Egor Zamula Trying to Be ‘More Assertive’ with Flyers’ Affiliate

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — This was going to be a big season for Egor Zamula. The 6-foot-3, 192-pound defenseman entered the season on the last year of his entry-level contract with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Zamula understood he needed to show the team he deserves to be around past this year. That’s why he trained as hard as he did during the off-season, adding 12 pounds.

“If you wanna play in this league, you need to work every day, every day in the summer,” Zamula said. “Work like 24 hours — in the workouts, on the ice. Learn (from) some mistakes from another player, learn (from) some mistakes from me.”

Zamula played 11 games with the Flyers (two assists, minus-1) before being demoted to the Phantoms. He doesn’t necessarily like to talk about how he sees his progression. It’s more about just working hard every day in practice. But there are some things the team wants to see from him in order to get back to the Flyers.

(Check out Zamula’s playful, fun-loving personality below:)

Lappy’s assessment

Phantoms coach Ian Laperriere was very honest in his assessment of where he feels Zamula’s game is right now. He admitted he feels the young defenseman is still feeling disappointed in being sent between the NHL and AHL.

But the work is there, and “Z” is trying hard to play the way he has been asked. And that is with more assertiveness to his game. There are plenty of things that he does do well, though.

“He’s got great vision, a lot of poise,” Laperriere said. But with that, he needs to “play with more emotion.” For a player of his stature, he has the long reach, though he needs to be able to assert himself more on the ice.

Zamula agreed. Practice can be tough, he knows, but when it comes to games, you’re able to have more fun knowing that you prepared for them.

“When you work hard, 100 percent in the practice, it’s going to be much easier to play in the game,” Zamula said.

Learning from Anisimov

Zamula, 22, has been able to learn what it takes from Artem Anisimov, who signed a contract with the Phantoms for the rest of the season. The two talk often as Anisimov brings plenty of experience in the league, and with John Tortorella as well.

“He tells me a lot of stories about what he likes, what he doesn’t like. He helps me a lot,” Zamula said about Anisimov. “Sometimes I need to play simple hockey, sometimes you need to do some creating.”

And it also helps to have a fellow Russian around. Anisimov invited Zamula to spend the holidays with him and his family in Chicago. It was important to help build that family environment for him because Zamula doesn’t have family around the area right now.

When it comes to the hockey talk with Anisimov, it can sometimes be a bit too much. Zamula joked that the veteran forward “pisses me off” with how much he talks about hockey.

“Sometimes I’m too rude with him because sometimes I’m almost going to bed and he asks me a lot of hockey questions,” Zamula laughed while speaking on his relationship with Anisimov. “And I tell him, ‘Stop it. It’s enough. Can I talk to you tomorrow?’ ”

Zamula added that it can be too much hockey in his mind and he just needs some time to relax. But then the next day it’s back to work and getting ready to play again. It’s good to have a balance to make sure you’re not getting too overwhelmed with everything.

Tortorella’s excitement with Zamula

Tortorella has long talked about his excitement in coaching and developing Zamula. He spoke before on the same strengths in his game that Laperriere has mentioned.

”Moving the puck and seeing the ice. I think that’s something that really attracts ourselves to him,” Tortorella said back in November, referring to what he likes about Zamula’s game. “We feel like he might have the ability to get us out of our own end zone. And makes some plays.”

The weakness, for Tortorella, came more with being able to make reads with the puck once the team is out of its own zone. That ties in with the assertiveness that Laperriere also talked about.

There also comes a balance between developing a player like Zamula at the NHL level with the Philadelphia Flyers versus doing what’s right for the team itself. It’s about making sure you aren’t harming the player by not playing them or having them make the same mistakes again and again.

Tortorella spoke at length on that side of things back in early November.

John Tortorella has spoken highly of Egor Zamula and his commitment to having him up here. I asked him how you balance that need and want to develop a player versus doing what is best for them and the team as well. pic.twitter.com/Cfa5sKc6q8

— Ariel Melendez (@a_melendez10) November 8, 2022

For now, Zamula will continue to work on things with the Phantoms. If he is able to push past the disappointment and keep working hard, he will be back up with the Philadelphia Flyers sooner rather than later.

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