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Quick Hits: October 10, 2024
1) On the current edition of the Flyers Daily Podcast, Jason Myrtetus interviews Flyers defenseman Cam York about the big steps he took last year in firmly establishing himself as an NHL regular and his goals for 2024-25. He also speaks with Flyers' goaltender Ivan Fedotov about his upcoming first full season in North America.
Fedotov, who will turn 28 on Nov. 28, was one the relatively few Russian players who arrived in North America already possessing a rudimentary ability to communicate in conversational English. However, his preexisting English skills were admittedly pretty rusty. Now, after spending the summer locally, he's gone from minimally functional English to fluency. His personality shines through more, along with his sense of humor.
According to Fedotov, sharpening his English meant (above all else) having more independence in being able to live day-to-day without needing constant help. In terms of how he will fare as the Flyers' No. 2 goalie this season, it remains to be seen. Can you hold back a challenge from Lehigh Valley Phantoms rookie Aleksei Kolosov? If he can stake down the No. 2 role. how many starts will Fedotov reliably be able to handle amid the compacted stretches of the schedule?
In terms of how he fits in with his team overall, Fedotov has quickly adapted off the ice and in the dressing room. He get along well with everyone and interacts freely. It's not just with countrymen Egor Zamula and rookie Matvei Michkov in a "Russian clique". That's not always the case. So, at least in that aspect of the team dynamic, the Flyers have an advantage over some other clubs.
2) Coming today on PhiladelphiaFlyers.com: I wrote a profile article on Flyers No. 1 goaltender Samuel Ersson. He's coming off an excellent training camp and preseason. Late last season, after stumbling for most of the stretch drive, he stepped up big with very strong starts in each of the final three games of the season. He followed it up with a solid performance for Team Sweden at the 2024 IIHF World Championships.
To me, the question is not whether Ersson can be half of a successful NHL goalie tandem; even the 1A in a 1A/1B share. Rather, it's whether he can take and run with a clear-cut No. 1 job where he's handling the significant majority of starts.
Can the Flyers get a 50/32 or 52/30 split of the work in net from Ersson and Fedotov (or Kolosov or Eetu Makiniemi or an emergency start or two out of Cal Petersen)? Can they stretch it to a 55/27 split without Ersson hitting a wall late in the season as he did with the Phantom in 2022-23 and the Flyers last year.
3) The Flyers will have a practice day on Thursday in British Columbia in preparation for Friday's opening night game against the Vancouver Canucks. It will become a bit clearer today if Nick Seeler will be available for the opener and, if not, how the defense pairings will be reconfigured for the opener with veteran Erik Johnson entering the lineup.
Up front, it's expected that the team's recent practice combinations will hold over for the opener in Vancouver:
Matvei Michkov - Sean Couturier - Travis Konecny
Owen Tippett - Morgan Frost - Tyson Foerster
Joel Farabee - Jett Luckanko - Bobby Brink
Scott Laughton - Ryan Poehling - Garnet Hathaway
If these combos hold, the extra forwards on opening night will be Noah Cates and Nicolas Deslauriers. In terms of power play units, the Flyers have recently practices with the following combination of personnel:
4) On the farm. Two notable developments this week related to Flyers prospects.
* KHL: SKA St. Petersburg has ended 19-year-old goalie prospect Yegor Zavragin's loan to weak-sister KHL team HC Sochi to bring him over to SKA's powerhouse roster. In six games for Sochi, Zavragin performed spectacularly (.941 save percentage, 2.21 GAA, one shutout) while his net was often under siege. His underlying performance was far more telling than his 3-3-0 record. In St. Petersburg, Zavragin will have a much better team in front of him and more goal support with which to work.
Here is another Zavragin save on a centering slot pass, followed by a save on a well placed shot requiring an awkward save, then a toe save from a point shot through traffic https://t.co/bUYkyg33qApic.twitter.com/kDJQA9Ls5N
* OHL: In their regular season opener on Wednesday, the defending OHL champion London Knights skated to a 5-4 overtime road win against the Owen Sound Attack.After being part of an early defensive zone gaffe that resulted in a 1-0 deficit, Flyers defense prospect Oliver Bonk later scored on a one-timer from the left circle for his first goal of the season. He also assisted on the overtime winning goal by Sam O'Reilly in the opening minute of sudden death. Fellow Flyers prospect Denver Barkey, in his first game action following an offseason bout with mono, assisted on an earlier power play goal by San Jose Sharks defense prospect Sam Dickinson.
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