Flyers determined to avoid another slow start

CAPTAIN CLAUDE Giroux was hunched over in the corner during a few skating drills and he wasn't alone. In fact, almost every player on the ice showed some sort of fatigue throughout the day.

It was only Day 1 of the Dave Hakstol era, but the first day of this year's training camp provided a good glimpse at what a Hakstol-coached team looks like. There was an abundance of the following: intensity, aggression, speed and competitiveness.

And those attributes continued throughout camp despite the mixed results of a 3-2-2 preseason record. Hakstol has now had three weeks to work with the new-look Flyers.

Asked if Hakstol's camp lived up to expectations, general manager Ron Hextall said the coach is exactly what he hoped he was getting when he hired him away from the University of North Dakota in May.

"When you go through a process of kind of watching the guy coach and then you interview him and get to know him, you think you know him," Hextall said in an interview with the Daily News. "But, truly, until you work with him for a long period of time, everything doesn't reveal itself. I think, to this point, he's been exactly what I expected. Right from Day 1 of rookie camp, he took charge. He was in charge. He's a commanding presence and he's had guys working hard from Day 1. I think he's got a lot of respect in the room."

Respect is one thing. Quick results are another.

It may not be fair to Hakstol, 47, to expect quick results, but if the Flyers have any chance of being successful this season, it likely will hinge on how quickly they grasp the new systems being implemented.

Hextall decided to have the entirety of training camp at the team's practice facility in Voorhees, N.J., instead of leaving for a few days of team-bonding trips as the Flyers did in the past.

The goal was to get off to a faster start, a problem that has haunted the Flyers in recent seasons under two different coaches. It also allowed the Flyers to focus on adjusting to Hakstol's system, a process that takes time.

"We're getting close to that in terms of the understanding of it," Hakstol said. "But everything's got to come together in a consistent mold."

Would it be fair, then, to not expect a fast start, given the coaching and systems change?

"No, that's no excuse," Hextall said. "We don't look at it like we've got a couple new players and a new coach so we're going to get off to a tough start . . . no. We expect to get off to a good start. We're prepared. 'Hak' is very detailed, the players have paid attention. There's a lot of good stuff going on.

"System-wise, does it take some time to start playing without thinking? Maybe a little bit, but Dave is very detailed."

No matter how detailed, however, to expect the system to be running at its most efficient right away isn't realistic. During a Sept. 28 preseason game in New York, which the Flyers lost, 3-2, in overtime, the Rangers dominated for a large portion of the game. Although not all the Flyers' regulars were in the lineup, the Rangers outshot the Flyers 16-5 in the first period and, if not for the play of goalie Steve Mason, would have blown the Flyers out.

"I think every time there's a new coach, it's a process," defenseman Mark Streit said that night. "It's kind of a new system, especially in the neutral zone. I thought there we had some problems."

But in terms of getting off to a quick start, the Flyers have the schedule in their favor. Despite opening against the defending Eastern Conference champions tonight, the Flyers play only three of their 10 October games against 2014-15 playoff teams.

Wayne Simmonds, who is coming off a 28-goal season, is of the opinion that the new systems won't make it any more difficult for the Flyers to get off to a better start.

"Everyone in here has a high compete level," Simmonds said. "I think it's just getting the fine details down of the system, the little things that maybe if we were in the system for the last two or three years wouldn't happen.

"It's not tough, but it's going to take a lot of hard work, obviously."

The Flyers already have done plenty of that. A fixture at a Hakstol practice has been hard skating between drills.

"The hard work gets done now so we won't have to work as hard during games," Giroux said on Day 1.

Hextall has been watching closely from his perch at the practice facility in Voorhees - or the press box during games - the way Hakstol has run the team.

"It was a good camp," Hextall said. "I think first and foremost, the players were in really good shape. That's important, because if they're not in good shape, they're playing games three days later and it's tough. So I think, from that perspective, from the work ethic, the commitment, the feeling around here, I'm happy with training camp. We haven't played a (regular-season) game yet, but it's gone well to this point.

"When you see a group that's committed and really structured in their practices and working hard, being out there before practice to get ready for the first whistle, our guys have done a really good job. And obviously that falls on Dave, so I'm happy with where we're at."

Where they're at, for now, is a team projected to miss the playoffs. Hakstol called it a "self-motivated group." They've seen the projections, he says, and goals for the year get discussed internally, and one of them is to get back to the postseason. The Flyers haven't missed the playoffs in consecutive seasons in 20 years.

"We're here to do a job and I'm not going to be one that stands here and talks a whole lot about our goals as a hockey team," Hakstol said. "We'll do that in and behind closed doors, but that's certainly one of our goals."

Hakstol comes off as a focused, well-organized leader. He tends not to show a lot of emotion and is careful with his words, deferring roster and injury questions to the front office. He's of the old-school, win-the-day variety with a patient but concentrated approach to the way he does things.

As the Flyers continue to rebuild for the future, those attributes in their first-year coach fit the mold of the franchise's direction.

"I don't think this is the time of year to do a whole lot of talking," Hakstol said, when asked if he was happy his players were focused on their own team and not the negative projections. "I think this is the time of year to work and continue to work and continue to become a good team."