Men's Hockey: Wait...Fritsch did what?

While we mean no offense to Jamie Fritsch whatsoever, I'm sure many of you are wondering how he got the chance to play for the Philadelphia Flyers in the NHL so quickly without ever having been drafted or even rumored to be on the professional horizon.

Fritsch was a steady four-year player at UNH, but the safest bet on who would be the next UNH alum in a Flyers' uniform was highly touted prospect James van Riemsdyk, who left the team two weeks ago to play with the team's AHL affiliate, the Philadelphia Phantoms. That was true until Sunday.

Fritsch was called up by the Flyers under an amateur tryout contract because one of their starting defensemen, Ryan Parent, went down with a groin injury. Philadelphia didn't have many options because they are one of only three NHL teams that have zero salary cap space to work with. And, since signing one of their AHL prospects would cost money, they decided on Fritsch, who won't count against the cap as an amateur free agent.

Fritsch only played four minutes for the Flyers, but we congratulate him on the opportunity and hope he succeeds in the rest of his professional endeavors.