VOORHEES, N.J. — The Flyers are getting down to the nitty-gritty of evaluation and decision time.
They wrap up the preseason Thursday when they host the Devils (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP). It won't serve as a dress rehearsal for the Flyers because New Jersey's big club is already in Prague, Czechia for the 2024 NHL Global Series. So John Tortorella will play only a handful of veterans and more of an inexperienced, Phantoms-heavy lineup.
Instead of holding a morning skate Thursday, the Flyers will practice as an NHL group to go over their systems. They're starting to prepare for the regular-season opener next Friday against the Canucks in Vancouver, British Columbia.
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On Wednesday, the Flyers had a 24-player big club group on one ice sheet and a 10-player group on the adjacent rink.
"We've gotten plenty of work in," Tortorella said. "I'm really happy with the camp. Now it's time to get to our teams."
The Flyers have until Monday at 5 p.m. ET to submit their season-opening roster, which can be at a max of 23 players. Before they suit up for their seventh and final exhibition contest, let's get into three observations from the sixth non-game day of camp.
Here's what we saw in Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4 and Day 5 of camp, as well as Game 1, Game 2, Game 3, Game 4, Game 5 and Game 6 of the preseason.
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Line dance
Tyson Foerster didn't practice Wednesday after blocking a shot in the second period of the Flyers' 4-1 preseason loss Tuesday night to the Bruins. Foerster was able to finish the game but Tortorella said the 22-year-old winger was dealing with some swelling Wednesday, so the Flyers decided to keep him off the ice.
With no Foerster, the Flyers had 14 forwards in their big club group, including Jett Luchanko. The 2024 first-round center has understandably tapered off as the preseason games have picked up and still seems unlikely to get a nine-game audition. But Tortorella clearly has been impressed by how hard the 18-year-old has pushed through four preseason games, two rookie games and a ton of skating in camp.
"I think one guy that has stood out with pace and I don't think has really been affected too much is Luchanko," he said. "I think he continues to skate. I checked with him today, how his legs were, he said they feel pretty good. Maybe that's the youth, I don't know, but he has hung in there really well."
We've seen different lines throughout camp and the preseason. Tortorella didn't run any combinations Wednesday.
"The center ice position, I keep on looking at it and I'm still not certain on the lines as far as who's going to be in those offensive positions," the Flyers' head coach said. "We're just going to keep on waiting and see how guys play."
When it comes to final cuts, Olle Lycksell looks like the favorite among the bubble forwards to make the roster. The Flyers could carry up to 14 forwards, so two extras.
Including Foerster, here are the 15 forwards in the big club group:
Bobby Brink, No. 10
Travis Konecny, No. 11
Sean Couturier, No. 14
Olle Lycksell, No. 15
Jett Luchanko, No. 17
Garnet Hathaway, No. 19
Scott Laughton, No. 21
Ryan Poehling, No. 25
Noah Cates, No. 27
Matvei Michkov, No. 39
Nicolas Deslauriers, No. 44
Morgan Frost, No. 48
Tyson Foerster, No. 71
Owen Tippett, No. 74
Joel Farabee, No. 86
Below are the other six forwards remaining in camp:
Rodrigo Abols, No. 18
Cooper Marody, No. 20 (injured, not on ice)
Oscar Eklind, No. 43
Denver Barkey, No. 52 (on-ice rehab in practice)
Samu Tuomaala, No. 56 (on-ice rehab in practice)
Anthony Richard, No. 90
More: Does Luchanko have inside track to making Flyers' roster?
'I'm a little disappointed ...'
Emil Andrae was the eighth defenseman in the big club group Wednesday, an obvious reward for his strong camp and preseason. After the Flyers' fifth exhibition game, it became evident that he was ahead of Adam Ginning.
"The No. 8 spot is wide open," Tortorella said. "I thought Ginning was one that we had kind of penciled in there; I think he has had a bad camp. Andrae has quietly gone about his business and has had a good camp, so that's why he practiced with us today. As I've told a number of those defensemen, 'What are you waiting for?' Because that spot is wide open."
Tortorella doesn't want to bring eight defensemen on the Flyers' season-opening four-game road trip because the second extra would be a young player who they don't want sitting for too long. So, essentially as the No. 8 right now, Andrae is the favorite to be called up from AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley whenever opportunity opens on the Flyers' back end.
"I'm a little disappointed some guys haven't stepped up and grabbed ahold of it and made the decision for us," Tortorella said. "So we're just going to keep on going about it here in the next week or so and see what our conversations bring."
Here were the Flyers' defensive pairs Wednesday in the big club group:
Cam York-Travis Sanheim
Nick Seeler-Jamie Drysdale
Egor Zamula-Rasmus Ristolainen
Emil Andrae-Erik Johnson
Ginning, Hunter McDonald, Helge Grans and Oliver Bonk are the defensemen still in camp that were not with the big club group.
A relief for the Flyers was Seeler's availability at practice. The night before in Boston, Seeler was hobbled after taking a puck to the area of his knee when he broke up a play on a full-out slide. He took one shift in the third period and then didn't return.
"It was like a harmless play, but it hit that peroneal nerve," Seeler said. "It just went numb, so I couldn't feel the foot or the leg. ... I got up and I'm like, 'What the heck just happened? I can't feel my leg.'"
Seeler was still dealing with some numbness Wednesday but said everything was fine and expected to be back to normal soon.
Ersson's new road
Tortorella admitted Tuesday to being nervous about the Flyers' goaltending picture this season. The club is optimistic about Samuel Ersson, but he's just coming off his rookie year and entering his first season as a No. 1. His backup Ivan Fedotov is a rookie who turns 28 years old in November and has one career NHL start.
Perhaps Ersson settled his head coach's nerves a tad in the preseason. The soon-to-be 25-year-old won't play Thursday, so he'll finish the exhibition slate with a 1.01 goals-against average and .971 save percentage in two starts.
"I'm very confident in Sam's readiness, how he's going to get ready for the season, what he does to get ready for a season," Tortorella said. "The new road is going to be it's a new spot for him as far as being the No. 1 and some of the adjustments he may have to make as far as being in that position.
"Do I know what that road's going to be like for him? No clue, because we haven't experienced it, he hasn't experienced it before, at least in the National Hockey League level. ... But I'm very confident in how he gets himself prepared. He's going to give himself the best chance possible to be the best he can be."
Alexei Kolosov was the only goalie in the 10-player group on the adjacent rink Wednesday. Cal Petersen was placed on waivers, according to PuckPedia.com. If he clears, he'll report to the Phantoms.
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