Training Camp: What We've Learned, What's to Come

Here are three observations on what we've learned through the first three days of the Flyers' training camp, and a preview of three things to watch over the duration of camp and the resumption of games as Phase 4 approaches.

WHAT WE'VE LEARNED

1. Players had varying pre-camp conditioning levels.

Not just with the Flyers but with all 24 teams that will take part in postseason play, players took the ice on Day 1 of camp with much more widely divergent levels of pre-camp skating and gym work than would typically be found at the beginning of a typical September camp.

This was, of course, entirely due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. There were varying degrees of restrictions in the U.S. states, Canadian provinces and European countries where players stayed during Phase 1 (self-quarantine) of the NHL's pause.

Some Flyers players had regular access to gym facilities, while others had to make due with body weight exercises and a stationary bike. A few players had access to skate at local rinks even during Phase 1 while others were unable to set foot on the ice until small-group workouts commenced in Phase 2.

For these reasons, head coach Alain Vigneault, his assistant coaches. veteran director of medical services Jim McCrossin, strength and conditioning program manager Chris Osmond and assistant strength and conditioning coach Dan Warnke, and sports science personnel used the start of camp to assess where each player is in terms of individual fitness. The intensity of the on-ice sessions started out slowly -- with added time between drills built in -- on Day 1 and was taken up a notch each of the next two days.

On the first day of camp, Vigneault gave a detailed explanation of the process.

"I did tell [our players] that we were going to go progressively. If you noticed today during practice we went to the board, we didn't pre-ice practice before today because we wanted to do this progressively. We're not quite sure what people had the opportunity to do during COVID. Some guys had gyms at home. Some guys were able to find ice time and etcetera. We're not quite sure where everyone is as far as conditioning-wise and as far as where they are with their timing on the ice and conditioning on the ice. What we want to do is we want to be real smart about this and we want to be scientific about this," Vigneault said.

"I've sat down with Ozzy and Dan and Jimmy. We sort of laid out what the science says and we're going to progress through different stages of things we need to do of skill and conditioning on the ice, technical and tactical things we need to do on the ice. We're going to put it all together. We have thirty days to be smart. We need to use the science we have available. That's what we are going to do. ... As a staff, we got excited about the opportunity to come back and compete for the Stanley Cup. We've been talking almost every day for the last three weeks on a regular basis with the conditioning guys, with Jimmy and Sal [Raffa], our athletic therapist guys about what we needed to do with our group, not knowing what everyone had available during COVID. We got a plan laid out. It's precise. I think it's science-based. I believe it's going to work."

By the end of Day 3, many players in camp felt they were in a good place in terms of conditioning, relative to what they thought the norms might be early in camp.

"I think this is the strongest team I've been on since I got over here. We improved over the course of last season and put us in a real good spot towards the end. Obviously that four month break didn't help, but I was surprised at the shape the boys are in when they came in for the camp. The pace has been really good the last three days. I was a little bit surprised. It was a really good feeling and I think the boys are ready to go," Michael Raffl said.

2. Players are still shaking off rust, rebuilding a rhythm.

Multiple Flyers players said over the first three days of camp that it was unrealistic for any team to simply pick right back up where they left off at the start of the pause. That was unfortunate in the Flyers' case, because the Flyers were the hottest team in the entire NHL over the final 26 games before the regular season came to an abrupt halt (and then to an official end, once Phases 2, 3, and 4 of the return-to-play plan were agreed upon by the NHL Board of Governors and the Players' Association).

There were three key components to getting physically ready for the grind of the playoffs: 1) the aforementioned aspect of regaining game-ready conditioning levels; 2) recovery of execution levels for passing and shooting levels for shooters, puck tracking and save selections for goaltenders, and read-and-react sharpness for everyone; and 3) refreshers on systems and communications to get everyone back in sync and restore chemistry on the ice.

On the first day of camp veteran defenseman Matt Niskanen spoke to each facet of the process.

"I think practice reps are going to get better fast. I think already by [Day 2], I think everything will be cleaner. I am assuming the coaches are going to be putting us in more game situations where there's defenders, too. A lot of the stuff we did today was just reps passing the puck with no defenders. That's where I think your timing and your feel for the game is going to get tested. That might take some reps," Niskanen said.

"It's hard to replicate in small groups or by yourself or just a couple guys the timing or the feel of the game. That's going to take some reps and some time. Hopefully that exhibition game and obviously those three games are for seeding, but we're going to view that as we need to get better each game. When that first round hits, everybody's got a good feel for the game back again and feel for your linemates. Everybody gets on the same page again on how we want to play and what the systems are. Our trigger moments and all that good stuff. It's going to be a process. We are not there yet. It's going to be hard to replicate with just reps. We'll get better and better."

As Niskanen predicted, the passing was a little more precise and the players' skating stamina over the duration of the time on the ice was better on Day 2 than Day 1, and then further improved on Day 3.

