Photo Credit: NHL.com
Emil Andrae, Adam Ginning , Egor Zamula, Tyson Foerster, Elliot Desnoyers, and Ronnie Attard. What do they all have in common? They are vying for one to two spots on the opening night roster.
John Tortorella has been smiling and serious at times at camp thus far. He said “This is the land of opportunity here,” when referencing open spots for the youth to push out vets. That can be said for Wade Allison and Tanner Laczynski, both of whom need to have good camps to make the team. Unfortunately, both were on the “Extra” line yesterday for the scrimmage. Now this could be a few things: 1) Torts wanted to get a look at young players 2) Maybe this is to push them, sort of like a test.
Players will have to earn their spots, and he will hold everyone accountable, “He holds everyone accountable, he may do it a different way,” Marc Staal said on the first day of camp. Carter Hart agrees and likes the fact that Tortorella is honest and holds players accountable. He said that is what players respect the most about Tortorella.
The bag skate test
“Look at Cam York. He was a horror show today (Skating), but he finished. That’s what it’s about,” Tortorella said in the first day of camp. Cam York said his number one priority is to find the rope and burn it. Tortorella uses a yellow rope during bag skates, and he said it was the same rope he had in Tampa Bay. He said he has taken it to each place after he gets fired from that said team.
“Goodness gracious, that was hard. I’m going to find his rope and burn it, my #1 priority. One of the hardest things I’ve ever done. You got to find your legs and finish and I did that,” York said following camp.
Torts is happy that Sean Couturier is healthy and has worked his way back into the lineup. Believe it or not he has a soft spot for him, given all of his injury history, “I’m excited for him. I’m really happy, he put in all the work and now it’s all coming together,” Tortorella said.
Check out our Flyers Nitty Gritty Store
Cool Matvei Michkov merchandise
Everything remains in the air with Tortorella, this includes lineups and pairings. He has not filled out his roster for opening night. That’s is a good thing, as he says “Competition is a good thing.”
