5 Flyers observations from London

LONDON, Ontario — Heading into the Flyers' first split squad preseason contest of the season on Monday night at Budweiser Gardens, there were many things that we already knew about the lineup.

For instance, we already knew that veteran Zack Stortini - who is in camp on an AHL contract with the Phantoms - likes to fight. He has 725 penalty minutes in 257 career NHL games. Last night, Stortini took on two of the Maple Leafs' heavyweights, Frazer McLaren and Troy Bodie, in two separate bouts.

We also already knew that goaltender Anthony Stolarz would see a piece of the action, since he spent the last two seasons with the hometown London Knights. Today's newspaper story focuses on why that start was different than last year.

But there were also a few things we learned. Here are five quick observations from Monday's preseason warmup:

1. Bellemare on PK: Newcomer Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, who is first in line to be the Flyers' fourth line center, saw quite a bit of time on the penalty kill. He was teamed up with Zac Rinaldo on the penalty kill. Scott Laughton and Darroll Powe were the other killing unit, as the coaching staff gave Sean Couturier a bit of a rest from his normal role.

Even though the Flyers gave up two goals while shorthanded, Bellemare's awareness and communication were impressive.

"He's a very heady player, a very intelligent player, and he skates very well. He gets around the ice," assistant coach Gord Murphy said. "He's got great conditioning. He doesn't seem to get tired out there. For a centerman, he knows how to support the play very well. He uses his speed to his advantage. To come in from Europe and the smaller ice and to be able to hold his position well, it was really encouraging."

2. Ctrl + Alt + $: Phantoms defenseman Mark Alt was promoted to the veteran group in camp on Sunday and settled in for a nice preseason debut on Monday. He was paired with first round pick Samuel Morin. While Morin was rather quiet during the contest, Alt seemed to be noticeably more comfortable as the game progressed.

"He brought a lot," Murphy said of Alt. "He may have been the most pleasant surprise in this game. I thought he had an outstanding game. He was aggressive. He's got good quickness. He closed on people really well. He was talking a lot out there. I was very confident playing him in all situations. It was an excellent showing by him."

3. New wrinkle: Aside from Stolarz, defenseman Michael Del Zotto was probably the Flyers' best player on Monday night. He was controlling, poised with the puck and extremely active and engaged in the play. His vision created more than a handful of scoring chances, giving us a feeling he might be one of the best free agent signings of the entire summer.

It is clear Del Zotto will be given every opportunity by the coaching staff to earn a spot on the power play, something that didn't happen during his stop in Nashville last season. Del Zotto quarterback the power play for a bit, using Jason Akeson and Matt Read to his left and right to funnel the puck to Michael Raffl and Wayne Simmonds.

During the power plays, Del Zotto wasn't afraid to engage down low near the net, working give-and-go plays and getting dirty on the boards to make sure the puck remained in the offensive zone. Solid start for him.

4. Raffl strong: Not sure what Michael Raffl's summer workout plans entailed, but he seemed noticeably stronger on the puck. He won most of his battles in the corners on the forecheck and was hard to bump off the puck. He danced around a couple Maple Leaf defenders to beat Cal Heeter for the Flyers' second goal.

Raffl remains a candidate to play on the left wing with Claude Giroux's line once the captain returns from his vague, lower-body injury. For now, Brayden Schenn has the inside track.

5. The new Hal Gill: It's always tough to judge any player based on one preseason showing, let alone a veteran on a new team in a new town, but free agent signee Nick Schultz seemed to be exactly what the Flyers thought they might be getting. The veteran of 880 NHL games was steady, but not fast or flashy, on Monday night while paired with Brandon Manning. He seems poised to take Hal Gill's spot as the Flyers' 7th defenseman, as it will probably be tough to beat any of the six defensemen ahead of him on the depth chart (MacDonald, Streit, Coburn, L. Schenn, Grossmann, Del Zotto).

The lines in London were:

Matt Read - Sean Couturier - Wayne Simmonds
Michael Raffl - Scott Laughton - Brandon Alderson
Zac Rinaldo - Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - Jason Akeson
Darroll Powe - Nick Cousins - Zack Stortini

Luke Schenn - Michael Del Zotto
Mark Alt - Samuel Morin
Nick Schultz - Brandon Manning

Anthony Stolarz
Steve Mason

For tonight's contest against the Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre, expect Jay Rosehill and Oliver Lauridsen to be inserted into the lineup, as well as Steve Mason to start in net.

Follow Frank Seravalli on Twitter: @DNFlyers