Meltzer: Beyond the Boards with Wade Allison Recap

One year ago, Flyers right winger Wade Allison arrived at camp with high expectations for the young power forward to earn an NHL roster spot. He'd shown significant promise during a 14-game stint with the parent club during the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season and arrived at Rookie Camp in stellar physical condition.

Unfortunately, during the second of two Rookie Games between the Flyers prospects and New York Rangers prospects, Allison suffered a high ankle sprain. Although he returned to play for the AHL's Lehigh Valley Phantoms a couple months later, Allison's injury woes continued with a series of unrelated injuries including a sprained MCL suffered in his first NHL game of the season. Ultimately, he was limited to 28 games for the Phantoms and a single game for the Flyers.
Wade Allison](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3AEvad_bCY)
On the bright side, Allison was finally able to stay healthy over the final five weeks of the American Hockey League season. No surgeries or pre-existing injury rehab periods were needed after the season.
"It was a little bit of a relief. It always feels nice when you can be out there, playing the game you love. Be there in the room with your buddies. When you are out with an injury, you're separated. So just to finish the season playing hockey again felt good," Allison said.
The first episode of the Flyers' new "Beyond the Boards" docuseries focuses on Allison. What did he do during the offseason to get ready for his first training camp under new Flyers head coach John Tortorella? Does his previous injury history weigh on his mind at all? What are his goals for camp and the upcoming 2022-23 season?
Episode 1 of "Beyond the Boards" takes viewers along with Allison from his offseason living quarters in Mississauga, Ontario, to a workout session at a local rink facility as well as an outing on a golf course with his buddies from the rink. One thing that stands out from the footage, is just how seriously he takes his preparations but also how much enjoyment he gets from it.
Allison, who will turn 25 on Oct. 14, is not one to wallow in self-pity over injuries. For one, he knows that he plays his most effective hockey when he plays a physical and high-energy style of hockey. Apart from his heavy shot, Allison's primary attributes are his willingness to battle in the trenches and his ability to fight his way to the scoring areas.
"That's a part of the game that's out of my control. Injuries happen. You've got to shake them off. Come back better, bigger, [and] stronger. I'm not going to say it's unfortunate. Everyone suffers with injuries. You just pick yourself up, dust yourself and do your best again. You can't sit there and be the victim. You show up every day, work hard. Understand where you want to be and how to get there, and do it every day," Allison said.
However, there is also a fine line in hockey between playing hard and playing in a manner that increases the injury risk. Allison said that, in his exit interviews with Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher and Phantoms head coach Ian Laperriere, the primary theme was about staying aggressive but also not unduly risking injuries.
"We talked about the need to stay healthy. Keep working just as hard. Keep playing physical. But there are situations where you can't overextend yourself. Kind of recognize the situation and pick your spots. That's what I'm going to do," Allison said.
New Flyers head coach John Tortorella is known for pushing his players hard throughout training camp and then for the duration of the season. He has a preference for self-motivated, highly competitive players: two of Allison's primary traits.
Tortorella is very much an intense "tough love" kind of coach. Like virtually all pro players, however, it's not as if Allison is a stranger to hard coaching.
During his collegiate hockey career at Western Michigan, Allison played under head coach Andy Murray; a longtime former NHL head and assistant coach (including an assisting coaching stint with the Flyers). As a pro, he's played under Alain Vigneault and Mike Yeo at the NHL level and under Scott Gordon and Laperriere in the AHL. Although each coach had a messaging style, personality and systems preferences that differed in various ways from one another, a common denominator was that none shied away from pushing a player directly as the situation dictated.
Specific to Tortorella, Allison said, "I'm very excited to play for him. I've talked to a few guys who've played for him and they all said the same thing. He's hard on you but extremely fair. He's had success everywhere he's coached, and he knows what he's doing.
"Everyone needs to be pushed sometimes. There's gonna be a few days where you just don't feel like you can dig down and be at your best. So it's good to have someone who stays on top of you and holds you accountable. I think that's how you have to look at it as a player. It's how [a coach] brings out the best in you and the hockey team."
Heading into camp, Allison exudes confidence in his ability to show Tortorella he's a player who can be relied upon and the coach would trust sending over the boards in NHL games. At the same time, Allison said that he's not setting any particular goals -- such as playing in a certain spot of the lineup or playing on the power play. He's also not concerning himself that he is still waiver exempt while some of his competition at camp for an NHL roster spot would require waivers to send down to the Phantoms for the start of the season.
""I'm not going there to participate. I'm going there to make an impression to hopefully start my [full-time NHL] career there. I've been putting in the work. [My attitude is] this is THE camp and this is where it starts," Allison said.
"Work as hard as I possibly can. Be the hardest worker there. Every day, every ice session, everywhere I go. Let the rest take care of itself. I'm not setting any goals. Show up every day, do the best I can possibly do..,, Enjoy myself. I just want to enjoy myself, work hard, and love what I do. I love the process of putting in the work. The rest will take care of itself. That's the mindset I'm going in with."
Allison's NHL roster spot competition, apart from several NHL veterans such as Patrick Brown and Zack MacEwen, also includes a number of fellow Flyers draftees including the likes of Noah Cates, Tanner Laczynski, Isaac Ratcliffie and Tyson Foerster. He's also been at past camps with the likes of Morgan Frost, who is competing to stake down a full-time NHL job as the Flyers' third-line center (or, alternatively, as a top-nine winger).
"These guys are my friends. In some cases, for upwards of six years. Off the ice, we are there to support each other. They're there for me, and I'm there for them. But you know, on the ice, you're competing. There's only so many [NHL roster] spots. So you have to separate the two things. That's just part of the game."