The spring and summer of 2023 brought several changes to the Philadelphia Flyers front office. Former Special Assistant to the General Manager (GM) turned Interim GM Daniel Brière was promoted to full-time GM status on May 11. On the same day, the Flyers also hired former fan-favorite Keith Jones as the President of Hockey Operations.
Last summer, the Flyers Scouting Department also experienced some shuffling of personnel and the addition of new hires. Along with a major change in the director of pro scouting position, Philadelphia, also hired three new pro scouts. The Flyers Scouting Department now consists of four NHL veterans. Between the six members of the scouting department, there are former All-Stars, a Calder Memorial Trophy winner, a Stanley Cup champion, and individuals with coaching experience at various levels of the game.
Mike Eastwood – Director of Pro Scouting
In Jul. 2023, Mike Eastwood was hired as the Director of Pro Scouting for the Flyers. The Ontario-native replaced his predecessor Dave Brown in the role. Eastwood played in the NHL for 13 seasons with seven different teams between 1991 and 2004.
Selected 91st overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1987 NHL Amateur Draft, the center made his NHL debut during the 1991-92 season with Maple Leafs. Two seasons later, he became a regular in the NHL, appearing in 54 games for Toronto, recording 18 points (eight goals and 10 assists). Over the course of his long career, he appeared in the playoffs nine times with the Maple Leafs, Winnipeg Jets, New York Rangers, and St. Louis Blues. A career highlight came during the 1999-2000 campaign when he recorded a career-high 34 points (19 goals and 15 assists) for the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Blues. Eastwood retired from professional hockey following the 2003-04 season when he called future NHL executives Mario Lemieux and Marc Bergevin teammates on the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Eastwood became well-respected for his perspective on the NHL and overall hockey acumen. Following his NHL career, he worked for his hometown Ottawa Senators as a sports radio co-host and analyst. He transitioned to coaching starting in the 2014-15 season as assistant coach with the Ottawa 67’s of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). He served in this capacity until the conclusion of the 2016-17 campaign. His next two coaching assignments included serving as an assistant with the American Hockey League’s (AHL) Hershey Bears and as a development coach with the Anaheim Ducks. Eastwood’s first job as a pro scout was with the Anaheim Ducks, a position he held from 2020 to 2023.
Dany Heatley, Pro Scout
Dany Heatley’s NHL career spanned from 2001 to 2014. The second overall pick in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft by the Atlanta Thrashers, the left-winger went on to have an outstanding rookie season, winning the 2002 Calder Memorial Trophy after recording 67 points (26 goals and 41 assists) in 82 games. As a member of the Thrashers from 2001 to 2004, Heatley compiled an impressive 80 goals and 101 assists in 190 games. His time with the Thrashers was cut short during the 2003-04 due to a fatal car accident that severely injured Heatley and claimed the life of his friend and teammate Dan Snyder.
Following his time in Atlanta, Heatley played for the Ottawa Senators, Sharks, Minnesota Wild, and Anaheim Ducks. Over the course of his NHL career, Heatley appeared in four NHL All-Star Games. He ended his professional career in the AHL during the 2014-15 season, splitting time between Norfolk Admirals and San Antonio Rampage, and in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) with the Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers during the 2015-16 campaign.
Along with winning a Calder Memorial Trophy, Heatley also shined on the international level, capturing a gold medal at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. During the Olympics, he had seven points (four goals and three assists) in seven games for Team Canada.
Heatley’s first job as a pro scout came leading up to the 2023-24 season with the Flyers. The talented former player brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Flyers Scouting Department. The former first-round pick’s experience at multiple levels of ice hockey in North America and Germany provides the Flyers’ organization with an individual who understands the skills required for a player to be successful at the NHL level.
Dave Brown, Pro Scout
Between 1982 and 1996, Dave Brown played in parts of 14 seasons in the NHL with the Flyers, Edmonton Oilers, and San Jose Sharks. Known primarily as an enforcer during his career, the right-winger was a member of the 1989-90 Oilers’ Stanley Cup-winning team. That season he appeared in 60 games, tallying six assists and recording 145 penalty minutes.
