The Philadelphia Flyers hosted the second day of the 2024 Development Camp on Tuesday which featured several 45-minute skating sessions involving two groups split between forwards and defensemen. Almost 40 players were invited to the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees, New Jersey, for a crash course in “A New Era of Orange”. General Manager Daniel Briere, President of Hockey Operations Keith Jones, and Head Coach John Tortorella all were on hand for a birds-eye view of the next potential wave of Philadelphia Flyers players.
Quality Coaching Talent To Teach Flyers Hockey
Plenty of NHL Veterans were on hand to provide professional hockey orientation to the Flyers’ draftees and camp invites. Vermont-born U.S. Hockey Hall-of-Famer, John LeClair, laced up the skates to saucer passes to Flyers prospects. After a very forgettable 20 games in Pittsburgh in 2006, LeClair retired from the NHL. The Flyers announced the addition of the longtime Flyers winger last June.
Flyers prospect Cater Sotheran name-dropped Nick Schultz and Sam Morin as being extremely helpful during Day 1 of the 2024 Flyers Development Camp. While it is disappointing his NHL career didn’t pan out due to injuries, I have always enjoyed watching Morin on the ice. Another notable NHL veteran of the coaching staff is Jason Smith who finished his career with 1008 games played in the National Hockey League.
Two Eye-Catching Forwards In A.M. Session
While I fully expected myself to be enamored by the skills of Denver Barkey at the forward session for forwards, there were two players that my eyes kept being drawn to during drills. For very different reasons, a 7th-round draft pick and a camp invitee impressed my hockey eye leaving me excited to see more on-ice activity throughout the week.
Santeri Sulko is a final-round draft choice by Philadelphia from 2022. The 6-foot-2 skater rocking #80 in development camp applies his craft in the Mestis league for Kokkolan Hermes. Sulko scored 17 goals in 35 games with the 20-year-old playing against much older competition in his home country of Finland. Up close, Sulko’s shot has some rocket fuel behind it. I found my eyes wandering towards the net each time he fired the puck waiting for the booming thunderclap from frozen rubber deflecting off the hockey boards.
The other player who impressed me was Jack Williams (#96) from Northeastern University. The undrafted forward dazzled with skating, speed, and stick skills. To my very untrained eye, the edgework on his skates was a step above anyone else I saw on Day 1. Williams scored a point-per-game pace for Northeastern with 36 points over 34 games and likely will return to Northeastern in 2024-25.
There is no way this article is complete without mentioning Philadelphia’s first-round selection, Jett Luchanko. The Canadian forward did not get a chance to showcase his speed in the drills that occurred during the first session of the day. Unfortunately, I missed the second-afternoon session on Monday, however, I look forward to several more days of skills training for Jett Luchanko.
Defenseman Sharpen Skills on Day 1 of Development Camp
The defensemen were the first skaters on the ice in the morning session, and I was far more focused on trying to grab content than watching the play on the ice. I am glad there was a second session to allow me to pay far more attention to hockey details.
OHL Champion Oliver Bonk did not disappoint the first time I saw him skate. I don’t exactly have the words but his skating stride allows him to move well laterally, while his stick-handling helped him protect the puck in several of the drills witnessed on Tuesday afternoon. Also, Bonk’s one-timer from the blueline looks like it is on a zip-line to the top corner of the net which bodes well for future powerplay usage.
Camp invite Artyom Kudashov from Moscow Dynamo of the KHL is a camp invite that caught the attention of those in the building with impressive stick-handling skills.
There will be plenty more coverage from Philly Sports Network over the next few days of the 2024 Flyers Development Camp. There will be two more days of practice sandwiched between an off-ice day for the July 4th holiday. Saturday is scheduled to feature a morning skate session before a 5-on-5 scrimmage at 6 pm EST at Flyers Traning Center.
