If the sounds of skates gliding and sticks tapping a painted, frozen water surface are a joy to you, then you would have thought you died and gone to heaven on Thursday afternoon as the Philadelphia Flyers started the 2024 Training Camp process with a heavy skate. Officially termed the 3×8 Lap 300 Shuttle per the 2024 Training Camp Schedule, the John Tortorella-led first day of skating is a somewhat typical “first-day, back-to-school experience” for NHL Players.
Flyers Training Camp: Day one recap
The 45-minute endurance skating test involves multiple laps around the ice at different intervals with a small rest period in between. It was incredibly reminiscent of the Disney movie, Miracle on Ice, involving players doubled over reaching for air after the physical exertion following a long summer break. Except, no one threw up on the ice surface in the real-world version.
In New Jersey, Joel Farabee was doubled over following his seventh lap around the rink and a fingernail away from the full-length sprints that finished the skating day to open the day, while defenseman Adam Ginning had to take a seat and a sip of water following one of the more intensive tests these athletes are not expected to take again any time soon.
To put it simply, the first day of camp is essentially a fitness test for the invitees to the Philadelphia Flyers training camp. Regardless of whether a player just arrived from another country or recently signed a lucrative long-term deal, every single player was involved in this one together today. There are three squads of 17 skaters and two goaltenders that will experience this training camp ride together in Voorhees, NJ.
The first group on the ice this morning was, of course, Team #1. The first squad includes veterans Sean Couturier, Travis Konecny, and Rasmus Ristolain alongside younger players like Egor Zamula, Helge Grans, and Tyson Foerster. With intergroup scrimmages beginning on Friday, Sam Ersson will be paired with Sam Hillebrant. Hillebrant appeared on the second night of the 2024 Rookie Series between the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers last week.
Excitement bubbled to the surface for Team #2 featuring Matvei Michkov, Jett Luchanko, Jaime Drysdale, and Oliver Bonk joining Flyers veterans Joel Farabee, Owen Tippett, and Morgan Frost. The goalie matchup for Team #2 should be fun with the starter in the Flyers Rookie Series, Carson Bjarnason, battling KHL veteran, Ivan Fedotov. For those wondering, Michkov looked good to start the skate and was winded by the end of the fitness test. Jett Luchanko appeared to have one of the better skates with solid reps on every lap.
The final team on the training camp roster is Team #3 with veterans Garnet Hathaway, Scott Laughton, Ryan Poehling, and Nick Deslauries alongside younger athletes like Bobby Brink, Elliot Desnoyers, and Massimo Rizzo. Dealauries is someone who stood out as he was encouraging skaters in his group between reps. A fist-pound for a camp invitee hoping to make an impression, such as skater Josh Zakreski, can go a very long way in an environment like a difficult skate test that an athlete has never conquered before.
While Thursday’s opening day at camp was full of skating and fitness testing, the real fun gets underway tomorrow morning at Flyers Traning Center in Voorhees, New Jersey. Team #3 is expected to take the ice at 9 am for a 45-minute practice session followed by an almost hour-long scrimmage to immediately place the athletes in a game-type situation. Flyers captain Sean Couturier and Team #1 will begin their practice when the Team #3 scrimmage begins at 10:10 am. Team #1 will have their scrimmage beginning at 11:20 am. Last but not least, Team #2 and Matvei Michkov hit the ice for practice at 11:20 am with an inter-squad scrimmage at 12:30 pm.
On Saturday, the order will be Team #2, Team #3, and Team #1 in the same time slots. In less than 72 hours, preseason hockey will be played when the Flyers travel down I-95 to visit the Washington Capitals for an afternoon tilt. Game time is scheduled for 3 pm between the Flyers and Caps on Sunday afternoon. The roster the Flyers will be traveling with for the game against Washington will be said during the Rookie Series broadcast the team is working with the NHL to provide a broadcast of the road preseason games in 2024.
