Flyers face several questions as camp begins
Now that he is in his second NHL season, Flyers coach Dave Hakstol has familiarity with his players, and in turn, many of them are comfortable with his system, which should make their training camp more efficient than last year.
Now that he is in his second NHL season, Flyers coach Dave Hakstol has familiarity with his players, and in turn, many of them are comfortable with his system, which should make their training camp more efficient than last year.
But will it help them avoid when seems like an annual slow start to the season?
That will be determined after the season gets underway Oct. 14 in Los Angeles.
Hakstol said this year would be easier for him because of "having a relationship instead of building a relationship" with his players. "You're always trying to improve communication . . . but I think everybody has a bit more clear understanding of one another, and we do have a relationship," he said.
The Flyers have high hopes as camp opens Friday at 9:45 a.m. in Voorhees. They finished strongly last season and secured a playoff berth. Their goaltending - which was a question mark in many camps - could be the team's strong point.
In addition, the seven Flyers competing in the World Cup should be in game shape when they return to camp.
That's the good news.
The not-so-good news: The Flyers didn't add much offense in the offseason and could struggle again to score goals. They finished 22d in the 30-team NHL by averaging 2.57 goals per game last season, and they managed a total of only six goals (one an empty-netter) in their six-game playoff loss to Washington.
After their World Cup participants return, the Flyers will have 64 players in camp - 37 forwards, 20 defensemen, and seven goalies.
Claude Giroux, Jake Voracek, Michal Neuvirth, Shayne Gostisbehere, Sean Couturier, Mark Streit, and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare will soon return from the World Cup in Toronto, some as early as next week.
As camp opens, here are some of the questions the Flyers hope to answer this season:
Can Jake Voracek, who lost 11 pounds in the offseason, use the World Cup to ignite his season?
A year ago, he managed just 11 goals (one on the power play) and went without a goal in his first 16 games.
Who will be the No. 1 goalie - Steve Mason or Michal Neuvirth?
Mason carried the Flyers into the playoffs with a late-season surge. Neuvirth is coming off a career season. Both are capable of handling the majority of the workload, and both are in the final year of their contracts.
Will any rookies make an impact?
Last November, Gostisbehere was promoted after Mark Streit was injured, and the dynamic rookie defenseman jump-started the Flyers.
This season, defenseman Ivan Provorov and speedy right winger Travis Konecny are the rookies with the best chance to make the team. If they don't, they will return to their respective junior teams because they are not yet eligible to play in the AHL.
Will the World Cup affect camp?
Indeed.
With seven players missing from the start of camp, several youngsters will get more time in exhibition games. Starting Monday, the Flyers will begin their exhibition schedule with four games (including two split-squad contests) in three nights.
That means players such as Ivan Provorov, Sam Morin, Phil Myers, Travis Sanheim, Robert Hagg, Travis Konecny, Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Radel Fazleev, Tyrell Goulbourne, and Petr Straka could get longer looks.
Who will win forward jobs on the bottom two lines?
The Flyers signed free-agent forwards Dale Weise and Boyd Gordon in the offseason, and both figure to be in bottom-six roles. Weise (14 goals last season) could even see time in the top-six while Brayden Schenn serves a three-game suspension to start the season.
Among the forwards vying for spots: Nick Cousins, Scott Laughton, Taylor Leier, Roman Lyubimov, Danick Martel, Matt Read, Chris VandeVelde, Bellemare, and Jordan Weal.
How can the Flyers improve their penalty kill?
The Flyers' penalty kill lacked aggressiveness - especially early last year - and finished 20th out of 30 teams. The unit may be revamped. Newcomers Gordon, who won 54 percent of his PK faceoffs last season, and Weise are penalty-killing candidates. Bellemare won just 37 percent of his penalty-killing faceoffs last season, a figure he probably needs to improve to remain on the unit.
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