Meltzer's Musings: Goalie Workload, Camp Notes, Alumni and More

MELTZER'S MUSINGS: GOALTENDING WORKLOAD DISTRIBUTION

At his end-of-season press conference in April, Philadelphia Flyers starting goaltender Steve Mason expressed a goal of starting 60-plus games during the 2015-16 season. However, the Flyers seem to be of a different mindset in their concept of what an ideal division of workload would look like between Mason and his backup.

On July 1, when the Flyers signed Michal Neuvirth to a two-year contract, Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said the primary reason for signing the Czech netminder was to have a goaltender capable of carrying the load if Mason were to go down with injury again as he did last season. Hextall then added that, even if Mason is able to remain healthy, he anticipated Neuvirth getting his fair share of playing time even being second on the depth chart.

" I’m sure he’s probably going to play more than the typical backup," Hextall said.

The GM then added, " I don’t think Mase necessarily needs to be pushed, but when you can upgrade at any position, you take advantage of it, and this is an opportunity for us."

This week, with Flyers veterans working out at the Skate Zone in Voorhees, NJ in preparation for the official start of training camp, Mason reiterated that his goal is to get the lion's share of playing time.

"I want to play as many games as I can. I don't want to put a specific number on it, but you look at the top tier of games played for goalies last year, they're in their 60s," Mason said on Wednesday to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

"If the health is there and the consistency in my game is there, I don't see why there would be an issue why I shouldn't be playing that."

Mason, who had a nagging knee injury flare up several times during the middle portion of the 2014-15 season and missed about two weeks are undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery in early February, has asserted that he is fully healthy. The only concession he made to last season's injury in his off-season workouts was limiting the amount of high-impact training. Coming off what was statistically an excellent individual season but emotionally a frustrating one because of the team missing the playoffs and his knee issues, Mason is eager to turn the page.

It is a positive sign that Mason wants to be among the NHL's workhorse starters in 2015-16 and that Neuvirth will not be content to be a sparingly used backup. Competition is a positive factor, so long as the two goaltenders are supportive of one another regardless of who is playing. Ultimately, as Mason noted, new head coach Dave Hakstol will factor performance as well as the demands of the schedule and the goalies' respective health into his distribution of playing time during the season.

On paper, it may be tough for Mason to get tabbed to start 60-plus games with the talented Neuvirth on hand. A split of roughly 50 starts for Mason and 32 for Neuvirth seems to be a more likely and desirable scenario to keep both goalies reasonably sharp and not to risk burning out the primary starter by the spring. Nevertheless, it a good for the number one goalie to have an ambitious target in mind and there are lot of variables that could shift the workload.

If Mason plays at the same level he did for most of last season -- and, really, for most of the Flyers portion of his career -- perhaps he actually could persuade Hakstol to tab him for nearly three-quarters of the playing time in net this season. Of course, Neuvirth will get a chance to make his case, too. For the Flyers, it is good to have two viable options.

QUICK HITS: SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

1) With formal on-ice practice sessions slated to start on Friday, Flyers veterans will have team meetings and video sessions on Thursday at the Skate Zone. There will be no group on-ice work. On Friday, there will be practices at 9:45 a.m. and 1 p.m. EDT. As always, practice is free and open to the public.

2) On Wednesday, Hakstol continued to put the rookie camp attendees through the paces of high-tempo competitive drills. Not noted for playing with much an aggressive physical element to his game despite his 6-foot-4 frame, Flyers 2014 first-round pick Travis Sanheim showed he can deliver some punishing hits. In particular, he dished out a big clean hit to Phantoms forward Taylor Leier in the corner.

3) Hakstol has said several times during the off-season that his goal is to establish up-tempo practices from the outset. He wants players to do as little standing around as possible during practices, and for that mentality to carry over into a skating-intensive style of play on the ice in game conditions. There will be a lot of systems-based work that needs to be done in camp -- breakouts, retrievals, forechecking, etc -- but it is also clear that Hakstol enjoys putting players into speed-vs-speed, offensive skill-vs-defensive anticipation, and muscle-on-muscle battles.

4) Although it remains to be seen how long it takes him to make the adjustment to playing the NHL-style game, the Flyers have been impressed by the dedication Evegeni Medvedev has been showing to make his on-ice and off-ice adaptation go as smoothly as possible. In August, the 33-year-old "rookie" was one of the first NHL roster players to commence daily workouts in Voorhees in preparation for camp. He has also earned praise for how enthusiastically he has approached learning English through regular tutoring sessions.

5) After four seasons as Flyers strength and conditioning coach, Ryan Podell is no longer with the organization. He accepted a sports scientist job with the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers.

6) Flyers 2015 third-round pick Felix Sandström earned the win in goal -- albeit in less-than-spectacular fashion -- as the Brynà¤s J20 team defeated AIK J20 counterparts by an overtime 6-5 score on Wednesday. Sandström faced 27 shots, stopping 22. Brynà¤s, which enjoyed a 50-27 shot edge for the game, was unable to protect a 5-3 lead in the third period before rescuing the win in the opening minute of overtime. Sandström will join the Brynà¤s senior team on Thursday to back up veteran Bernhard Starkbaum as BIF opens its Swedish Hockey League regular season at home against the Malmö Redhawks. Flyers 2014 fifth-round pick Oskar Lindblom has practiced as the left wing on Brynà¤s' first line.

7) Temple University students can claim free tickets to a Flyers preseason game, available on Thursday afternoon at the Student Activity Center on main campus. The team Tweeted the following information:

Oct. 17, 2015: You Too Animal Rescue Benefit, Lehigh Valley Ice Arena, Whitehall, PA. TBA Dec. 27, 2015: Flyers Skate Zone, Voorhees, NJ. 4:00 p.m. Feb. 20, 2016: Ice Works, Aston, PA, 8:15 p.m. Feb. 27, 2016: Class of 1923 Arena (University of Pennsylvania), 6:00 p.m. March 12, 2016: Junior Achievement of Delaware, University of Delaware. TBA

9) Former Flyers defenseman Marc-Andre Bourdon, who career was curtailed by post-concussion syndrome, celebrates his 26th birthday today. A born-again Christian, Bourdon is now an assistant hockey coach at Liberty University and an active member of Hockey Ministries International. He has also begun to pursue a college degree in nutrition and exercise science.