Here's an example of the process: On Day 3, Niskanen defended a 2-on-1 rush where rookie center Morgan Frost was the puck carrier and Andy Andreoff steamed down the wing. Niskanen expertly cut off the passing lane. Realizing that he couldn't pass, Frost hesitated momentarily to ponder a shot attempt. In the meantime, Niskanen took the opportunity to poke-check the puck away to safety. A defenseman can scarcely play a 2-on-1 better than that, whether it's in a practice or a game.

By design, the third aspect -- systems -- have not yet been part of the practices. There have been a lot of breakout drills with short-range, medium-range and stretch passes, but not against live "forecheckers" assigned to disrupt the play and force turnovers. Nor has there been any special teams work. Those elements are up next on the camp agenda.For more, see the "What's to Come" section of the article.

3) Flyers remain a very close-knit team.

Not every hockey locker room atmosphere is created equal in terms of ensuring mutual accountability and balancing the need to focus on winning with the need to deal with the built-in stresses and pressure to win. One of the most pleasant developments this season for the Flyers is how smoothly new players fit in off the ice as well as on the ice.

To a man, the Flyers of 2019-20 have been a team where the players genuinely like one another, and want to play that much harder for each other. That includes the goaltenders and skaters alike. It's when the group chemistry meets at the cross-section of professionalism and friendship, and hits the right balance of seriousness and levity that there's a truly good mix in the room. It's not something that can be artificially manufactured and it's not just about the collection of individual talents and depth on a roster (although that is clearly the single most vital part of a successful team, along with skilled coaching).

Veteran defenseman Justin Braun spent his entire career until this season in the San Jose Sharks organization. He loved his years with the Sharks, who were a perennial Stanley Cup contender during his stint, but Braun also sees something special with the team he joined in Philadelphia.

"It was different obviously. You've got good relationships with everyone from the team you are coming from. You've got equity with the boys. You've played a lot of games, been through a lot of stuff. It's a little difficult coming in here and trying to find your footing and feel like a part of the boys. But the group here is great. One of the tighter groups I've ever been around. We're having a great time on and off the ice. Everyone holds each other accountable. It's been a really fun season. I think that's why we are having a lot of success because guys trust and believe in each other," Braun said.

In the meantime, veteran forward Raffl is one of the longest-tenured players on the Flyers. Only Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek have been with the team longer on a continuous basis (i.e., James van Riemsdyk is in his second Flyers stint). While recent past editions of the Flyers have also gotten along well internally, the dressing room atmosphere that has emerged this year has been one where players love to come to the rink and winning is expected.

"The core of the group has been pretty much the same here. We've all been really close friends over the course of the last few seasons. We had some really good hockey players coming in last year and helping us out. As I said, this team is really good off the ice and even stronger on the ice. We have a great bond. I am not even nervous going into a bubble for two months with these guys. It should be a good time," Raffl said.

On some hockey teams, there are cliques. On others, there are a few players with the reputation for being thin-skinned. In particular, some goaltenders have a reputation for crankiness if disturbed at the wrong moment. On the current Flyers, goalie Carter Hart has become a "little brother" of sorts to most of the veterans even as his NHL career has taken off.

"He's still the same kid off the ice; a young innocent kid that everyone's making fun of, so that's a good sign. If you're getting made fun of, that means people like you. It's a good thing. Obviously he was one of the best goalies in the league at this early stage of his career. We're real lucky to have him on our team and I can't wait to see what the future holds for him," Voracek said of Hart after Day 2 of camp.

This year's Flyers roster composition where there has been a significant blend of older veterans, younger vets (such as Ivan Provorov and Travis Konency) and rookie or second-year pros. Players such as Kevin Hayes and Konecny regularly inject humor and levity, but the daily good-natured chirping and teasing gives way to becoming serious and demanding as needed; a reflection of coach Vigneault's own personality as well as the players'.

There's a lot of verbal give-and-take on teams with good chemistry; directed in a productive way. On the ice during Day 2, Scott Laughton (the Flyers' most active chirper) teased Robert Hägg when the defenseman clanged a straight-on shot at an empty net off the post from about 10 feet away. Hägg smiled as he skated off. Later, Laughton's timing wasn't quite right on a touch-pass exchange, and linemate Nicolas Aube-Kubel couldn't get it to settle before it hopped away. Now it was Laughton's turn to grin and bear it when Hägg apparently sent a quip back his way.

