The Philadelphia Flyers announced today they have made several additions to their hockey operations staff, including their American Hockey League affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, in preparation for the 2024-25 season, according to General Manager Daniel Brière.
Wayne Simmonds: Community Relations Ambassador & Hockey Operations Consultant
Wayne Simmonds joins the Flyers' staff for the first time since his playing career, having skated in eight of his 15 NHL seasons with Philadelphia (2011-19). During his time with the Flyers, the Scarborough, Ontario native tallied 378 points (203g-175a), including 91 power-play goals, 34 game-winning goals, and 786 penalty minutes in 584 games. Simmonds had two standout seasons with 60 points each in 2013-14 and 2015-16 and led the team with a career-high 32 goals in the latter. He also recorded 15 points in 30 playoff games with the Flyers.
Acquired in the summer of 2011 in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings, Simmonds quickly became a fan favorite, earning various team awards, including the Bobby Clarke Trophy for the 2016-17 season. He was an NHL All-Star in 2017 and won NHL All-Star Game MVP honors and was a two-time finalist for the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award (2017-18 & 2018-19), and won it in 2018-19.
Off the ice, Simmonds was deeply involved in community work, founding "Wayne’s Warriors" for military members and hosting "Wayne’s Road Hockey Warriors" to give underprivileged children access to the game. Over his 15-year career with teams like Philadelphia, Nashville, and Toronto, Simmonds played 1,037 regular-season games, notching 526 points and 22 playoff points across 53 postseason contests.
Reid Simpson: Director of Pro Scouting, Europe
Simpson joins the Flyers Pro Scouting team after eight seasons with the Montreal Canadiens. Simpson, a former professional ice hockey left winger, was drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in the fourth round (72nd overall) of the 1989 NHL Entry Draft. He made his NHL debut with the Flyers in the 1990-91 season.
Over the course of 12 NHL seasons, Simpson played in 301 regular-season games, where he recorded 36 points (18g-18a) and accumulated over 800 penalty minutes. He also played in 10 Stanley Cup playoff games during his career. He played for 10 different NHL franchises: Montreal, Philadelphia, Minnesota North Stars, New Jersey Devils, Chicago Blackhawks, Tampa Bay Lightning, St. Louis Blues, Nashville Predators, and Pittsburgh Penguins. He played over 300 games in the AHL, recording 139 points (63g-76a) in 342 regular season games, and helped the Albany River Rats win the Calder Cup during the 1994-95 season.
Kedryn Orrison-Pilgrim: Head Athletic Trainer, Lehigh Valley Phantoms
Orrison-Pilgrim joins the organization after three seasons with the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League where she was the Assistant Athletic Trainer working within the Buffalo Sabres organization. Kedryn is the third woman in league history to work a regular-season NHL game behind the bench in any capacity, when she worked Sabres-Avalanche game in Colorado on Jan. 30, 2022.
Prior to joining the Americans, she worked as the Assistant Athletic Trainer at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire where she primarily oversaw and supported the women’s volleyball, men’s ice hockey, and softball teams. Orrison-Pilgrim holds an assortment of degrees: She earned her bachelor's from North Central College in Athletic Training and Psychology, and earned her masters of arts degree in Exercise and Sport Psychology. Additionally, Orrison-Pilgrim received her doctorate from Moravian University in Athletic Training.
Lindsay Eastwood: Manager, Player & Hockey Communications
Eastwood joins the Hockey Communications department from the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League where she handled all of the team's communications and team services. Prior to joining the Rangers, Eastwood played three seasons of professional hockey in the Premier Hockey Federation with the Toronto Six, which included winning the league championship, the Isobel Cup in 2023.
Additionally, she played NCAA Division I women’s hockey at Syracuse University (N.Y.) for five seasons, where she served as captain for three seasons and helped lead the team to their first appearance in the NCAA Women’s Ice Hockey Tournament. During her time at Syracuse, Eastwood earned her bachelor's and masters degree in Television, Radio, Film with a Sports Emphasis from the Newhouse School of Public Communication.
Ryan Cyr: Goaltending Scout & Development Consultant
Cyr joins the Flyers as the team's goaltending scout and development consultant after previously held several coaching and consulting roles with junior teams, which included seven years with the Spokane Chiefs of the Western Hockey League from 2011-2018. Before transitioning to a career in coaching and development, Cyr was a goaltender in the WHL from 2000-05 with the Seattle Thunderbirds, Lethbridge Hurricanes and Saskatoon Blades. He played professionally in the ECHL (Bakersfield & Phoenix), UHL (Muskegon) and American Hockey League Grand Rapids) in each of the next two seasons.
Oleg Znarok: European Player Development & Scouting Consultant
Znarok joins the Philadelphia Flyers from AK Barz Kazan of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). After a successful 22-year professional career as a player, Znarok began his coaching career in 2002 and gradually established himself as one of the top coaches in Europe.
His coaching stints include leading clubs in the KHL to multiple Gagarin Cup Championships, which include 2012 & 2013 with Dynamo Moskva, and 2017 with SKA St.Petersburg. Znarok also achieved significant success with the Russian national team, which includes an Olympic gold medal in 2018, as well as a numerous medals in the IIHF World Championships (2014-gold, 2015-silver & 2016 & 2017-bronze).
Ellyse Robert: Hockey Analyst
Robert joins the Flyers Analytics team from the Los Angelas Kings organization where she spent two seasons as a Data Analyst intern. Before her time with the Kings, Robert earned her bachelor's degrees in applied and computational mathematics at the University of Southern California before earning her master's degree in applied data science from USC's Viterbi School of Engineering.
