Prospects pushing, 2 difference-makers, more in 5 Flyers camp storylines

In May at his introductory press conference, Danny Briere said Flyers fans had his "full attention."

Following his first offseason stewarding the club's rebuild, his first training camp and preseason as general manager have arrived. That means more decisions are ahead as the Flyers look to shape their roster and deliver the fan base steps in the right direction.

"We’re not trying to lose," Briere said Tuesday. "We’re trying to develop our guys in, hopefully, a winning culture but an environment where they leave everything they have on the ice every single night. And I hope and think that our fans will respect that."

The Flyers open 2023 training camp Thursday with head coach John Tortorella's skating gauntlet.

The camp roster and schedule can be found here.

Let's get into five storylines for camp.

Finding Foerster?

Tyson Foerster, a 2020 first-round winger with arguably the best shot in the organization, has the potential to be one of the core pieces to the Flyers' rebuild.

So how close is he to being a full-time piece now? He'll have a chance to answer that in camp.

The Flyers have expressed the desire to get younger and the 21-year-old Foerster is considered the top prospect in camp. He sure seemed to win over Tortorella last season in his eight-game audition.

"I know a lot of things can happen, but I’m not expecting him back in the Valley," AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley head coach Ian Laperriere said last week. "I’m sure the fans won’t be happy with me saying that. You never know, but he’s got his mindset, I feel like you walk around him, he’s confident, he’s got that swagger about him that I love, that everybody loves. He’s probably going to be at the next level and be there for a while."

If the Flyers carry 13 forwards, Foerster would likely have to beat out Tanner Laczynski for a roster spot. But the Flyers shouldn't have Foerster stay with the big club to possibly be an extra forward. Whether it's with the Flyers or Phantoms, he needs to play. To crack the Flyers' season-opening lineup, he'd have to unseat Wade Allison or a bottom-six veteran, neither of which will be easy.

Foerster was a bit quiet in the Flyers' pair of rookie game losses last weekend. The club's decision-makers, more focused on main training camp, believe it can be a "wake-up call." And Foerster is the type of prospect that can flip the script quickly because of his shot and confidence.

Another forward to watch as a dark horse is Elliot Desnoyers, "a player that coaches kind of gravitate toward."

Andrae on the way?

The Flyers are bullish on Emil Andrae, a 21-year-old defenseman who plays with a composed and competitive makeup.

For a while now the Flyers have needed homegrown, long-term stability on their back end. They're hoping Andrae, along with Cam York, can be a significant part of the solution.

“I would be stupid if I have a goal other than to play in the NHL," the 2020 second-round pick said last week. "I’m going to do as best as I can in training camp, try to prove to the coaches that I’m too good to play in the AHL. I’m going to do as best as I can and see what happens.”

An opposing coach at the 2022 world juniors and Flyers director of player development Riley Armstrong both likened the 5-foot-9 Andrae to former defenseman Kimmo Timonen.

The Swedish prospect will have to force the Flyers' hand with a standout camp if he's going to make the season-opening roster. And don't rule that out. But with the Flyers' offseason additions of Marc Staal and Sean Walker, and prospect Egor Zamula needing to clear waivers if he were to go to Lehigh Valley, Andrae could be on the outside looking in entering camp.

However, in April, Tortorella said he would be looking for some youth to come into the Flyers' defensive picture this season and "push some people." We'll see if Andrae is the one to do it.

"He has been really impressive," Briere said Tuesday. "Development camp he was dominant, he was the best player on the ice. He's going to get a fair look and then we'll decide what's best for him. He's only 21 years old.

"The difference with him and some of the young guys coming from juniors is he has played pro hockey already. He's built strongly already, but we'll evaluate what's better for him, where to start. But I expect to see him play at some point for the Flyers this season, some games. I don't know how many yet, but he's an impressive young man."

