Flyers Development Camp Preview
A scaled-down version of the Flyers annual Development Camp will be held at the Skate Zone in Voorhees and Stone Harbor, NJ, next week. Unlike last year, when the camp ran for seven days and included a pair of scrimmages on the final two days, this year's camp will be four days long with no scrimmages.
The schedule is as follows, with all sessions free and open to the public:
* Monday, July 8 (Skate Zone) -- On-ice sessions at 8:30–10:00 a.m., 2:00-2:30 p.m.
* Tuesday, July 9 (Skate Zone) -- On-ice sessions at 8:30–10:00 a.m., 2:00-2:30 p.m.
* Wednesday, July 10-- Trial on the Isle in Stone Harbor. Starts at 96th St. beach at 9 a.m., autograph signing event at Stone Harbor Elementary School from 1:15 to 2:45 p.m., beach volleyball tournament at 3 p.m.
* Thursday, July 11 (Skate Zone) -- On-ice sessions at 10:00–11:30 a.m, 2:00–2:30 p.m.
Most of the organization's top prospects will be on hand for this year's camp, including 2013 first-round pick Samuel Morin and second-round pick Robert Hägg as well as 2012 first-rounder Scott Laughton and second-rounder Anthony Stolarz. Perhaps the most notable young player who is not slated to be there is recently signed forward Michael Raffl.
Following is the camp roster, listed alphabetically by positions. Non-Flyers/Phantoms affiliated invitees are in italics:
Goalies (6): Carsen Chubak, Cal Heeter, Merrick Madsen,
Ryan McKay,
Matt Skoff, Anthony Stolarz.
Defensemen (12): Mark Alt, Terrance Amorosa, David Drake, Shayne Gostisbehere, Robert Hägg, Matt Konan, Maxim Lamarche, Fredric Larsson, Nick Luukko,
Eamonn McDermott, Samuel Morin, Reece Willcox.
Forwards (13): Brandon Alderson, Tyler Brown, Nick Cousins, Kyle Flanagan, Tyrell Goulbourne,
Stephen Harper, Andrew Johnson, Scott Laughton, Taylor Leier, Derek Mathers, Marcel Noebels,
Andrew Ryan, Petr Straka.
At last year's camp, Ian Laperriere, the Flyers Director of Player Development, emphasized repeatedly that the players at the camp should not treat it like an audition for a contract (or, if already contracted, a roster spot). Instead, the camp was designed to help young players work on a variety of different aspects of their games and to have access to pick the brains of Laperriere and other instructors with many years of NHL experience.
"This camp is for them, not for us," Laperriere said on the first day of last year's camp. "We are here to help them but it's up to them to ask questions and listen to what we have to say..... I said to them that they are not going to win a contract here. We don't want to see someone to peak in July. It doesn't matter if they impress me. What matters, what would really impress [Paul Holmgren] is that they show they have the right attitude and the right commitment to improving."
"There are a lot of tools at this camp that I didn't have as a young player, and I wish I had back then. There are so many things you can do to work on your game. Things like the puckhandling course. OK, so maybe you aren't the best puckhandler or maybe you're good at it. But you can approach it as something that helps you to challenge yourself to improve. That has to come from inside the player. We can't teach that."
For the dyed-in-the-wool hockey junkies, the instructional drills can reveal some of the discrepancies in the current skill development levels of attendees. Example: Last year, Brandon Manning (already a pro) and Shayne Gostisbehere were markedly better than most everyone else in a defensemen's passing drill done with instructor Derian Hatcher playing the role of a "forechecker" trying to pressure the puck near the blueline.
This year, it will be interesting to see just how much bigger and stronger returning attendees such as Laughton have gotten since last summer. A year ago, Laughton looked very skinny at the July camp but his on-ice ability and tenacity stood out. He and Nick Cousins (who is returning this year as well) had some pretty good battles going on when they were on the ice, while befriending one another off the ice. By the time Laughton briefly made the Flyers' NHL roster after the lockout, he looked to have added a little bit of muscle and his game had also shown subtle additional improvements. The difference from year one to year two should be more dramatic.
