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Quick Hits: July 6, 2023
1) The 2023 Flyers Development Camp concludes today at the FTC in Voorhees with a 6:30 p.m. five-on-five scrimmage between Team Clarke and Team Lindros. The rosters for the two sides are embedded below.
Prior to the scrimmage, starting at 4:00 p.m. EDT, the Flyers are holding a Fan Fest at the FTC, featuring an inflatable Flyers shot on goal along with tailgate and yard games including Giant Connect 4, Giant Jenga, ping pong, cornhole, and more. From 4:00 p.m. EDT to 5 p.m., fans will also have the opportunity to attend an autograph session with all 38 prospects including 2019 2nd round pick Bobby Brink, 2020 1st round pick Tyson Foerster, and 2023 Draft selections Oliver Bonk, Carson Bjarnason, Denver Barkey, Carter Sotheran, and Matteo Mann.
2) During Wednesday's practice session at Development Camp, Elliot Desnoyers had to be helped off the ice following a hit from Emil Andrae. Desnoyers reportedly was OK after the fact. He may be held out of the scrimmage for precautionary reasons.
3) On Wednesday, the Flyers announced two signings: The team signed unrestricted free agent defenseman Victor Mete to a one-year, two-way contract ($775,000 in the NHL, $450,000 in the AH)) after Mete did not receive an RFA qualifying offer from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Additionally, the Flyers re-signed one their own RFAs, defenseman Ronnie Attard, to a two-year contract. Year one of the contract is a two-way deal ($775,000 in the NHL, $175,000 in the AHL), while the second year is a one-way arrangement ($925,000). The Attard deal carries an average annual value (AAV) of $850,000.
4) Flyers center/winger Noah Cates was among the 22 NHL players who filed on Wednesday for salary arbitration. The hearing date has not yet been set but will either be in late July or early August. Most arbitration cases settle before getting to the arbitrator. Last season, in the final year of his two-year ELC, Cates earned $925,000. The Flyers tendered Cates a qualifying offer as a restricted free agent. The arbitration filing removes Cates from the RFA list. If the case were to actually get to the arbitrator, Cates would get either a one-year (more common) or two-year award. More likely, the two sides will come to an agreement on a multi-season extension.
5) Flyers center Morgan Frost, who has been conducting off-season workouts near his suburban Toronto home, has returned to the Philadelphia area. It's believed that Frost and the Flyers are close to reaching a contract agreement for the restricted free agent.
6) Prospect winger Samu Tuomaala has had back-to-back rough seasons since being selected by the Flyers in the second round (46th overall) of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. Electing to bypass the Ontario Hockey League to turn professionally immediately in 2021-22, Tuomaala looked good in the American Hockey League preseason -- including a spectacular end-to-end goal -- but struggled in two AHL regular season games. He elected to return home to Finland to play in Liiga. He wasn't ready for that level, either, receiving very limited ice time and struggling to produce in 21 games with two teams.
Last summer, Tuomaala packed some much-needed muscle onto his 5-foot-10 frame. Hopes were high for a breakout season for Liiga's Jukurit Mikkeli under head coach Olli Jokinen. Unfortunately, it once again failed to click. Tuomaala was unable to hold down a regular lineup slot for Jukurit, mostly seeing fourth line duty in 13 games and failing to record a point. Perhaps even more disappointing, Tuomaala was cut from Finland's national under-20 team roster and did not earn a spot at the World Junior Championships. This for a player who tore up the U18 Worlds in 2021 with 11 points (5g, 6a) in seven games.
In the second half of last season, Tuomaala played down a level from Liiga in minor-league Mestis. He tore up that level with two teams, most notably for Kettera Imatra (29 GP, 26g, 20a, 46 points, 10 PIM, +27). Albeit against a lower grade of competition, Tuomaala saw his lost confidence and assertiveness restored.
Since last summer, Tuomaala has worked closely one-on-one with Flyers European player development coach and alum player Sami Kapanen. One of the relatively few young Finnish players who is not entirely comfortable doing interviews in English, Tuomaala had Kapanen at his side to translate -- as needed -- when Tuomaala did a media availability session in Voorhees on Wednesday. Unlike previous years' camps, Tuomaala did nearly the entire interview (except for one question) in English. He said that Jukurit coach Jokinen insisted that all team communications be done in English, which helped sharpen his language skills.
During Wednesday's interview, Tuomaala announced that he plans to return to North America for the 2023-24 season. He will play for Ian Laperriere's Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Tuomaala, an excellent skater with a natural finishing touch, said that he feels he has greatly improved his off-puck game (one of the primary knocks on the player) over the last year or so, and is also stronger physically. He gave credit to Kapanen for helping him through some of the tough times.
It's easy to forget that Tuomaala is still only 20 years old. That said, it's vital for him to take a dramatic step forward in his development in 2023-24. It's never been a question of natural ability with him.
7) The Tuomaala interview session was just one conducted on a very busy day. Zayde Wisdom spoke about his rough 2022-23 rookie season, which saw him sent down to the ECHL's Reading Royals, and how he plans to move forward again in 2023-24.
8) Power forward prospect Devin Kaplan, who is coming off a strong freshman season at Boston University and will be at the USA Hockey World Junior Championships Showcase later this month, paid his own way to be eligible to attend the Flyers Development Camp again this year (as required by NCAA rules for a player tor attend a second Dev Camp with the same team). On Wednesday, he discussed the adjustments he made to become a "Swiss Army knife" during his collegiate freshman season and specific drills at camp that have been helpful. Kaplan is a good north-south skater but is still working on edgework and angling. He's number one asset remains his physical strength and heaviness on the puck.
9) For the second straight year, Princeton University's Cara Morey is serving as a guest instructor at Development Camp. She spoke with the media on Wednesday.
10) Entering his second year in North America, Phantoms/Flyers defenseman Adam Ginning is coming off a strong AHL rookie season with the Phantoms. He also made his NHL debut late in the 2022-23 campaign. Ginning has often said that he feels like his game is better suited to the smaller rink in North America than to the European rinks.
11) The Flyers also did separate Zoom media sessions with two of their recent free agent signings: Marc Staal and Ryan Poehling. Staal discussed why he chose to sign with the Flyers after playing in the Stanley Cup final -- and dressing in every game -- for the Florida Panthers last season, along with his relationship with John Tortorella. Poehling talked about the opportunity for a fresh start in Philadelphia.
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