Flyers latest camp cut highlighted by Cam York

Eight days remain until the start of the 2022-23 NHL season. And for the Flyers, there are still some decisions to make in regards to their final roster. A day after their final preseason game, they made a few more cuts to get down to the final 23 players.

The Flyers cut their training camp roster by 10 players, bringing the current amount to 34 players. There was a big surprise on the list in the form of defenseman Cam York. He was expected to start the season with the Flyers, likely on the third pairing with Justin Braun.

But when the team released the list of cuts, his name was on it. The other five players sent to the Phantoms were Tyson Foerster, Olle Lycksell, Adam Ginning, Adam Karashik, Pat Nagle. Adam Brooks, Max Willman, and Louie Belpedio were placed on waivers in order to send them down to Lehigh Valley. And finally, J.R. Avon was assigned back to the Peterborough Petes of the OHL.

Back to York, it was an up and down training camp where both Ian Laperriere and John Torotrella talked about wanting to see more out of the young defenseman. He showed some flashes of what he can become if he puts it all together. But he didn’t get where the team needed him to be. So it’s over to Lehigh Valley for now, something Tortorella said isn’t a punishment.

"“I think it’s a perfect situation for him to go down there and play. I think it’s the toughest position – goaltending’s the most important, defense is the toughest to play. To me, it’s part of the process for him with us in trying to get him the end goal to be that player that we think he can be.”"

York has appeared in 33 total NHL games, including his biggest stint that past season where he skated in 30 games total. He was up and down the lineup as he was given chances to shine and looked like he was ready to make the jump full time. He recorded his first NHL goal, posting three goals and 10 points total during his time with the Flyers.

He earned the praise from Chuck Fletcher at the end of last season and looked like he was going to stick around.

"“Cam York, to me, is a young man that is going to have a very bright future in this league. Precisely because the attributes he brings are exactly what we need in terms of the ability to go back at the puck, skate if it needs to be skated, make the quick first pass and if that’s not there, find the second option. He has all those abilities and not every defenseman does.“"

York also felt like, in his conversations with management at the end of the year, that there was confidence in his abilities and what he could do. After spending about a month back home, he came back to the Voorhees area and went to work. Despite suffering a hairline fracture towards the end of the season, he didn’t see any limitations coming in his off-season workouts.

Tortorella stressed early on in camp that he was going to let the kids play. But that doesn’t mean he was just going to give spots away without players earning them. Accountability was also something he stressed and felt this locker room needed a lot more of. There are no locks on this roster no matter how long you’ve played in the NHL.

And it’s not York’s physical skills that need some working on. Tortorella expressed that he feels York is there in terms of that, but it’s the mental side of the game that he could work on.

"“For me, it’s not the physical skills, I think it’s the mental skills. I think it’s him wanting to be a guy that’s going to make a difference and then being the player to make a difference.”"

So it’ll be the likes of Ronnie Attard, Egor Zamula, Nick Seeler and Kevin Connauton battling for the final few spots on the Flyers roster, in terms of defense. Tortorella did imply that Attard and Zamula would be headed back to the AHL, though. So we could have our opening night roster just about set on the backend with Ivan Provorov, Tony DeAngelo, Travis Sanheim, Rasmus Ristolainen, Justin Braun and one of Seeler or Connauton.

York will almost certainly be back. But it’s up to him to go down and put in the work with the Phantoms to prove to Tortorella and the Flyers that he has what it takes.