Spencer Gill, the 59th overall pick in this year’s draft, was one of the Philadelphia Flyers‘ 14 training camp candidates in the first round of cuts. While he has much potential, particularly with his defensive play, he needs more time to develop.
While it was unlikely for Gill to be a part of this year’s Flyers’ team, he was able to gain valuable time to get a feel for how Tortorella coaches, be integrated with the veteran players, and he was able to play a preseason game.
Ahead of training camp, Gill shared that his rookie camp went well but wanted to focus on improving his game to become more prominent, faster, and vital. While rookie camp benefits young players by giving them more tentative focus, training camp is when the boss bench, John Tortorella, takes over. “It’s been nice. I’ve seen stuff before I came here about it, but it’s been nice to be here and do it, such as skating with the guys,” Gill shared about experiencing his first John Tortorella training camp.
With day one of camp being all about the skating and the rope test, some players had strategies heading into the ultimate test. “I went into it just wanting to give my all in; that’s all you can do. That’s what he (Tortorella) wants to see, everyone pushing. So for me, it was just kind of each lap just giving it my all,” Gill explained.
In the first preseason game against the Capitals, Gill took the ice. While playing in his first NHL preseason game, Gill said, “It was a cool experience getting to play with the older guys. It was a great way to learn what areas of my game work and what I can take back and work on.”
The defenseman will return to the QMJHL to play another season for the Rimouski Océanic. Gill expressed that during the last time we spoke, he was looking forward to the Memorial Cup.
Completing a good chunk of training camp with the Flyers allowed Gill to pick up on skills he could take back to the QMJHL. “This camp is all about battling through stuff. You’re going to be tired a lot. You must push through quickly. So that’s something I want to bring back to me and my team: pushing through everything.”
During Camp Gill’s shots, I improved each day. He showed a lot of promise on the ice. “I’ve honestly put in the work on all that stuff this summer since being in a development camp. I feel a lot better with all that stuff (shooting), but there’s still a long way to go to get to the next level. For me, it’s about every day focusing on the little things and trying to get better,” Gill shared how his offensive work is improving.
For any defensive player to develop into a two-way player is a crucial element of making the team in the future. This will also allow Gill to display what he’s worked on with his Junior team. A player like Spencer Gill needs the time, but with his dedication to getting better, faster, and stronger, there’s no doubt it will pay off in juniors.
When talking about key moments of training camp, Gill was able to share what that moment was like for him taking the ice against Washington in the preseason, “Since you’re a kid, it’s always what you want. You dreamed of playing at that level, so for me to be able to play in a game like that was cool, but I don’t want that to be my last game here. The work is not done. It’s just getting started. It’s all about putting in the work; the goal is to be a full-time player one day. That’s the real dream.”
While John Tortorella didn’t speak to Gill after he got cut, he did talk to Gill on the ice, telling him he was doing a good job. Tortorella knows Gill’s potential but knows he needs to continue to get bigger.
Nick Seeler was one of the veteran players who praised Gill. He noticed Gill’s hard work and willingness to ask questions to the veterans.
Now that Gill is heading back to juniors, he shared some goals, “The goal is to continue to get stronger. We will have a good junior season and a great opportunity with the Memorial Cup. It’s about continuing to get better on the ice and going to the gym. If I continue to gain weight and get stronger, that will benefit me the most.” Gill spoke on his team, the Rimouski Océanic, “We made some bigger trades this offseason, which is nice. It’s a lot of the same guys back. We grew as a team in the last couple of years. This is kind of our year. I’m excited to see what we can accomplish as a group.”
