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Flyers Push the Pace on the First Day of Training Camp |
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Heading into the first formal day of training camp, first-year Philadelphia Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol said that he wanted to establish a quick pace and emphasis on competitiveness right off the bat in addition to installing his system. He wasn't bluffing.
The first day of practice opened with a 90-minute practice by Group A, consisting solely of NHL roster locks and bubble players. The session was conducted at a very high tempo, especially for the first day.
“You can’t do everything at once. Everybody knows how to play the game. We worked on a couple systems areas today. But the main focus was our work level and compete level and playing together," said Hakstol.
“That’s the pace level we want. We don’t have a lot of time [until Monday's split-squad preseason opener]. It’s real important to get as much work and get up and down the rink and get as much as we can in these first three days when we have time to do that."
Hakstol was asked how his system compares and contrasts to the one the team played the last two seasons under Craig Berube.
“A lot of similiarities and a few differences. You can break the game down a lot. There’s a lot of similarities to the way teams play. There’s a couple areas we will try to develop. Maybe in the offensive zone with some movement. Some of our mentalities in terms of transition and play in the neutral zone. A lot of things. I don’t know if you will notice any wholesale changes," said Hakstol.
The level of physical competitiveness on Friday was intense at times. Players raced all out for pucks, battled for real estate and puck control in tight quarters, tried to spin off checks and did a of skating with quick turnarounds before they were back in motion. In the day's most memorable physical exchange, defenseman Luke Schenn lifted up and bodyslammed left winger Michael Raffl to the ice. Raffl was unhurt and said afterwards he wasn't bothered by it.
Almost to a man, the Flyers players said after practice that they enjoyed the pace and the contact although several were quite tired by the end of the morning.
“We competed out there. That is what I was looking for. This is what gets you into game shape. It’s a lot harder than skating. This is one-on-one. I like it for game shape," said Raffl.
Teammate Pierre-Edouard Bellemare agreed.
"It was very fast and fun," Bellemare said. "Everyone gets up for the first day of practice. Everyone has been here for like a couple of weeks, waiting for the first day of practice. The pace was definitely fast but that's good."
The line combinations and defensive pairs on the first day were as follows:
Michael Raffl - Claude Giroux - Jakub Voracek
Matt Read - Sean Couturier - Wayne Simmonds
R.J. Umberger - Vincent Lecavalier - Sam Gagner
Chris VandeVelde - Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - Ryan White
Chris Porter - Scott Laughton - Brayden Schenn
Nick Schultz - Mark Streit
Michael Del Zotto - Evgeni Medvedev
Andrew MacDonald - Radko Gudas
Brandon Manning - Luke Schenn
Steve Mason / Michal Neuvirth
After practice, Hakstol was asked if any "messages" were being sent to Brayden Schenn and Luke Schenn by putting them in lines with roster bubble players. Likewise, he was asked if there was any "reclamation project" design behind the grouping of Lecavalier, Umberger and Gagner.
“I wouldn’t read anything into it. In terms of what I saw in practice, I thought the [Laughton, Schenn and Porter] group did a good job. In fact, those three guys played with speed, played hard. They have a pretty simple style out there. I thought each one did a pretty good job," said Hakstol.
"We just put the lines together the way we thought we would have a chance for success. I don’t think there was any extra thought going into it in that regard. We put groups together. We’re looking for four groups of forwards that can help us win games, and wanted to see [the Lecavalier line] together."
Although Hakstol would not rule out possibly making some small-scale line combination tweaks over the weekend, he said there was also a chance he'd simply keep rolling with the same groups to get a second look since there is limited opportunity to experiment with a variety of different things.
In the Group B session consisting of junior aged prospects and Phantoms players, Hakstol had to find a steady work flow for 36 players. As a result, half of the group worked on the Phantoms rink and the other half simultaneously on the Flyers rink. At the end, the two sides played a mini-scrimmage consisting of one period's worth of game time. Hakstol (who was on the Phantoms rink for this session) and the Flyers assistant coaches watched from the balcony.
Michael Parks, Aaron Palushaj and Jay Rosehill scored for Team White, who won the scrimmage 3-0. Apart from the defensive pairing of Samuel Morin and Shayne Gostisbehere continuing to work together, most of the combinations seemed fairly random, mixing and matching players who will be in different places (and leagues) when roster cutdowns are made.
For Saturday, the groupings and times will stay the same. The only change is that the Phantoms/prospects group will practice in the morning and the NHL group will go in the afternoon session.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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