Flyers ‘Pack Mentality’: Team Embraces a Tight-Knit Identity

The Philadelphia Flyers won’t back down from a fight. No, this is not a proclamation claiming that the Broad Street Bullies are back. However, if you mess with someone in orange, this team is not afraid to step up for their guys.

Hockey is a physical sport, filled with some of the toughest athletes in the world. Fighting has been a part of the game forever. It feels like every team in the league has one or two old-school guys like Nick Deslauriers, Marcus Foligno, Ryan Reaves… I could go on for a while.

The Philadelphia Flyers are a mixed bag. Sure, you have your Deslauriers, your Hathaways, and Couturiers, but the Flyers are a team filled with young, new-school type players. Fighting is not something you’d expect out of this team.

Despite that, this 2025-26 Flyers team has shown they won’t back down, especially when it comes to defending their teammates.

Head coach Rick Tocchet describes it as a “Pack Mentality.”

Read More: Flyers Locker Room: Grebenkin’s Fight Displays Flyers Culture

Hathaway: The Flyers are a “Tight-Knit Group”

There have been plenty of signs of the Flyers’ fight this season. None may be bigger than the rookie Nikita Grebenkin stepping in to defend Garnet Hathaway.

It’s not every day that you see a rookie stepping up for a veteran. Usually, it’s the other way around. Speaking with Philly Hockey Now, Hathaway says it’s a result of the room.

“We’re a tight-knit group,” Hathaway said. “Being new to the room, we’re really welcoming. It’s a really welcoming room, but you want to be a part of it too. And I think last night (Grebenkin’s fight) was just one of the many things that he does to be a part of this group and show that he’s fully bought in.”

It’s a connected culture the Flyers are building. One where everyone knows everyone has each other’s back. Hathaway said Grebenkin knew he’d step in for him, which is why Grebenkin stepped up for him.

“I would do it for him, and I think he knows that. I knew that he would do it for me. That’s this whole room, you’ll see it more throughout the year. We’re together in this, and it’s noticeable on the ice, and off the ice.”

This Flyers team is not afraid to step up for each other.

Sticking Up for Your Teammates

The Flyers don’t just say they have each other’s back – they show it shift after shift. Some Flyers, like Travis Konecny, have been doing it for years. However, we are starting to see a trend of everyone mixing it up for one another, even the unlikely players.

“There’s been a couple of times where guys are sticking up for each other,” Konecny said. “Grebenkin in the one game, I had one, Garnet (Hathaway) had a good fight there. Then Michkov did it (stepped up) for me.”

After Trevor Zegras stepped in for Tyson Foerster against the Penguins, the Flyers’ alternate captain said a trend is growing, with more and more players getting involved. “You kind of see guys are hopping on board with it,” Konecny said. “It was great seeing Zegras jump in like that.”

As for Zegras’ altercation, the new Flyer said he had zero intention of fighting when taking part in the chaos at the end of OT against Pittsburgh. He just wanted to do what he could to stick up for his teammate, no matter what the consequences were.

“There were only four of us on the ice, so it wasn’t anything like crazy. Just sticking up for your teammate,” Zegras said. “We were kind of just mixing it up. And when your teammates are in there, you kind of have to jump in there. I just didn’t like that there were two of them on him (Foerster). Not that I was gonna go in there and try and fight them, but that was the best way to get them off of them.”

Flyers’ Captain on The Foundation of the Locker Room

Even the unlikeliest of players are getting involved to stick up for one another. Flyers’ captain Sean Couturier credits that to the foundation set in the locker room. “We kind of built that, that foundation of being there for one another, having that team toughness.”

Couturier said that mentality has been brewing for years. “We’ve kind of grown into that mentality in the last couple of years. With Torts, it was always about being there for one another, and that just carries over.”

The Flyers’ captain concluded by saying, “I think that’s what good teams have is that each other’s back and we have that.”

Tocchet Talks “Pack Mentality”

Sticking together as a team is something that every coach preaches. That is not something new that Rick Tocchet has brought to the Flyers. What coaches can do is implement a culture. While fighting is not the way Tocchet preaches it, he does want to instill a culture of caring.

“We’re not preaching fighting,” Tocchet said. “We’re trying to create a culture of sticking together.” 

The Flyers’ bench boss describes it as “that pack mentality”.

“That pack mentality, you know. You eat together as a pack. If you’re the lone wolf, you’re done. The pack lives. I think it’s philosophical. I just believe in that stuff.”

There are times when fights or roughing can be unnecessary. Sure, the team will always happily kill off a penalty for defending a teammate, but sometimes, it can be unnecessary. Regardless, the Flyers coach says that the team is happy with how they are sticking together.

“We’re preaching discipline, too. We’re not being stupid. I just think we’re just sticking together. I think that’s a good thing.”

They may not be the Broad Street Bullies, but the culture the Flyers are building is making a mark in the locker room.

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