New Flyers Winger Garnet Hathaway Gets The Scoop on John Tortorella

Philadelphia Flyers forward Garnet Hathaway describes himself as a hard guy to play against who looks forward to being a leader on his new team.

And he did research on his new coach, John Tortorella.

“I talked to a lot of guys from different stages in their career and different teams that they had played for him,” Hathaway said on a Zoom call Tuesday.

“It was a lot of what you hear from guys who play for him now. A very honest coach. Not someone who is going to sugarcoat things, but is going to demand the best out of you, effort-wise, too. 

“That’s going to go really hand-in-hand with being a competitive team and getting to this process where every game you want to build your game out throughout the season. You want to be better than the game prior and you want to continue that.

“So I heard get ready for camp because I don’t think there’s another one like it. But once you put that effort in you have that willingness to work hard to get to that goal that you achieve in that room, that makes it all worth it.”

The Philadelphia Flyers are Hathaway’s fourth NHL team. He signed a two-year, $4.75 million contract ($2.375 million AAV) last week. Previously, the 31-year-old played for Calgary, Washington and Boston. He played at Brown University and was undrafted.

‘Rebuild?’

Hathaway knows the Flyers are rebuilding, even if he might not want to say so.

“It’s an organization that really wants to improve,” Hathaway said. “Has that mindset right now that — I wouldn’t want to put a label like a rebuild — but it’s one that wants to continue to get better and a lot more competitive than they were last year.

“And so that’s exciting with a group that is willing to put in the work to do that. Being a big part of it, as well.

“I’ll be one of the more veteran players on the team in terms of games played. But being able to take what I’ve learned throughout my career and try to put it into a scenario or position where guys can take things from it and I’ll learn from them and we’ll continue to grow together.

“You look at it as a whole. This organization has been tough to play against my entire career. They want to get back to that position where they’re really difficult to play against and build up into a more competitive team.

“And so that’s something I take a lot of pride in — is being difficult to play against. I’m super excited to get that opportunity especially in this organization with the Flyers, especially with everything that Danny [Briere] said: Get back to where they want to be.”

‘Difficult To Play Against’

Hathaway is a grinder. He has 58 goals and 64 assists for 122 points in 457 games. His career high is 14 goals for the Capitals in 2012-22. Last season, he had nine goals in 59 games with the Capitals and four goals in 25 games with the Bruins.

“I try to find my role throughout my career in this league,” said Hathaway, who is 6-foot-3, 208 pounds.

“And I’ve landed on being difficult to play against. I love to stay competitive, getting in their guys’ skins, being hard to play against and consistent.

“It’s a long season, 82 games is a long time and it’s one that you have to get better throughout the season to be able to grow as a team and individually.”

Hathaway said he’s looking forward to taking a leadership role with Philadelphia. “I’ve been really fortunate to have played with successful guys in this league,” Hathaway said. “Guys who have won Stanley Cups and awesome leaders.

“I’ve been on older teams. I’ve been maybe just above the average age of every team I’ve been on. Now I’m on the other side of the spectrum. I’m one of the older guys.

“It’s one of those things I’ve tried to pick up lots of things from the players I’ve played with. And find out what it takes to be successful. What it takes to get a group to pull together, to get where they want to be. That’s something I’m excited to take that step into that position.

“I probably haven’t had a prominent talking role in the room. I’ve been more of a listener but that opportunity is in front of me.”

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Flyers, In Case You Missed It:

For Flyers draft pick Cole Knuble, it’s a return to home, sweet, home.

Cam York turned a demotion into a new contract and a bright future.

New Flyers defenseman Marc Staal remembers losing to his new team in a season-defining shootout.

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