When the Flyers moved across Broad St. to the fancy CoreStates Center a new hockey tradition was born in Philadelphia. The Spectrum was filled by the most successful expansion franchise in American Hockey League history. Great attendance, heaps of talent, and an admirable work ethic quickly made the Phantoms the envy of the AHL.
The Phantoms' inaugural season was 1996-97, when they replaced their archrivals, the Hershey Bears, as the minor league affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers. They enjoyed phenomenal success, which was mostly dependent upon some key veterans rather than top prospects. During their successful Calder Cup run, hot prospects began to replace those successful AHL vets: Brian Boucher for Dominic Roussel, Andy Delmore for Patrik Juhlin. More key players have also arrived via free agency and trades, such as Mike Maneluk and Jamie Heward. In 1997-98, the Phantoms won the MacGregor Kilpatrick Trophy for earning the AHL's best regular season record and broke several league attendence records.
During Thanksgiving 1997, I was fortunate enough to attend two Phantoms games at the Spectrum. Although they lost to the Kentuchy Thoroughblades on 11/26, they rebounded two days later to defeat their archrivals, the Hershey Bears.
I've seen other Phantoms' games after that. I saw Boucher shine in a tough 1-0 loss in New Haven, and I saw the Phantoms thrilling double OT victory in Game 1 of the Calder Cup finals. As we all know, they went on to clinch the cup in Game 6, doing what no other team has done in the Spectrum since 1974! Check out the Phantoms' playoff gallery.
Since the Phantoms successful cup run of 1998, the club has placed an even greater emphasis on prospect development. Some Phantoms vets in the NHL are Colin Forbes, Vinny Prospal, Brian Boucher, and Andy Delmore. Meanwhile, a lot of longtime Phantoms and fan faves are gone: Dave MacIsaac, The Animal, Paul Healey, and Mike Maneluk to name a few. They've been replaced by players like Jason Beckett, Petr Hubacek, Mikhail Chernov, Vaclav Pletka, and Tomas Divisek. Now that Bill Barber, the Phantoms' first coach, is finally making his mark in the NHL, the Phantoms are coached by John Stevens, the former AHL defenseman who was the captain of the Phantoms' Calder Cup club. Though 2000-01 has been an up-and-down season, I'm sure that it won't be long before the Phantoms return to their former glory.
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