2023 Flyers Training Camp: ‘Safe is death’

As usual, John Tortorella began the 2023 Flyers training camp Thursday with the bag skate, his dreaded skating test.

“Goodness gracious, that was hard,” Cam York said Friday. “I’m going to find his rope, I think, and burn it. That my number one priority. That test is one of the hardest I’ve ever done. It’s one of those things where your legs hurt so bad you can barely stand up, but you got to find a way to finish strong, and that’s what I felt like I did.”

This weekend, the Philadelphia Flyers scrimmaged often. With a change to the camp format from his first season, Tortorella and Daniel Briere need to see the players compete, replicating game scenarios. The conditioning will follow.

Conditioning is more than raw skating. Jumping straight into puck battles is just as critical. That kind of conditioning directly correlates to stamina on the ice. To provide quality, competitive minutes in a Tortorella lineup, the tenacity and willingness to fight for the puck at the boards is a prerequisite.

Wade Allison fits that description. He has a lot of heat on him from Tyson Foerster, Garnet Hathaway, and Bobby Brink for his spot with the Flyers in a crowded RW room after Tortorella began trying Owen Tippett at LW.

“I’m trying Tip [Tippett] on the left side right away, in the scrimmage and exhibition games because the right side’s so filled, to see if we can help the left side,” Tortorella said. “Ally [Allison], he’s in a dogfight. Just do the math. I think he knows that, and I hope he accepts the challenge, and we’ll see where it goes.”

Hathaway didn’t go unnoticed by Tortorella on Saturday. The fourth line, centered by Ryan Poehling and including Nicolas Deslauriers, looks good. On the bottom line, Hathaway sets a tone for the Flyers, leading by example. He knows one speed, and Tortorella pointed out how Hathaway plays a ‘hard’ brand of hockey. That is the ‘dogfight’ Allison faces.

Emil Andrae made a good impression on Friday. Tortorella commented on his poise and awareness to make the right pass instead of dumping the puck down the boards. He is another player who will have a lot of prominent eyes on him during the preseason. Travis Sanheim will switch to RD, allowing Cam York to play LD. Nothing is guaranteed to stick, but competition is giant for developing a wide-open defense.

Nothing is in stone. York could begin the season on the top pair with Rasmus Ristolainen, but Sanheim could switch from RD back to LD. The last thing Tortorella wants to do with Sanheim is pile too much responsibility onto his 2023-2024 season. Sanheim is coming off of a down season, and a change away from Ristolainen and to the opposite side of the ice is a lot to handle.

Generally speaking, Tortorella is paying close attention to how his players keep composure throughout the scrimmages, whether it’s after a rough shift or if they’re playing well. Consistency is vital, especially on defense.

The battles in the defensive unit are fascinating. Andrae is a defenseman who reads the rink and mitigates defensive risks with his play. He continued his consistent effort from Friday into Saturday. 

“I saw that right away, and that’s why I’m very interested in him [Andrae],” Tortorella said Saturday. “I don’t think he’s afraid to make a mistake; he made a ton today, but I don’t think he’s afraid to. That’s a mindset, and to me, it’s a skill; it’s a mental skill. You can see he has that right away.”

‘Safe is death’ is a sign Tortorella has from his days with the Tampa Bay Lightning, a motto about living with mistakes and learning from them, and an application that lives through his philosophy of developing the Flyers.