Finally, finally, finally the day Flyers fans have been craving for the past four months has arrived. The sounds of pucks hitting the ice, pucks hitting the post, and sticks banging on the ice is back in full force, Flyers training camp has officially opened for business.
The youth infusion that the orange and black are currently undergoing this season has inspired so many people throughout the region. Gone are the days of overspending, as we don a new era of Flyers hockey. Some of these young great prospects in the farm system will make the team to travel to the hub city. Will all of them work out? Maybe not, but some will. This has Flyers fans pumped for the most anticipated playoff season in recent memory. Without further delay here are six takeaways from the first day of camp.
Top Line Unit Groups 1 and 2
With this being Alain Vigneault’s technically second camp with the Flyers. There was a lot of speculation on how Vigneault would utilize these groups through the first day of camp. Well, it looks like we may have an answer as the Top Unit for day one was…
Group 1: Morning session
Giroux, Couturier, Voracek
Both lines were very cohesive as units, and it looked like they all played with each other for years. This line was smoking fast, and my word flat-out good. Couturier didn’t miss a beat from the off-season and was blazing fast. Giroux fresh off spending time with his family had a wicked shot today.
However, Frosty Frost showed off today:
Group 2: Afternoon Session
Farabee, Hayes, TK
Matt Niskanen, Ivan Provorov
These two didn’t miss a beat today. They were as expected today. My geez does Provorov have a rocket of a shot. Provorov (Fresh off a fabulous year) looked poised and ready to go. The well rested Niskanen had a wicked jump to his skates. He’s like Usain Bolt on skates. My gosh, he’s fast and tough to beat one on one.
Sean Couturier and Claude Giroux
The moment we have all been waiting for the one and only “Coooots.” Couturier looked good, and got a little rough in the corner 30 minutes into the session believe it or not, as he lost an edge in skates.
Giroux looks in great shape, as his dad body hasn’t fully started to take shape yet (Joking). He looks like he hasn’t missed a beat, and it’s great to him laughing and joking on this first day of camp.
Giroux Presser:
From Bill Meltzer, “You can practice as much as you want. When the games start, the speed is different. … Everyone is starting from Point A. It’s a unique situation. It’s up to us to get back the momentum as much as we can.”
Alain Vigneault Presser:
From Charlie O’Connor, “I intend on using more than 20 guys for those (round-robin) games. I’m going to look at different players in different situations,” Vigneault said. In a nutshell AV said he wants to have the best group available for Game 1 (Round Robin), but he is eyeing August 11 (Start of Playoffs).
Battle for the final spots (31 Total players travel to Hub City)
This is the key battle there. It’s like the Battle of Gettysburg, but at the Skate Zone. Andy Andreoff, German Rubtsov, Morgan Frost, Connor Bunnaman, and Carsen Twarynski will do battle for these key positions. Rubtsov is ready to show the Flyers top brass he’s finally healthy, and ready to compete. He seems poised to give it a go for the big show. What do the other young budding prospects give the Flyers? Key question, and as training camp progresses we shall see. Today they looked good, and it will come down to the pre-season games to see who makes the big club.
Rubtsov, Farabee, and Frost looked really good on opening day. All three of these players know what’s at stake, as the majority of them have been at the Skate Zone for over a week now working out.
Robert Hagg, Justin Braun, and Shayne Gostisbehere
Ghost just wants to stay healthy. He looked solid today, and you can tell that training in the Summer has paid off in a big way. Ghost looked good on his skates, and looked ready to go. He is well aware this a log jam at the defensive position. Moreover, Hagg and Braun look determined too, but Hagg has been skating in Sweden during the pandemic, and it sure seemed to pay off on the first day of camp. Hagg looked pretty mobile, and one of the better defenseman skating wise. Braun looked good too, but it’s hard to determine everything on the first day of camp.
Ghost Presser:
From Bill Meltzer, “Ghost had to have another surgery — other knee — during the pause about 7 weeks ago. Another arthroscopy. Hadn’t been able to skate much. Still not where he wants to be but felt today was a good start.” Ghost says, “I’m not going to feel sorry for myself, there’s a lot going on in the world right now.”
Chuck Fletcher Presser:
From Jordan Hall, “Nolan Patrick told him this is the best he has felt in 12 months. Short runway to the playoffs, he will be ready for the start of 2020-21.”
From Jordan Hall, “Chuck Fletcher said Egor Zamula is talented enough to play right now, but said Flyers are cognizant he’s 20 and coming off surgery….”Make no mistake about it, this kid is a top prospect,” Fletcher said.
All in all it was a great first day of camp. Let’s see how these positional battles, and last roster spots turn out in the end. Overall, everything was expected on the first day of camp, rust and rust.