Reinforcements to watch

Nobody is expecting the Flyers to be in a playoff race, but the team will be much more competitive if Sean Couturier and Cam Atkinson stay on the ice.

The established forwards feel like themselves again from a health standpoint. Couturier hasn't played a game since December 2021 because of two back procedures, while Atkinson missed all of last season with a neck injury that required surgery in December.

Suiting up for at least a few of the Flyers' six preseason games should be awfully important to the 30-year-old Couturier and 34-year-old Atkinson. They'll have the chance to knock off rust, get some of their timing back and, most importantly, see how their body reacts to the game action.

It will be interesting to see how Couturier and Atkinson impact the Flyers' future-focused path. Couturier has a no-move clause in his contract and has talked about wanting to be a part of the team's rebuild. When Kevin Hayes was traded in June, Couturier's presence became even more important.

Atkinson, who has a modified no-trade clause and two years left on his deal, is a leader like Couturier. For many reasons, the winger could be very attractive to contending teams at the trade deadline if he's healthy and producing. You have to wonder if he'd be open to joining a Stanley Cup run.

In March last season, Tortorella said he was "playing around with a roster" for this season, forecasting what the Flyers would maybe look like with the returns of Couturier and Atkinson. He could finally see it soon.

Between the pipes

Despite the moderate trade buzz around Carter Hart this offseason, the Flyers didn't make any wholesale changes at the most important position in the game. Hart was the team’s MVP last season (Bobby Clarke Trophy winner) and there’s reason to believe he can still fit the Flyers’ rebuilding timeline.

The 25-year-old is in the final year of a three-year, $11.937 million contract ($3.979 million AAV). He'll be a restricted free agent when the deal expires after this season.

"Carter is our No. 1," Briere said Tuesday. "Carter has proven that he's a No. 1 goalie in the NHL and he's still our guy. After that, I think it's fair to say that it's wide open and we'll see who steps up."

That's where it gets a little intriguing: the backup job.

With 94 career NHL starts, Cal Petersen looks like the front-runner. He came to the Flyers during June in the Ivan Provorov trade and turns 29 years old next month. He'll battle with Samuel Ersson and Felix Sandstrom.

The Flyers seem to be pretty high on Ersson, who turns only 24 next month. He signed a contract extension in August and it wouldn't be surprising if he makes things interesting this season after showing promise in 2022-23.

Changing of the guard

With Provorov, Tony DeAngelo and Justin Braun all gone, the Flyers' biggest questions are on defense.

York could see his shot on the left side of the Flyers' top defensive pair. The 22-year-old will have more on his plate in his first full NHL season. He's a puck-moving defenseman and power play quarterback. The Flyers very much view him as the future and are going to ask him to push the puck up ice as much as possible.

"We’re expecting him to almost be like a veteran this year," Briere said Tuesday. "But he’s still young when you think about it."

The Flyers will also look for Travis Sanheim to give them much more. He's a lefty-shot, top-pair option, as well. The 27-year-old struggled last season, putting up 23 points and a minus-5 rating. It was perplexing considering the year prior, Sanheim had won the Flyers' most outstanding defenseman award and was named the team's most improved player.

"It hasn't come to the forefront consistently enough," Tortorella said in March, "but we think we can get this turned around."

There is still upside with Sanheim, who is 6-foot-3 and a plus skater. Last September, assistant coach Brad Shaw said defensemen like Sanheim are exciting "because you can't really even see the ceiling, you can't see the finished product."

Staal, a lefty-shot veteran with 1,101 games on his résumé, could serve as a reliable complement to an offensive-minded guy.

The right-handed Rasmus Ristolainen improved down the stretch last year and may get an opportunity to play a top-pair role this season.

Overall for the Flyers, supporting York will be key.

"We feel we have some good veterans around him," Briere said in July. "Adding Walker should help, Risto was playing better in the second half of last year, I think he deserves to get a longer look. In the past, him and Sanheim have played really good together."

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