Related: Oilers History: The Dave Brown Effect
Drafted 140th overall by Philadelphia in the 1982 NHL Entry Draft, Brown was a member of the Flyers for two separate stretches during his career, from 1982 to 1989 and 1991 to 1995. The former tough guy is remembered by many hockey fans for his Oct. 26, 1987, devastating cross-check on New York Rangers’ right-winger Tomas Sandström, a hit that ended with the recipient suffering a broken jaw and concussion. Brown received a 15-game suspension for this incident, the stiffest NHL of its kind at the time.
Following his retirement from professional hockey after the 1995-96 season, Brown joined the ranks of the Flyers’ coaching staff as an assistant. He remained in this role for two seasons, before transitioning to a pro scout with the New York Rangers for five seasons. He was promoted to Director of Professional Scouting for the Rangers leading up to the 2003-04 season, a role he filled until being hired by the Flyers as the Director of Player Personnel in 2006.
Leading up to the 2013-14 campaign, the Flyers assigned Brown to the position of Director of Pro Scouting. He held this role until being reassigned as the Head Pro Scout during the 2022-23 season. Leading up to this season, Brown was demoted to pro scout with the Flyers.
Ross Fitzpatrick, Pro Scout
Ross Fitzpatrick’s professional hockey career spanned 10 seasons. Although most of his career was spent in the AHL, the center appeared in 20 games for the Flyers. A member of the 1987-88 Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears, the British Columbia native was selected to the AHL Second All-Star Team on two occasions during his career, the 1985-86 and 1989-90 campaigns. During the 1988-89 season, Fitzpatrick appeared in 38 games for the Austrian professional hockey club Wiener EV, recording 49 points (26 goals and 23 assists).
Fitzpatrick retired from professional hockey after appearing in 76 games for the AHL’s Binghamton Rangers during the 1991-92 season. His scouting career began with the Flyers during the 2006-07 season. Apart from a short stint as an amateur scout between 2011 and 2015, he has served as a pro scout since joining the franchise.
Greg Chase, Pro Scout
Greg Chase joined the Flyers’ organization as a pro scout leading up to the 2023-24 season. The forward is remembered fondly by fans of the Western Hockey League’s (WHL) Calgary Hitmen, where the native of Alberta played during parts of five seasons in the juniors. During the 2013-14 campaign, he recorded 85 points (35 goals and 50 assists) in 70 games.
A 2013 selection by the Oilers in the NHL Entry Draft, the forward appeared in 271 AHL and ECHL games between the 2013-14 and 2019-20 campaigns. He ended his career in Great Britain’s Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) with the Fife Flyers, recording 35 points (eight goals and 27 assists) in 46 games during the 2021-22 season.
Daniel Tremblay, Pro Scout
Another new addition to the Flyers’ Scouting Department for the 2023-24 campaign, Daniel Tremblay brings three seasons of coaching experience in the juniors to the organization. The Quebec City native was an assistant coach with the Gatineau Flames of the Quebec Junior Hockey League during the 2018-19 season and part of the 2019-20 season before being promoted to head coach. The following season, he served as assistant GM of the Flames, as well as associate coach of the Québec M15 AAA Élite’s Outaouais Intrépide Bantam AAA.
Scouts with Experience
Flyers fans have had the pleasure to witness firsthand the contributions of talented, young players like Tyson Foerster and Joel Farabee this season. Philadelphia currently sits in third place in the Eastern Conference’s Metropolitan Division, a position that is arguably far better than most analysts and fans of the team anticipated at the outset of the 2023-24 campaign. With the potential of a playoff berth on the horizon, the Flyers front office is still committed to stocking their roster with even more talent to carry the franchise into the future. In order to return to their winning ways, the Flyers’ GM Brière will rely heavily upon the years of experience that the hockey lifers and former NHL veterans in the club’s scouting department possess.
