Flyers Training Camp Observations - Day 1

The Philadelphia Flyers wasted no time on the first day of training camp, splitting their 57-man roster into two groups and skating them hard for an hour and 45 minutes each.

Both sessions saw the players switch rinks halfway through the practice to fresh ice. They needed it with all of the up-tempo drills Flyers coach Dave Haktsol ran the organization's players through Friday. Many of the players mentioned how intense the practice was during media availability following each group's session.

"It was a hard day. That is no question and I give a lot of credit to both groups." Hakstol said Friday afternoon to wrap up the first day of camp. " I thought the veterans led the way, and I thought that the young guns were right there pushing."

The attention right now is being given to the Flyers' youth movement to the NHL roster, with prospects both up front and on defense pushing for open spots in Philadelphia. And deservedly so.

Last year, Travis Konecny and Ivan Provorov made the team out of camp.

This fall, guys like Robert Hagg, Sam Morin and Travis Sanheim are battling for NHL jobs on defense and forwards Mike Vecchione, Scott Laughton, Oskar Lindblom and Nolan Patrick are eager to contribute at the forward position in the NHL this fall.

Here at Inside AHL Hockey, the focus is going to be not only on providing coverage of AHL teams and players but also getting some more knowledge about some of the up and coming prospects as well.

For the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, these roster battles at the NHL level only create more competition and a more talented roster at the AHL level. If some of these underage prospects that can't play in the AHL take up NHL roster spots, than players will need to be either placed on waivers for purpose of re-assignment - directly adding depth to the AHL affiliate.

Group 1

The lines/pairings:

Oskar Lindblom - Claude Giroux - Travis Konecny (Orange) Cole Bardreau - Valtteri Filppula - Jori Lehtera (Gray) Taylor Leier - Mikhail Vorobyev - Colin McDonald (Yellow) Greg Carey - Corban Knight - Anthony Salinitiri (Blue) Pascal Laberge - German Rubtsov - Ivan Kosorenkov (Green)

Travis Sanheim - Ivan Provorov Sam Morin - Andrew MacDonald Mark Friedman - Max Lamarche Will O'Neill - Mark Alt

Brian Elliott - Alex Lyon - John Muse

Notes/Observations

The first thing I noticed during today's opening session from an Lehigh Valley/AHL perspective is that the trio of Leier-Vorobyev-McDonald could be a good line combination for Phantoms head coach Scott Gordon to consider.

Vorobyev has been impressive. His passing ability and vision stood out Wednesday, and he continued to showcase his skill set Friday morning. Combine Vorobyev and Leier's skating ability with a bruising physical forward in McDonald to open up space and the trio might be one worth jotting down.

An interesting line combo (yes, taken for what their worth on a 55-man roster entering Friday) was Cole Bardreau on the left wing with Jori Lehtera and Valtteri Filppula. The latter two are almost certainly locks to make the NHL roster, but Bardreau could be one of those dark horse players sticking around later in camp this fall now that he's fully healthy.

After talking to Bardreau following the practice he jokingly added that he was actually filling in that spot for Nicolas Aube-Kubel. Bardreau was originally slated to skate on the line with Greg Carey and Corban Knight that unsigned draft pick Anthony Salinitiri skated with today.

It should be noted that GM Ron Hextall has gone out of his way on occasion to specifically mention Bardreau in his dealings with the regular Philadelphia media. It's clear the Flyers like him, but what will it mean for Bardreau this year?

I caught up quickly with Max Lamarche to confirm that the AHL contract he signed prior to the start of last season was a two-year deal. It was incorrectly announced as a one-year deal.

Group 2

The lines/pairings:

Dale Weise - Sean Couturier - Jakub Voracek (Orange) Jordan Weal - Nolan Patrick - Wayne Simmonds (Gray) Michael Raffl - Scott Laughton - Matt Read (Yellow) Connor Bunnaman - Phil Varone - Mike Vecchione (Green) Carsen Twarynski/Tyrell Goulbourne - Radel Fazleev - Danick Martel (Blue)

Robert Hagg - Shayne Gostisbehere T.J. Brennan - Radko Gudas Brandon Manning - Phil Myers Frank Hora - Reece Willcox James de Haas

Michal Neuvirth - Carter Hart - Leland Irving

Notes/Observations

This is a big year for Robert Hagg, who was paired with Shayne Gostisbehere today in Group 2. The Swedish-born defender has plenty of pro experience under his belt from his AHL playing days, and looks to make the jump to Philadelphia full time after getting a one-game stint at the end of last season with the Flyers.

Hagg's game needed re-working, but he's been able to learn and understands now that what worked for him overseas on the bigger ice surface doesn't cut it in the North American style pro game with the smaller rinks. There is less time to make decisions with the puck, and those end to end stretch passes are anything but an easy play. It took time, but Hagg's game is where it needs to be to push for a job with the Flyers out of training camp this fall. It'll be interesting to see how it plays out for him.

Phil Myers, who left Wednesday night's rookie game with a minor ailment, was a full participant in the second session of camp today and appeared to not have any lingering effects from whatever caused him to miss the second half of the rookie game. GM Ron Hextall confirmed Myers is fine Friday afternoon when he spoke to the media.

Hextall also added that Nicolas Aube-Kubel (illness) is expected to skate tomorrow, and that he was expecting to have an update on Pascal Laberge (left practice) who was seeing a doctor.