SB Nation - Jody Shelley

Video: Jody Shelley Gets Sweet Revenge On Mike Rupp

JasonB — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 02:05:51 -0000

The Flyers lost the game tonight against the Rangers, but they did win the fights. Most notably, Jody Shelley laid an absolute beat down on Mike Rupp in a scrap that was a long time coming. You'll probably remember earlier this year when these two teams were on HBO's 24/7 that Shelley challenged Rupp during a game with the HBO cameras running. Rupp refused to drop the gloves and said the following.

RUPP: You're f*ckin' irrelevant out here. You're f*ckin' irrelevant out here. If you had any outcome on the game I'd f*ckin' go with you. You don't. You don't.

Rupp later said he regretted saying what he did and having it shown on national TV, especially since it was said to a former teammate. He probably regretted it a bit more after this. Unfortunately for the Flyers though, the result of the fight was irrelevant to the result of the game...

For more on Flyers hockey, check out the SB Nation blog Broad Street Hockey.

Brian Burke Thinks 'Rats' Will Take Over NHL As Enforcer Role Disappears

Travis Hughes — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 14:46:43 -0000

The enforcer role in the NHL is slowly falling by the wayside. With only 12 forwards to dress on a given night, teams have opted to utilize every spot with players that have definable hockey skill, not guys who simply throw their fists around in an attempt to intimidate opponents.

As Mike Rupp said in Episode 3 of HBO's recently-concluded 24/7 series following the Rangers and Flyers, guys like Philly goon Jody Shelley are practically "irrelevant" on the ice.

Brian Burke doesn't like that. The Leafs general manager sent his enforcer, Colton Orr, to the AHL on Thursday, and he opined about that reality in a sit down with the Toronto media, saying among other things that he fears the "rats" are taking over the sport.

Via the National Post:

"I know the Greenpeace folks will be happy with this," Burke said. "But I wonder where we're going, where Brendan Shanahan's getting six hearings every two days ... I wonder, the accountability in our game and the notion that players can stick up for themselves and each other, I wonder where we're going with that."

Burke's fear is that pests don't have to be held accountable -- guys who hit players and take runs at players and never drop the gloves when challenged. But the problem with Burke's logic is that even when there's an enforcer in the lineup, their challenges mean nothing to these so-called rats.

Enforcers are no longer a deterrent. If they were, guys like Orr wouldn't have to be placed on waivers.

Brandon Dubinsky, Jody Shelley And The Winter Classic War Of Words

Travis Hughes — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 03:24:27 -0000

HBO's award-winning documentary series 24/7 will again follow the participants of the Winter Classic this year, and on Friday night, the cable network aired a 15-minute preview of the show.

That preview was supposed to get fans excited for the upcoming series that will feature the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers, and that's exactly what it did.

About six minutes into the program, members of the two teams were asked their opinions on the opposition. Jody Shelley, a former Rangers and current Flyers enforcer, chimed in with a pretty priceless quote.

It comes about six minutes into this video. Shelley says that Brandon Dubinsky, one of his former teammates, "plays like a little weasel." You didn't think Dubinsky was going to just let that go, did you?

Via the New York Daily News, his retort on Monday:

First of all, if I was him, I'd keep my mouth shut if I don't play, especially since I never see him on the ice," Dubinsky said of Shelley, who has played in only 10 of Philadelphia's 23 games this season. "He's usually just yapping from the bench, and I guess now he's yapping from behind the video camera. So that's about all I have to say."

That was not all Dubinsky had to say. "Jody Shelley - it won't be long before he's out of the league, because he's a terrible hockey player," he added.

Ooooh, boy. HBO 24/7 begins airing on December 14, and will run new episodes for four consecutive Wednesday evenings. The Flyers and Rangers play twice -- including the Winter Classic -- during that stretch. We probably won't have to hear that long before hearing from Shelley again, though.

Brayden Schenn Re-Called By Philadelphia Flyers

Jay_King — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 16:52:27 -0000

Top Philadelphia Flyers prospect Brayden Schenn wasn't going to stay in Adirondack forever. A locker room stall waited for him in Philadelphia whenever the Flyers decided to re-call him from the AHL's Adirondack Phantoms.

