Decisions loom, but Flyers roster taking shape
With three exhibition games remaining, the Flyers' 23-man opening night roster is starting to come into focus. They will have 29 healthy players left in training camp if defenseman Will O'Neill clears waivers at noon Monday. On Sunday, they sent Travis Sanheim to the AHL's Phantoms and Phil Myers to Rouyn-Noranda, his junior team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
With three exhibition games remaining, the Flyers' 23-man opening night roster is starting to come into focus.
They will have 29 healthy players left in training camp if defenseman Will O'Neill clears waivers at noon Monday. On Sunday, they sent Travis Sanheim to the AHL's Phantoms and Phil Myers to Rouyn-Noranda, his junior team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
Sanheim, who had three assists in three exhibition games, and Myers (no points in three games) are defensemen considered to have bright futures with the Flyers.
"They both had outstanding camps," coach Dave Hakstol said, adding that the "presence" they displayed as young players "is exciting for the future."
Wingers Travis Konecny and Taylor Leier, and defensemen Ivan Provorov and Sam Morin are the only prospects still in camp.
Konecny, who has supplied speed and creativity, and the steady Provorov have been impressive in exhibition games. They are only 19 years old but have shown poise and hockey smarts beyond their years.
"We haven't played teams with veteran-laden lineups yet, but they've been good," general manager Ron Hextall said.
Final cuts must be made by Oct. 11 at 5 p.m. The Flyers open the season Oct. 14 in Los Angeles.
Here are the healthy players left in camp:
Forwards (18): Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Nick Cousins, Sean Couturier, Claude Giroux, Boyd Gordon, Konecny, Scott Laughton, Leier, Roman Lyubimov, Colin McDonald, Michael Raffl, Matt Read, Brayden Schenn, Wayne Simmonds, Chris VandeVelde, Jake Voracek, Jordan Weal, and Dale Weise.
The Flyers will likely keep 13 forwards, which means five will probably be trimmed from camp.
Forwards on the bubble (9): Cousins, Konecny, Laughton, Leier, Lyubimov, McDonald, Read, VandeVelde, and Weal.
Hextall, whose team hosts the New York Rangers on Monday, gave upbeat reports Sunday on what he has seen from Read and Lyubimov in camp.
Complicating the final cutdowns is that Schenn will serve an NHL-mandated suspension for the first three games.
"It's not a perfect world having Brayden miss the first three games, so it brings something else into the equation, for sure," Hextall said.
Defensemen (9): Michael Del Zotto, Shayne Gostisbehere, Radko Gudas, Andrew MacDonald, Brandon Manning, Sam Morin, Ivan Provorov, Nick Schultz, and Mark Streit.
The Flyers are expected to keep seven defensemen.
Defensemen on the bubble (4): MacDonald, Manning, Morin, and Provorov. Morin figures to be one of the two D-men from this group to be sent down.
Provorov has had a solid camp and it would be surprising if he was returned to his junior team.
"He's very mature for his age, on and off the ice," Del Zotto said. "I think the biggest thing with him is he's great in all three zones. Defensively, he's strong on the puck, physical, and has a great stick. And offensively, you see when he has the puck, he's very poised, very patient, and has a great shot. I think his overall game has been pretty impressive."
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