Training Camp Day 2: Scrimmage Day Recap

On Day 2 of training camp at the Flyers Training Center (FTC) in Voorhees, the Flyers held a pair of scrimmages. Each scrimmage was followed by split-group practice sessions. The schedule was as follows:

Session 1 (Flyers rink)
* 9-10 a.m.: Team White (Group A) vs. Team Orange (Group D)
* 10:10-11 a.m.: Team White Off-Ice; Team Orange On-Ice
* 11:10 a.m.-12 p.m.: Team White On-Ice; Team Orange Off-Ice
Scrimmage 1: Group A 6 - Group D 0
The outcome was not unexpected, with Team White consisting largely of NHL roster players and Team Orange heavily consisting of tryout players and minor leaguers. The two sides rolled three forward lines and five defensemen.
Notables on the Team Orange side included Noah Cates, Zack MacEwen, Isaac Ratcliffe and Nick Seeler with Carter Hart playing the first period in goal. Phantoms rookie Zayde Wisdom and defenseman Mason Millman were also on the Team Orange side.
For Team White, the lines were as follows:
James van Riemsdyk - Artem Anisimov - Travis Konecny
Olle Lycksell - Morgan Frost - Wade Allison
Max Willman - Elliot Desnoyers - Tyson Foerster
Ivan Provorov - Tony DeAngelo
Provorov - Egor Zamula or Zamula - DeAngelo
Kevin Connauton - Adam Karashik
Samuel Ersson started in goal for Team White. He was barely tested with the ice tilted so heavily in Team White's favor. Jonathan Lemeiux finished up.
The first five Team White goals were scored by Konecny, Willman, Lycksell, Allison (tip-in of a Zamula point shot) and Lycksell again. The final goal, scored in a scramble around the net either belonged to Anisimov or Konecny (it was hard to tell from the far side of the rink who had the final touch).
Lycksell also had an assist in the game, finishing with three points. Konecny either had two goals or a goal and an assist. Frost had a pair of secondary helpers.
Team White played with the lead for all but the first 11 seconds of the scrimmage. At the 11-second mark, Konecny scored on a low shot from outside the left hash marks. The shot leaked past Hart. Willman's goal that made it 2-0 at 11:32 came as he beat defender Colin Felix to a puck in front of the net and chipped it past Hart.
Session 2 (Phantoms Rink)
* 1-2 p.m.: Team White (Group B) vs. Team Orange (Group C)
2:10-3 p.m.: Team B Off-Ice; Team C On-Ice
3:10-4 p.m.: Team B On-Ice; Team C Off-Ice
Scrimmage 2: Team White 3 - Team Orange 0
As with the first scrimmage, a group of players with more NHL players on it won by shutout. The sides were a little more even in terms of spreading around pro talent than the first game, however, and the scrimmage was correspondingly a bit more competitive in terms of puck possession disparity.
Group B (Team White)
Scott Laughton - Kevin Hayes - Cam Atkinson
Antoine Roussel- Jackson Cates - Charlie Gerard
Alex Kile - Theo Rochette - Linus Sandin
Cam York - Ronnie Attard
Adam Ginning - Linus Högberg
Will MacKinnon - Ethan Samson
Group C (Team Orange)
Nick Delauriers - Tanner Laczynski - Owen Tippett
Tyler Savard - Mikael Huchette - Cooper Marody
Tye McSorley - Adam Brooks - Alexis Gendron
Travis Sanheim - Rasmus Ristolainen
Cooper Zech - Justin Braun
Sanheim/ Zech - Wyatte Wylie
After much of the first period of the game was scoreless, Laughton made it 1-0 in favor of Team White as he received a centering feed from Atkinson. Rochette made it 2-0 on a five-hole goal. In the latter stages of the game, Roussel made it 3-0 after the puck got past Sanheim and Roussel had a good look at the net.
Goaltending duties in the second scrimmage were split between Troy Grosenick and Pat Nagle on the White side and Felix Sandström and tryout goalie Tyler Wall on Team Orange.
Day 2 Notebook
* The first scrimmage in particular started with a very quick pace, although it eventually waned. Following the scrimmages, the ensuing practice sessions consisted of 2-man and 3-man reps up and down the ice, followed by skating laps during the latter portion.
Head coach John Tortorella said that having 14 skaters on the ice for the scrimmages enabled players to get a lot of puck touches as did the practice segments. At the end, there was an opportunity to supplement Thursday's skating tests with another conditioning skate.
Tortorella noted that everyone has held up to the demands of camp through the first two days. However, separation of conditioning usually becomes more evident after about four days of camp.

* Lehigh Valley Phantoms head coach will be behind the bench for Saturday's exhibition game at the Wells Fargo Center against the Boston Bruins. He will be joined by Phantoms assists Jason Smith and Riley Armstrong. Tortorella and NHL assistants Brad Shaw, Rocky Thompson and Darryl Williams will observe from up at the balcony level. This will also be the arrangement for the second preseason game on Tuesday in Buffalo.
The NHL assistants will be behind the bench for preseason games three and four with Tortorella remaining upstairs. The full NHL staff, with Tortorella behind the bench, will coach the final two games.
* Tortorella indicated that general manager Chuck Fletcher, assistant general manager Brent Flahr and the scouting staff will set the Flyers' lineup for the first two preseason games. He had not yet seen Saturday's lineup as of his media availability session between the two scrimmages.
* Look for systems-related work to begin at training camp by early next week.
* During his media availability, Nicolas Deslauriers discussed topics ranging from getting through the skate tests on Thursday, work ethic and team identity, bonding with new teammates, learning how to adapt to pro hockey (he was drafted as an offensive-minded defenseman but found his niche as a physical fourth-line forward), and the respect factor among players in similar roles to his.

* Scott Laughton discussed the vital need for the team to embrace structure consistently and avoid the almost serially inconsistent nature from period to period that plagued the Flyers for the last year and half. Asked what his message would be to Flyers fans, he said, "We're in this with you."

* James van Riemsdyk said he wants to get back to an attacking mentality when the team has the puck, and talked about recovering on-ice timing at camp.

* Travis Konecny said that he watched a lot of video during the offseason of things he was doing during his most successful stretches (especially the 2019-20 season) and also delved into some of his analytics to match up to things he'd seen on video.
In reference to Fletcher's comment on Thursday, that the Flyers need to find out if Konecny is truly closer to being a 50-point or a 70-point NHL forward, the player said that he believes he is capable of playing to the higher standard.

* Joel Farabee participated in the practice and skate after the second scrimmage. However, he did not play in the scrimmage as he is not yet cleared for contact while continuing to rehab from neck surgery.
* Center prospect JR Avon, who missed Rookie Camp and the skating test on Day One of camp due to injury, skated on his own between the scrimmages with Skills Coach Angelo Ricci.