With the regular season quickly approaching, the Philadelphia Flyers having to cut their roster to 23 men from the 34 they have at the moment, and plenty of injuries to talk about, things are going to quickly take shape within the next week.
Of the 34 players still remaining on the roster, several players know they’re going to get sent down eventually, like Ronnie Attard and Egor Zamula, but they were given a few more days with the big club because the Flyers and John Tortorella really liked what they saw out of them – especially Attard’s fight with the much bigger and bullish Ross Johnston on Tuesday.
There are still question marks regarding the goaltending, forward lines, and there’s even a chance that Joel Farabee could suit up for the opener.
Starting with Farabee, the left winger said he is good to go and feels great after visiting a doctor earlier today. The next step in his development and rehab is getting the A-Okay from the Flyers medical staff to return and get cleared for full contact.
Farabee, who represents one of the better goal-scorers on the team, had offseason neck surgery and at the time was deemed to miss at least the first two weeks of the regular season. There was always a wrinkle of hope that he could rehab and get better ahead of their October 13th date versus the New Jersey Devils, but it seemed more like the Flyers trying to rush the inevitability. Now, with the season only days away from kicking off, they are encouraged by his rapid improvements and him being 100% healthy – as he says.
Today’s practice was also one of the few times the Flyers “got banged around a little”, and Tortorella was pleased with how well they all did, specifically mentioning Farabee, who had yet been deemed for any contact.
The other important injury update was that of Carter Hart, who did not suit up for any game over the preseason. He fell to a lower-body injury during training camp and was held out as a precaution, but the idea is that he will be ready for the season opener. Hart said he’s feeling better and on track to play the game, but more importantly mentioned how great he felt after his first practice in some time – a 5-on-5 scrimmage that lasted well over an hour.
The Flyers, who always seem to have something wrong going about their goaltending, were dealt a heavy blow over the summer with the detainment of Ivan Fedotov in his native Russia, then Hart fell to his injury, and then Felix Sandström also sustained an injury in the preseason.
Samuel Ersson played magnificently in his four appearances, stopping 57 of the 60 shots that came his way. The same can’t be said about Troy Grosenick, who struggled mightily at times and figures to start the season with the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms. However the die is cast, the Flyers are going to be operating a very inexperienced tandem as Sandström and Grosenick only have 5 and 4 games of NHL experience each, respectively, and Ersson has yet to play an NHL game.
The more work’s the better for Hart this week as they’re going to need him to stay healthy this season and guide the Flyers between the pipes.
Lines are finally taking shape and today the Flyers featured what could be their opening night lineup. They had Kevin Hayes centering the top line with Scott Laughton and Travis Konecny, followed by Morgan Frost in the middle of James van Riemsdyk and Wade Allison/Zack MacEwen, followed by the Cates brothers centering Joel Farabee and Owen Tippett, and they finished it off with Tanner Laczynski in the middle of Nic Deslauriers and Hayden Hodgson/Allison/MacEwen.
They are interesting lines to say the least and it seems that Hayden Hodgson is most likely on the outside looking in as he shared reps with Allison and MacEwen. It’s important to note that Cam Atkinson wasn’t present as he is going through his normal maintenance days. He is a little banged up, they want him to rest a little more, but they are also not too worried since he is very familiar with Tortorella’s system and a veteran who consistently performs.
With Allison and MacEwen being used on two separate lines, it seems like they could both crack the roster, giving the Flyers a relatively bruising fourth line with Deslauriers and MacEwen at their disposal, but Atkinson’s return likely forces one out. Of course, things are not concrete in the slightest as the Cates brothers both showed off their bags of tricks during the preseason. It seemed destined that Noah Cates would crack the lineup with his brother Jackson not too far behind.
The bottom-six was always going to be difficult to predict with the amount of players vying for a spot and how different they all are comparatively. Nevertheless, it’s a good sign to see Farabee practicing in full and taking reps regularly.
As for the defense, Ivan Provorov and Tony DeAngelo were always destined to make up the top pairing, followed by Travis Sanheim and Rasmus Ristolainen reprising their role on the second pair. Egor Zamula was paired up with Justin Braun, while Kevin Connauton, Nick Seeler, and Ronnie Attard split reps on the fourth pair. As things go, the fourth pair is never a place you want to be in, most likely leading to healthy scratches or demotion, but it was surprising to see Zamula get full reps on the third pairing with Braun after everything the coaching staff said about his likely demotion and marination in the minors.
There is still a week before the Flyers open the season on home ice against the New Jersey Devils, but things are slowly in motion in terms of roster moves, lineup changes, and healthy versus injured statuses.
It’s unfortunate that Sean Couturier and Ryan Ellis aren’t here for the festivities as their presences in the lineup would have given them a totally different dynamic and look. Nevertheless, injuries are part of the game and grind, and the Flyers have to make do without, unless Couturier can miraculously come back from his herniated disc in short order.
Music City Hockey Trip
Take a three day vacation to Nashville with Philly Sports Trips this October! The package includes direct flights, a three night stay at the Cambria Hotel Nashville Downtown, an all-inclusive tailgate, and tickets to the Flyers Predators game. $100 cash for anyone who shows proof they went to the Flyers game on the trip.
