All Photos: FNG’s Rob Windfelder
Philadelphia Flyers Training Camp 2023 is underway. The difference between the first day of Rookie Camp last week and the opening day of main camp was like the differences between night and day. Rookie camp opened up lighthearted, upbeat, and looked like a lot of fun. Pucks were flying everywhere and almost everyone had a big smile on their face.
In stark contrast, this morning at 8:30 sharp the skating started and it didn’t stop. Today’s opening session of camp was intense and dead serious. Today was clearly big league hockey and not for the faint of heart. The participants were divided into three separate group sessions. Head Coach John Tortorella, with whistle and watch in hand, ran marathon suicide skating drills non-stop all morning long.
No pucks
Whenever there are no pucks at hockey practice it is a bad sign. As soon as a coach says “there won’t be any pucks at this session” you know you are going to have trouble walking the next day. It is going to be torture. After last year the Flyers knew what they were in for today. It’s one thing to know what’s coming, it’s something completely different when it actually gets here. Sure these are professional athletes in their prime but every human has a breaking point where their body has done all that it physically can. Today was all about testing those limits.
Skating
Skating is such a fundamentally important part of ice hockey. It is what separates good players from great players. Skating is the great equalizer. It is your only form of transportation and each players requires a certain set of skills depending on their position and physical stature. Many smaller players have excelled in the sport because of their speed and agility on the ice. You can’t hit what you can’t catch. However today was not about technique as much as it was about endurance. It could easily be argued that Tortorella’s infamous opening days are more about endurance and conditioning than they are about skating.
Conditioning
The squads ran marathon drills at a sprinting pace. If the pace dropped at all Tortorella was quick to remind his team “this is a sprint”. He watched like a hawk and was very vocal about exactly what he was looking for. Many of the Flyers have already been at the rink everyday for weeks now. They’ve had all Summer to build themselves up for this demanding time of the year. The players are expected to show up to camp in top notch condition. Ready to go. John Tortorella’s opening day skate is a very honest and revealing window into the conditioning of each and every one of his prospective players. No one is exempt from the challenge.
By the numbers
Fifty-seven total players are taking part in this year’s camp. That number will dwindle down bit by bit leading up to the final roster who will take the ice on opening night. Things start moving quickly at this point. The first pre-season game is this Monday September 25th against the Devils. The Flyers have all of tonight to rest their tired legs, camp resumes tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM.
Extra Credit: Ethan Samson and Ronnie Attard get extra credit for still having the energy and enthusiasm to greet fans before heading to the locker room after practice.