That happened Wednesday.

Schenn, acquired in the Mike Richards trade in June, played four games in Adirondack and had four goals, four assists and a plus-3. His brief stay in the AHL reduced his salary cap hold in Philadelphia by nearly $1.75 million.

One day after Jody Shelley completed his five-game suspension, the Flyers optioned Zac Rinaldo and Harry Zolnierczyk to Adirondack, making way for Schenn's Philadelphia debut. The talented center played eight games for Los Angeles last year, contributing two assists.

After the latest roster move, the Flyers are now about $11,000 under the salary cap, according to the Philadelphia Daily News.

Schenn will be eligible to play Thursday night (7 p.m.) against the Washington Capitals.

For more Flyers coverage, visit our team page, or our blog Broad Street Hockey.

How To Escape NHL Suspension (Or Danny Briere's Love For Chocolate Strawberries)

Travis Hughes — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 16:25:13 -0000

Jody Shelley of the Philadelphia Flyers is waiting for his day in front of the judge this Thursday afternoon, following his nasty hit on Toronto Maple Leafs forward Darryl Boyce Wednesday night. That judge is Brendan Shanahan, and since the Flyers are a team that has to go through this discipline stuff quite a bit, they have a plan lined up.

Danny Briere, one player who has received his fair share of phone calls from the NHL in his day, gave some advice to Shelley on Thursday at practice. Try a bribe. Via CSN Philly:

"You should send [Brendan Shanahan] an edible arrangement of chocolate strawberries," Briere said.

"Does that work for you, Danny?" Shelley asked.

"If I were the disciplinarian, that would work for me," Briere said of his strawberry bribe.

We're wondering if Briere has a second job at Edible Arrangements. For the record, it's unlikely such a bribe works for Shelley and the Flyers. Shanahan will almost certainly hand out at least some sort of suspension on Thursday.

VIDEO: Jody Shelley's Dirty Hit Sparks Brawl Between Flyers, Maple Leafs

Brian Floyd — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 01:34:47 -0000

The preseason is usually a time to refine lineups, get a better look at players trying to make a team, and implement systems. But not so in hockey! No, the preseason is played with the same intensity as the regular season, all the way down to the occasional fight and dirty hit. On Wednesday, one such dirty hit, laid by Jody Shelley of the Philadelphia Flyers, sparked a brawl and left Darryl Boyce down on the ice after eating the boards.

Video of the hit after the jump.

Take it away, Broad Street Hockey.

As you can see in the video above, Jody Shelley's cheap shot on Leafs forward Darryl Boyce is 120 percent suspension worthy. It's just absolutely disgusting and something we don't want to see in hockey anymore. Shelley's mother would probably agree with that assessment, too. The puck is gone, Boyce has his back to the board, and Shelley decides to throw an elbow right into his upper back. It's impossible to defend something like that.

Can't argue with that. New NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan will certainly have a look at the video, and it's hard to conclude he won't deem it suspension-worthy. The question probably isn't if Shelley will be suspended, but how long the suspension will be.

'Goon' Movie To Glorify Hockey Fighters? And Their Drug Abuse?

Travis Hughes — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 17:09:11 -0000

We still don't know if there was any link between the tragic deaths of three NHL enforcers this summer, but we do know that these men do have increasingly difficult lives and that they deal with serious issues connected to their extremely stressful jobs.

There is no doubt that, even without a link, the deaths of Rick Rypien, Wade Belak and Derek Boogaard this offseason have shined a brighter light on those issues. I know it has for me. That's why I'm extremely interested to see how these men are portrayed in Alliance Films' new picture, Goon, starting Seann William Scott.

The one line that obviously stands out in the trailer, especially if you've been following the tragedy in hockey this summer with a watchful eye: "I'm high on painkillers!" ... in a scene that involves heavy drinking. That's enough to make everybody that's ever heard Boogaard's story more than uncomfortable.

The trailer clearly illustrates a film that glorifies fighting in hockey and their lifestyle, but I'm curious to see what somebody who's actually lived the life would think of that glorification. Somebody like Georges Laraque, for example:

"This job is so hard, physically and mentally," said Laraque. "You can go to a movie theatre the night before a game and you're thinking of the fight you're going to get into the next day. Like, you have to fight Boogaard. Then that game's over and it's like, 'OK, I have to fight Jody Shelley.' After that it's Brian McGrattan. You try not to think about it, but you start with the drugs or the alcohol and that creates the problem."

