The Philadelphia Flyers are getting in on the try-out action before training camp, reportedly.
According to Frank Seravelli, the Flyers are bringing in veteran bottom-six forward Antoine Roussel on a professional try-out and will have him around for training camp later this month.
Antoine Roussel is joining the #Flyers on a PTO.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) September 19, 2022
This does not mean that Roussel will be a part of the Flyers organization next season, but they at least like the player enough to bringing him in and have a decent look at him and how he stacks up compared to the current roster.
After spending his entire professional career with the Dallas Stars, Roussel signed with the Vancouver Canucks in that hilarious time where Jim Benning was signing about every bottom-six forward to massive contracts in free agency. Roussel more than earned his keep though, as he was one of the only stable bottom-six wingers the Canucks had — but that’s still not saying a whole lot. Last season, he played for the Arizona Coyotes, scoring 4 goals and 8 points in 53 games…woof.
This will only really matter if John Tortorella and/or Chuck Fletcher like Roussel more than the youngsters like Morgan Frost, Noah Cates, and Wade Allison. If his presence eventually pushes out someone that needs big-time development and can actually be an offensive contributor on this team, well, then we can yell about it. For now, it’s just an invite for a solid veteran dude.
The Flyers start their training camp this Wednesday and begin the slate of preseason exhibition games on Sept. 24 as they host the Boston Bruins. What an interesting couple of weeks it is going to be.
