With various injuries in the Flyers lineup, there are a lot of spots open for grabs at this training camp. And with a large amount of younger players looking to either break into the league or solidify their spots, that is exactly what they want to hear. And there isn’t going to be any hesitation in playing them either. It is exactly what this team needs to do.
That’s what John Tortorella said after the first day of training camp. This team has a lot of players under the age of 25 who will be pushing for a spot on this roster. It will help create that healthy competition between them and the veteran players as well. No one is guaranteed a spot, especially from a head coach who is coming in with a blank slate.
While Tortorella couldn’t speak on many of the players with this being the first time he is seeing them, he knows that they need to find out what they have.
"“I do feel as an organization right now, we need to get a foundation underneath us here. We need to get it back on the rails. We need to get a good foundation of what our kids are. So they’re gonna get every opportunity. I’m not gonna be afraid to put them into situations that’ll maybe bump another guy out that thought he was gonna be there. I think it needs to be a little bit of merit here as far as where everybody stands”"
For someone like Wade Allison, that is exciting news to hear. Allison has been bit by the injury bug quite a bit since making his debut during the 2020-21 season. He played in just a single game for the Flyers last season while appearing in 28 games with the Phantoms. He is one of the younger players that will be getting an opportunity to show what he can do.
Joel Farabee is one of those players who should play a key role on this team. And while he is only 22 years of age, he has begun to establish himself in the NHL. He believes it will be good to have these players see what it takes to make it in this league. And while he doesn’t consider himself to be the most vocal, he will offer any help they need.
"“I think the benefit of our organization is how many good prospects we have. You look at the Cates brothers, Tyson coming up, and guys like that. We have a lot of guys that are gonna be pushing for spots on this team. For me, I’m still a young guy, but any help I can have for them is…I’m always there. I think this camp is gonna be really good for us.”"
This is also good for some of the veteran players like Artem Anisimov who is fighting to even earn a contract. The Flyers were the only NHL offer that he had after spending the last season in the KHL. He wanted to come back to the league and play against the best players that he possibly could. He has some familiarity with Tortorella from his Columbus days.
No matter who you are, where you come from, or even where you were drafted, that doesn’t matter. Tortorella is going to put out the best players that he can. And if that means pushing a veteran out of a spot, he isn’t going to be afraid to do so. With a locker room that needs to start holding themselves and everyone else more accountable, this is something they should all be taking seriously.
"“We know there’s a lot of skeptics, a lot of people who don’t believe we’re a good hockey team. I know our players are eager to prove them wrong. We all are. There’s a lot of hard work ahead of us.” Fletcher said Thursday morning."
Things aren’t going to get any easier from here. Feathers are going to be ruffled. We’ll find out quickly who is able to handle the pressure and who isn’t.