Five Biggest Questions Facing The Flyers

This will be the first full season of the Philadelphia Flyers’ rebuild. General manager Daniel Briere, several times, has pointed out the Flyers aren’t “tanking.” He doesn’t believe in it.

Briere wants his team to be competitive every night. The grander idea of rebuilding is to keep your eye on the future. Don’t make any moves for instant gratification that can hurt you in two years. Play the kids; see what they have. Prune what you don’t need or what won’t help you.

That being said, here are the five biggest questions facing Flyers less than two months before into training camp. This presumes Briere makes no more major moves between now and September. 

1. How Many Prospects Stick On Defense?

The Flyers’ potential defensive corps is a mix of youth and veterans. Briere recently said he wants to see some of the young defensemen get an opportunity next season, just as several young forwards received last season.

They have four defensemen who look like locks to make the roster — Cam York, Travis Sanheim, Marc Staal and Rasmus Ristolainen. Nick Seeler is back and coming off a solid season. He could be a factor but he’s 30 years old. Sean Walker is almost 29. He came over in the Ivan Provorov deal.

The Flyers have at least five young defensemen who will challenge for roster roles — Emil Andrae, Egor Zamula, Ronnie Attard, Adam Ginning and Helge Grans.

“We’d like to add a little bit more of a veteran presence but at the same time we want to be careful,” Briere said when the Flyers signed Staal, 36.

“We want to let our young guys, we don’t want to block them. We want to give them the chance, and we want to see what we have also. That’s kinda important to find out what they’re really made of. If they’re ready for the next stage in their career.”

You can pencil in Andrae on the roster. I think the Flyers would love to see Zamula grab a spot. We’ll see if Attard, Ginning or Grans can steal a job.

2. Who Backs Up Carter Hart?

The Flyers suddenly have plenty of goaltenders. Hart is the presumed No. 1. The back-up position could be impressive Sam Ersson, veteran Cal Petersen or Felix Sandstrom.

“I think it’s wide open,” Briere told Philly Hockey Now’s Sam Carchidi recently about the backup goalie competition. “There’s going to be chances for everybody, and we’ll see who can grab it.”

That’s what good teams do and how they thrive — there is competition for every roster position. The goalie scrums should only make everyone better. This could be one of the most interesting camp battles.

3. Will Sean Couturier And Cam Atkinson Be In The Opening Night Lineup … And Beyond?

Should Couturier and Atkinson return in good form this season, the rebuild will accelerate. Their presence in the locker room will be impactful.

Couturier missed all of last season after undergoing two back surgeries. The previous season, he only played 29 of 82 games. Briere recently said Couturier is healthy and eager to get back on the ice.

How effective Couturier will be is another question. He will be 31 in December. He plays a physical, two-way game. Can a twice surgically repaired back take the rigors of an NHL schedule?

Atkinson didn’t play last season because of neck surgery in December. His health situation is similar to Couturier’s. Atkinson is 34. He’s played 700 NHL games. Can he put in a full season?

4. Will Joel Farabee Take A Big Step Forward?

Farabee had neck surgery before last season. He started slowly but had a strong finish. He talked about having an entire offseason to prepare for next season.

Farabee is 23, the 14th overall pick in 2018. His career high in goals is 20, back in 2020-21. He scored 15 goals last season. His performance at the end of the season makes you think he can be a consistent 30-goal scorer.

The Flyers need guys who can put the puck in the net. Guys, plural. They finished 26th in goals scored last season and last on the power play.

The Flyers are hoping Farabee lives up to the potential they saw in selecting him with the 14th overall pick.

Owen Tippett is an example of the growth the Flyers need. Tippett went from a career-high 10 goals in 2021-22, to 27 goals last season. He averaged 17:26 of ice time last season, the highest in his career.

Can Farabee match that kind of increased production? A Farabee who scores 30 goals a season will make him one of the cornerstones for the future.

5. Which Of The Young Forwards Will Start The Season In Philadelphia?

Briere recently talked about how pleased he was that some of the young forwards stepped up last year — he mentioned Tippett, Noah Cates, Morgan Frost.

Those three players, based on last season, have bright futures and probably long NHL careers. It’s a small sample size, admittedly. There’s pressure to perform every day, every season. But they look legit.

How many new, young forwards will we see this season?

There are three young players from Development Camp who could make a serious run at the roster — Bobby Brink, Tyson Foerster and Elliot Desnoyers.

Brink is coming back from hip surgery. He has NHL talent and making the big club seems inevitable. Foerster was impressive in an eight-game run at the end of the season, scoring seven points. Desnoyers is highly regarded and has scored at other levels.

The Flyers recently signed Olle Lycksell to a contract extension. Is he ready for the NHL?

If the Flyers regularly play three or four new forwards next season, the rebuild will have taken positive steps.

The only thing is this: Can these young guys compete at this level? That’s the crux of what young players and rebuilding teams deliberate over every day. They hope for the best. They hope the kids get it.