If the Philadelphia Flyers are going to make any inroads this season, their defensemen are going to have to be their strength. Comparatively, their forwards are dealing with a myriad of injuries and their goaltending looks shaky with question marks surrounding Carter Hart’s backup.
Yes, the Flyers are missing Ryan Ellis but that’s not a shock or a surprise, compared to the injuries that have beset Sean Couturier, Joel Farabee, Bobby Brink, and even Patrick Brown. Troy Grosenick has four games of NHL experience under his belt throughout his 10-year career and Felix Sandström got five games under his belt last season, while Samuel Ersson played just five games with AHL Lehigh Valley.
The defense on the other hand is going to be comprised of Ivan Provorov, Travis Sanheim, Rasmus Ristolainen, Tony DeAngelo, Justin Braun, and one of Ronnie Attard, Egor Zamula, or Nick Seeler to begin the season. Depth was a major problem last year when they only had Seeler and Kevin Connauton available to them as spare defensemen. They were forced into a position to play several young prospects like Attard, Zamula, and Linus Högberg, which only further adds to their depth now with their newly founded game experience.
DeAngelo was traded for and then signed because of his successful lone campaign in Carolina. He played on the top pair with Jaccob Slavin, performed admirably, and restored some semblance back to his name after a rough couple of years in the media’s limelight. His right-hand shot, minute-munching abilities, and power play prowess is what pushed Chuck Fletcher to throw all his eggs in his basket this summer. He believes he can replicate that production and on the flip-side, he will be able to alleviate some of the stresses in Provorov’s game.
The best thing the Flyers did this summer was hire John Tortorella as their new head coach and Brad Shaw as one of his assistants. Tortorella is known for his defensive systems and schemes and Shaw has been by his side before from his time in Columbus. Systematic hockey is more than necessary in Philadelphia as they have looked like a ship without a captain for years. Accountability has also been a rising issue and these two figure to tackle that problem head on.
Shaw, who is also tasked of heading the penalty kill, is relatively excited about the prospect of coaching Ivan Provorov and Travis Sanheim in particular. Provorov is the anchor of the defense corps and his success is far more important than most players on the team. The Flyers need him to regain his 2019-20 form when he played out of his mind with a much better and far more seasoned dance partner in Matt Niskanen. Last year was a tough season for Provorov, who dealt with ups and downs to a greater extent than most with his 25 minutes of ice time.
Shaw, who has been relatively quiet this offseason, had a lot to say when asked by NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jordan Hall about Provorov, his game, his upcoming season, and what he likes about the Russian Machine.
“He’s got a real seriousness to him. You get the occasional smile, which I think would help him. I think if you start truing too hard in this game, you can get in your own way once in a while. But I love him. He looks ultra competitive, he can skate, he can shoot, pass the puck – there’s really nothing he can’t do.”
“Provy is probably the biggest piece of that puzzle, but we’d like to add as many as we could, as many big pieces. But he’s a horse. He looks like you can keep pushing him and keep pushing him, and guys like that are ultra valuable. They can eat up minutes, plus they can be productive in those minutes, and that’s a nice combo.”
“We’ve seen what Tony can do offensively, we’ve seen Provy’s great two-way game. Sometimes the combination works fantastic when you do that and sometimes it gets a little disjointed.”
“Provy is an overt leader, like he’s out there. He likes to sort of be at the head of the parade. Sanny is maybe not quite as obvious, but he’s another ultra-competitive guy.”
“Guys like him are exciting because you can’t really even see the ceiling, you can’t see the finished product. The finish line is so far down the road. And I feel like that’s still for Provy, too. I still think he’s learning. He’s logged a ton of minutes, a ton of important minutes already for this organization. I still think we’re not even close to the finished product for him and that’s exciting.”
“Not only do they have a little bit to prove from last year, the guys that are coming back, but they also have a lot of room for growth. That’s going to be a big part of our job, is giving these guys enough space so that they can keep building on who they are as players and then eventually you hope that translates into a fantastic team game, so we get this organization back where want to be.”
Sanheim, who was bar-none the best defenseman on the team, is looking to replicate that success this year in what’s going to be a very important contract-year. Even though both defensemen are very different in how they play, how they act, and how they approach the game, Shaw sees that and understands that very well, but knows that that’s more of an asset than a hindrance.
“He’s probably gong to be just as valuable down the road as any guy we have on this team. And that’s exciting. You watch these guys grow as players and human beings and young men. You try not to put limits on them and sometimes unfortunately we do i how we treat them or how we play them or how we talk about them. I think the potential he has is really exciting – not just for him but for this organization as to where he can take his game.”
“Hopefully I can help impact that a little bit in a positive way, but it’s going to be him taking those strides and making those decisions and those commitments.”
The Flyers head into a very pivotal campaign as they’ve just undergone their third “re-tool” in four years with Chuck Fletcher at the helm. Nothing seems to be changing for the better, however if players don’t show up ready to start this season, changes are afoot. The players have been warned and it seems like the team is okay with trading certain players if they can’t fit Tortorella’s and Shaw’s new system.
Provorov and Sanheim are going to be tasked with leading the team from the back end and protecting Carter Hart and company. While Cam York still has time to fill in his first-round shoes and will start with the Phantoms, Justin Braun should be looked at as nothing more than depth, Tony DeAngelo is being looked at as a superior Shayne Gostisbehere, and Rasmus Ristolainen needs to play a far more complete game than just his bashing and bruising.
Tortorella is excited, Shaw is excited, the players are seemingly excited, now we need to see this excitement translate onto the ice into goals and wins.
Music City Hockey Trip
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