Camp Update: A Day to Remember

The 10th day of the Flyers' 13-day training camp at the Skate Zone in Voorhees was a happy one, as two matters with greater and longer-lasting importance than the goings on during Wednesday's practice took center stage.

Top-line center Sean Couturier did not participate in practice. Although NHL policy is to not publicly disclose the reason for any absence, an exception was made in this case. Flyers head coach Alain Vigneault broke the news during his post-practice media availability: Couturier's wife, Laurence, was in labor with the couple's first child; a baby girl.

"Next time we see him, he's going to be a father," Vigneault said with a smile. "I think that's good news for him. It's certainly good news for the Flyers family. You got another beautiful young child coming on the way."

Within the past year, the Giroux and van Riemsdyk families have also welcomed their families. Both Flyers captain Claude Giroux and goaltender Brian Elliott discussed on Wednesday just how life-changing parenthood is, and gave some advice to Couturier.

"We talked about it a few times. He's very excited right now. It's a moment that you're going to remember for the rest of your life. When you go through it for the first time, you don't really know what to expect from your emotions. It's one experience that I've gone through. He's going to have a lot of fun," Giroux said.

Elliott said that he feels for the mixed emotions that Couturier will soon experience. The joy of new fatherhood and the excitement of the long-delayed impending start to the NHL postseason will be counterweighted by the sadness of having to be away from his wife and infant daughter for an extended period of time while the team is in "the bubble" environment in Toronto (and potentially in Edmonton thereafter) during the playoffs.

"I feed bad for him," Elliott said. "You're having a kid and you've got to leave right away. It's such a magical moment and you want to be part of it as much as you can. It's going to be tough leaving a new mom and a baby behind. I'm really happy for them. It's such a cool time. I'm just glad they are able to do it while he's here. I can't wait to meet another one of the Flyers family, for sure."

Giroux noted that the personal silver lining to the abrupt and prolonged pause to the NHL season due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic was the opportunity to spend several months at home with his baby son, Gavin, and wife, Ryanne. Now he, too, has to balance the pangs of missing his family against the excitement of the playoffs, the bond with his Flyers teammates and his obligations to them as team captain.

"I was home for three months and got to know him as a person. Got a good connection and had a lot of fun together. We were together every day. Right now it's tough, you want to be there to see him grow. I might miss his first birthday. It's really not easy, but we have a chance to watch me play," Giroux said.

Later on Wednesday, Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher had an announcement of a different type. The Flyers have signed left winger Oskar Lindblom to a three-year contract extension ($3,0 million average annual value). What's more, the Flyers plan to bring Lindblom along to the bubble in Toronto. After recently being diagnosed as in remission from Ewing Sarcoma, the 23-year-old Lindblom has already received the go-ahead from his oncologist at Penn and from team doctors.

Lindblom will be part of the 31-player roster the Flyers are allowed to take to Toronto. While there, he will skate and practice with the team. Asked if Lindblom could even play at some point in the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Fletcher opined that anything is possible.

"Absolutely. I don't know what's out of the question. I wouldn't certainly put any limits on Oskar. We'll obviously do everything that we can to protect him. He's looking forward to restarting his life and his career. Whatever that means, we'll find out. We'll work very closely with his medical team and our medical team. We'll make the right decisions for him," Fletcher said.

Lindblom's incredibly brave and successful fight to beat cancer and get back on the ice made him a finalist for the Masterton Trophy. he was diagnosed in mid-December with a rare form of bone cancer that is extremely uncommon in adults, received an outpouring of support from teammates and the hockey community worldwide, underwent chemotherapy and rib resection surgery, and then rang the bell at Abramson Cancer Center at Penn to signify that he'd achieved remission.

The young hockey player's story would be remarkable even if he did not have a compelling personality. However, the fact that Lindblom is an eminently likable and caring human being on top of being a fast-rising goal-scoring and two-way winger in the second half of last season and the first half of 2019-20 makes his journey even more inspirational.

