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Not Ilya Bryzgalov [Photo: Ego Studios]

Last week, during his introductory press conference, Bryz talked about how Rittenhouse reminded him a lot of… Russia:

“It’s fun; it reminds me of Russia a little bit. It’s very green here – lots of trees. The downtown area by Rittenhouse Square is a beautiful area. The people are very friendly. I like it a lot.”

 

Perhaps he needed just a bit more time here:

Screen Shot 2011-09-01 at 2.17.55 PMIn Democratic Philly, man is girl! Wait until he sees a homeless guy accosting a hooker…

Anyway, speaking of Bryz, Philly Burbs caught up with Franny Drummond, paint-master at Drummond Custom Airbrush, the local shop that produced this helmet for Bryz. Drummond said he's working on a Winter Classic version, too:

Drummond and his wife had agreed that if the Flyers reached the Stanley Cup Finals in 2010 they would name their son after Flyers goalie — and friend — Michael Leighton.

“He actually gave me a signed stick after he found out,” Drummond said of Leighton, for whom he designed a mask for the outdoor Winter Classic game in 2010. “He loves it and thinks it’s a great honor.”

Drummond said he is working on a special Phillies-themed mask for Bryzgalov to be used at this year’s Winter Classic, which will likely be held at Citizens Bank Park.

 

We put that first paragraph in there just so you know that there's a human being out there named after Michael Leighton. Poor kid, his peers are just going pass him left and right.

Finally, via Puck Daddy, our 93-year-old forward, Jaromir Jagr, owns the Knights of Kladno in the Czech Republic (I now know what I'm going to name my ultimate team in NHL): [Wall Street Journal]

Mr. Jagr, one of a minority of active Christians in the Czech Republic, said he decided on the name The Knights because of moral and ethical images it conjures up.

"A knight is courageous, honest, and never gives up. Knights respect one another, it's never 'I' but always 'we' and everybody plays fair. I want our players and the whole team to have these qualities," Mr. Jagr said. The club's new logo bears a cross and features a medieval knight with the helmet of Saint Wenceslas, patron of Czechs.

 

Right. Welcome to Philly, guys.