The Philadelphia Flyers are largely returning most of last year’s roster that made the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but there are roster battles on the fringes here in the shortened training camp.
Not only are there a handful of young forwards fighting for a spot or two in the bottom six, but there’s a battle on the blue line at the bottom of the depth chart as well.
Jamie Drysdale, Travis Sanheim, Cam York, Rasmus Ristolainen, and Nick Seeler are going to be five of the six defensemen playing on opening night against the Pittsburgh Penguins, pending any last-minute injuries. The sixth defenseman is up in the air, though, and that’s a battle that could extend into the regular season.
The Flyers traded for Simon Benoit as part of the deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs involving Joseph Woll, and it would be quite surprising if they sent him down. It feels like Benoit is going to step into the Noah Juulsen role as a veteran defenseman that can fill in when needed and be relied upon to kill penalties when in the lineup.
Benoit is most likely going to be that seventh defenseman to start the season, though, with a pair of youngsters jockeying for the final spot.
Those two defensemen are Oliver Bonk and David Jiricek. And as of this week, it’s still an open competition for the final spot.
What does Jiricek need to do to earn a roster spot?
“I would say it’s still open. I’m not saying anybody has separated themselves. We’re looking for some solid play, and then whatever you’re good at, be good at it,” Rick Tocchet said on Wednesday. “I think that’s really what it comes down to. Is it the better power-play guy? Is it the better PK guy? Is it the better defender? That’s what we have to really look at.”
It’s safe to assume that the “better power-play guy” Tocchet is talking about is Jiricek, who has a booming shot from the point.
Jiricek wants to have a shoot-first mentality on the man advantage, especially on the second unit.
“My biggest asset is my shot, so I just try to see the lanes, and when I have a chance to shoot it, I just shoot it,” he said Wednesday. “Especially if you’re on the second power play, you don’t get as much ice time as the first one, so the mentality is to shoot first.”
If Jiricek can help improve the power play, the Flyers might be able to live with his defensive downside. He’s been working on that since joining the organization, though.
Tocchet explained what he and the Flyers are looking for from the defenseman on his third team in as many years.
“For him, he’s got a lot of patience with the puck. He’s really good at that stuff, but when there’s chaos and there’s a lot of small battles and stuff, I think that’s where he’s got to be a little bit better,” he said. “I think that’s what he worked on in the minors: being able to shut down plays in the corner, being able to read a play to basically shut things down. That’s the things that we asked him to do.
“Obviously, the point on the power play and things like that, he’s got some good awareness, but it’s the boxing out, being able to win a battle, boxing out. I think those are the things that he has to really, he has to find that part in his game.”
Tocchet noted that he’s seen definite improvement from Jiricek since the Flyers acquired him at last season’s trade deadline. It doesn’t always look pretty, he acknowledged, but getting the job done is the most important thing.
Jiricek also felt like he found his footing with the Phantoms late last season.
“I think I played pretty good after the trade,” he said. “So just try to keep the confidence and play the same way as last year in the minors.”
If Jiricek is to start the season with the Flyers, he’ll likely be playing with Seeler on the third pair. They played together on Tuesday night in Boston, and the youngster felt comfortable with the veteran.
“We played with each other (Tuesday), I felt pretty good. He’s a vet, for sure, so good to play with him, try to learn from him, too,” he continued. “I felt pretty comfortable with Seels.”
Bonk behind the eight ball in roster battle
Bonk is probably the best defenseman out of the three battling for the final spot right now, and he’s arguably one of the best four or five defensemen on the team. However, there are some logistical issues that will likely have him on the outside looking in.
First of all, the Flyers would need to put Jiricek on waivers to send him down to the Phantoms. There is a chance that he clears, since there are several teams who have a player of Jiricek’s ilk that may hit waivers, but there’s no point of losing an asset for nothing.
The Flyers didn’t give up a ton for Jiricek, but Bobby Brink did (and does) have some value. He’s also a former sixth overall pick that was traded from Columbus to Minnesota for four draft picks, including a first-round selection. Any team may want to take a flier on him.
And Bonk is still just in his second professional season at 21 years old. The Flyers can send him to the AHL without needing to pass him through waivers, and an extra bit of seasoning certainly can’t hurt the blueliner.
It’d be surprising if Bonk doesn’t play at least a handful of games with the Flyers at some point this season, though. He’ll likely be one of the first defensemen called up if there is an injury, especially if that injured player is Ristolainen or another right-hand shot.
There’s also the possibility that Jiricek just can’t cut it and the Flyers need to call up Bonk without an injury. But we’ll have to wait and see.
For now, it looks like Benoit and Jiricek have the inside track to a roster spot, with Bonk on the outside at no fault of his own.
