Ex-Flyer Kerry Huffman
returns to his roots

By Melissa Yerkov
Times Sports Editor

Kerry Huffman was your average student at Centennial High School in Guelph, Canada.
He went to class. He did his homework. And in his spare time, he played on the local junior ice hockey team.
Then, with one simple phone call, everything changed.
"I was in my final year of high school in Canada when I got called up by the Flyers," recalled Huffman, a native of Peterborough, Canada, who was Philadelphia’s first-round pick in the 1986 NHL Entry Draft. "I was actually sitting in math class. From there, things happened very very fast. But I loved every minute of it. It was a dream come true."
Within a few months, the new professional athlete was suited up and playing defense for the Philadelphia Flyers.
"I was the youngest on the team at that point," said Huffman, who was 18 when he was drafted. "It was a little intimidating. All of the sudden you go from playing games with fifteen- and 16-year-olds to guys who are thirty-five years old."
But when Huffman glided on the ice for his professional hockey debut, his determination overpowered his nervousness . . . even after he saw the opposing team.
"My very first professional game was against the Oilers and Wayne Gretzky," said Huffman. "I got to play my first game against Gretzky! It was a great thrill. I think I was a little in shock, looking back on it all. I grew up watching Gretzky, and all the sudden, to have a chance to play against him, it was amazing.
"It was fun," he continued. "But everything happened so very fast. You’re going from really being a kid — loving and playing the game — and suddenly you’re in this very big business."
Huffman adapted to his new career quickly, scoring six goals and recording 17 assists by his second season. He totaled 22 goals and 60 assists throughout his initial seven years in the NHL, all with the Flyers.
"My first year, when I started to realize I was on the same level as the other guys, was really rewarding," he said. "It’s something I’m proud of."
By 1992, Huffman had built a solid reputation in the NHL for his skillful moves on the ice. That same year, he caught the eye of the Quebec Nordiques — and was traded as part of the deal that brought Eric Lindros to Philly.
"When I got traded from Philly to Quebec, it was tough because I felt like I finally started to play very, very well here and this was kind of my home," said Huffman, who had 14 goals and 18 assists with the Flyers the year he was traded. "It looked like things were working out and then the trade happened. It’s a totally different organization, and you’re not treated the same way that the Flyers treated you, so it was a little bit difficult, but that’s the business side of the game."
Following his two years in Quebec, Huffman was traded to Ottawa, playing for the Senators from 1993 to ’96.
Then, almost as if on cue, he was beckoned "home" once again.
"The Flyers’ organization really has a way of treating people the right way," said Huffman. "You know that when you go to different organizations. But even when I got traded to other cities I always came back here. This area was home."
Huffman played his final four games in the NHL as a Philadelphia Flyer in the 1995-96 season. He spent the next three years — the last of his hockey career — playing in the International Hockey League for the Las Vegas Thunder and the Grand Rapids Griffins.
During that time he also was battling a shoulder injury, which eventually brought his 13-year professional hockey career to a halt.
"I went into the boards awkwardly and dislocated my shoulder," said Huffman, who underwent five surgeries in three years in hopes of repairing his shoulder. "Then it got progressively worse. Just getting to that point and knowing that you might not be able to play a lot longer is a tough thing. The game becomes a lot harder than it was when you were nineteen or twenty years old. But it happens.
"It got to the point where it would not heal properly," he said of the shoulder. "It was time to be done."
Overall, Huffman played in 401 regular-season games in the NHL, scoring 37 goals and recording 108 assists.
Throughout his hockey tenure, Huffman also suffered broken ribs, injured wrists and a laundry list of other injuries, but he considers it all part of the game.
"Everybody goes through things like that," he said. "It’s a cutthroat, difficult game to stay in for any length of time. That’s the motivating factor. You want to stay in the game as long as you can. Hockey has always been competitive. It’s just the nature of the game."
For the next eight years, Huffman traded his hockey uniform for a business suit and worked for a mortgage banking business in Red Bank, N.J.
"I’ve always wanted to get back involved though," said Huffman. "Hockey is in your blood."
Sure enough, the former defenseman is back in Philadelphia, and reunited with the Flyers family.
Huffman was recently named director of hockey at the Polonia Bank Flyers Skatezone, located off Comly Road.
"This opportunity came and it was a perfect fit," Huffman said from behind his new desk during a sit-down with the Northeast Times last week. "It’s nice to get back on the ice, and working with the kids is great."
Huffman is involved in all of the hockey programs that are offered at the Northeast Philadelphia facility, including the youth hockey, adult hockey and "Learn to Skate" programs. He also is coaching the local travel team, the Blazers.
Having experienced the world of amateur and professional hockey firsthand, Huffman is hoping to bring some of his personal experiences to his coaching strategies.
"What I’ll stress with them more than anything is to love the game," he said. "Things have a way of working out — whether they go pro, or go to college, or they just learn valuable lessons from playing the game — as long as they’re having fun playing hockey. That’s what is really important.
"I’m really looking forward to this opportunity," he added. "The last few weeks have been great. They have a great staff here. Anything I needed, they’ve been right there to help." ••
Sports editor Melissa Yerkov can be reached at 215-354-3035 or myerkov@phillynews.com