“Me coming in as a rookie and a young guy, he always treated me with a lot of respect,” Couturier said. “Seeing him around the rink after games shaking your hand meant a lot from your owner.”
Scott Laughton joined the Flyers one year later in the 2012 draft. He played five games at the start of the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season, but after that didn’t see NHL action until November of 2014, and then played 71 games in Mr. Snider’s final season of 2015-16.
“I’ll always remember the way he cared for us,” Laughton said. “It didn’t matter who you were, he always had a conversation with you, always shook your hand.”
Mr. Snider spent most of that 2015-16 campaign at his home in southern California, where he was undergoing medical treatment. Several members of the organization made trips to see him over the course of that year, but the entire team visited him at his home while the Flyers were on their California road trip that December.
“It meant a lot for us getting that invite and being around him,” Couturier said. “He always loved being around us, really loved the Flyers.”
“I didn’t get to see him a whole lot my first year or two, but I was fortunate enough to go to his house on that trip to LA,” Laughton said. “That was pretty special to me. He probably didn’t know me a whole lot but he always made sure to make me feel welcome. That goes a long way for a young guy.”
Laughton and Couturier were indeed young players then, but now they’re part of the leadership group taking the Flyers into this New Era of Orange. And while Mr. Snider is no longer with the team, his spirit lives on, and the two will be helping to spread that to the current roster.
“He’s still remembered and his legacy will live on forever, probably,” Couturier said. “He’s done a lot of great things for this city and this organization. There’s not going to be another one like him.”
