Rookie Camp: Five Takeaways from Day 1

On-ice work got underway on Thursday on the first day of 2022 Rookie Camp at the Flyers Training Center (FTC) in Voorhees. On Day 2, there will be a morning skate at the FTC before the players ride to Allentown for the first of two Rookie Games against the New York Rangers prospects at the PPL Center.

Lehigh Valley Phantoms head coach Ian Laperriere is running the Rookie Camp portion of camp and will be behind the bench for the Rookie Games on Friday and Saturday evening. Here are five takeaways from Thursday's practice.
1. A bigger, stronger Zamula
Entering his third professional hockey season, defenseman Egor Zamula has appeared in 12 NHL games (including 10 last season) and 83 in the American Hockey League. The biggest challenge in his development has been to add muscle to a tall (6-foot-3) and lanky frame.
Zamula put in intensive work over the summer to put on muscular weight, which was obvious even at a glance. The player reported to camp at 192 pounds; 12 pounds heavier than his playing weight last season.
In terms of what he has learned over his two campaigns to date, Zamula said that main lesson was to realize the physical demands of being a pro.
"I try to get better every year. Show the coaches I have had progress. I need to play hard in different zones. Win some battles with big guys. Play hard in the defensive zone. I need to play faster. Every year, it's new for me," he said.
On Thursday, Zamula was paired on defense with Ronnie Attard. Laperriere indicated that Attard would not play in Friday's game but will play on Saturday. However, there is a pretty good possibility that Zamula and Attard could see time together moving forward.

2. Foerster Aims to Build Off WJC
Now fully healed after missing much of the 2021-22 season due to shoulder surgery, Flyers 2020 first-round pick Tyson Foerster is coming off a strong showing for 2022 World Junior Championship gold medalist Team Canada last month.
"That was great," Foerster said. "Obviously, I didn't get to play very many games last year. Just having that tournament in the summer, with high-end competition, was great for me. ...The first couple games at the World Juniors, I felt decent but I knew I wasn't at my best. A couple games in, I found [my groove] again. I feel like I am at my peak now."
Laperriere said that Foerster's shoulder bothered him even early last season before he got injured on a seemingly innocuous non-contact play (diving for a loose puck) in his ninth game of the AHL season. He said there is a night-and-day difference between the struggling player he saw at the start of last season and the one he watched during the World Juniors and Day One of Rookie Camp.

3. Noah Cates Focused on Fine-Tuning
After completing his senior collegiate season at Minnesota Duluth this past spring, Noah Cates put in an impressive two-way showing in 16 NHL games for the Flyers including five goals and nine points. He is not a lock to make the Flyers opening night NHL roster but has a decent chance at doing so. In the meantime, the 23-year-old is not taking anything for granted. The player said that his offseason training program largely focused on trying to get a little bit quicker on his skates and being physically prepared for the grueling nature of an 82-game pro-level regular season after playing four collegiate seasons.
Noah's older brother, Jackson Cates, is also in rookie camp and healthy again after suffering a frightening on-ice accident in an AHL game that season that required hospitalization. Jackson, who will celebrate his 25th birthday on Sept. 26, is now fully recovered and is also taking part on in Rookie Camp. Last season, Jackson played 11 NHL games with the Flyers and 37 with the Phantoms.
During Thursday's practice session, the Cates brothers skated together on a line with Foerster.

4. Attard Aims to Learn from 2021-22 NHL Opportunity
Hard-shooting defenseman Ronnie Attard dressed in 15 NHL games for the Flyers last season after turning pro following three collegiate seasons at Western Michigan. Before college, Attard was known as a roving offensive defenseman with a physical side to his game, too. At Western Michigan, Attard worked hard to play within structure and develop the defensive side of his game to go along with his big frame and heavy shot. When Attard turned pro, he learned right away that the bar gets raised even higher.
Attard struggled with getting caught on the wrong side of the puck in his first few NHL games including a minus-four debut against the talent-laden Toronto Maple Leafs and a minus-five game against the Washington Capitals shortly thereafter. However, on an almost every game basis following the baptism by fire, Attard showed improvements in his decision-making and gaps. His offensive confidence also grew. He ultimately finished with a pair of goals (one fluky, one that was tallied on an overpowering scorcher of a shot), four points, and a traditional minus-two rating (after being minus-nine through his first six matches) in 15 games. Attard also logged his first 20-plus minute game of ice time in the NHL when former interim head coach Mike Yeo rewarded him with extended time in an impressive outing in the team's matinee home win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on April 24.
At the end of Day 1 of Rookie Camp, the right-handed shooter said that he learned a lot from his late-season opportunity in 2021-22 and aims to takes those lessons into his first full professional year. He is battling a numbers game for an NHL roster spot. Nevertheless, Attard himself has vowed to put his best foot forward and make the roster decisions tough.

5. Ersson in Net on Saturday
With 26 players attending Rookie Camp, there is not enough room for everyone at camp to play in both Friday and Saturday's games. Laperriere said that, after speaking with Flyers management about which players they want to see play in both Rookie Games (in most cases, players about whom they have a less complete familiarity or could otherwise benefit from being in both Friday and Saturday's games), he has made a lineup plan accordingly. For example. this is why Attard will not play in both games. There is already a high degree of internal familiarity with the player and others could benefit from an extra game against a number of less experienced opponents.
The goalie plan: Samuel Ersson will get Saturday's game. On Friday, camp invites Jonathan Lemieux and Nolan Maier will split the goaltending chores.