Philadelphia Flyers general manager Daniel Briere met with the media on the final day of the 2024 Rookie Camp before the squad starts preparations for the 2024-25 NHL Regular season. Over a twenty-minute briefing with the press, Briere addressed many lingering questions as the hockey club prepares to kick off NHL Training Camp at the end of this week. The full practice schedule and camp rosters for the 2024 Flyers Training Camp were released this morning.
One of the main takeaways from the presser is that the Flyers are a healthy hockey club entering this year’s edition of training camp. “Our guys look strong, they look healthy,” Briere told the assembled media. “A few guys that are banged up actually are some of the rookies – Sotheran, Barkey, Toumaala. Other than maybe Ellis, as you know we don’t expect back, it looks like everyone is healthy.”
Since this is Philadelphia after all, the goaltending situation was addressed early on in the press conference with the former NHL All-Star forward who is now the man tasked with rebuilding the Flyers into an annual Stanley Cup contender. Briere spent the first six minutes on the presser discussing Belarussian goaltending prospect Alexei Kolosov, who has decided not to return to North America to honor his playing contract in Philly.
The 22-year-old netminder arrived late last season before finishing the season in Lehigh Valley with the Phantoms in the American Hockey League. Over the summer, various reports have indicated that Kolosov was unhappy in America during his brief trial run. “We hope that he decides to show up at some point.” Briere indicated. “We hope he changes his mind and decides to come, but it’s not looking like it at this point.”
According to Briere, “I think on his end, it’s more about he wants to be guaranteed a spot in the NHL. If not, he prefers to stay over there and that’s not the way we see it.” From the Flyers’ perspective, the situation is pretty clear-cut and the prospective goaltender is under contract with the Philadelphia hockey club. “We have no interest in loaning him back (to the KHL),” Briere said. “We want him here. We want him to start integrating himself into the way the game is played here in North America with the smaller ice and learning the language and all of that. I guess he doesn’t see it that way.”
Philadelphia still sees an opportunity for Kolsov to play this season if the Belarussian goalie decides to come back to North America. “There’s a great opportunity in front (of them) for our goalies right now,” Briere claimed. “We thought it would be a great opportunity for him at this time, and it’s too bad he’s not willing to come over.” The GM reiterated, “We still hope he changes his mind and decides to come.”
Daniel Briere gave a ringing endorsement to expected starting goalie, Sam Ersson, ahead of the start of the 2024 NHL Training Camp. “Hopefully, Ersson takes the reigns as the number 1, and Fedotov can hopefully be pushing him for starts. The same way Ersson did to Carter last year.” Briere continued, “Ersson didn’t steal the starts he was getting, he earned them along the way, and that’s a big part of where we were (in the playoff race).”
In a higher-than-expected workload, Ersson started 49 games, while appearing in 51 total contests. The NHL rookie stopped over 1,000 pucks on the season with a 2.82 goals-against average per game and an 89% save mark on the year. The 5th-round pick from 2018 finished the year with a 23-19-7 record. Ersson’s 4 shutouts ranked inside the top 10 for the NHL goalies last season.
The main competition entering camp is the newest arrival from last season, gargantuan 6-foot-8 Russian goalie, Ivan Fedotov. The 27-year-old arrived late last season after signing a 2-year, $6.5 million deal with Philly last April. Fedotov was 0-1-1 with a 4.95 goals-against average in three games, including one start. Fedotov’s appearances were an attempt to get an overworked Ersson some rest late in the season.
Entering the 2024 Flyers Training Camp, the name on the marquee that everyone in Philadelphia wants to see, outside of Gritty (of course), is a 19-year-old forward from Russia, Matvei Michkov. The 19-year-old scored his first unofficial goal this weekend in his first appearance in a game situation for Philadelphia.
Daniel Briere understands that it could take some time to find the right mix for the dynamic young forward. “You can’t force chemistry between players,” the Flyers GM responded. “Torts will decide what he sees best for the team, and we’ll discuss and have exchanges about all of that but at the end of the day, Torts makes that decision. He moves his lines around quite a bit, and I think you are going to see a lot of different combinations there for Matvei until he (Torts) figures out the best fit.”
Briere then reached back into his own Flyers lure when speaking about chemistry on “The Redemption Line” with linemates Ville Leino and Scott Hartnell during the 2010 era of Flyers hockey. “It’s the best feeling in the world (for a hockey player) when you find that chemistry with someone,” Briere chuckled while reminiscing. “I remember myself and the chemistry with Ville Leino and Scotty Hartnell. When you put it together, you’re like ‘ehh – that’s an ugly line’, and then we got on the ice and we just knew where each other were going to be. That’s the best feeling in the world and I hope at some point that comes for Matvei.”
Speaking on the 19-year-old scorer, Briere “can’t wait to see how he is going to create offense” and “his brain is pretty special, and he’s going to adapt but it might not be instant.” One of the things that has impressed Briere the most is how hard Michkov competes in traffic. “If you look at the Rookie Games, how physical he was… strong on the puck and extending plays. So, that’s an area I am excited to watch.” Briere was quick to temper some expectations. “It’s not going to be as easy in the NHL against big, strong defensemen that have been around for years, but he is going to adapt and figure out where he can be successful and take advantage of the opposition.”
The Philadelphia Flyers have fostered “A New Era of Orange” under the Danny Briere and Keith Jones leadership team. The hockey group took a large leap last season, despite the unfortunate crash finish over the last six weeks. “We have our own expectations,” Briere started. “We expect to have a team that will compete. Hopefully, players individually get a little better than they were last year. I don’t have a lot of expectations for Matvei… what I hope is for him to figure out how he can take the first step and get better as a player as the season goes on.”
Briere continued. “I am realistic. It’s going to be a tough season for him (Michkov). He is going to have to go through a lot before he is the player he expects to be.”
The Philadelphia Flyers finished last season with a 36-26-9 record missing the playoffs by only a handful of standings points. The last playoff appearance for Philly was in the 2020 Playoff Bubble in Toronto when the Flyers dropped a seven-game series to the New York Islanders in the Conference Semifinals.
Philadelphia will get the 2024 NHL Training Camp underway on Thursday morning with the first pre-season games scheduled for Saturday night against Alexander Ovechkin the Washington Capitals in Washington, D.C. Puck drop is scheduled for 3 PM EST on 09/22/2024.
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