t stop talking about his high school ex girlfriend, meanwhile he’s 35 years old with a wife and kids. Like, dude, you’ve got more important things to worry about right now.

We can’t keep pretending that tough guys alone are going to drag this franchise back to glory. It’s starting to feel like cosplay at this point.

This is not the 70s. You don’t win Cups by racking up PIMs and body counts. You win by skating, scoring, and not blowing 2-1 leads in the third period every other night.

That said, there is always value in adding some grit in today’s NHL where more and more teams are weaponizing their goon squads. The Florida Panthers just won back-to-back Cups by being absolute dirtbags with skill. They shoved people around and dared anyone to do something about it. Most teams couldn’t.

So if the Flyers want to fight back, I get it. It’s not a full throwback, it’s just an edge. Consider it a reminder that you can’t punk us anymore and with a guy like Petroski showing up to training camp with cauliflower ears and Delco rage in his heart, maybe that sends a message.

Still, we can’t let this be the identity again. That’s the line. I want the Flyers to be skilled. I want them to be fast. I want them to be smart. This is priority number one for me.

At the same time, though, I want our guys ready to cave someone’s skull in if they take a run at our sweet Russian boy Matvei Michkov. He must be protected at all costs.

Join The Chase

Very real and legitimate journalist. I don't see a loss on the schedule.

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