The newest member of the Philadelphia Flyers, defenseman Chris Pronger, paid a special visit to a select group of ESYHF students at the Virtua Health Flyers Skate Zone in Voorhees, NJ on Tuesday July 7th, 2009. Pronger, having recently signed a contract with the Flyers, had only been in the Philadelphia area for a couple days, but took a break from house-hunting to spend time with ESYHF players.

Accompanied by Ed Snider, Pronger arrived at the rink and greeted the lucky youngsters on the ice, filling the building with excitement. The NHL star congratulated the kids on their hard work both on and off the ice. Pronger spoke candidly about his prior accomplishments and his anticipation of the upcoming hockey season with the Flyers. He then gave ESYHF players the opportunity to ask him a number of different questions during a friendly Q&A session.

Kashiem Jones, a 16 year-old forward with ESYHF, was asked what it was like to meet a future Hall of Fame player in Chris Pronger; “He is really big and it’s awesome that he came from a Stanley Cup winning team” Jones said. When asked about what Pronger will bring to the table with Philadelphia next season, Jones mentioned “he is a big physical presence on the blue line, and is a very smart hockey player.”

After putting a smile on everyone’s face, Pronger was presented with official ESYHF gear by defenseman Michael Chism – officially welcoming him to the ESYHF team. All of the students then joined Chris for a team photo. Before leaving, Pronger took time to shake everyone’s hand and even chatted one-on-one with some of the students. After this exciting and memorable event, ESYHF players can’t wait to see the Flyers’ newest enforcer hit the ice.

Friday, July 17, 2009