VOORHEES, N.J. — The Flyers had four prospects make their season-opening roster, a good sign that the club is trying to back its rebuilding message.
But the follow-through on that message will be decided by games, by the Flyers giving the prospects a chance to play and putting them in positions to play to their strengths.
If they're ready for the NHL roster now, give them a good shot.
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Amid free agency at the start of July, general manager Danny Briere mentioned the Flyers wanting to be careful in not blocking their younger players. When training camp began, John Tortorella called the Flyers "a land of opportunity."
As the Flyers carry four prospects on their roster just a few days before the regular-season opener, the question becomes how much will those prospects play?
The Flyers might lean toward experience over some of the youth Thursday when the team visits the Blue Jackets to kick off the 2023-24 campaign (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP).
"I think early on, it’s a respectful thing for the opener to treat the veterans right," Briere said Tuesday before practice. "But then their play will dictate who plays. You all know Torts by now, he’s not afraid, if someone is not performing, he’s not going to hold back and he’s going to play the young guys."
NHL
Essentially, the Flyers' youngsters earned a temporary roster spot but need to prove they can hold down a lineup spot.
Up front, Bobby Brink and Tyson Foerster won jobs. Right now, it's appearing like Brink will be in the lineup opening night, with Foerster being the odd man out. Last week, Tortorella discussed the possibility of having both Brink and Foerster on the roster and getting them games on a rotational type of basis.
Having a young prospect sit from time to time is not ideal, but it does keep both of them in the immediate picture.
"We’ll evaluate and make sure that they get the proper ice time," Briere said. "We can always readjust if that’s not happening. If someone’s play dips, these guys don’t need waivers, so we can use that to maybe find the confidence again if they need to play some games or high minutes."
Brink, a 22-year-old winger, exceeded the Flyers' expectations in camp. He was second on the team in preseason scoring with three points (one goal, two assists) over four games. He also scored a shootout marker and had a pair of goals in the scrimmage portion of camp. The 2019 second-round pick has advanced puck-handling skills and vision.
"It’s a player that we don’t have a lot of," Tortorella said. "I think there are some guys that score goals, I think there are some playmakers. I think he’s bundled up in both of those. I think he’s going to be able to score goals and I think he sees the ice [better] than quite a few of our players as we’ve gone about here in camp. … He deserves to be here and we’ll see where we go with it."
Foerster, a 21-year-old winger, owns arguably the best shot in the organization and was a prospect the Flyers had circled after his eight-game audition last season.
"We had the expectation that he would start with us," Briere said. "His play was solid. I know he wasn’t on the score sheet as much as Bobby, but the details in his game we all liked, the coaches were on board, someone that you can rely on."
The Flyers have a similar situation on defense, with two prospects cracking the roster in Egor Zamula and Emil Andrae. There's a chance one or neither of them will be in the lineup opening night.
"Both of them have been excellent with their play, they earned the right to be here to start the season," Briere said. "But it’s going to be the same thing as Bobby and Tyson, we’re going to make sure that they get the proper ice time. If they can’t get it here, we’ll find a way to get them on the ice."
Rasmus Ristolainen is on injured reserve with an undisclosed issue but he practiced Saturday and Tuesday, as well as skated Monday. His IR stint is backdated to last week, which gives him the possibility to be activated for the opener if he's deemed healthy. The Flyers would have to make a corresponding roster move to create room for Ristolainen.
"We still have a couple more days," Tortorella said. "I’m encouraged that he’ll be ready to go by Thursday."
Sean Walker, who came to the Flyers in the Ivan Provorov trade, has impressed his new coach. Tortorella heard good things about him from Kings coach Todd McLellan.
"Steady," Tortorella said of the 28-year-old. "You guys don’t talk about him, but you should. Competitive. Right shot. I think he has had a really good camp."
The prospects still have plenty to show if they want to stay with the big club. The Flyers will have to give them a fair shot while also keeping a close eye on AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley.
"If some of the young players, we feel it’s a bit of a struggle after a certain amount games or this and that, I do believe we’re going to see quite a few guys from Lehigh and just alternating them through," Tortorella said. "If guys play, they stay. If they don’t and it’s a struggle, we do not want to stop them from growing by force-feeding the National Hockey League to them. Those are decisions we’re going to have to make probably after each and every game.”
Below is how the Flyers looked in practice Tuesday.
Forwards
Joel Farabee-Sean Couturier-Bobby Brink
Owen Tippett-Morgan Frost-Cam Atkinson
Scott Laughton-Noah Cates-Travis Konecny
Nicolas Deslauriers-Ryan Poehling-Garnet Hathaway
Tyson Foerster (extra)
Defensemen
Cam York-Travis Sanheim
Marc Staal-Sean Walker
Egor Zamula-Nick Seeler
Emil Andrae-Rasmus Ristolainen (extras)
Goalies
Carter Hart
Samuel Ersson
Felix Sandstrom
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