The Flyers‘ rookies have been working hard throughout the past week. With Training Camp starting this upcoming Thursday, September 19th, a few names are worth mentioning amongst the rookies who were invited to camp.
J.R. Avon, Matvei Michkov, Oliver Bonk, Jett Luchanko, Spencer Gill, Matteo Mann, and Carter Sotheran are certainly a few to keep an eye on. While it’s already known that some of these players will return to their respective teams for this upcoming season, it’s also a good sign that the organization wants to see more of them.
Oliver Bonk
Regarding who to watch at camp, it’s worth mentioning why some of these rookies stand out. When you see Oliver Bonk take the ice, it’s refreshing to watch. His game’s speed and flow make him as valuable as he is. The former 22nd overall pick has a lot of promise within the Flyers’ organization.
Bonk shared his father Radek Bonk‘s advice: “Do your best, play your heart out, and leave it all here. You don’t want to go home with any regrets.” With Bonk showing more and more improvement as a two-way defenseman sooner rather than later, he will earn a spot on the Flyers’ roster. Bonk also has a good relationship with Matvei Michkov, which you can see displayed on the ice as Bonk shows Michkov’s support.
Jett Luchanko
Jett Luchanko, the 13th overall pick in this year’s NHL Entry Level Draft, has been displaying his athleticism throughout offseason practices. His ability to pick up on different drills and execute them has been the most noticeable display of excellence. While Luchanko still has years of development, it’s a positive sign to see how well he’s been progressing even since rookie development camp.
Spencer Gill
I caught up with Spencer Gill the other day, who shared how he’s prepared over the summer after development camp, “When I returned home, I had a perfect summer of training. My trainer back home helped me out a lot to get quicker and faster. With the training, skating, and power skating a lot in the summer, that’s been helping me out a lot.”
Gill shared that his goal was to stay here (Philly) for as long as possible. The Flyers inviting him to training camp shows that Gill’s determination to get bigger, faster, and stronger is paying off. While Gill still needs to work on more detailed skills, such as stick control, Gill stated he was working with Sam Morin on the small detail work.
Flyers coaches set the tone
Ian Laperrière spoke following practice today about how he felt the practices had been going and some words of wisdom ahead of training camp. Laperrière talked about the intensity of Tortorella’s training camp, “Torts doesn’t play mind games. Be ready for camp. Don’t quit on me, and everything will be fine.”
The first day of training camp is always intense, as Tortorella makes the players skate hard the entire time, and the rope skate test is a grueling drill.
The full training camp list:
https://media.d3.nhle.com/image/private/t_document/prd/qtomyh7nx8zrhauepqvj.pdf
Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
