At the halfway point of the 2022-2023 NHL Preseason, the Philadelphia Flyers are 1-2-0. Today, there will be more roster cuts before tomorrow’s road trip.
John Tortorella will assume more control of the lineup for the remainder of the Flyers’ preseason, making his way closer to the bench. Over the first three games, Chuck Fletcher calibrated the lineups. Tomorrow, Philadelphia visits the Boston Bruins at the TD Garden Arena.
Instead of scrimmages, Tortorella focused on more drills and repetitions today at camp. Groups were split, providing an idea of who might be in the lineup against the Bruins tomorrow. A few players hoping to make an impression couldn’t participate, while others cleared for non-contact. How will it all unfold ahead of tomorrow?
Here’s all that happened on the ninth day of the 2022 Flyers Training Camp:
Camp Session Groups
Team 1
- Forwards: Allison, Atkinson, J. Cates, N. Cates, Deslauriers, Farabee, Frost, Hayes, Laczynski, Laughton, Lycksell, Konecny, Tippett, van Riemsdyk
- Defensemen: Braun, DeAngelo, Provorov, Ristolainen, Sanheim, Seeler, York, Zamula
- Goaltenders: Ersson, Sandstrom
Team 2
- Forwards: Avon, Bellerive, Desnoyers, Fitzgerald, Kile, McSorley, Ratcliffe, Sandin, Wisdom
- Defensemen: Attard, Connauton, Ginning, Millman, Wylie
- Goaltenders: Maier, Nagle, Wall
Team 3
- Forwards: Brooks, Gaucher, Gerard, Foerster, Hodgson, MacEwen, O’Reilly, Willman, Wilson
- Defensemen: Belpedio, Felix, Hogberg, MacKinnon, Zech
- Goaltenders: Grosenick, Hart, Lemieux
On-Ice Sessions
A few players cleared for non-contact practices. Cam Atkinson and Carter Hart joined Joel Farabee, who all had an injury designation. The skaters who didn’t participate today were Artem Anisimov, Bobby Brink, Patrick Brown, Sean Couturier, Ryan Ellis, Adam Karashik, and Cooper Marody. Ivan Provorov had a maintenance day.
Tanner Laczynski and Jackson Cates continue battling for the 4C role. Laczynski grinds the forecheck very well, winning a few puck battles in drills to extend possessions. These are the best ways to make the right impression on Tortorella. Farabee joined in, working against Kevin Connauton and Nick Seeler. Cam York also worked on his battling along the boards; a player Tortorella wants more of right now:
“He puts himself into a jam because he has so much ability. He has so many good things going for him. He’s going to go through a process with us, with this staff, in us asking for it now. That’s sometimes what I don’t get with some guys. Why wait? I’m not being negative here, it’s just what it is. I got my eye on him because I think there can be so many good things that come out of him, but we kind of want it now. That’s what we’re going to try to push to.”
John Tortorella; 9/30/2022
Hart was between the pipes, taking shots. Cleared for non-contact, it remains unclear if he dresses for any of the remaining preseason games.
Tortorella and Hart did meet with the media following the on-ice sessions:
John Tortorella
Ever the realist, Tortorella took the recent performance versus the Washington Capitals with a grain of salt. The second-period slide had a lot to do with player fatigue. Ian Laperriere cited it regarding Morgan Frost following the road game against the Buffalo Sabres. Brad Shaw said the same, and Tortorella doubled down:
“I thought we had a really good first period, and then we fell off the cliff. It was a tired camp. It wasn’t a day off originally, but I think the camp needed a day off yesterday. I think it showed me that was the right call because they had a tremendous amount of energy today in practice. I don’t know what happened last year in second periods, but I’m certainly not going to equate what happened in that exhibition game to that.”
John Tortorella; 9/30/2022
Halfway through the preseason, the Flyers are trimming to take shape. When asked about the grouping of the players today, Tortorella was clear. They are indicative of which players might be in the opening night lineup:
“We put the groups up onto the board, and it’s pretty simple as far as what the groups mean. I think you can interchange a few players as we go through here, depending on what goes on as far as practice habits or what we see. That’s what we started today. We split the groups up, we’ll have some people leaving today, and then we’ll see where we get the numbers to as we begin to get to opening night.”
John Tortorella; 9/30/2022
Tortorella will lean on Brad Shaw, as he does with Atkinson with the players, to implement this coaching system. Beyond the ice, Tortorella is coaching the mind.
“The mind is a very important part for me. A lot of the stuff was physical, but for me it was mental. There was a lot of mental tests there, too. I’m also looking at the intelligence of a player, as far as positioning. I look at some guys, they’re so far ahead of others, they understand positioning away from the puck. I’m looking at all of that, too.”
John Tortorella; 9/30/2022
Carter Hart
Out of the gate, Hart addressed how he was feeling. Cleared for no contact, he did occupy the crease to save pucks.
“I’m feeling better. The last few days, I’m feeling better on the ice. Hoping to play here in one of these last few games before the regular season starts.”
Carter Hart; 9/30/2022
Hart is confident he’ll be ready for opening night versus the New Jersey Devils. Tortorella was clear about the intentions to be sure Hart is healthy for the home opener, neither confirming nor denying that he will be in a preseason lineup. His participation during today’s on-ice session was an encouraging sign.
(Photo by Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire)
