Flyers' roster battle down to 2 spots

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. - Peter Laviolette said last week that he was willing to listen for any player who wanted to make noise and earn a roster spot on the Flyers.

For the most part, that isn't true. In the salary-cap world, most NHL rosters are nearly completely set before training camp. Perhaps the only spot the Flyers truly had available was on the left wing, which only opened after Dan Cleary decided to re-sign in Detroit.

Now, with the Flyers' roster trimmed down to 27 players, the picture has become clearer.

The battle for two spots on the opening-night roster has come down to a first-round pick, a newcomer from Europe and a player no one had heard of until Wednesday:

SCOTT LAUGHTON

The Top Prospect

Age: 19 (May 30, 1994)

Height: 6-1 Weight: 177

Shoots: Left

Birthplace: Oakville, Ontario

Acquired: 2012 first roun, (20th overall)

NHL experience: 5 games (2013)

Scott Laughton is not flashy or fancy. But it's easy to see why the Flyers were so receptive to giving him a taste of the NHL last January with a five-game run, just 6 months after drafting him.

Everytime you look at the stat sheet, Laughton puts up numbers in the categories that make coaches drool.

Take Monday's preseason game in Toronto: four shots, three hits, two takeaways, one blocked shot and 10-for-18 (56 percent) in the faceoff circle. He played nearly 5 minutes (4:56) on the power play and another 1:50 on the penalty kill.

And he scored in the shootout.

"He made a real strong impression on us," Laviolette said last week. "He proved he could skate, he could compete."

Fresh off a whirlwind season in which he played in the OHL, NHL and AHL before ending up back practicing with the Flyers at the end of the regular season, Laughton doesn't appear to be going anywhere. He is a favorite for one of the two spots.

The roster is down to 27 players and Laughton is in the driver's seat, but he doesn't feel any need to prognosticate.

"I don't need to look at the roster and see what's going on," Laughton said to start camp. "I just need to do my job every day and I hope it works out."

The one thing that may work against Laughton is the fact that he can be sent down after just nine games without the Flyers burning a year on his contract. Though, if he is good enough, that won't matter to Paul Holmgren.

"He is a good kid," said Scott Hartnell, who hosted Laughton in his home last year. "He actually listens, which isn't something you can say about all the young guys. He wants to learn."

MICHAEL RAFFL

The Import

Age: 24 (Dec. 1, 1988)

Height: 6-0 Weight: 192

Shoots: Left

Birthplace: Villach, Austria

Acquired: Free agent (May 31, 2013)

NHL experience: None

When Michael Raffl landed in Philadelphia last week, it was only the second time he'd ever set foot on American soil.

The Austrian is fluent in English.

"It was the only way they could understand me playing in Sweden," Raffl said yesterday.

Raffl has caught Laviolette's eye by being fluent in both the offensive and defensive zones. In Raffl's first exhibition game Monday, coach Craig Berube used him in an aggressive role - and Laviolette tested him in a checking line role the next night.

"When you step it up to the level of the National Hockey League, you've got to prove yourself at both ends of the ice," Laviolette said. "He's done a good job."

Defensive responsibility is a must under Laviolette, but whether Raffl can continue to produce offensively is what may separate him. He's attempting to make an enormous jump from Sweden's second-tier professional league, Allsvenskan, right to the NHL.

Only two players have done that recently: Phoenix defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Washington's Filip Forsberg, who made the move last season with Nashville.

HockeyAnalytics.com says Raffl can be expected to produce about 40 percent of the points-per-game (0.94) he produced against Allsvenskan competition. That would come out to approximately 30 points in an NHL season - which the Flyers would certainly take.

The Flyers haven't had much success with transfers. Mika Pyorala, who scored at a similar clip in Sweden's top league, netted just four points in 36 games for the Flyers in 2009 after making the opening-night roster. Raffl seems to be much more physical, which will suit him well.

"I was really nervous before the first game, now that's kind of gone away," Raffl said. "I like to score points, but I like to win more. I'm excited to get the chance to prove myself."

CHRIS VANDE VELDE

The Dark Horse

Age: 26 (March 15, 1987)

Height: 6-2 Weight: 190

Shoots: Left

Birthplace: Moorhead, Minn.

Acquired: NHL tryout, AHL contract

NHL experience: 28 games (2010-13)

Chris Vande Velde played 11 games for the Edmonton Oilers last season, but when he arrived at training camp with the Flyers, he wasn't on anyone's radar to hang with the big club.

Many figured call-ups Tye McGinn and Jason Akeson would be the top contenders with Laughton and Raffl for one of the final roster spots.

McGinn and Akeson were back in Adirondack yesterday, while Vande Velde was occupying a locker next to Vincent Lecavalier in Lake Placid.

"I worked hard over the offseason," Vande Velde said. "I gave myself a fair shot. I played pretty good in the two preseason games and I'm here, so it's good."

It's even more amazing, considering Vande Velde didn't even have a contract for this season until 2 weeks before camp. He signed an AHL-only deal with the Phantoms, but that could be ripped up and turned into a two-way deal with the Flyers should he impress enough.

Edmonton decided to go in a different direction by signing Will Acton, the son of former Flyer and current Oilers associate coach Keith Acton. If it weren't for playing college hockey with assistant GM Ron Hextall's son, Brett, at North Dakota, VandeVelde might not have won a contract.

"It was a long summer," Vande Velde said. "I was just kind of waiting for something to happen."

With the Flyers, Vande Velde has shown to be a capable fourth-line player with penalty-killing skills. He played 7:25 of his 25-plus minutes in two preseason games while shorthanded. His NHL experience is a bonus his other two competitors do not have.

"The first scrimmage, I really liked him," Laviolette said. "He does a lot of good things in practice. He moves well, he skates well. He serves different roles here. We're going to continue to look at him."

The Flyers practiced for nearly 2 1/2 hours yesterday, their first session as one group . . . Four players were placed on waivers: C Ben Holmstrom, RW Kris Newbury, D Marc-Andre Bourdon and G Yann Danis. Teams have until noon today to claim them, otherwise they will be assigned to AHL Adirondack . . . Zac Rinaldo (upper-body) is fully healthy . . . Claude Giroux (right hand) participated in puck battles for the first time yesterday. He would like to play in Tuesday's exhibition game against New Jersey if cleared by a doctor.

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