Colin Felix grew up in the arena where his father worked, and now the 23-year-old defenseman is aiming to build a career with the same organization. Felix, who signed with the Phantoms last spring, takes part in the Flyers' rookie camp in Voorhees this week.
His father, Chris "Cat" Felix, was the Phantoms' head athletic trainer from 1996 to 2004 and helped the team win a Calder Cup in 1998. Former winger Mark Greig, who joined the club that year at age 29, remembered a training room that doubled as a social hub. "You would migrate to his room because that's where the fun was," Greig said. Once, head coach Bill Barber scolded the team because 15 players had packed in at the same time.
Chris Felix died of lung cancer in 2017 at age 47. His collection of signed Phantoms and Flyers memorabilia now fills a sitting room in the family's home in Marmora, N.J., kept by his widow, Kim Felix Monteleone, and his sons Colin and Colby. Among the pucks, sticks and gloves sit two tickets from the April 27 game against the Cleveland Monsters, Colin's first with the Phantoms.
Colin's connection to the team began almost at birth. Three days after he was born on Jan. 7, 1999, his mother brought him to the Spectrum for his first Phantoms game. He grew up playing mini sticks with players' children and visiting his father's training room. He still wears No. 26 in honor of former Phantoms captain John Slaney, who lived with the family early in his time with the team.
His parents put him in skates at age 2, taping the blades so he could strengthen his ankles on the carpet at home. He later played for the Team Comcast youth program under former Flyer Derian Hatcher, alongside the sons of Danny Brière, Kimmo Timonen and Kjell Samuelsson. Samuelsson remembered Chris as the loud parent in the stands, though never obnoxious. "It was all of the kids," he said of the cheering.
After youth hockey, Colin attended St. George's School in Rhode Island. At the end of his junior year, Chris noticed his voice growing raspy and was diagnosed with cancer, a result Kim called "shocking" because he never smoked and rarely drank. The family tried to keep their sons' lives and goals on track. Colin moved on to the Janesville Jets of the North American Hockey League while Chris went through chemotherapy and radiation. Chris died on March 27, 2017, and members of the Flyers organization attended to honor him.
Colin began at UMass in 2018, playing all 41 games as a freshman, and attended Flyers development camp in 2019 as an undrafted player. He won a national title with the Minutemen in 2021 and joined their leadership group the next season before turning pro. Several teams showed interest, but the choice was clear. "It was the first jersey I ever put on when I was younger because of my dad," he said.
This summer he commuted an hour each way from Marmora to train at the Flyers Training Center, where he has already met familiar faces. Samuelsson calls him "Kitty," a nod to his father's nickname. Colin does not have his father's booming voice, but he believes his physical style can command attention on the ice.
Kim sees a full circle. Colin once sat on his father's lap on the bench, and now he will be on it as a player. "Probably with his dad sitting on his shoulder, watching him, encouraging him, and pushing him along," she said.