Or somebody like Todd Fedoruk:

Fedoruk believes most NHL enforcers have issues off the ice. Mental things that drag them down. He says most enforcers are never really secure in their role or with their team and are always wondering whether they "fit." That's their common bond, he said.

"It seems more and more, the guys who are demon fighters are the ones who play this role," he said. "I don't know if this goes hand-in-hand or you have to be a little crazy to do what we do. It's a price you pay."

We only have bits and pieces of this film to go off of at this point, of course, so it's too soon to make judgments. We don't know if they address the serious problems that plague these men, or if they choose to only glorify them instead.

Maybe I'm increasingly sensitive because I've been writing about death for the last several months, but the Goon movie trailer was extremely disconcerting to me when I first saw it Tuesday morning on Reddit. It'll get me to see the movie, so maybe the job has already been done, but I'm not going to be watching it because I think it'll be entertaining.

Flyers Look To Break Losing Streak Tonight Vs Kings

JasonB — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 23:37:29 -0000

(Sports Network) - The Philadelphia Flyers could be without their two top defenseman tonight when they try to avoid a third straight loss in a battle with the Los Angeles Kings at the Staples Center.

Already minus Chris Pronger for the next 4-to-6 weeks due to a right foot injury, fellow blueliner Kimmo Timonen suffered a lower-body injury in Tuesday's 6-2 loss at Vancouver and is questionable for tonight.

"I should be all right [Thursday]. I'll take the morning skate and we'll see how it feels," said Timonen. "I give a 50/50 chance.

"It's nothing really bad, but it's one of those things I have to step on the ice [Thursday] and see."

Though there is a chance Timonen can play, the Flyers did recall defenseman Erik Gustafsson from the American Hockey League on Wednesday.

One Flyer who could be making his return to the ice is Michael Leighton. The netminder has not played since a Game 6 loss in the Stanley Cup Finals to the Chicago Blackhawks on June 9. He underwent back surgery in October after winning 17 games in the regular season and going 8-3 in the playoffs with a 2.46 goals-against average.

Leighton has never faced the Kings.

The Flyers have dropped two in a row following five straight victories and got goals from Danny Briere and Jeff Carter in Tuesday's loss, its first in Vancouver since 1989 to open a five-game road trip.

Brian Boucher stopped 24-of-28 shots before he was replaced by Sergei Bobrovsky, who made 19 saves on 21 shots in relief.

"From the drop of the puck they were all over us," Flyers defenseman Sean O'Donnell said.

Philadelphia hasn't dropped three in a row in regulation since Oct. 14-21 and will also be without forward Jody Shelley, who was suspended for two games after punching Vancouver defenseman Andrew Alberts during a post-whistle scrum. Shelley received a match penalty and his second ban of the month. He also sat out two games for a hit from behind versus Boston on Dec. 11.

The Flyers trail the Penguins by four points for first place in the NHL and Atlantic Division, while the Kings trail the Stars by three points for the top spot in the Pacific Division.

Los Angeles did not help its cause last night, falling 6-3 in Phoenix. The Kings kick off an eight-game homestand this evening and are 5-0-1 at home this month and 13-2-1 on the season. The Flyers are 10-3-3 on the road.

Marco Sturm, Brad Richardson and Ryan Smyth each had a first-period goal for the Kings, who saw a four-game winning streak come to an end.

Jonathan Quick was pulled midway through the second period after giving up six goals on 18 shots. Jonathan Bernier finished the contest in net and stopped all 13 shots he faced.

"We didn't play in any area of the game," said Los Angeles head coach Terry Murray. "They came out and were ready to play from the first shift on."

Bernier was already slated to start this game and faces the Flyers for the first time. He is 3-0 with a 1.67 GAA in three home starts this season.

The Flyers notched a 3-2 victory in Los Angeles last year, giving them a win in four of five and eight of the last 10 meetings. Philly has also come out on top in two of three and five of the past seven at the Staples Center.