Photo Credit: NHL.com
“It’s the f..kin Philadelphia Flyers. The first time I went over the Walt Whitman Bridge, I’ve been stuck here in Voorhees, it’s f..kin Philly. I got so f..kin excited.,” Flyers Head Coach John Tortorella emphatically said during his first presser
If this can’t pump up a team, I don’t know what will. The quote above reminds me of Herb Brooks talking to his American team before playing the Russian team “Tonight is your night, there night is done,” and the rest is history.. Tortorella gets it, and he’s trying to build a connection with the fanbase of Philadelphia. The Flyers hired a former Stanley Cup winning Head Coach John Tortorella to a four year deal, worth $16 million. Some forget he won a Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning back in the 2003-04 season.
Tortorella is known to be a hard-nosed coach, who commands the most from his players. He is not afraid of benching or calling out star studded players either. This is just one way he has changed the culture of the Flyers, and has finally developed an identity with this club. Their identity is work hard and play the right way, then everything will fall into place.
It’s become apparent as some have excelled, and some have had difficulties learning this, but on most nights the Flyers do not have a problem with effort. The team may not be talented enough to beat stiff competition or playoff bound teams on a nightly basis, but they do fight and claw their way into games nine times out of 10, “I’m not gonna stand up here all year long and talk about moral victories,” John Tortorella said following a loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. “But I’ve got to goddamn remember where we are, as far as where we are in the organization, and the process that we are at. I’m certainly not gonna boo the team. I’m gonna try to help them.”
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What isn’t brought up much is how much he cares about the players. Maybe it’s not a big story, maybe it’s not the big thing, but he really does care about these players. And that is evident after he was seen patting Morgan frost on the back after a few tough shifts when he returned to the lineup. Tortorella is a smart guy, he sensed that Frost was trying to do too much and getting frustrated, so he came over and calmed him down. Believe it or not from that point on Frost was a much different player in a good way following that incident.
These are the buildings blocks that are being instilled in this teaching season this season. He’s teaching the Flyers to learn how to finish games, that is where the Flyers are at in their next phase of the rebuild as a team. In addition, this is adding to the locker room culture of being down, but not defeated. They ha e defeated top tier teams, due to hard-work and this has extended their point streak to nine games (8-0-1).
“We played our ass off tonight. We just didn’t finish our chances,” John Tortorella said following the loss to Carolina. “My thing is I want them to keep believing.”
No coach likes to lose, but Tortorella does speak the truth. He continues to teach and lead by example this season for this young Flyers team. He is building a foundation to succeed at a high-level, and the start of that was building a new culture, instilling a new culture rather. Mission accomplished, coach.
Tortorella was brought in to build the Flyers from the ground up, while building a solid foundation for the future. What the Flyers and Tortorella, to some degree didn’t expect was to win this soon. Danny Briere and John Tortorella alike, have emphatically stated over and over that they will not lose sight of the rebuild, just because they are winning some hockey games.
It’s nice the Flyers are back to their winning ways, but the big picture is Flyers hockey is back. They skate, they compete, they care, and they are honest. These are all recipes for success, and these are the building blocks or foundation that Tortorella was brought in to build. He was the right coach at the right time for this organization, when the organization was probably at their darkest they have been in some time. It appeared like a dark cloud was hovering over this organization, whether it’ were injuries, success on the ice, or battles inside the locker room. Honestly, the organization appeared to be a colossal disaster, everything the past regime tried to do failed. It just appeared to be a lack of structure at times.
These were dark times just a few seasons ago, and Tortorella appears to be righting the ship. The City of Philadelphia is built on hard work, and that’s what the Flyers are doing. That’s how the Flyers will be in the future.
Flyers hockey is back, it’s time to Buckle Up folks
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