The Flyers have re-invented themselves in a matter of a full year. This team was a well-coached, well oiled machine that was buzzing before the season was halted due to the Coronavirus. Can the Flyers pick up that momentum where they left off? Good question, but my answer is yes, solely because of the experienced coaching staff. Last training camp Alain Vigneault and the rest of his coaching staff had this prepared and focused right out of the gate.
Phase 3 (Training Camp) opens this Monday July 13, 2020, to no spectators, and the players can remain focused at the task at hand. A total of 30 skaters and four goalies will pound the ice for intense and grueling workouts, all in all to get back into game shape form. Here is a list of the attending players:
Forwards- (18) Voracek, Coots, JVR, Thompson, NAK, Farabee, G, Coots, TK, Raffl, Pitlick, Laughton, Andreoff, Bunnaman, Twarynski, Frost, Grant, Rubtsov
Defense- (12) Provorov, Welinski, Prosser, Niskanen, Sanheim, Myers, Hagg, Braun, Wotherspoon, Zamula, Ghost, Friedman
Goalies- (4) Hart, Elliott, Lyon, Ustimenko
The one big question was if Nolan Patrick would be a participant in Phase 3. Unfortunately, he is not. Let’s offer our sincere prayers to Nolan Patrick and his family during this time. Only players who are able to participate at the Hub Cities are allowed at the training facilities in Phase 3, per the NHL rules and protocols for Phase 3 and 4.
No surprises right? As we have discussed over the past few months, we prepared our fellow supporters and followers that Patrick might/might not indeed be in attendance for Phase 3, and who the black aces might be: Morgan Frost, Carsen Twarynski, German Rubtsov, Connor Bunnaman, Andy Andreoff, Mark Friedman, and Yegor Zamula. Moreover, we also prepared our followers for the four Goaltenders that would be part of camp, although all teams can use unlimited Goaltenders: Carter Hart, Brian Elliott, Alex Lyon, and Kirill Ustimenko.
Fortunately, the greatest sport on Earth is reconvening. It’s a lot different for sure with no spectators, and of course the sport will be played in the thick of the Summer. However, this was the only way the sport could reconvene in a healthy and safe manner. Either way your Philadelphia Flyers are contenders, so let’s get behind this team now. I’ll leave you with this video from Head Coach Alain Vigneault to pump up the Philly faithful “Be a f…ing Flyer”:
