The Flyers made a position and hire that had seemingly been coming down the pike since the end of their 2021-22 campaign.
Injuries ripped through the club as it endured one of its worst seasons in franchise history.
"We're going to look at our entire structure in terms of our medical side," Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher said May 3 at his end-of-the-season press conference. "Like we have with analytics and pro scouting and amateur scouting, we're certainly going to look at ways we can invest and improve that entire area. Questions have already been asked. We're going to get together and just try to dig down, see what's preventable, what was bad luck, but what can we do and where do we need to add."
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On Thursday, the Flyers added Ian McKeown, naming him their new vice president of athlete performance and wellness. The Flyers said they underwent a "wide-ranging, global search" for their "newly created position."
Per the team's press release, "McKeown will establish and oversee a comprehensive and coordinated health and wellness program for all players within the Flyers organization while working closely with the team of doctors and specialists at Penn Medicine."
Following last season, it became clear Comcast Spectacor chairman and CEO Dave Scott and the Flyers wanted to address the areas of injury prevention and recovery.
"Dave's been great, allowing us to invest a lot of resources," Fletcher said May 3. "We’re going to look at a couple other areas this summer in ways to continue to invest and improve in the off-ice resources we provide our players."
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The Flyers' number of injuries last season were undeniably alarming and crippling. The club had over 490 man-games lost and dealt with some instances of reinjury, as well.
“In order to compete at the highest level in today’s game, our players need and deserve a modern, comprehensive performance and wellness program, and by hiring Ian for this new role, we’re investing in a world-class program that we believe will significantly impact our players and our team,” Fletcher said in a statement released by the team Thursday. "We are very excited to bring Ian into our group, and his experience in enabling peak athletic performance is unmatched. He will have a direct impact in reshaping and enhancing our players' abilities to perform at the highest level each day, including in practices and games, and recover on days away from the rink."
McKeown spent the last nine seasons with Port Adelaide FC of the Australian Rules Football League in Adelaide, Australia. With the club, he was the head of high performance.
Per the Flyers' press release, "McKeown will work across all of the organization’s relevant departments — including the analytics department — to create customized, comprehensive health and wellness plans for each of the Flyers players."
"My career has taken me all over the world," McKeown said in a statement released by the team Thursday. "My goal is to work with good people, doing great work. There are great people around here and as soon as I started to speak with people from the organization, I fell in love with it.
"I’m here to make a difference. For me it's about being really strategic and smart about creating the right environment where people just can't help but get better, being connected and a part of something special. But we also work in a performance sport. We're expecting you to work hard and to have incredibly high standards."
How the hiring impacts the job statuses or roles of Flyers director of medical services Jim McCrossin and assistant athletic trainer Sal Raffa is uncertain. Raffa respectfully declined comment Thursday.
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