Philadelphia Flyers
The guys take a closer look at the 2020-21 season schedule and the training camp roster, including Sam Morin’s move to left wing and some of the bubble players that could be contributors this season. They also update the World Junior Championships where Team USA and Flyers prospects Cam York and Bobby Brink continue their quest for gold.
Team USA – and Flyers prospects Cam York and Bobby Brink – held off a rally by Slovakia to claim a 5-2 win. Team Sweden – and Flyers prospect Emil Andrae – were eliminated on a last-minute goal in a 3-2 defeat to Finland. Team Canada defeated Czech Republic and Russia defeated Germany to round out the final four teams of the tournament.
On Saturday, the Flyers released their roster and schedule for training camp ahead of the 2020-21 season, set to begin in just 11 days.
The World Junior Championships has closed out group play and moved into the tournament portion with the Quarterfinals taking place on Saturday with four games on the schedule. All three Flyers prospects remain in the tournament, set for their own matchups on Saturday.
The Flyers have had some good success in recent years drafting defensemen, from Ivan Provorov and Travis Sanheim to recent picks on the rise like Cam York. One defenseman picked in the 2020 NHL Draft should also be getting some more attention as he puts together a strong season in the Swedish Elite League.
According to a report from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Flyers will face the Bruins in an outdoor game at Lake Tahoe in February.
For the second straight week, Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher addressed the media. There were some typical announcements, one on an injury update for a goalie prospect and the news that the training camp roster would be released on Saturday. But there was also a very unexpected nugget that Fletcher revealed: Sam Morin is switching to left wing.
Training camp begins for the Flyers in just three days, starting with physicals and off-ice proceedings on Jan. 3, then the first on-ice workouts on Jan. 4. As the calendar officially turns to 2021, here are five New Year’s Resolutions for the team.
Claude Giroux has been captain of the Flyers for eight seasons, his ninth set to begin on Jan. 13, the day after his 33rd birthday. Giroux’s career has had its peaks and valleys from a production standpoint, but he’s remained durable, very rarely missing action, and is respected as a leader by his teammates. To him, the age he will reach one day before the season opener is nothing but a number.
As 2020 draws to a close, here are some of the topics discussed in the State of the Flyers, a short playing year with a lot of progress made.