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As the team’s training camp approaches in a few days , Philadelphia Flyers general manager Danny Briere met with reporters for press conference on Tuesday.
With the club preparing for it’s first season under new head coach Rick Tocchet, Briere fielded questions on a number of topics including the status of injured players, which rookies caught his eye, and more.
On that note, here’s my five takeaways on what Briere said to reporters.
Hart is not returning
Briere stated that a reunion with former goaltender Carter Hart will not happen.
Hart, along with Team Canada teammates Alex Formenton, Michael McLeod, Dillon Dube, and Cal Foote, were recently acquitted of sexual assault charges. The NHL has reinstated the players, making them eligible to sign contracts by October 15 and can take part in games on December 1.
“The only comment I’ll make on that is that his representative, Judd Moldaver, has reached out and kind of told us that in light of everything that happened in the last year and a half with Carter, they felt, and Carter felt, that it was better for them to look for a fresh start,” Briere said to reporters. “That’s where it’s at and it’s the only comment I’m going to make on that.”
The Flyers goaltending is a major concern heading into the new season. Understandably, there had been some questions about whether they would consider bringing their former starter back. But Hart’s decision through his representation indicates the need for both sides to move on.
Where Hart will land is anyone’s guess, but expect to see him on an NHL team very soon.
Clarifying The Goaltending Depth Chart
Prior to the trade of Ivan Fedotov on Sunday, Philadelphia had five players for four spots (two on the big club, two for AHL Lehigh Valley) after their summer signing of Daniel Vladar.
Consequently the Flyers organizational goaltending picture seems to be clearer: Samuel Ersson and Vladar is the big club’s tandem. Aleksei Kolosov and rookie Carson Bjarnason will vie for playing time with the Phantoms.
“The fact is Carson Bjarnason turning pro, he’s a prospect that we want to develop and having two guys that were probably going to take ice time away from him and his development we wanted to clear the path there a little for him to play,” Briere said.
“Obviously we see Kolosov as the number three, clearly now Carson will be the number four and will get some games. Hopefully he pushes and earns more starts as the season goes by.”
It’ll be interesting to watch the battle between Kolosov (entering the final year of his ELC) and Bjarnason throughout the season.
Injury Updates (With A Surprise)
Briere provided injury updates for four Flyers players: defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen and Oliver Bonk, along with forwards Tyson Foerster and Jett Luchanko.
Ristolainen is expected to join with the team “within one and half to two months” into the season as he completes his injury recovery.
As a result of his return from his arm injury infection, Foerster will be in a non contact jersey during the early phases of camp. But he will likely see action at some point during the Flyers preseason.
It’s probably smart to keep limited expectations for Foerster’s early season performance as he works his way up to playing speed.
Luchanko and Bonk were both held out of Rookie Camp this past week. They both took the ice after that precautionary period on Monday, but now Bonk is out with an upper body injury.
“With Bonk, so it just popped up, he was supposed to play the rookie games and then something upper body popped up on him,” Briere said. “We thought he’d be fine to play the next game and things are not moving as quickly as we expected so we had some images taken this morning. We’re just waiting for the doctors to give us a little more of an update once they are able to read it all.”
After a quick preseason exit last season, it was hoped that Bonk would start off more quickly this year. We’ll see soon if he’ll get the chance.
Which Rookies Caught Briere’s Attention?
As the Flyers Rookie Camp comes to a close, Briere discussed which rookies made an impression for him as he considers roster spots through the preseason. He also mentioned several players who will be returning to juniors, but impressed during the Rookie Series games over the weekend.
“In the rookie games, I thought (Nikita) Grebenkin and (Alex) Bump looked good so they’re going to be some of the guys pushing,” Briere said. “Obviously, Jett Luchanko is in that mix. I really liked (Jacob) Gaucher, (Jack) Nesbitt and (Denver) Barkey really stood out as well in those rookie games. They may be in that next layer but they’ve been really impressive as well.”
Unsurprisingly, Grebenkin seems to be knocking on the door to an NHL spot. However, consistency in all zones will be necessary to do so.
Youth Will Be Served In Training Camp Roster Battles
Speaking of Briere considering roster spots, he expects there will be some stronger competition this season. In his mind, that’s due to the improvement in the homegrown talent they’ve amassed.
“There’s still going to be some interesting fights,” Briere said. “You asked me the question about the roster spots but I guess there’s going to some internal fighting for responsibilities. That’s what I’m excited about. You saw (Matvei) Michkov, Foerster, (Noah) Cates, and (Bobby) Brink take a step. That’s why some of the guys lost responsibilities and it gave us a chance to reset in some form with the trade of (Joel) Farabee, (Morgan) Frost, and (Scott) Laughton.”
“Now we have more young guys that are pushing. That to me is what is exciting.”
