Darkhorse Forward Candidate Aims At Second Chance To Make Flyers
VOORHEES, NJ -- Last fall, a darkhorse candidate to make the Philadelphia Flyers out of training camp at the forward position emerged. He ended up being the final cut.
We're talking about Carsen Twarynski, of course.
"Yeah, it was difficult," Twarynski recalled of being sent down last fall. "Like I said, I had a really strong camp and I was feeling good about myself so [that was] a little [setback], but I can't look at that and make that an excuse."
Last season was Twarynski's first full season at the pro level, and being the final forward cut from training camp certainly raised his expectations.
"There was a lot of ups and downs that comes with it. It was a bit of a roller coaster emotionally," Twarynski admitted. "And physically, I mean, if you're prepared you're prepared physically. But the emotional side of it took some getting used to at the start of the year."
After nearly making the NHL club out of camp last fall, Twarynski found himself not only in the AHL with Lehigh Valley but also in a roster battle for playing time in the Phantoms' bottom-six forward core. He suddenly found himself not playing a lot initially, which Kerry Huffman later addressed after the season.
"A lot of the young players that come out of junior and college, they're pretty gifted players offensively but I think they think it transitions automatically here," Huffman said, adding, "And they're not really sound defensive players and I think that was Carsen's issue - just his responsibility in terms of managing the puck in the D-zone, not turning pucks over, being in the right place defensively. Although that's not the appealing part for these young players - they all want to score, they all want to get points. Every player that we've sent up to the Flyers or anybody I've seen go from here to the NHL has to be pretty sound defensively."
Over the course of his first full season, Twarynski learned pretty quickly that ice time would be limited if he wasn't playing a responsible 200-foot game.
"Yeah, it was difficult. Like I said, I had a really strong camp and I was feeling good about myself so [that was] a little [setback], but I can't look at that and make that an excuse. I went down and didn't have the start that I wanted to have. I kind of put myself down a couple steps and to work my way back up. There's no excuses to it, it's a transformation to a different league and I started a little slower than I wanted to. It's a takeaway I can learn from because I developed and finished strong."
It looked like Twarynski was putting it all together by the end of the season, playing a much more responsible game and thus being rewarded offensively - finishing the year with a modest 24 points (10 goals, 14 assists) in 69 games, including six points (three goals, three assists) in his final 11 appearances
"Overall, I thought I finished strong and that's the main point - to develop," Twarynski said after he completed his rookie season with the Phantoms last spring. "I just want to be in the best shape I can be, and the best I can be mentally to come in and make this team in the fall. I was close last year. It stung a little bit, like I said I went down and tried to develop as much as I can. This summer, I'm going to do whatever I can to make this team."
Throughout the season, and particularly during the second half of the season, Phantoms assistant coach Kerry Huffman drew an interesting comparable for Twarynski to relay the message about how doing the little things correctly make a big difference - and in the past it has been the difference between making the jump to the NHL and having to spend more time in the minors.
"If you look at guys like Oscar Lindblom, and he's a guy I've talked to Carsen quite a bit about in terms of Oscar went up not because he was lighting up the world on fire offensively but he was just so reliable in how he managed the puck," Huffman explained. "And thats what kept him up there. Although he didn't put up huge numbers he needed to prove his worthiness in terms of managing the puck and now all of the offensive numbers are coming for him. It's the same thing for Carsen, that's what he's going through right now down here. He's playing the game the right now and now all of a sudden he;s getting points, he's getting goals, he's getting chances just because he's building on the confidence of taking care of things."
With the conclusion of rookie camp and the beginning of main training camp Friday at the Flyers Skate Zone in Voorhees, New Jersey, it's a second chance for Twarynski to prove he's ready for the next jump up in competition.
"Absolutely, I'm ready. I think I can make it. This off-season, that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to train -- we had an interview at the beginning of last year -- I said I what I was going to do. I'm here now, and that's my goal."
