Flyers Quick Hits: XMA Signage, Power Play, and More

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XMA exterior signage reveal

Now that the calendar has flipped to September, the Flyers’ home arena name change goes into effect. Wells Fargo Center is now called XFinity Mobile Arena (abbreviated here as XMA). On Tuesday morning at 10:45 a.m. EDT, Comcast Spectacor will hold an exterior signage reveal outside the arena. Gritty and the Flyers Ice Team will be on hand for the event, along with Franklin and the 76ers drum line.

Many members of the local Flyers media will be on hand for the event. However, I am still in Texas for one more week. I return for the Flyers vs, Rangers Rookie Series at PPL Center next weekend and the start of Rick Tocchet’s first training camp as Philadelphia’s head coach.

XFinity Mobile Arena is the fifth name in the building’s history, but the first without a bank holding the naming rights. Originally dubbed Spectrum II by Ed Snider in the development phase in the early to mid-1990s, CoreStates and MBNA were the original naming rights finalists. CoreStates won the bidding.

Courtesy of @JoeWatsonHockey: @88EricLindros and Mark Recchi meeting with MBNA executives during new arena naming rights presentation, 1992. pic.twitter.com/31mXbEEjix

— Flyers Alumni (@FlyersAlumni) January 5, 2023

The 1996 World Cup of Hockey was the official inaugural event at CoreState Center, featuring a game between Team USA (John LeClair and Joel Otto) and Team Canada (Eric Lindros, Rod Brind’Amour, Eric Desjardins). One week earlier, the venue hosted a Ray Charles concert as an unofficial soft opening. Subsequently, the Flyers won the Eastern Conference championship in their first season with the new home arena.

The CoreStates Center changed its name to First Union Center in 1998 after First Union Bank acquired CoreStates. In 2003, Wachovia acquired and merged with First Union. Consequently, from 2003 to 2010, the arena name became Wachovia Center. Later, for a 15-year period, Wells Fargo bank became the naming rightsholder.

Flyers systems: The Svejkovsky power play

Flyers fans can expect a different power play look under new assistant coach Jaroslav “Yogi” Svejkovsky. There is not a specific “Plan A” strategy to a Svejkovsky-coached power play (ala the long-running predictable but often unstoppable Washington Capitals approach). The Flyers don’t have a player like Alex Ovechkin or Steven Stamkos to blast home one-times from just above the dot. They don’t have a point threat like John Carlson, Victor Hedman or Roman Josi. They lack a dynamic slot shooter or a dominating netfront power forward (unlike the Tim Kerr or John LeClair days).

However, apart from the fact they previously worked together with the Vancouver Canucks, Tocchet believes Svejkovsky is a good strategic fit for Philly. Specifically, fans can look for Matvei Michkov to handle the puck a lot. Likewise, newcomer Trevor Zegras figures to get a lot of puck touches. Svejkovsky, a former NHL forward, is not a big fan of the old-school “fire from the point and rely on traffic in front” approach.

Getting away from static predictability

Svejkovsky preaches a lot of movement on the power play. He does not want players to stand around in static, fixed positions. Much of his coaching experience at the pro level came as a skills coach. He particularly looks forward to working with Michkov. The Vancouver power play clicked at a 22.5 percent success rate in 2024-25. That ranked in the middle of the NHL pack (15th overall). However, it was leaps and bounds better than the Flyers’ anemic 15.0 percent power play (30th) in the NHL.

In recent years, the Flyers’ power play habitually ranked at or near the bottom of the NHL. The Flyers have had a revolving door of power play coaches since the end of Joe Mullen’s long tenure in the post. In succession. Kris Knoblauch (now Edmonton Oilers head coach), Michel Therrien, John Torchetti (on an interim basis) and Rocky Thompson held the power play coach role. Meanwhile, dating back to the 2019-20 season, the Flyers cumulatively rank last (32nd) on the power play at 15.6 percent.

Svejkovksky brings a host of ideas to his new job in Philadelphia. Will he have more success than his recent predecessors. It’s hard to blame the one coach after another as the main cause of the Flyers’ habitual struggles on the man advantage. That said, it’s also fair to say they didn’t have answers to unlocking sustained improvement. This, too, is fair to say: There’s nowhere to go but up.

Snow the Goalie Flyers podcast: Pre-Camp Edition

In the latest edition of the Snow the Goalie podcast, hosts Anthony SanFilippo and Russ Joy discuss their respective outlooks before the Flyers’ approaching training camp. Topics in the 55-minute episode include Tyson Foerster, the goaltenders at the NHL and AHL levels, whether the Flyers would have interest in bringing back Carter Hart if the goaltender is reinstated by the NHL, and more.