Yesterday, the Philadelphia Flyers began the 2024 Training Camp (reference for scrimmage teams) with the infamous John Tortorella bag skate.
“We got so many good athletes in our league. No one wants to be embarrassed in these skates. So, they do the work. I think it’s gotten better and better as we’ve done this. There were some guys that struggled, but there weren’t many people that didn’t finish, and that’s the key for me, just making sure they finished the skate.” – John Tortorella; 9/19/2024
A measurement of a hockey player based on grit and conditioning. Tortorella was finding out who put the work in and how competitive his roster was before the pucks were on the ice.
Today, the pucks were on the ice. When speaking yesterday, Tortorella labeled a few points of emphasis for the Flyers this season while admitting areas he needed to improve. Failing to secure a postseason berth, no matter the expectation anyone had of the team, had to do with not being able to score the grinding goals under the hash marks and burning out Sam Ersson. ‘Evolution’ sets the tone for Philadelphia, an expectation from Tortorella.
Scrimmage: Team 1 vs. Team 3
Eetu Mäkiniemi was on the ice for the 9am practice. He spent most of last season in the AHL with the San Jose Barracuda, finishing with an 8-8-0 record, a 3.14GAA, and a 90%SV. He will join the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, tandem with Cal Petersen, and replace Alexei Kolosov.
Egor Zamula and Rasmus Ristolainen each scored a goal in the first scrimmage. They represented a pair on Team 1, scrimmaging Team 3 at around 10am. Together, Zamula and Ristolainen resemble what could be the third line to begin the new season.
“He’s [Ristolainen] a great partner for me. I feel him one hundred percent; we talked a lot in the summer, in the camp as well, so I feel very comfortable playing with him. I think we played pretty good and we understand each other.” – Egor Zamula; 9/20/2024
Zamula (9PPP; 2G, 7A) led all of the Flyers’ defensemen in powerplay points last season. He began on a three-game point streak (1G, 2A) against the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Vancouver Canucks, and the Dallas Stars. Ristolainen, on the other hand, has never been in the lineup to begin a season for Philadelphia. To have him at camp and make a positive first impression is huge for confidence, especially when Tortorella previously praised Ristolainen for the development in the defensive zone.
“Especially, it’s annoying because before that, I never barely been hurt, and played most of the games. [I] really took my time and been thinking about what’s the reason, and why now, but I mean, stuff happens and you can’t control. It’s sometimes bad luck, too. I’m extremely excited, and [the] big, big plan is to stay healthy.” – Rasmus Ristolainen; 9/19/2024
Scott Laughton pounced on a briefly loose puck in the slot to score for Team 3. Jon-Randall Avon sent a pass intended for Alexis Gendron, broken up by Sam Sedley, but recovered by Laughton for the goal with a head of steam. It was a fast-moving scoring chance on an odd-man rush.
Scrimmage: Team 1 vs. Team 2
Morgan Frost and Matvei Michkov were together throughout most of the second scrimmage. Michkov was in deep on the puck, kept checking, and helped create another quick possession where Olle Lycksell set up Frost for a one-timer goal. Frost could be the intended center for Michkov, but that is an early interpretation after the first two scrimmages of the training camp.
“I think it’s exciting to have the chance to play with him [Michkov], and I think we were having fun out there. I think Tip [Tippett] are pretty familiar with each other. We’ll see what happens moving forward.” – Morgan Frost; 9/20/2024
Team 1 versus Team 2 went into a shootout. Cooper Marody scored the scrimmage-deciding goal. Marody had an earlier wraparound assist to Tyson Foerster for Team 1, too. Michkov was gloved in the shootout, which would have combated the effort by Marody.
Travis Sanheim
During the scrimmage between Team 1 and Team 3, Travis Sanhiem tried to get back into the defensive zone to stop Travis Konecny. From that, a scrum broke out. To set the tone for the rest of the scrimmages, Sanheim and Konecny played at a high-stakes level.
“We’re all good. It’s just the battle of playing against each other. We always say we’re better playing together because nobody wants to see the other guy; when he’s got the breakaway, I’m trying to get back and shut him down, vice versa. That’s just the competitiveness coming out. It’s good. It’s what these are for. We’re supposed to be intense. We’re supposed to be physical and get involved. Maybe we don’t want to get to that level; we can laugh about it after.” – Travis Sanheim; 9/20/2024
Something like this goes back to finding out what the team is, which is what Tortorella is looking for out of training camp. Tomorrow, the Flyers begin the third day of training camp at 9am from the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees, NJ.
