By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 
For most of the NHL, the dawn of a new season came on Wednesday or Thursday night. But for the Flyers, it all starts on Friday night as they open the 2016-17 season in Los Angeles.
The previous season for the Flyers was certainly one of adversity at times, with several newcomers, including former college coach Dave Hakstol making the jump to the NHL, and the typical ups and downs that come with a marathon season.
But the Flyers proved to be a team on the rise with their playoff appearance last season, and though they fell just two games short of moving on in the playoffs, they exceeded many expectations by just being there at the end of the regular season.
There are always questions for a team as a season begins. Here are five facing the Flyers as the 2016-17 season begins.
Can the kids produce for the Flyers?
You may think this question applies to the two 19-year-olds that will make their NHL debut on Friday. But this question goes far beyond Ivan Provorov and Travis Konecny.
Yes, a lot of the season’s success rests on Provorov and Konecny, who are making the merited jump to the NHL, but now need to show consistency moving forward. But this is also on players like Shayne Gostisbehere and Nick Cousins as well.
Gostisbehere and Cousins are entering their second season in the NHL. Cousins experienced modest success while Gostisbehere took the league by storm. They are as much a part of the equation as the two rookies are. There’s a lot of youth on this team, and the Flyers need them to continue to play with the poise and confidence of veterans.
Will Jake Voracek return to his 2014-15 play?
Based on the preseason, we may already have an early answer to this one. Voracek certainly looks like the player of old as he showed tremendous skating ability and strength to power his way around defensemen. Playing with Konecny may help Voracek as well, giving him a threatening linemate that will force defenses to loosen their coverage of Voracek and focus on the rest of his linemates.
And while Voracek was scoring and finding teammates in the preseason for points, the points only tell so much of the story here. Voracek really just needs to show confidence in his game. It was apparent that frustration was setting in at times last season. Erasing that from memory, starting over this season and staying focused and intense will help Voracek return to the player he was two seasons ago.
Will a No. 1 goalie emerge?
Honestly, who knows? That’s not to say the Flyers don’t have a No. 1 goalie. Based on some teams in the league, the Flyers could be said to have two No. 1 quality goalies rotating as 1 and 1A.
But both Steve Mason and Michal Neuvirth are in contract years. The Flyers will be facing a decision after this season. So this is not so much on the goalies themselves as it is on the front office and coaching staff.
Will the Flyers favor Mason over Neuvirth or the other way around? If a pattern starts to form and one is clearly getting the bulk of the starts, it could be the beginning of a decision being made. Like most of the decisions for Ron Hextall, it will be based on how well they play, so the pressure is on the goalies too.
Can the Flyers get consistent depth scoring?
For starters, the Flyers seem better equipped to get more scoring from the middle-bottom six of the lineup. Dale Weise should be an upgrade offensively over Ryan White and with Cousins and Konecny joining the fray full-time, there should be goals to come from that as well.
Here’s where the scoring really matters for the Flyers. It is in the changes from last season to this season.
Brayden Schenn and Wayne Simmonds need to sustain their recent success. A disappointing season for Voracek needs to be a distant memory. Sean Couturier should benefit offensively from playing with Konecny and Voracek, even while playing a two-way game. Cousins and Weise should bring some offense to a third line that couldn’t produce much at all a season ago.
By all accounts, they should have more scoring depth, but nothing is guaranteed in this league.
Are the Flyers good enough to return to the playoffs?
If the above question proves to be a yes, then the answer to this question becomes a yes.
The Flyers were really a flawed team last season, but a united one. With a team buying into a new system, rallying around their iconic founder and goaltending taking care of so much, the Flyers squeezed their way into the playoffs.
So this season, if the Flyers can look like a team with more consistency, more depth and more speed and skill in a game that is rapidly progressing that direction, then they should be able to compete. Avoiding a slow start helps too, which is why these first five games of the season as the schedule starts to pick up are so crucial.
