It’s going to be an interesting training camp when the Flyers hit the ice next week. John Tortorella isn’t going to take things easy with a team that many expect to have another mediocre season. So buckle up everyone, it’s going to get tough in here.
As the only one who has skated in a Tortorella training camp, Cam Atkinson has been asked plenty of times about what to expect. Some of those players even continue to ask him the same questions as anxious nerves start to build. But they know in the end how tough it’s going to be.
The time for talk is coming to an end, now it’s time to put your money where your mouth is. And like Kevin Hayes said on Monday, if you’re not ready for that challenge, then it won’t be easy for you.
"”If you can’t take getting yelled at or pushed to a certain limit…if you don’t handle that the right way and you kind of fade away from it, it could be a tough route for you.”"
But with the entire team having been in the Voorhees area and practicing at the training facility since the beginning of September, it is very clear how they feel. There’s a reason they’ve all gathered so early. They are excited to get things going and are ready to get the bad tastes out of their mouths from last season. There’s a buzz in the room about what Tortorella can do for them.
It’s also been no surprise that the Flyers new head coach has stressed the need to change the culture in the locker room. That is the first thing on his agenda before anything such as naming a new captain. But there are plenty of candidates in the room when that time does eventually come. Could that fall onto a player such as Atkinson who has the experience with Tortorella?
"“I don’t need a letter to solidy my leadership role. I’ve been around long enough that I know where I stand in the locker room…I’m a guy that tries to lead by example. No matter what I’m gonna be vocal, I’m gonna practice hard, I’m gonna play just as hard so you know what to expect out of me day in and day out. Whatever happens, I’m always ready for the challenge.”"
It won’t matter who is leading in the room if accountability isn’t at the forefront of what they do, though. That was a big topic during the team’s end of season press conferences last year. It was clear that something was amiss in the room and that is exactly what Tortorella was brought in to fix.
But it’s also the players themselves who need to hold each other accountable. You have to back up what you preach as well. Because no one is going to listen to anything you say if you aren’t able to show it on the ice.
"“If you try to hold people accountable and you’re not holding yourself accountable, people don’t respect you. You can yell at anyone you want but if you’re going on the ice and turning the puck over on the blue line or not getting pucks deep, not blocking shots, no one’s gonna listen to what you have to say.” Hayes said on Monday."
The Flyers have a big hill to climb if they want to have any chance of contending, especially within their own division. Being tougher to play against is another thing that was at the forefront of what Tortorella spoke about when he was first hired. Bringing in a guy like Nic Deslauriers, re-signing someone like Zack MacEwen, they don’t plan on holding anything back.
"“I think we’ve got a good mixture of that physicality and yet we’ve still got a ton of skill and can kind of play on both sides.” Travis Sanheim said on Tuesday. “I think you need that in today’s game, you can’t shy away from it. And yet you still need that skill level to keep up in this league.”"
It was a similar sentiment that Sean Couturier spoke on during his availability on Monday. While they may not have that big name superstar player, they feel like they’ve come together as a team and don’t expect to be bullied and pushed around like they have been in the past. Anyone could see that teams could easily push the Flyers around and there wasn’t many who would stand up when something happened.
We did see it happen at times, like when Nick Seeler stood up to Jamie Oleksiak. But it was rare to see the Flyers use that physical edge and stand up for each other when the time came. It doesn’t sound like that’s how things are going to be anymore.
But before any of that is to happen, they need to get through what is certainly going to be one of the toughest training camps that they’ve ever been a part of. It’s less than a week before we get to all see what a John Tortorella coached training camp will look like. If it’s anything like we’ve heard, it’ll be a fun one to watch…but maybe not to be a part of.