FTC Report: Scrimmage Day in Voorhees

A huge crowd of Flyers fans came out to enjoy a party atmosphere and a scrimmage at Flyers Training Center in Voorhees on Saturday. The Flyers open their exhibition game schedule on Sunday against the New York Islanders in Elmont, New York.

The day's activities on the ice featured a special teams practice, followed by 5-on-5, 4-on-4, 3-on-3, and a shootout during the scrimmage between Team Orange and Team Black.

Alexis Gendron, who scored in both of the Rookie Camp games, opened the scoring with a goal off the rush. That was the lone goal scored at 5-on-5.

During the four-on-four, Trevor Zegras scored off a setup from Travis Konecny. Later, Bobby Brink scored off a faceoff on a shot that trickled through goalie Dan Vladar. In the 3-on-3, Nikita Grebenkin fed Jack Nesbitt for a tap-in tally.

Finally, Bobby Brink (Team Black) notched the lone goal in the shootout. He scored to the blocker side on a wrist shot. The other shootout attempts: Zegras (backhander), Matvei Michkov (five-hole attempt), Owen Tippett (multiple dekes, then in close by Aleksei Kolosov), and Sean Couturier (full windup slapshot).

POST-SCRIMMAGE NOTEBOOK:

* Travis Sanheim and Konecny, who are close friends off the ice and frequently have heated on-ice battles, were in midseason form on Saturday.

* Early in the scrimmage, Alex Bump tried to go wide on Sanhem. He took a heavy hit for his troubles. Sanheim also laid a second hit on Bump later in the simulated game. Saheim said the first hit was not meant to be nearly as heavy as it turned out. Grinning, however, he added that Bump might not try that against him again.

* The 2024-25 season featured a compacted schedule due to the 4 Nations tournament. The 2025-26 schedule is similar due to the Olympic break. Sanheim, who played in the 4 Nations, said that he felt the effects down the stretch as did many tournament participants. An Olympic hopeful this year, Sanheim plans to take last season's experience and apply it to his in-season maintenance and rest this year.

* Defenseman Dennis Gilbert showed both a physical side and some mobility during Saturday's scrimmage. Afterwards, head coach Rick Tocchet said the player is in the thick of the competition for a roster spot on the blueline.

* Tocchet was especially happy with the work of Cam York, both in the scrimmage and the first two days of camp. The head coach has considered separating the long-running pairing of York with Sanheim and having each anchor their own defensive pair.

* Vladar said that once he worked his way through post hip surgery rehab last season, he felt much better down the stretch with the Calgary Flames. That contributed to his strong final month. Now, with the Flyers, Vladar feels he will hit the ground running. He's already developed a friendship with new teammate and goaltending partner Samuel Ersson, as well as a fast rapport with goaltending coach Kim Dillabaugh.

* Along similar lines, Sanheim said that he greatly enjoyed a lengthy phone conversation with blue line coach Todd Reirden this summer. The defenseman added that Tocchet's box + 1 zone defense system is somewhat similar to the zone defense implemented previously by John Tortorella and Brad Shaw. Tocchet's system is a little more aggressive in its puck pressure. Overall, however, it's not going to take a huge adjustment the way a man-to-man to zone-based switch would be.

* Tocchet said the Flyers are already a good team off the rush. However, he wants them to become better at having players fight through the middle to get inside. He wants players to be hungry to get to the net (where the physical price is higher but so is the potential reward). Lastly, he wants more of a shooting mentality.

POWER PLAY UNITS: Day 3 Special Team Practice

PP1: Zegras, Couturier, Konecny, Michkov, Drysdale

PP2: Brink, Cates, Tippett, Foerster, Sanheim

Others who rotated in on second power play unit duty: Cam York and Christian Dvorak.