New faces, young roster hopefuls and more in Flyers training camp storylines originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
At the start of Rick Tocchet’s introductory press conference, Danny Briere wanted to make one thing clear.
“The plan doesn’t change here,” the general manager said in May, sitting alongside his new head coach.
Briere reiterated that sentiment Tuesday with his rebuilding club two days out from training camp. Despite a five-year playoff drought, matching the worst in franchise history, the Flyers don’t have a postseason-or-bust mindset for 2025-26.
But, without losing focus of the long-term vision, they do have a pressure and need to get better.
“Going into the season, certainly, the message is we expect our team to take a step forward and try to help them, but not at the detriment of the future of this organization,” Briere said. “We don’t feel we’re there, we’re still kind of building this thing brick by brick and that’s the approach still going. Now, if there’s an opportunity, we’re going to jump on it. But we’re still in the early stages of where we want to take this organization.”
Briere and president of hockey operations Keith Jones are entering Year 3 of their tenure. Their future-centric plan has the support of ownership.
“The goal is to build a team that’s going to become a contender for years to come,” Briere said. “The goal is not just to make the playoffs one year, get knocked out, disappear for two years. … It’s about building a team that eventually will have a shot at winning some rounds and winning a Stanley Cup for years to come and be there year after year.”
On Thursday, the Flyers open their 2025 camp, Tocchet’s first as head coach of the club.
The camp roster and schedule can be found here. Let’s get into storylines for camp.
Competition up front
Not only do the Flyers like that they have some young forwards vying for the roster, but they’re also eager to watch a ton of guys battle for roles.
The Flyers feel they have more options because of offseason additions and prospects knocking at the door.
“There’s going to be some internal fighting for responsibilities,” Briere said, “and that’s what I’m excited about.”
Can Trevor Zegras solidify himself as a top-six center? The Flyers traded for the talented 24-year-old in June. He already has two seasons of 60-plus points on his résumé, but he’s coming off two injury-riddled, disappointing seasons. Over those two seasons, he bounced to the wing.
“I’ve played center kind of my whole career up until two seasons ago,” Zegras said in June. “I’ve always felt more comfortable there. I think there are definitely areas that I need to work on, whether it’s in the faceoff circle or below the goal line or in front of the net in the D-zone.”
And what kind of lift can Christian Dvorak provide down the middle? The Flyers signed the 29-year-old to a one-year deal in July. He’s a bottom-six pivot who had his best NHL season under Tocchet with the Coyotes in 2019-20.
“He helped me out a lot in Arizona as a young guy, we had a really young team there and he was really good with us,” Dvorak said in July. “I know he’s going to be great with the young guys here in Philly.”
Last October, the Flyers had forwards Joel Farabee, Morgan Frost, Scott Laughton and Ryan Poehling in their season-opening lineup. Farabee and Frost were traded to the Flames in January, Laughton was dealt to the Maple Leafs in March and Poehling went to the Ducks in the Zegras trade.
“The trades of Farabee, Frost, Laughton, the reality is those guys were starting to lose responsibilities because our young guys were starting to step up,” Briere said. “Now we have more young guys that are pushing and that, to me, is what is exciting.
“Nobody can be comfortable or happy with what they’ve done in the past. They’ve got to keep getting better and better, and that includes all our veterans, because our young guys are starting to push and they want more and they’re hungry for more.”
Alex Bump might be the hungriest of the Flyers’ prospects. He could crack the season-opening roster as a 21-year-old winger. He’d seemingly have to beat out a veteran like Rodrigo Abols or Nicolas Deslauriers for a lineup spot. We’ll see if the Flyers give him a look on the second or third line throughout camp and the preseason.
The same goes for Nikita Grebenkin, a 22-year-old winger who had a goal and two assists over the pair of rookie games last weekend. The 19-year-old Jett Luchanko is also in the mix at center and could give the Flyers a tough decision.
Derek Souders/NBC Sports PhiladelphiaBetter in net?
Goaltending remains the biggest question for the Flyers’ present and future.
Last season, the club had an NHL-worst save percentage at .872. The season before that, it was tied with the Senators for the league’s worst mark at .884.
At the end of last season, Briere challenged his goaltenders, informing them that he’d be bringing in outside help. He signed Dan Vladar to a two-year deal in July. The Flyers are hoping Tocchet’s preferred style of play and Vladar’s experience relieve the burden on Samuel Ersson, who turns only 26 years old in October.
“I expect the goaltending to be better, no doubt about it,” Briere said. “I think also the system might protect them a little better, that Rick Tocchet and his staff are going to put forth. … I think Vladar will come in and probably be a little bit more support for Sam.
“But we do believe in Sam still. He has shown some flashes. I think with Sam, having a guy there to protect him and not expecting him to play three games a week should probably help Sam in the long run, that’s my feeling. But Sam is still developing and we still believe in him.”
This season is a big one for Ersson. It’s a contract year and the 28-year-old Vladar is aiming to play more than he did with the Flames.
“I’m a big believer in Sam Ersson,” Jones said a week ago. “I think that Sam is in a position now age-wise and being pushed by the depth at that position now, that it’s going to benefit him. I think that Sam is going to stand up to the test here this year.”
The trade of Ivan Fedotov three days ago cleared some cap space for the Flyers and it also provided a clearer picture of their tandem at AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley. Aleksei Kolosov, a 2021 third-rounder, is No. 3 on the Flyers’ depth chart and Carson Bjarnason, a 2023 second-rounder, is No. 4 as he turns pro this season.
More: Carter Hart, Flyers rule out any chance of goalie’s return to Philly
Getting defensive
Half of the Flyers’ defense appears like it could be jostling for minutes and responsibilities.
There’s even a job up for grabs with Rasmus Ristolainen’s absence. As expected, the 30-year-old will miss camp and the early part of the season as he recovers from surgery on a second triceps tendon rupture.
“Risto is moving ahead,” Briere said. “We knew all along that he wouldn’t start the season, but everything is looking good for him to meet up with the team in hopefully the first month and a half, two months of the season, at some point. On that front, it’s trending in the right direction.”
The Flyers know what they have in Travis Sanheim and Nick Seeler. It’ll be interesting to see how the new coaching staff utilizes Cam York. The 24-year-old looks poised for a rebound season after he re-signed in July to a five-year, $25.75 million contract.
Jamie Drysdale is still really young, but he’s in a contract year and searching for more consistency. Egor Zamula is also in a contract year and could be competing for games with free-agent additions Noah Juulsen and Dennis Gilbert.
Is Emil Andrae ready to become a regular? And could Helge Grans, Hunter McDonald or Oliver Bonk work their way to the big club?
“I don’t know the exact roster spots that we have available because we have different options,” Briere said. “We could go with 13 or 14 forwards, we could go seven or eight D, so those are all things, depending on how guys perform during camp, that we’re going to evaluate.”
