Last season ended with so many question marks. There’s still a ton that remains to be seen but the bigger picture is starting to come into focus bit by bit. The first step was finding a new head coach after the firing of John Tortorella just before the end of the regular season. The organization hired former Flyer Rick Tocchet. Tocchet has his staff in place as the Flyers faithful wait to see in what direction their team may be headed.
The Draft
The New Era of Orange has seen a front office inspired by austerity. General manager Danny Briere has been doing the hard work to get the team out from under a mountain of contracts. Moves were made last season that had no immediate return. One of the by-products of those moves was a stockpile of picks in the 2025 draft.
The Flyers had two 1st round picks. They chose Porter Martone at #6 and traded up to grab Jack Nesbitt with the 12th overall pick. We’re getting a first hand look at both of those players at Development Camp this week.
It is always possible that a player can make such an impact at training camp that they jump to the “big team” quicker than expected. It is way too soon to predict something like that. But it is interesting that as dev-camp begins we get news of Tyson Foerster dealing with an infection in his arm that may or may not keep him from starting next season with the team.
Briere has already mentioned Martone as a possible fill in for Foerster at the beginning of the season. Jett Luchanko is another prospect that has a chance of making the team out of camp this year. Luchanko played several games for the Flyers at the beginning of last season and did not look at all out of place in doing so. Tortorella had him going shift for shift against Connor McDavid and he totally held his own.
That being said Luchanko missed the first on ice day of dev-camp with a groin issue. It is said to be day-to-day. But in a next man up type of situation the Flyers have a brand new stockpile of huge dudes who are chomping at the bit to make this team.
Goaltending
The Flyers have been at a loss for consistent goaltending over the last couple seasons. Last year the Flyers had the worst combined goals against average in the league. The Flyers picked up Dan Vladar at free agency and gave him a two year deal which hopefully with help calm things down a bit between the pipes.
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There are four goaltenders attending dev-camp this week. Three are on team invites including Waylon Esche, son of former Flyers netminder Robert Esche. The man in the pipeline is 20 year old Carson Bjarnason. He was a 2nd round pick 19th overall in 2023. Goalies take time and development is key. This is not his first time through the camps. In fact, Carson played a stellar 30 minutes against the Washington Capitals last pre-season and it makes you wonder how long before this guy earns his shot at the NHL.
Playing for Keeps
This group of young prospects (and some of them look so young) are giving their all out there. They are all at varying ages, experience, and levels of development. None the less they are all taking their best shot at making an impression on the organization. Some are hoping to have a shot at making the squad this season. Others are just hoping to be back to development camp next year.
Either way they are giving it their best. The pace is high and the competition is fierce. The level of intensity and physicality can be really fun to watch. If you have the opportunity to catch a session or two this week you should do so. All sessions are free and open to the public.
Extra Credit
It sure was great to see Wayne Simmonds out there on the ice today assisting with the process. During his time playing for the team Simmonds was everything you could hope a Flyer would be. He’s a great example to these prospects coming up. If you want this town to love you Wayne is the right guy to be showing you the ropes.
Camp concludes Sunday July 6th with a 5-on-5 scrimmage at 6:00 PM. Flyers training facility Voorhees NJ.
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