VOORHEES, N.J. — After making their first round of cuts, the Flyers whittled down training camp to two groups Wednesday.
John Tortorella warned against reading too deeply into the groups, but these were not a random assortment of players. The Flyers' decisions clearly have reasoning behind them.
The first group very much resembled the big club, while the second group had a practice led by AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley head coach Ian Laperriere.
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"It's kind of an NHL 1 today, an NHL 2. That's for today," Tortorella said. "Don't get locked into all that because that could change the next day."
That's true. Almost everything is in pencil. The Flyers are only two games into their seven-game exhibition slate, which picks back up Thursday when the club welcomes the Islanders to the Wells Fargo Center (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP).
The Flyers have until Oct. 7 at 5 p.m. ET to submit their season-opener roster, which can be at a max of 23 players. Jett Luchanko, Olle Lycksell and Adam Ginning were among the 25-player big club group Wednesday.
Let's get into that and more with our latest three observations from Flyers Training Center.
Philadelphia Flyers
New look for Michkov
Interestingly, Matvei Michkov was on a line with Sean Couturier and Tyson Foerster. The 19-year-old top prospect had opened camp and the preseason with Morgan Frost as his center. But, as we noted last Friday, nothing is set in stone, especially at the start of camp. That also applies here with Michkov's new line.
Last month, we looked at the benefits of Couturier being Michkov's center. Not only could Couturier provide the Flyers a Selke Trophy-level security blanket for what Michkov may not grasp yet in the defensive zone, but having those two together might give the team better balance throughout the lineup.
"He has got a lot of offensive skill, he competes hard with the puck, he wants to make plays, looks to make plays and seems to be good at it," Couturier said. "Hopefully we can build some good chemistry, play in the offensive zone and make it easy."
The Flyers started to implement some coverages Wednesday in practice. It doesn't seem like the coaching staff has had issues communicating with Michkov. The Russian teenager has been aided by defenseman Egor Zamula, who can translate if something is not comprehended at first.
"He's very attentive," Tortorella said of Michkov. "He's a hockey player, he loves being on the ice. I think he's getting better and better understanding, getting much better speaking. Z has helped us a little bit there, he helped us today on the ice. ... I think he's full of energy and full of personality, so it's good to see."
In the Flyers' preseason opener last Sunday, Michkov had two assists and played the most minutes among the team's forwards. That's pretty impressive considering Tortorella felt the winger had hit a wall from all the skating in both the rookie and main camps.
"He just had no legs in the exhibition game," the Flyers' head coach said. "But he can protect the puck and he's certainly willing to be in the areas to go get the puck. He has had a good camp."
'Big part of this rebuild'
It was notable that Luchanko practiced with the big club group. There were 44 players in the two groups combined and he just turned 18 years old last month. The 2024 first-round center has shown his speed, underlying strength and ability to make plays.
"He's in elite condition, I mean, you can see that," Tortorella said. "With all the skating we've done, he just keeps going. He's a strong kid, bigger than I thought he was, when you get up close with him. He has just handled himself really well."
Teams can give a junior hockey prospect an NHL audition up to nine games before burning the first year of their entry-level contract. The Flyers likely are leaning toward having Luchanko open the season back with his OHL club Guelph, but they haven't ruled out the audition. He's at least getting a longer look in the preseason.
"That's a big stretch, but I guess it's possible," Flyers assistant general manager Brent Flahr said 10 days ago during rookie camp. "I wouldn't say no. ... He's here to make the team, that's his mentality, so that's great. I'm certainly not going to tell him anything different."
During practice Wednesday, Luchanko felt the NHL size and physicality in a couple of drills against Rasmus Ristolainen, a 6-foot-4, bruising type of defenseman.
"These guys are no joke when it comes to the strength side of it and they've been doing it for a while," Luchanko said. "It's something that I just have to deal with and learn and grow from."
Like Michkov, Luchanko also picked up a couple of assists in the Flyers' preseason opener. Joel Farabee led the way with a four-point game (one goal, three assists).
"I've been really impressed with him and Michkov, just how mature they play," Farabee said. "Jett, as a center, it's not easy to step into an NHL game, even if it's just preseason, and play with NHL guys. He has done a really good job of just being responsible and letting his instincts take over, he's not really thinking too much.
"He's a really good player. I don't really know what their plan is with him, but he has played well enough, in my opinion, so far to remain with the team, whether it's practicing or getting in a couple of more preseason games."
Couturier made his NHL debut as an 18-year-old back in 2011 with the Flyers after being drafted eighth overall that summer. The Flyers grabbed Luchanko at No. 13 this summer.
"He seems to be a mature kid who goes along really well about his business," Couturier said. "I feel he knows what it takes to be a pro. ... He has got a bright future and he's definitely, I'm assuming, a big part of this rebuild, for sure."
Here were the Flyers' combinations up front Wednesday, with Lycksell, Luchanko and Nicolas Deslauriers rotating in on their respective lines:
Owen Tippett-Morgan Frost/Olle Lycksell-Travis Konecny
Tyson Foerster-Sean Couturier/Jett Luchanko-Matvei Michkov
Joel Farabee-Noah Cates-Bobby Brink
Scott Laughton/Nicolas Deslauriers-Ryan Poehling-Garnet Hathaway
'We need to see Ronnie improve'
Ronnie Attard had a tough night Monday in the Flyers' second preseason game. He committed a couple of turnovers, one that led directly to a goal, and finished as a minus-3 alongside Louie Belpedio.
After experiencing the Flyers' playoff race last season, the 25-year-old defenseman opened camp paired with prospect Carter Sotheran, a sign that he was possibly viewed a peg down from Ginning and Emil Andrae.
Attard was not with the big club group Wednesday. He's a hard-working, righty shot who can rip the puck, but the Flyers are looking for him to play a more reliable game.
"I think the biggest thing with Ronnie is we need to see some improvement," Tortorella said. "It's amazing how quickly, when you talk about [25 years old], it's getting old when you have 18-, 19-, 20-, 21-year-olds coming in behind you. We have not made any decisions on Ronnie, but we need to see Ronnie improve.
"Great kid, has all the tools. The biggest thing for me is I just want Ronnie to be able to see the ice, read the ice. It has been a little bit of a struggle, but we're going to have to make decisions as we've got other people coming in behind him. You can only carry so many contracts."
Here were the Flyers' combinations on the back end Wednesday:
Cam York-Travis Sanheim
Nick Seeler-Jamie Drysdale
Egor Zamula-Rasmus Ristolainen
Adam Ginning-Erik Johnson
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