"Everyone loves him. He's just the greatest kid to have around. He's a hell of a player. Normally, in the playoffs, I would say you don't need any extra motivation. That's a nice little story that everybody can rally around. We think about him. We talk about him all the time. Oskar's with us in this. Everyone feels that. We talk about it, so what a great story that he's been just a champion through this. We can't wait to see him again," Matt Niskanen said.

The roughest part of the 2019-20 season -- disastrous road trips shortly before and then directly after the Christmas break -- came right on the heels of the player's cancer diagnosis. Ultimately, though, the adversity brought everyone closer together. Lindblom's periodic visits to see his teammates, some of which were surprise visits, lifted everyone's spirits almost as palpably as their unwavering support for the their teammate (some Flyers players have even used the word "brother" in describing their relationship with Oskar) helped Lindblom to stay strong and focused.

"It obviously was a turning point in many ways and not all in a positive way. Oskar's season ended at that point and he's had that tough battle. I think the way Oskar responded to the news of the diagnosis, how he handed his treatments and how when he was around our group afterwards, he was more concerned about his teammates than himself. I think that was really a big factor in bringing our team together," Fletcher said.

"The players really care about him and respect him. I think again not that any of us wanted that to be a turning point or have that happen, but certainly the way Oskar dealt with it really resonated in a positive way with our team and helped our team come together."

In a statement released by the Flyers, Lindblom said he is focused now on looking forward rather than back.

"I am very excited to be a part of the Flyers for the next three seasons," Lindblom said. "The support that the organization, the fans, and the entire NHL has given me has been quite overwhelming. I can't wait to get back skating with the boys and being the professional hockey player I know I can be. I want to thank the Flyers for giving me this opportunity and I look forward to the day I'm back and contributing to the team's success."

PRACTICE NOTEBOOK

* In addition to the absence of Couturier, the Flyers remained without Carter Hart (who left Tuesday's scrimmage during the first period). Vigneault said that he's not concerned that Hart's absence will be a prolonged one, but admitted that missing most of the scrimmage and practice time during an already-brief training camp is a setback for any player.

* Rookie forward Connor Bunnaman and rookie goalie Kirill Ustimenko, both of whom played in Tuesday's scrimmage, were also unable to participate in Wednesday's practice.

* Wednesday's practice, for the first time, saw the Flyers do special teams work. Rookie center Morgan Frost subbed for Couturier on the first power play unit, centering PP1 regulars Claude Giroux, Travis Konecny, Jakub Voracek and Ivan Provorov. The second power play unit consisted of Kevin Hayes, James van Riemsdyk and Niskanen taking every rep, with Joel Farabee/ Nicolas Aube-Kubel and Shayne Gostisbehere/Travis Sanheim alternating reps. Essentially, this implies that if Farabee and/or Gostisbehere are in the Flyers' starting lineup, they'll see power play time. If those two are scratches, the time will go to Aube-Kubel and Sanheim.

* During Wednesday's practice, 25 players (including goaltenders Alex Lyon and Elliott) skated on the Flyers rinks. Group B consisted of five players on the Phantoms' rink: forwards German Rubtsov and Andy Andreoff and defensemen Andy Welinski, Egor Zamula and Nate Prosser.

* On Thursday, the Flyers will hold their third and final scrimmage of camp. Vigneault said that the first two periods would be conducted at 5-on-5 but there would be special teams in the third period.

* Vigneault said that roster cuts to get down to the 31-player limit allowed to travel to the Secure Zone (AKA the "bubble") in Toronto would be made on Saturday. He wants to use Thursday's scrimmage to evaluate which of the Black Aces will go to Toronto. The rest will remain in Voorhees to skate and stay in shape in case roster attrition necessitates reinforcements to the numbers.

* Friday is an off-ice workday for the team. Saturday will mark the final practice in Voorhees during camp. The team departs for Toronto on Sunday.