Luca’s Philly Farewell Interview

I was thinking last night about trying to get another player interview. While I’m waiting for several Flyers to get back to me on Facebook and the Cote Carnival isn’t until this weekend, I thought I’d try touching base with one of the most cordial, hospitable members of the Philadelphia Flyers that I have had the chance to speak with.

One problem, he’s not a Flyer anymore. His name is Luca Sbisa.

We all know about losing Luca in the Pronger trade so I’m not going to force everyone to relive it. So I send him a little message, asking if he’ll answer a couple questions for the fans he was forced to leave behind. His response…

hey paulhope your doing well?!sure no problem…as long as its nothing too big haha

The subject of my letter was, “Hoping you are well,” hence the, “hope your doing well,” line. So I took some time and came up with a couple questions. I just got his answers and here they are…

I’m going to cut through the chase, how did you feel when you got the call telling you that you had been traded?
I actually just flew in that friday and was at home for about 2 hours! I saw I had a missed call from Holmgren so i called him back like 10 minutes before the draft started. He asked how I am and if I got in well. I thought he was just checking if the flight went well and the next thing he said was that i got traded to the ducks!

I was pretty shocked, I didn’t expect it at all. I was like, did that really just happen?! It took a couple of days until it settled in. Coach Stevens and Holmgren called me the next day and we talked for a little bit and told me why this happened.

I know it’s part of the business and thats hockey there is nothing you can do about but to accept it! It was really tough but after a while I got really excited to be part of a new team and to have a new chance to prove my self again.

I know you were happy in Philly, but, is there a team you would have rather gone to than Anahiem?
Actually last year at the draft I was hoping to get picked by the ducks who picked 17th at the time because you wanna go as high as possible right and anaheim was one of my favorite teams growing up but obviously I was extremely happy to get picked by the Flyers 19th overall!

A canadian team would have been nice, but hey, Anaheim is a great organisation as well and a great environment to play hockey in!

How are things working out for you in California as far as the team is concerned? Have you met with your new teammates, coaches, etc.?
I flew over to Anaheim like a week after I got traded and I’ve been working out here ever since. Not many guys are in town yet, I’ve only met Bobby Ryan and Ryan Getzlaf who are really nice guys! Me and Bobby spend pretty much every day together and are already really good friends and obviously Joffrey. I havent met the coaches and Bob Murray yet, but the whole staff and players should be in town within the next 2 weeks. So far I’ve made only good experiences here. I got a house in newport beach and it starts feeling like home, its beautiful here!

Finally, anything you want to say to your fans back here in Philly?
There would be so many things to say about Philly, but I’m just really thankful for the opportunity I got there. I got treated really well by the team and especially the fans!!! I saw my future in philly, I saw me playing there for my entire career, thats how much I loved it in philly!
Thank you fans, I will never forget the support I got and who knows if I end up in a Flyers jersey again down the stretch.

Thank you Philadelphia!

And thank you, Luca. Thank you for your style of play, your heart, determination and your interaction with the fans. I’d like to say you will be missed, but you already are.