Every year, there is always interest in the non-Flyers invitees. Although the camp is not a contract audition, there HAVE been players who have attended past Development Camp and then been invited to attend full training camp in September as non-roster invitees trying to audition for a contract. There are five unaffiliated players at this year's camp.
Perhaps the most interesting unaffiliated position player at camp is 18-year-old Erie Otters left wing Stephen Harper. Entering the 2012-13 season, he was hyped as a potential first-round or second-round pick in the NHL Draft. Thereafter, Harper's stock sunk like a stone as his individual development stagnated in his second OHL season with a bad Erie club. Stagnation equals regression in the eyes of many scouts. Most other Draft-eligible players who started out ahead of Harper continued to improve and widened the gap. Meanwhile, many who started out behind him in their development caught and passed him over the course of the season.
Halifax Mooseheads left wing Andrew Ryan is coming off a successful season as a useful role player for the Memorial Cup champions. In his third OHL season, the 19-year-old brought some size and added depth to the formidable lineup and was especially good in the playoffs.
Colorado College defenseman Eamonn McDermott is a small but aggressive offensive-minded defenseman who is considered a plus skater and also brings a bit of feistiness despite his lack of size in a similar mold to former Flyers defenseman Freddy Meyer. The 21-year-old McDermott had 23 points in 40 games during his junior season in 2012-13.
Miami of Ohio goaltender Ryan McKay is coming off a very strong freshman collegiate season as a split-time starter. The 20-year-old posted a 13-7-3 record, four shutouts, 1.39 GAA and .946 save percentage in 23 games for the first-place CCHA team. Previously, the Illinois native was the co-winner of the USHL goalie of the year award in 2011-2012 while he was a member of the Green Bay Gamblers. While McKay (who is listed at an even six-feet-tall) lacks a few inches of height compared to the majority of goalies whom NHL organizations prefer nowadays, he does pack 225 pounds on his thick frame.
Twenty-one-year old Penn State goaltender Matt Skoff played three seasons in the USHL for Sioux City. The 6-foot-1, 185 pounder shared time in goal this past season with former Jersey Hitmen (EJHL) and Flin Flon Bombers (SJHL) goaltender P.J. Musico.
**************
Thursday Quick Hits
* According to CSN Philly/HockeyBuzz writer Tim Panaccio, the Flyers spoke yesterday with unrestricted free agent goaltender Tim Thomas' agent, Bill Zito. The controversial 39-year-old two-time Vezina Trophy winner is said to be seeking a deal -- possibly just a one-year contract -- in the neighborhood of $3 million.
* The Flyers announced their preseason schedule for September. Here it is:
Sun., Sept. 15, 6 p.m.: vs. Toronto, Budweiser Gardens (London, Ontario)
Mon., Sept. 16, 7 p.m.: at Toronto, Air Canada Centre (split squad)
Mon., Sept. 16, 7 p.m.: vs. Washington, Wells Fargo Center (split squad)
Tues., Sept. 17, 7 p.m.: vs. New York Rangers, Wells Fargo Center
Tues., Sept. 24, 7 p.m.: vs. New Jersey, Wells Fargo Center
Thurs., Sept. 26. 7 p.m.: at New Jersey, Prudential Center
Fri., Sept. 27, 7 p.m.: at Washington, Verizon Center
* New acquisitions Vincent Lecavalier and Mark Streit chose their uniform numbers yesterday, according to the Flyers. With Lecavalier's famous Tampa number 4 retired by the Flyers in honor of the late Barry Ashbee, Lecavalier will switch to number 40. Streit will wear number 32 because the number 2 he wore with the Islanders has been retired by the Flyers in honor of Hockey Hall of Famer Mark Howe and Streit wore 32 while in Montreal.
***********
Kindle users: Please sign up for Flyers Buzz. For more information
click here.
Click below to follow me on Twitter:
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
Join the Discussion:
»