VOORHEES, N.J. — The next time they meet, it will be for real at training camp in September.
The skills 'n drills of Flyers development camp concluded on Monday afternoon with a 3-on-3 tournament staged on half ice with two games going simultaneously.
Some players stood out as it was the first time they got to go at each other a bit.
The many moves and incredibly quick shot that belongs to forward Travis Konecny.
The fluid skating of defenseman Ivan Provorov, who seems so much more advanced than the other Flyers blue-line prospects.
After a week of drills, the players wanted some competition. They got it.
“We battled all week, so there was some rivalries built over the week,” Konecny said. “It was definitely fun to get out there. Our team didn't do so well, we lost all the games. Hopefully we can figure it out next year.”
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Provorov’s group won, 4-1.
“It was awesome,” Provorov said. “The last day was hard with all the skating. But it was fun, especially winning it.”
General manager Ron Hextall wanted them each to go home with something that sticks in their mind.
“I want them to walk away better players … but probably more realistically, walk away with some fundamentals to work on the rest of the summer,” Hextall said.
“During the year, kids are in junior, college, the American league, the international league and it’s hard to change something and focus on a weakness when you’re in your season because you’re trying to win games, trying to play well, score, this and that.
“So we really wanted to try and take away some fundamentals to work on over the summer as a time to change. Whether it’s your stride or the way you carry the puck, so that when the season comes, it’s second nature.
“Little things like having the puck out to the side rather than in front of them. It’s those types of things that they need to do over and over to master.”
Asked what he took away from the camp, Provorov said, “Don’t over stickhandle with the puck. Keep your head up always to pass and shoot.”
On Tuesday, the prospects travel to Stone Harbor for the club’s annual “Trial on the Isle” competition.
Still looking
Hextall said the team is still looking to upgrade its scoring, even with very little salary cap dollars left — about $6.4 million. The Flyers have yet to re-sign Brayden Schenn, as well.
“We wanted to improve our top-six, top-nine going in,” Hextall said. “We feel like the more competition you have, the better. You draw your lines in the summer on the board, but in the end, the chemistry’s got to be there and you’re never quite sure what chemistry is there.”
Hextall sounded concerned that some players may think they have a roster spot just because they had one in the past.
“The more shots you have of players, and again, there’s competition,” he said. “There should be competition. If you don’t come in in good shape and deserve to make the team, then you’re not going to make it.
“Sometimes when you have 13 forwards that you see as being NHL guys, they all know it and you know it and you don’t really have options. We want to have options. Competition is a good thing ... we’d still like to make our team better if we can offensively."
One of those “options” could be highly-touted Harvard forward Jimmy Vesey, who becomes a free agent on Aug. 15.
