Had the chance to talk to Cal Heeter about winning a spot in Adirondack as a result of his play during training camp. Story in tomorrow's paper about that, but I also wanted to talk to veteran goaltender Scott Munroe about his decision to return to the Flyers' organization after three seasons away.

He broke into the American Hockey League with the Philadelphia Phantoms, but has not played for the team since 2009. He spent a year with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers  before heading to the KHL to play for a team with a lot of consonants in its name. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton signed him to serve as a veteran backup to Brad Thiessen last season, but the two wound up splitting time about 50/50.

Part of that was Thiessen spending about a month up in Pittsburgh, but Munroe also finished the 2011-12 season with better numbers than his counterpart. He can still carry a big workload. His comments on the lockout, season, and being a veteran after the jump.


 

On signing with the Phantoms:

“I’m getting a little bit older and it’s tough to get job now with all these young goalies coming up. When (coach Terry Murray) signed, that was just a bonus. Obviously, coming back to this organization, I knew what I was getting into. I had a lot of really fun years here and good memories, so it was a pretty easy decision to come back.”

On his first season in Adirondack, even though he's played for the Philadelphia Phantoms:

“I joked to some of the guys I think they were trying to break me in a little bit – bringing me back to New Jersey and having training camp there and then bringing me up here. So far, I really enjoy it. My wife and I have a place in Saratoga Springs, which is beautiful. My wife and I made the drive in this morning for practice. It was good. I’m really looking forward to good things this season.”  

On taking on the role of veteran goaltender with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins:

“When I signed with Wilkes-Barre, they gave me a pretty clear idea of what my role was going to be. Obviously, going into it I kind of knew the plan, but I still wanted to go and play hard and get as much time as I could. Fortunately, I played a good amount of games and had a good season. I look forward to coming in here and carrying that over.”

On whether he had given advice to Heeter or Hovinen:

“Not yet. With these two guys, they’re good young goalies. They’re just getting used to this league. This will be my sixth year in the American League. If they need anything, I’m there to help.”

On the opportunities the lockout presents for American Hockey League players:

“I just think it’s a really good opportunity for a lot of guys to gauge themselves against good young players. In practice everyday, we get to play against Schenn and Couturier – guys that given different circumstances might not be on our team. It gives guys a good chance to play against some really good players. Even on the other teams, there’s some good talent in the league. It should be fun.”

On being one of the few veterans on a young Phantoms team:

“It is a young team. I even noticed from my first year in the league until now how much younger the league is getting every year. But the talent is getting better. It’s younger kids, but the talent is much better. It’s fun. It’s fun to play.”

Until next time,
MC