Photo Credits: FNG’s Rob Windfelder
The Flyers do not play the first game of their regular season until October 12th, but for all intents and purposes Hockey Season kicked off this morning. Today was the first day of Rookie Camp at the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees. Twenty Five players took the ice in hopes of making a good impression and possibly earning the opportunity to stay with the team. There will be two games against the Rangers rookie squad over the weekend leading up to the opening of Flyers Training Camp next Thursday.
Before we get into who stood out, it should be said that every single player on the ice today looked like they deserved to be there. Because they did. The Flyers did not draw names out of a hat or run an ad in the local paper to find these guys. Every one of these young hockey players are at a level of skill that sets them apart.
So much sacrifice and hard work went into earning this opportunity. They’ve dedicated a big part of their young lives to the sport and it was all leading up to this moment. Unfortunately being young, gifted, and skilled is not going to be enough to put most of them over the top. They are competing for a job in the most prestigious ice hockey league on the planet. The competition is fierce and it will continue to intensify as Training Camp leads into the pre-season. Theoretically every one of these young players has a shot at breaking through. The pressure is high and the odds are really tough, but that’s all part of the test.
Who stood out
Like I said nobody looked out of place but some players are just obviously closer to reaching the NHL than others. Two of those players are Tyson Foerster and Elliot Desnoyers. It may seem pretty predictable to point these two out but there’s just no way around it. It is important to be as unbiased as possible and do your best to remain objective but both of these guys just catch your eye all day long.
Tyson Foerster
There is a lot of buzz about this guy and for good reason. The confidence and poise he showed in his few outings with “the big team” at the end of last season was quite impressive. Everyone knows he’s got a shot at making the team this year right out of camp. People aren’t just saying that because they think they’re supposed to. You can see it. It’s obvious.
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Elliot Desnoyers
Another Lehigh Valley Phantom who had a taste of the NHL last year appearing in four games with the Flyers and not looking at all out of place doing so. Like Foerster, Desnoyers carries with him a calm confidence that complements his elevated level of skill. He is high energy and has a great attitude. Another thing that makes both Desnoyers and Foerster stand out from the pack is you can see how much they truly enjoy playing the sport. They have a shared enthusiasm that is contagious.
Confidence
Confidence is a huge factor in any sport and ice hockey is surely no exception. The sport is played at such a high rate of speed that all of your fundamentals must be firmly in place. When the chips are down especially at the NHL level you are not going to get time to make decisions. You are relying on your ability to react using the skill set that you have built up over time. Second guess yourself and the moment is gone. In the same respect overconfidence can lead to a whole lot of pucks going the wrong way as well.
Foerster and Desnoyers are both showing the benefits of what the right amount of confidence can do for a player. Now is the time for both of them to step on the gas and work harder than they ever have. John Tortorella is not the kind of coach who gives out participation trophies. He is the kind of coach who benched Travis Konecny and Kevin Hayes in the same game, at the same time. Tortorella is not going to fill out his roster based on what people are saying, he is going to want to see the work.
Todays opening day of Rookie Camp was really upbeat and for the most part it looked like a lot of fun. It’s a pretty sure bet that when Tortorella opens Flyers Training Camp next week the mood may be a bit more serious. I would love to see one or both of these young players make the team out of camp. I don’t see Tortz “giving” either of them a slot. They are going to have to earn it.
Extra Credit: Today was not the best day for evaluating goalies or defensemen. Today seemed mostly about firing tons of pucks from every direction for hours on end. …Like I said, it was lots of fun.
