Flyers Alumni Celebrate 10th Fantasy Camp Anniversary

A record 72 players from across 21 different U.S. states and Canadian provinces flocked to Philadelphia for the 2024 Flyers Alumni Fantasy Camp on the University of Pennsylvania campus.

The annua Fantasy Camp in August is one of the most highly anticipated events of the year both for the players and among the Flyers Alumni themselves. This year's camp was particularly special: a 10th anniversary celebration on and off the ice that lasted from Friday to Monday.

Congratulations go out to Steve Capoferri and the River Rock Academy team for winning their sixth Fantasy Cup championship. The squad defeated Team Toyota, 7-1, in the championship game. Team Results Guaranteed defeated Team Neumann University in the consolation game, 10-3.

Results Guaranteed forward Zach "Gunner" Stahl led the tourney in scoring with 17 points in four games (11g, 6a). Big River Rock center John Romano was second with 12 points (9g, 3a).

Twelve Flyers Alumni participated as the coaches of the four teams:

Results Guaranteed (white jerseys): Danny Briere, Brad Marsh, Dave Poulin
Toyota (green jerseys): Andre Dupont, John LeClair, Patrick Sharp
Neumann (black jerseys): Ian Laperriere, Keith Jones, Joe Watson
River Rock (orange jerseys): Mark Howe, Mark Recchi, Paul Holmgren

The on-ice sessions at camp -- one practice apiece, followed by three round-robin games and the consolation and championship matches -- are only half the fun.

Each year, there is a welcoming reception on opening night. All of the players are introduced by legendary Flyers public address announcer Lou Nolan (who also does PA duties during the games at the Class of 1923 Arena). This year, coaches Joe Watson, Dupont and Kelly all reminisced about the Flyers 1974 and 1975 Stanley Cup championship seasons with emcee Steve Coates.

On Saturday, there's a camp outing to a "mystery" location. This year, the Saturday outing took everyone to a scenic dinner at a rowing club on Boathouse Row.

On Sunday, the last evening of camp, there's always a Hot Stove session led by "Coatesy" and featuring a couple of special Flyers/NHL Alumni guest speakers. This year, for the 10th Anniversary of Camp, Alumni president Marsh, camp organizers Kelly and Rob Baer went all out to arrange an extra special experience. Camp participants were escorted to Wells Fargo Center and walked through the illuminated passageway the Flyers players walk through for home game nights, and toured the recently rennovated locker rooms.

From there, everyone enjoyed dinner at Stephen Starr's luxurious Adrian restaurant before a Q&A session with emcee Steve Coates and panelists Sharp, Holmgren, LeClair and Recchi. The session was an open forum with questions ranging from dealing with a trade to being the parent of a young athlete or non-athlete with an instantly recognized surname. LeClair and Recchi spoke from their hearts about the latter topic. The common themes were just to be as supportive as possible and to encourage their children to pursue their interests, abilities and dreams.

This year's Camp featured a silent auction of unique Alumni collectables with all proceeds going to benefit the various Flyers Alumni programs and initiatives such as the "Twelve Days of Christmas" charitable giving program the Flyers do each year during the Holiday Season.

Before everyone returned to the camp hotel on Sunday, Marsh gave all of the Fantasy Camp attendees a preview of some new events the Alumni will roll out over the next year. In 2025, there will be an "Alumni Weekend" with three fundraising events in a three-day span: 1) a pickleball tournament in Malvern, 2) a Walk, Run or Bicycle event in Conshohocken (similar to the old Charity Classic format), and 3) the 2025 edition of the Alumni Golf Invitational at Dupont Country Club in Wilmington. Come the NHL offseason, the Flyers Alumni will host a once-in-a-lifetime golfing vacation trip to Ireland.