Flyers Training Camp Day 3 Update: Team Status

(Photo: Zack Hill / Philadelphia Flyers)

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly Editor-in-Chief

Another day of boot camp is on the books for the Circulars as their first preseason begins to draw closer. The pace remains high, although the energy level started to drop a little after three days of high intensity training.

The emphasis was more on drills in the offensive zone and front chess, and several players showed a striking touch with some nice shots, notably Travis Konecny and Cam Atkinson.

The line combinations remained the same, although there were a few injuries on Day 3. Tanner Laczyski was supposed to be on the ice with Group A, but did not train due to an injury to “his other side”, according to Alain Vigneault. Linus Högberg left Group B session earlier and did not return. He was having an MRI following an oblique injury.

Vigneault also said he would change the training camp schedule after noticing the drop in energy. A preprogrammed day off for Wednesday next week will now be Monday. On Sunday, the Flyers will focus on the special teams game and close the day’s activities with a scrum.

Another part of day 3 of training camp was hearing David Scott, Governor of the Flyers. Scott had previously mentioned that he didn’t think the squad needed to make a lot of changes as last season began to come to an end. The offseason was anything but that for GM Chuck fletcher. So what has changed in the state of mind?

“I think we had a lot of conversations about it, and it was really to make sure he had what he needed to work,” Scott said. “As you get into it, it’s a bit of a domino effect. You take the first big step with Ellis and we just continued from there. We have really strengthened the team. I think we knew what we wanted to do. It was defense first for sure. Then we had the chance, I think, to do well on the attacking side. “

Scott began his press conference by making a statement that was quite a state of the team, indicating his enthusiasm for the season and the challenge presented to the entire organization this season.

“Just the fact that I’m excited about our squad this year, the kind of where we’re at, and just the fact that we’re back to an 82-game season,” Scott said. “A certain sense of normalcy. I think the only thing that strikes me is that we have the time. It’s development camp time, rookie camp time and now we have training camp. We had all six preseason games. I think this will really put us in a strong position to move forward.

“I just want to talk about last year’s season. It was very disappointing as you all know and to say the least. I think when we were done I challenged our whole organization, “what could we do to really improve this team? I think everyone took it to heart and really wants to recognize Chuck and the staff because it’s no easy task. In this cap world we live in, and the fact that this year it’s a flat cap. You have the hand that is dealt to you. We’re all in the same boat there, but I think we’ve achieved a lot of our goals. We have depth. We have experience. We have leadership, on and off the ice. I couldn’t be happier about it. Just look at the energy and enthusiasm that prevailed this week.

With so much excitement and enthusiasm from the inside out, what does this mean for Flyers’ expectations? Scott won’t make any predictions, but he feels like a goal is obvious.

“It’s early, but the first task is to qualify for the playoffs,” Scott said. “You just have to make the playoffs. It’s planned. I think we’re all on the same page with this. I say we’re at the start, but we’re feeling pretty good.

“I was so excited about the step we took in 19-20. I think we want to build from that. I just have to win this Game 7 and take the next step. Once in the playoffs, anything can happen. I think we are headed in the right direction. We have such a good balance with these veterans and these young children. I think we are in a good position.

Oskar Lindblom achieves positive results

On Friday, Alain Vigneault ended his press conference with an update that Oskar Lindblomthe last scans came back without cancer. On Saturday, he explained this by saying that in conditioning tests Lindblom returned to the same results he had before his diagnosis.

“We obviously predict that the Oskar that we’re going to see this year is Oskar’s pre-cancer,” Vigneault said. “Back then, when we told him he had cancer, he was our top scorer. Him and [Sean Couturier] and [Travis Konecny] were meeting online and playing extremely well. They were playing together on the power play. Oskar and Coots were killing shots on goal together. They were a very good NHL line. I hope with everything I hear he’s back to where he was before.

“Obviously, we’ll have to have a little patience there, but when we talk to him, we see that he feels good. I don’t mean to say he was frustrated last year, but he was because he had the mind that was walking, but the body just wasn’t doing what the mind thought it was.

Lindblom returned to the Flyers midway through the playoffs against the New York Islanders in 2020. On the other side of the ice, Derick Brassard was part of that team that ultimately won the series. Now playing on the same line as Lindblom at camp, Brassard has certainly expressed his appreciation for the player that is Lindblom.

“I always thought he was a good player, a very strong skater and very strong with the pucks,” said Brassard. “He’s got this Swedish game. He’s really smart there. I’m happy to be on the same lines as him and hope we can make him work.

Besides, Joel farabee said he saw the same player who was on the ice leading the team in scoring before his diagnosis.

“Oskar looks really good. When he got back into the bubble, you could see in his body that he wasn’t there physically, which was normal,” Farabee said. “He’s got the flow back now. , so he looks more normal. Really excited to see what he’s gonna bring this year. I think he’s gonna really pop for us.

Other Notes

• Between sessions, the Flyers Warriors held a press conference to announce that they will host the 2021 USA Hockey Warrior Classic. The Flyers Warriors are the reigning champions of this tournament as of 2019. There was no tournament held in 2020 due to COVID-19.
• Alain Vigneault said the rotation of goaltenders for preseason games will start with the main goalies getting two periods in a game and one of the younger goalies getting a period. That is Carter Hart Where Martin jones will start the first two preseason games – one each – and play the first two periods. Samuel Ersson and Felix Sandström will get the remaining period. After that, the Flyers expect to give either Hart or Jones full games for the remaining four preseason games, which will likely share the workload yet again.
• Joel Farabee spoke about his expectations heading into his third season, now with a new contract extension in place: “Every year you get a little wiser, some things you want to work on. Released last year, not the season we wanted. This year is definitely important. As our shirts say, we have something to prove. Really excited to start the year.

Day 4 of the Flyers’ training camp will start with Group C on the ice from 8:30 am to 9:30 am, as usual so far. Groups A and B will be separated and skated from 10 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. before meeting from 11 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. for a scrum. For fans wishing to attend the Flyers Training Center, the doors will open at 9:30 am.