Meet Ian Laperriere a la This Space

Hello all,

Let me first start off by saying I love the signing of Ian Laperriere. He will bring what the Flyers need on the ice and in the locker room. Not to mention, this guy looks like he’s straight out of the UFC sitting at his press conference – biceps bulgin’ out of his tight fitted black polo and completely shaved head. But this guy brings so much more than just a warrior mentality and coercion to the Orange and Black.

Laperriere has packed his fight card full with 59 fighting majors since the 2006-07 season and is a fan favorite everywhere he goes. But his abilities go further than that. He’s worn the “A” in L.A. and Colorado and can play all situations – just what the Flyers need.

And GM Paul Holmgren couldn’t have put it any better.

“(Laperriere) is a role player that can take a little bit of the burden off some of our other guys in other roles like penalty killing and face-offs,” said Holmgren. “He is a warrior-type player and very durable. He will provide us with lots of energy and is one of those types of character players that everybody is after.”

Don’t get me wrong, the Flyers did need to get tougher and a little more feared to play against, but even more so, they needed leadership. Even before Mike Knuble signed with Washington on July 1st, the Flyers needed leadership. After his departure, they needed it severely.

They got it in the Chris Pronger trade and the signing of Ian.

“Whatever and wherever they want me to play, I’m going to say yes and do the best that I can,” said Laperriere through a thick French-Canadian accent at the team’s practice facility Tuesday afternoon.

“I’m not a goal-scorer but I will show up and do the little things right.” This is the attitude that this team needs. After the Flyers cruised through the regular season on auto-pilot without any emotion after losses, it was evident they needed some change. Laperriere will surely change the atmosphere. He hates to lose and will not take losses lightly.

In addition to the leadership and scrappiness, Laperreiere brings more to the table. He is a ready and willing body that can step in and play special teams. Richie, Gags, Carter and Co. are quite frankly getting too beat up and exhausted from killing all the penalties. And when you get penalized more than any other team, the beating takes its toll. Yes the short-handed numbers are gaudy, but in my opinion, your stars shouldn’t be your top penalty killers.

The man they call “Lappy” will step right in, and can’t wait to do so.

“When they go get Pronger and Ray Emery…and with the team they already have right now, it shows you they want to win the cup,” said Laperriere. “It’s flattering and a great challenge for me (to play in Philadelphia).
“I’m excited, when they called, I told my agent that’s where I want to go and today I’m here, I’m very excited.”
Check back in a couple – I will be doing a blog on how I feel about the Pronger deal, where the loss of 50-plus goals will come from and why Kevin Marshall “gets it”.

Bests,
Dustin Leed