This will be the first full season of rebuilding for the Philadelphia Flyers. Managing Director Daniel Brière, on several occasions, emphasized that the Flyers were not “tanking”. He doesn’t believe it.
Brière wants his team to be competitive every night. THE a bigger idea of reconstruction it’s about keeping an eye toward the future. Don’t make any moves for instant gratification that might hurt you two years from now. Play children; see what they have. Prune out what you don’t need or what won’t help you.
With that being said, here are the five biggest questions facing the Flyers less than two months before training camp. This assumes Brière makes no more major moves between now and September.
1. How many prospects remain on defense?
The Flyers’ potential defensive corps is a mix of youth and veterans. Briere recently said he wants to see some young defensemen get an opportunity next season, just like several young forwards got last season.
They have four defenders who look like locks to make the roster… Cam York, Travis Sanheim, Marc Staal and Rasmus Ristolainen. Nick Seeler is back and is coming off a solid season. He could be a factor but he’s 30 years old. Sean Walker is almost 29 years old. He arrived in the Agreement with Ivan Provorov.
The Flyers have at least five young defensemen who will compete for roster roles: Emil Andrae, Egor Zamula, Ronnie Attard, Adam Ginning and Helge Grans.
“We’d like to add a little more veteran presence, but at the same time we want to be careful,” Briere said when the Flyers signed the 36-year-old Staal.
“We want to let our young people, we don’t want to block them. We want to give them a chance and we also want to see what we have. It’s pretty important to find out what they’re actually made of. If they are ready for the next step in their career.
You can pencil in Andrae on the list. I think the Flyers would love to see Zamula earn a spot. We’ll see if Attard, Ginning or Grans can steal a job.
2. Who supports Carter Hart?
The Flyers suddenly have a lot of goaltenders. Hart is the presumed No. 1. The backup position could be the impressive Sam Ersson, the veteran Cal Petersen or Felix Sandstrom.
“I think it’s wide open,” Briere said Philly Hockey Now Sam Carchidi recently spoke about the backup goalie competition. “There will be chances for everyone, and we will see who can take them.”
This is what good teams do and how they thrive: there is competition for every position on the roster. Goalie scrums should only make everyone better. This could be one of the more interesting camp battles.
3. Will Sean Couturier and Cam Atkinson be on opening night…and beyond?
If Couturier and Atkinson return to good form this season, the rebuild will accelerate. Their presence in the locker room will be significant.
Couturier missed all of last season after undergoing two back surgeries. The previous season, he played in just 29 of 82 games. Briere recently said Couturier is healthy and eager to get back on the ice.
Couturier’s effectiveness is another question. He will be 31 in December. He plays a physical two-way game. Can a twice surgically repaired back handle the rigors of an NHL schedule?
Atkinson did not play last season due to neck surgery in December. His state of health is similar to that of Couturier. Atkinson is 34 years old. He played 700 games in the NHL. Can he complete a full season?
4. Will Joel Farabee Take a big step forward?
Farabee underwent neck surgery before last season. He started slowly but finished strong. He talked about having a whole offseason to prepare for next season.
Farabee is 23, the 14th overall pick in 2018. His career goals record is 20, in 2020-21. He scored 15 goals last season. His late season performance suggests he can be a consistent 30 goal scorer.
The Flyers need guys who can put the puck in the net. Guys, plural. They finished 26th in goals scored last season and last on the power play.
The Flyers hope Farabee lives up to the potential they saw in selecting him 14th overall.
Owen Tippett is an example of the growth the Flyers need. Tippett went from a career-high 10 goals in 2021-22 to 27 goals last season. He averaged 17:26 on the ice last season, the highest of his career.
Can Farabee match this type of production increase? A Farabee scoring 30 goals per season will make him one of the cornerstones of the future.
5. Which of the young attackers will start the season in Philadelphia?
Briere recently talked about how happy he was that some young forwards showed up last year – he mentioned Tippett, Noah Cates and Morgan Frost.
These three players, based on last season, have bright futures and likely long NHL careers. This is admittedly a small sample. There is pressure to perform every day, every season. But they look legit.
How many new young strikers will we see this season?
There are three young players from development camp who could make a serious appearance in the lineup – Bobby Brink, Tyson Foerster and Elliot Desnoyers.
Brink is returning from hip surgery. He has NHL talent and joining a big club seems inevitable. Foerster was impressive during an eight-game series late in the season, scoring seven points. Desnoyers is highly regarded and has scored at other levels.
The Flyers recently signed Olle Lycksell to a contract extension. Is he ready for the NHL?
If the Flyers regularly play three or four new forwards next season, the rebuild will have taken positive steps.
The only thing is: can these kids compete at this level? This is the crucial point that young players and rebuilding teams debate every day. They hope for the best. They hope the children will understand.
