Peter Laviolette prepares for Flyers season, Winter Olympics

Two months before the Flyers open the regular season at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs, head coach Peter Laviolette is gearing up for the upcoming NHL season and the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

In a story appearing on the team's web site, Laviolette spoke about his expectations for the upcoming NHL season, as well as his preparation as assistant coach of the USA Olympic team.

"Representing your country in a sport is a great honor," Laviolette said. "Having been there before a few times, knowing first hand what a great experience it is and it can be I'm grateful to be a part of it again…Certainly there is an expectation now that we can go over there and be successful.

"We believe we have a good team. I'm sure we don't stand alone in that category though as other countries probably feel the same way about their chances."

The coach also spoke about how he is getting ready for the Flyers upcoming training camp.

"Right now I'm getting everything back in order," Laviolette said. "Preparation is the most important thing in August and the beginning of September so that way when the players are here everything is ready and there is no doubt or are no questions about what we're doing on any given day. "

In addition, the coach addressed what he thinks about the Flyers recent additions in veteran players Vincent Lecavalier and Mark Streit. Laviolette said adding two former captions "should be a big help to our young group."

Laviolette also expressed his excitement about the team acquiring goaltender Ray Emery during free agency. Before getting hired in Philadelphia, Laviolette worked for TSN in Canada and said he "really liked" watching Emery during his first stint with the Flyers.

"I'm excited to see him in the mix with Steve (Mason) and we think we have a real good goaltending tandem for the upcoming season and moving forward."

CLICK HERE to read the full story.