Danny Briere acted like he wanted the season to begin yesterday during his presser. He was direct and to the point when asked a series of questions. Of course, he touched on Rasmus Ristolainen, to which he said that they don’t know the exact nature of his injury, but it could still be a possibility that he plays on opening night. Ristolainen’s trip to the IR (Injured Reserve) was backdated, so it still could be a possibility place. To make way for Ristolainen, one of Emil Andrae has to go back temporarily to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, or the Flyers have to waive Felix Sandström.
“We are still hopeful it’s nothing serious and he is allowed to play Thursday, but we don’t know for sure,” Briere said of Ristolainen. Remember that Ristolainen had to serve in the military this past summer, so he wasn’t able to train the way he normally trains in the offseason. His training regimen was a bit altered as he served in the military for eight weeks.
Hearing Briere speaking of the youth, it felt like he was using himself as an example when he was younger. “Early on, especially the opener. It’s the respectful thing to treat the veterans right. Then as time goes on, their play will dictate who plays,” Briere said. Honesty at it’s best with the new Flyers General Manager. He knows in the early stages of the season it will be tough to allow “ALL” the youth to play, to include the likes of Tyson Foerster, Egor Zamula, Emil Andrae, Samuel Ersson, and Bobby Brink to name a few. However, as the season wears on and the play gets more difficult, if the youth earn the spot, then they get it. It’s as simple as that, that is a major key to a good rebuild, to allow the youth to play which they will eventually. John Tortorella has said this over and over again, the youth not only have to earn their spots, but they have to beat out Vets for those said spots.
Flyers new General Manager in Briere continued to talk about some veterans who came in to camp in good shape. He mentioned vets like Sean Walker, Egor Zamula, and Travis Sanheim. “I was really impressed with his fitness and mindset,” Briere said of Sanheim at camp. “I feel like he’s got something to prove.” This a massive season for Sanheim. He has the coaches and GM’s backing, now it’s time for him to prove worth of his new contract.
Briere continued, “I was honest with him. Our job as an organization is to do the right thing and listen. At the same time we are excited for the future. We signed him to a long-term contract because we believe in him. I challenged him and he responded (Danny said happily).” Both Tortorella and Briere had to make things right with Sanheim, vice versa. Sanheim also had to path things up with Briere and Tortorella, as well. It’s a two-way street, so it’s good all parties have spoken to one another and look to make it work.
The Flyers lineups will be a bit fluky for the first few week, meaning they will change game to game as Briere works to navigate the cap and waivers using the max roster size of 23. There also might be a lot of movement back and forth between the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and the big club, vice versa. I also would like to mention that I wouldn’t count out a minor trade to pave the way for another young player to stick in the lineup.
Things will be interesting to say the least, but it will be fun in the same process. Flyers hockey is almost back folks.
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