A fighting chance

TORONTO - For most, Monday night would have induced a feeling of sheer panic.

Jay Rosehill was left to sit in the stands in London, Ontario, for the Flyers' first preseason game.

All he could do was watch as bearish newcomer Zack Stortini - a free-agent signee who is the same age, has 140 games more NHL experience and nearly double the penalty minutes - was given a solo shot to steal his meal ticket.

Stortini, 29, took on two of Toronto's heavyweights, Frazer McLaren and Troy Bodie, and acquitted himself well.

After the exhibition, without a hint of friction, Rosehill approached Stortini in the Flyers' dressing room and gave the 6-4 Geico cavemen lookalike a pat on the back.

"I just asked him what was said on the ice, how it all went down. He was smiling," Rosehill said. "You'd think there'd be some animosity. It's kind of like a little fraternity.

"I'm just like anyone else - any center, any power-play guy, any goalie. There's always another guy who can take your spot. I know what I have to do. If I don't do it, it's my fault. It's got nothing to do with who's behind me or who's waiting or who else is signed."

When Rosehill is announced as part of the Flyers' 23-man opening night roster in 13 days, it will be for the type of game he played Tuesday night at Toronto's Air Canada Centre. He was the perfect juxtaposition to Stortini, made even more apparent by skating on the same line.

It wasn't so much about what Rosehill did, but what he didn't do - in a preseason tilt where fighting happens twice as often as the regular season. He didn't stir up any trouble.

Stortini was a wild man. He bloodied Toronto's David Broll with a distasteful late punch in the first period. He was given two 10-minute misconducts in the game, in addition to two minor penalties. In all, he ended the night with 29 penalty minutes, even though he was on the ice for just 7 minutes and 30 seconds.

For Rosehill, there was no need for trouble Tuesday night. No liberties were being taken against his teammates and Rosehill doesn't see much sense in "staged" fights.

Looking to get back to the NHL full-time for the first time since 2009-10, Stortini tried to make his mark the only way he knows. But playing the role of NHL enforcer is as much about knowing when to fight as it is about winning those fights.

"Everyone tried to get the newest, biggest player, and it was at the point where some of these guys couldn't even skate," Rosehill said. "They wouldn't do anything but tap each other on the pads and say, 'Let's go.' I think those guys are starting to go away. The guys that are left can fill other roles and do more than that."

Rosehill, 29, has read and heard all of the criticism and comments on his role - from outspoken general managers set to outlaw fighting to the incessant media click bait.

When the Flyers held their conditioning tests last week, Rosehill was clocked with the fastest straight line, end-to-end time. Faster than Braydon Coburn, Claude Giroux and Jake Voracek. The 6-3 pride of Olds, Alberta, actually made it to the AHL as a defenseman before taking on his current role.

"Fighting is here right now. If it needs to happen, I'll be there to do it," Rosehill said. "If it doesn't happen, then I'll change my game to stay here. I've changed my game many times. At the end of the day, I want to play more. Last season is last season. I want to make another jump in my career, take strides I haven't taken before."

Under coach Craig Berube, who is seventh all-time with 3,149 penalty minutes, the Flyers won't be without an enforcer in an Eastern Conference that can play nasty. It's just a matter of how much Rosehill will be required.

Rosehill skated in a career-high 34 games last season, but dressed in just 12 of the final 51 games - and not a single one in the playoffs. He was in a tough spot after the Flyers traded Max Talbot on Halloween, forcing them to fill a roster spot with a role Rosehill couldn't play. Now, he's entering the final year of a 2-year deal, which will pay him $675,000.

"In today's game, it is a tough role," Berube said. "I do for sure see value in it. Obviously, Jay wants to get in there more, but it just depends on the other team's lineup. Like anybody else, he's got a role to play on our team. I think any game he went in there, he came in and gave us energy. I thought he played his role terrific."

The Flyers trimmed their training-camp roster by 22 players yesterday. First-round pick Travis Sanheim (Calgary, WHL) was sent back to junior hockey with two other picks. Defensemen Robert Hagg and Mark Alt and goalie Anthony Stolarz and center Nick Cousins were among the notables assigned to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Centers Scott Laughton, Darroll Powe and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and defensemen Shayne Gostisbehere, Samuel Morin, Oliver Lauridsen, Brandon Manning survived to hang with the Flyers in main camp for now . . . Through three split-squad preseason games, the Flyers (1-1-1) have already matched last season's dismal point total (1-5-1).

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