WHAT'S TO COME

1. A shift to different combos and combined groups.

On each of the first three days of camp, the Flyers used identically structured split-group sessions. Both Group A and Group B used setups of nine forwards, six defensemen and two goalies. The same line combinations were used on all three days. Drills were run in the same order and for the same duration, with water breaks and white-board sessions at the same intervals for each. On Days 1, 2, and 3, the combinations were as follows:

GROUP A LINES

Claude Giroux - Sean Couturier - Jakub Voracek
James van Riemsdyk - Scott Laughton -Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Andy Andreoff - Morgan Frost - German Rubtsov

Ivan Provorov - Matt Niskanen
Robert Hägg - Justin Braun
Tyler Wotherspoon - Nate Prosser

Carter Hart
Alex Lyon

GROUP B LINES

Joel Farabee - Kevin Hayes - Travis Konecny
Michael Raffl - Derek Grant - Tyler Pitlick
Connor Bunnaman - Nate Thompson - Carsen Twarynski

Travis Sanheim - Phil Myers
Shayne Gostisbehere - Mark Friedman
Egor Zamula - Andy Welinski

Brian Elliott
Kirill Ustimenko

Come Friday, Vigneault plans to look at some different combinations of players. According to the plan he described on Day 1, the next session will feature four forward lines, while the other will have two forward lines. Additionally, the two rinks at the Skate Zone will be in use simultaneously.for 30 minutes (Group A on the "Flyers rink" and Group B on the "Phantoms rink") and then the two groups will combine into one on the Flyers' rink on the left side of the Skate Zone facility. Vigneault explained his rationale after Day 2.

"What I wanted was three lines in each group and six D in each group. I would say to you that come past Thursday or Friday, there will be some changes - two groups, but one with four lines and the other with two… and then both groups are going to meet so we get to the bulk of our practice where we have a 1-3 ratio… basically six groups of five players. We did this planning for the first three days so our guys would get more reps. We talked about the intensity that would be needed. [On Day 1]. we went around 55 minutes, today we went about 42 minutes but at a higher pace. So we sort of laid out what we want to do. They're getting more puck touches, smaller groups , smaller numbers, and then we're going to phase in to the other aspects of what we need to get into starting Friday. Long answer, but don't read too much into the lines or the D-pairs," Vigneault said.

While there will be line juggling and experimentation moving forward in camp, it should be noted that many of the line combinations -- and all three primary defense pairings -- the Flyers had in place around the time of the leaguewide pause were reflected directly in the combinations featured on the first three days of camp.

2. Systems refreshers and scrimmages.

After the off-day on Day 4 of camp, the emphasis areas of practices will shift a bit when everyone reconvenes on the ice on Friday. The Day 5 session, for the first time, will reinstitute systems-based work -- schematic breakouts and forechecking drills, faceoffs, emphasis on going to the right spots and making the correct plays with the puck relative to designated situations, special teams work, and more. Correspondingly, there will be more team meetings held before practice with pre-ice session "mapping" of what will be worked on and why. The goal is to get back to rapid turnarounds between drills and fewer delays where players are standing around during on-ice white board explanations of what's to come next.

Last September and into the early part of the regular season, this process understandably took significant time. There was a new coaching staff in place, a different system being introduced, and a significant number of new players on the roster. Now, there's a lot more player-coach familiarity and familiarity among teammates (the trade deadline acquisitions of Derek Grant and Nate Thompson were the only significant changes that came about for reasons other than injury-related substitutions and/or recalls of rookies).

"It should be quicker in theory. There might be a little rust. You might need little reminders on how we play and what we do in certain situations. It should come back quite quickly. I think the biggest thing for us is to be together a lot, be on the ice, get lots of reps," Niskanen said.

"I am certain we'll go through some meetings for some reminders on how they want to do things in every situation. We'll be prepared. Like you said, we've got that familiarity. We built some team chemistry throughout the year. That should come back real quick now that everybody is here. Guys are excited. We've earned the opportunity to be one of the top seeds in the East. That is a good shot at pointing to our potential."

Come Day 6 on Saturday, a little more competitiveness and game simulation will be added back into the mix. The Flyers will conduct a pair of 30-minute scrimmages. On Sunday, the split-group/ combined group practice sessions will return.

3. Ramp up to Phase 4.

During the second week of camp, the Flyers will try to get as many reps as possible for everyone in camp. There are no roster cuts (unlike a September camp), so everyone knows they'll be part of the group that travels to Toronto. The Flyers will play the Pittsburgh Penguins in an exhibition game on July 28 and then the Round Robin phase for playoff seeding starts on August 2 against the Boston Bruins. We'll have more in-depth coverage and analysis of those games when the time comes.

For now, it is worth noting the Flyers' general strategic approach to the exhibition and round-robin. Both Vigneault and general manager Chuck Fletcher said the primary emphasis will be on getting ready for the start of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. While the team will play to win during the round robin, and thereby hope to move up from the default fourth seed to the first, second or third seed, a larger emphasis will be on getting work for a variety of players and to get time in net for both Hart and Brian Elliott. Thus, look for different lineups and some situational use variations compared to regular season stretch-drive games.

"I don't think it would be smart to overstate the importance of the round robin. Ultimately the first game that is going to be truly of massive importance is that Game 1 on August 11th. We are certainly going to try to win, but I think we are going to give certain players an opportunity to get some game participation. We're going to need more than 20 healthy bodies to get through this. I think the important thing is that everybody at some point gets some action and get some ice time." Fletcher said.

"You would hate to put somebody into play in the playoffs that hadn't played in a game since March. I think we need to be smart about it. Our guys are competitors. Every time we go out there, we're going to try to win and we're going to try to place as high as we can while making sure the guys are game-ready."