In late September, a few eyebrows were raised when Wayne Simmonds signed on to play in Germany’s second division with the world-renowned Crimmitschau Hockey and Tennis Club.
This weekend, more eyebrows went up.
In a game between Crimmitschau and the Fischtown Pinguins, Simmonds dropped the gloves with Pinguins forward Ralf Rinke.
Contrary to popular belief, Ralf Rinke wasn’t one of the villains from Inglorious Basterds. He’s just a hockey player.
Anyway, the bout did not go well for ol’ Ralfie (FF to 1:53):
Simmonds fought a career-high 10 times for the Flyers last season, which included tilts against quality opponents like Brandon Prust, Deryk Engelland, David Clarkson and Derek Dorsett.
This reputation was clearly not lost on Rinke, who showed off his battle scars on Facebook:
(Photo courtesy Yahoo’s Sean Leahy, by way of ISport)
If you couldn’t figure it out, that’s Rinke with the mangled eye socket.
Simmonds is probably happy NHL clubs aren’t allowed to have contact with their players during the lockout, because someone from the Flyers would probably be blowing a gasket at him right about now.
Related: It’s official — Flyers sign Simmonds to six-year, $23.8 million extension