Development Camp: Day 2 Takeaways

The Flyers conducted their second day of on-ice workouts on Monday at the team's Training Center in Voorhees. Wade Allison, Tanner Laczynski and Elliot Desnoyers did not participate in Monday's full group session Both Laczynski and Desnoyers are coming back from surgery.

Forward Linus Sandin (who underwent a physical earlier the day) and goaltender Samuel Ersson joined the group session but were not on the ice earlier in the day. Maksim Sushko has not been available through the first two days.
Day 2 featured more intensive 2-on-1 and man-to-man work on the ice. As is normal at these camps, the more camp-experienced players stepped to the forefront.

Throughout this year's Development Camp, the Flyers have had a special guest instructor on the ice: Princeton women's hockey head coach Cara Morey. A former blueliner at Brown University, a national team player for Team Canada and NWHL player in Canada for Brampton and Montreal, she has coached at Princeton for the last decade. She'll enter her fifth season as the head coach in 2021-22. Cara's husband, Sean Morey, is a former NFL player, playing nine seasons in the league including a Super Bowl championship and Pro Bowl selection. He spent three seasons with th Philadelphia Eagles and was the club's special teams MVP in 2003.
"During the 2020-21 season, when our season was cancelled due to COVID, I talked several times with Brent Flahr and we talked about me coming in to this camp. I sat in on analytics meetings," she said. "The interactions with the other coaches have been totally normal. We're used to working with mixed staffs.... With the players, they're open to feedback no matter where it's coming from. The interactions have been great."

Flyers development coaches and Alumni players Nick Schultz and Chris Stewart have been on the ice during camp as well. Schultz worked with defensemen while Stewart concentrated on the forwards.
Here are four takeaways on notable players through the second day of camp.
Foerster
Flyers 2020 first-round pick Tyson Foerster had the opportunity in 2020-21 to immediately play in the American Hockey League due to the pandemic-driven cancellation of the Ontario Hockey League season. When he was healthy, Foerster showed considerable promise.
Foerster sustained a tibia microfracture in his AHL debut and a late-season separated collarbone. As a result, he was only able to dress in 24 games for Lehigh Valley but when he settled in, he posted 10 goals (three on the power play) and 17 points while showing a willingness to compete for the puck.
"It was tough going down with an injury in the first game of the season. I thought I played really well in that game. After camp, I was ready and in my best health. After I got back after the six weeks I was out, I wasn't there. I had to wear a knee brace. My lungs weren't there. I wasn't in the best shape," Foerster said.
"After that, after a couple of games, I kind of got my groove back and started playing well. The boys around me helped a lot. We're a family there. I thought I was playing really good by the end of it."
From March 14 to April 24, Foerster tallied nine goals and 15 points in a span of 11 games. This stretch included three multi-goal games and a season-best four-point night (2g, 2a) against the Hershey Bears on March 31.
Foerster had to miss the 2021 World Junior Summer Showcase for Team Canada (as did Desnoyers) due to an off-season injury that kept him off the ice for a couple weeks. He is healthy now and has been thriving so far in Development Camp, showing off the heavy and accurate shot as well as the deft passing touch that propelled him to being the 23rd overall pick of the 2020 Entry Draft.
His skating and two-way play are the two main areas that Foerster is working on developing to prepare for an NHL role. In regard to the No. 1 concern scouts had entering his Draft year, the player said on Monday that he feels he can already hold his own skating wise and will only continue to improve.
The 19-year-old winger is still slide-rule eligible in the 2021-22 season, meaning that the first year of his entry-level contract will not be burned if he plays in the American Hockey League or returns to the Ontario Hockey League with the Barrie Colts.

Laczynski aims to show versatility
Tanner Laczynski had a late start and an early finish to his rookie pro season in 2020-21 due to a separate surgeries that book-ended his first campaign. In between, he thrived in an all-situations role at the American Hockey League level with the Phantoms.
It took a few games for Lacynski to get rolling in Lehigh Valley but, once he did, he was a force on both sides of the puck. Offensively, the highlight of the player's 14-game stretch in Lehigh Valley was a hat trick he scored against the Binghamton Devils on March 26, with a shorthanded between-the-legs breakaway goal for his third tally of the game.
While with the Flyers for five games, Laczynski centered the fourth line. He focused on playing a responsible defensive game.Laczynski held his own overall during the latter part of what was an undeniably rough season for the Flyers as a team.
"It was kind of a rough start to my pro career having to get surgery before camp but you've gotta make the most of it. I thought I did. I thought I came out the first couple games where I was a little rusty and stuff but I kept getting better every game. I thought I was playing pretty well then, unfortunately, another injury occurred but I feel pretty good again and I'm just looking forward to [training] camp," Laczynski said.
Laczynski dealt with a nagging hip issue for much of last season, which worsened in a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. He was shut down for the rest of the season at that point and underwent surgery. At this stage, Laczynski is able to participate on the ice at Development Camp with few limitations although he is trying not to do too much too soon. He said on Tuesday that he expects to be medically cleared shortly ahead of training camp in September.
"Whenever you go under the knife, there's going to be some rust when you come back but I've just been taking it day-by-day. Doing whatever the trainers, and coaches and strength guys are telling me. I'm just trying to get ready for camp," he said.

Sandin still chasing his dream entering second year
Twenty-five-year Swedish winger Linus Sandin joined the Phantoms last season after playing in the SHL during the lengthy delay to the American Hockey League season. He dealt with an early season injury in Lehigh Valley as well as the usual acclimation period from the big-rink game to the North American style. It took time for Sandin to get rewarded offensively but he scored four of his six goals on the season from April 26 through the end of the season. Three of his tallies during this span came on the power play.
Sandin did not appear in any NHL games for the Flyers last season, although he spent a brief stint on the NHL club's Taxi Squad. This was a disappointment for the player, who had a breakthrough 2019-20 season in the SHL for HV71 Jönköping and came to camp with the Flyers hopeful of seeing some playing time in the bottom six of the forward rotation. The number one thing holding Sandin back was quickness; he seemed during training camp to be just a tad behind the play.
During the off-season, Sandin was a prospective restricted free agent. Rather than returning to Sweden, he opted to re-sign with the Flyers on another one-year deal. He departed Sweden for the Philadelphia area on Friday, but had to wait on his visa approval and passing a physical before he could appear on the ice.
"I still want to chase my dream to play in the NHL," Sandin said on Tuesday. "I have been working on my speed, and keeping my feet moving. Also to keep getting stronger."