Liftoff Recap: Fresh Perspectives

The eleven-and-a-half minute finale of the offseason "Liftoff" docuseries focuses on the Flyers' recent Development Camp in Voorhees. The summertime camp is a rite of passage for most Flyers' prospects on their journeys to the National Hockey League. There are no NHL roster spots up for grabs but players still want to make a good impression and absorb advice they can apply to their games and to their training routines.

The episode opens with Flyers Development Director Riley Armstrong welcoming the attending prospects. Armstrong, previously the Lehigh Valley Phantoms assistant coach, has been with the Flyers organization for just a couple of years. At 38 years old, the former San Jose Sharks player has gained six years of professional coaching experience but is still young enough to relate to the players coming up through the system.

"I know a lot of the guys out there," Armstrong said. "I think just having a new voice and a new perspective on things... is what I bring to the table."

Armstrong, in his playing days, spent most of his career in the minor leagues and in Europe. Meanwhile, assistant player development director Nick Schultz enjoyed a 1,069-game career in the NHL including three years playing for the Flyers. Since retiring in 2017, he has turned to the coaching side of the sport.

"[Riley and I] have different types of experiences at the highest levels, and these are things we want to pass along to these kids to help them become a Flyer one day," Schultz said.

Princeton University Women's Hockey head coach Cara Morey has been a guest instructor at each of the last two Flyers' development camps. She has 17 years of coaching experience at the collegiate and international levels. Morey was mic'd up at camp for this episode, as were the other coaches.

Armstrong was asked to compare previous camps to this year's. He said one big difference is the increased prominence of development coaches such as Chris Stewart and Samuel Morin.

"I think in years past, you didn't hear much of [the development coaches]. I think, this year, they were putting their ideas and their thoughts out a lot more. You need that as a staff if you want to put any sort of product out there, away from the rink or on the ice, you need every single person on that staff to help out," Armstrong said.

According to Morey, one of Armstrong's best traits is his ability to put the players at ease on the ice. At past camps she's attended, players have been tense and out of sorts because of their underlying drive to impress.

"He connects with them, puts them at ease and makes them have fun," she said. "When they're in that mind state, that's when they show their best hockey."

Armstrong adds, however, that the key to getting the right atmosphere in camp isn't to make it a "country club"; rather, it's to put young players in their natural element by tapping to their drive to push the pace and battle on the ice.

At its root, according to Schultz, developmental coaching is about mentorship: connecting with prospects and individualizing the instruction to provide tools -- video study, practical suggestions, etc. -- the young players can apply to their own games. Off the ice, it's about sharing some of the everyday aspects of life in pro hockey. It's not about drilling in systems or assigning roles, which is the work of their in-season coaching staff.

During this year's camp, Flyers head coach John Tortorella addressed the attendees. His take-away message: there's help and support available from coaches but, ultimately, it's the responsibility of each player to take accountability and make the most of their opportunities.

The "Liftoff" season finale briefly focuses on one of the more prominent prospects at this year's camp: defenseman Oliver Bonk, whom the Flyers selected with the 22nd overall pick of the 2023 Entry Draft. Bonk is shown on the ice, interacting with teammates.

In the final segment, Flyers general manager Danny Briere turns his attention to the Flyers upcoming training camp. Briere talks about how, unlike his playing days, he can't control what happens on the ice. However, he observed last September that the Flyers players helped one another out during Tortorella's first camp as Philadelphia's head coach.

"Torts" runs notoriously tough, skating-intensive training camps. That will not change. In the bigger picture, Briere said that the pace of the team''s rebuilding drive, and the subsequent roster moves to come, will be determined by how the players perform and how much progress is shown in 2023-24.