If you looked atop the National Hockey League when it comes to ice time, you would see Philadelphia Flyer defenseman Travis Sanheim leading the pack, and the team acknowledges that they don’t want to burn him out.
Heading into Monday’s contests, the blueliner leads the league in average ice time with 27:16, the only player in the league with over 27 minutes per game; second is Columbus defenseman Zach Werenski (26:39). Looking a little bit further down you’d see Sanheim’s partner Cam York, who in just two games is ranked 16th overall in the league averaging 24:21 TOI. York didn’t ease he way into the regular season in his first game against the Jets as he was given the second-largest workload against the President’s Trophy winners last year. A tough assignment in your season debut.
But back to Sanheim. With a third pairing that Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet has suggested as far back as training camp isn’t quite up to snuff, Sanheim ended up playing two seconds shy of 30 minutes Saturday night. The only saving grace with having logged that much ice time in October is that the Flyers play zero back-to-back games. So for now he has time to recover from such a rather intensive workload. But when asked Sunday after practice about Sanheim’s usage, even Tocchet knows it’s not something you want to see Sanheim do routinely.
“We got to give more minutes to the other guys, 100 per cent,” Tocchet said, acknowledging just how much the York/Sanheim pairing was used against Winnipeg and Minnesota. “We can’t run these guys out on fumes. We got to be careful. We’ve played some really quality opponents, situational stuff, you got Scheifele, Kaprizov, Bennett, Marchand, Carolina has some guys like Aho and all those talented guys. So those guys get the yeoman’s work. I’d be lying to you if I said we can run those guys out there that much because first of all you get hurt. And second of all you can just wear your players out. But we need some guys to step up in those roles.”
Travis Sanheim has been Flyers’ workhorse for so long
Sanheim is no stranger in recent seasons to logging minutes. Since avoiding the trade that would’ve sent him to St. Louis for Torey Krug, and becoming the number one blueliner under former coach John Tortorella, Sanheim has been seeing his usage and responsibilities grow with each passing season.
Thus far Sanheim has two games over 29 minutes (Carolina, Minnesota), one surpassing 27 minutes (the season opener against Florida) and two over 24 minutes (the second Panthers tilt and Winnipeg). Five times last season, Sanheim hit 29 minutes or over, including three times over 30 minutes in November 2024. He logged 31:07 against Colorado on Nov. 18 of last year, a week after seeing two consecutive games where he logged over 30 minutes (30:19 against Florida on Nov. 9 and 30:23 on Nov. 11 versus San Jose). In 2022-23, he hit 29 minutes or more just once. So the fact the Flyers are five games into an 82-game schedule and have seen Sanheim play two games over 29 minutes is probably concerning.
It’s not that the head coach doesn’t think he can handle the workload from time to time. It’s just not a viable situation to run your top defenseman that hard, especially so early in a season. Tocchet praised Sanheim not just for his play but for his preparation.
“He came in great shape, so he can handle heavy minutes,” Tocchet said. “We got to find other minutes for other guys, but he came prepared to play those minutes. He worked really hard this summer. I got to give him a lot of credit.”
Maybe Tocchet didn’t realize what he had in Sanheim when he became the Flyers head coach. But says the 4 Nations Face-Off was an eye-opener not just for him but the rest of Team Canada’s coaching staff. “Not just me, I think it was the other coaches,” he said. “The other coaches didn’t know much about him. They just saw a steady game of closing in on people, being not afraid of going up on the rush and making the right play at the right time.”
How the minutes are spread to the rest of Flyers’ blue line
With the first pair playing as much as they are, one might think the second pairing is getting shafted out of playing time. But in reality they aren’t. Further down the ice time usage list, the Flyers’ Jamie Drysdale is 42nd (22:53) and Nick Seeler is 83rd (21:01). It’s a testament to just how much Tocchet is relying on the top four. And so little on the bottom two. Whether it’s Noah Juulsen, Egor Zamula or Adam Ginning, the third pairing is at best trying to keep its head above water but is in danger of sinking. Tocchet spoke of both Zamula and Juulsen regarding their play last night and so far this season. The replies seemed to indicate neither player is firmly entrenched as Philadelphia’s fifth or sixth defensemen.
“He didn’t really make too many mistakes,” Tocchet said of Zamula. “He just played, he was there. I just like to see him push a little bit, especially in the neutral zone, a defense to defense pass, skate, and then look for your options. I think a lot of times he’s just looking to pass. So just a little more aggressive there and a little more aggressive on the close. I think sometimes he’s there, stay in the battle. But I have to give him credit, he hasn’t played in a week. So we’ll see if he plays tomorrow if he can take that other couple of steps forward on that.”
Zamula’s partner last night was Noah Juulsen. Tocchet, who coached Juulsen in Vancouver during his tenure there, also mentioned how he needs to be more consistent. “He can put some good shifts together,” Tocchet said. “I’ve known him. He just can’t make that glaring mistake. I think he’s trying to get that out of his game. And I’ve seen that. So when you’re giving Winnipeg and Minnesota 15 shots, both quality teams, he’s part of that. And the defense are part of that helping us do that.”
Ideally, the top pairing aren’t required to be near the top of the league in minutes played. If that happens the wear and tear of the regular season is sure to take its toll on both players. Also, considering the strong possibility that Sanheim makes the roster for Team Canada at the upcoming Winter Olympics in February, he won’t have the luxury of resting for a couple of weeks like several of his fellow Flyers will. If there’s any silver lining or reason for optimism, it hinges primarily on if and when Rasmus Ristolainen will be back in the fold playing games. Ristolainen — who has battled a nagging, lingering injury the last few seasons — should be able to take some of those minutes, with one of either Zamula, Juulsen, or Ginning vying for the sixth spot instead of two of that trio routinely dressed.
This season is going to be a marathon for Sanheim. Here’s hoping that the third pairing can show some semblance of better, smarter play for large chunks of the season. Or at least hold their own until Ristolainen is no longer simply skating but cleared to play. Otherwise it’s going to be a long haul and a hell of a workload for Sanheim. It’s great the Flyers have a quality defenseman who can log that ice time. It would be criminal if the third pairing isn’t able to slightly ease some of that heavy lifting for him. And hopefully sooner than later.
