To hockey fans there is no sweeter music than the sound of pucks ringing off the pipes as your favorite club prepares for the upcoming season. Bright and early Thursday morning Philadelphia Flyers 2025 Training Camp officially got underway.
There have been many changes since last April. One of the biggest changes meant the end of the opening day rope skate. The team went straight to work this morning under new head coach Rick Tocchet.
Sites for sore eyes
Center Jett Luchanko skated full on with the team this morning after missing both development and rookie camps with a nagging groin injury. Jett was drafted by the Flyers 13th overall in the 2024 draft. He made the team out of camp for a nine game tryout last year. At one point during that stint he was skating shift for shift against Connor McDavid, that is no tiny task.
Needless to say expectations were high coming into camp so it was good to see Jett skating with the team this morning. Only he knows how it felt but he looked good. He was not wearing a no-contact jersey and was fully participating in the on ice action.
Tyson Foerster was another welcome addition to the sessions today. Tyson is recovering from an infection in his arm stemming from an injury he incurred during the IIHF World Championship. Foerster was wearing a color coded no-contact jersey.
Just like the situation with Luchanko I can’t tell you how Foerster felt but I can tell you he looked great. Sharp, determined, and on point, just like always. Hopefully he is on track to be fully involved by opening night.
Rick Tocchet
Flyers new head coach Rick Tocchet was there to work this morning and drills started up right out of the gate. He had small groups subdivided and competing against each other. He was doling out minor punishments like push-ups or short laps for the losing squads.
The Coach is very comfortable on the ice and did not hesitate to skate right into the middle of the action to give feedback and direction in real time as play was in progress.
At one point when the team was being addressed by an associate Tocchet grabbed a shovel and began clearing the ice in and around the crease. Like I said he was there to work.
Camp sessions at the Flyers Training Center are free and open to the public. That being said hockey hungry Flyers Fans showed up at the rink to get a look at their team along with its new additions and prospects.
A player everyone has their eye on is Matvei Michkov. He had a fantastic rookie season last year and it is not and exaggeration to say everyone is looking forward to his sophomore year. He had a lot to get used to in his debut season with the Flyers. New team, new league, new country, new language, and all of this at such a young age. He was out there sniping away this morning and as always it was very fun to watch.
There are almost 60 players involved in this year’s camp. They are divided into three groups and they are scheduled to go through the daily drills in shifts. During the course of camp the number will slowly start to dwindle down until the final line-up is set for opening night.
The regiment at the rink today was all business but the mood was upbeat. The drills were high paced and there was not much down time. There is a good energy in that place right now and a ton of work to be done before the Flyers face the Islanders in New York this Sunday.
The brass of the Flyers organization was on hand to watch from the balcony upstairs which overlooks the ice. There was a whole lot of smiling going on up there. This is a fresh start. A brand new season lies ahead. You’ve got to go in positive. And you’ve got to be willing to put in the work.
Extra Credit: Travis Konecny is so fast on his skates it’s like watching something out of a cartoon at times. The combination of T.K. and Trevor Zegras was clicking like crazy all day long. This combo could really be something to watch.
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