We are back. So back. Never have we been more back than we are right now.
It’s the first real Philadelphia Flyers game of the season, and it’s got everything: a matchup with a (bottom-feeding) division rival, a jaded former player, one of the most exciting rookies in the league, and a hard-nosed head coach who–
Wait, he looked through that dude’s phone and didn’t even serve him lunch? No wonder he didn’t even make it to training camp. Who could’ve foreseen a notorious asshole behaving this way??
Anyway: So. Friggin’. Back.
The Blue Jackets being a disaster aside, they are on paper a far better roster than the Flyers with Patrik Laine, Zach Werenski, and could-have-been-future-former-Flyer Johnny Gaurdreau. Factor in 2023 third-overall pick Adam Fantilli, as well as up-and-comers Kirill Marchenko and Yegor Chinakhov trying to build on their previous seasons, and Columbus might actually be cooking something. There’s also Cole Sillinger, who may’ve had to endure one of the most savage summers of any NHL player. This all to say that the Blue Jackets’ lineup is not devoid of talent. They are, however, a complete mess after the Babcock debacle, and it remains to be seen whether that hiring/firing fractured the locker room or united them in hatred. General manager Jarmo Kekalainen is likely on the hottest seat in the NHL, and a lousy start could lead to an organizational shakeup; all the promising prospects in the world won’t save him.
The Flyers have their fair share of rookies on the roster to start the year, though a few of them might not play in this, the opening game of the regular season — not that anyone in Philadelphia will be watching the Flyers tonight, and those of us forced to will look something like this. That’s fine; there are 82 games in the season and the sooner some of these veteran players prove their value, the sooner another team might come calling with trade offers. The real excitement for us this game is gambling on who does get the start: Tyson Foerster, who left quite an impression with seven points in eight games at the end of last season? Bobby Brink, who had the best preseason camp of anyone? Emil Andrae, the Swede who cannonballs around the ice making sweet, sweet outlet passes? Or maybe Egor Zamula, who’s no longer wavier exempt but had a good camp and looks ready for the NHL? Could it even be…you??
Players to Watch
Any of the four players I just mentioned
Listen, by the time this goes live, maybe the lineup will be announced and you, dear reader, will know exactly who’s getting the start. But me? I scheduled this before I started teaching my class, so we can all find out together. Regardless of who it is, they will be fun to watch, and the Twitter discourse about playing the vets instead of the kids will surely be civil and well-informed.
Sean Couturier and Cam Atkinson
They’re back! Like, actually back and playing hockey! Both Couturier and Atkinson have missed significant time–a year and a half and a year, respectively–but both have been playing in the preseason and have looked all right. There’s rust, clearly, but when the other option was “oh god, they’re barely able to play,” we’ll take the wins where we can. With seven years and a full No-Move Clause, Couturier might prove a valuable guiding light for the rookies to follow through the rebuild; Atkinson, on the other hand, may be on a new team by Christmas if he shows he can still produce and lead a penalty kill.
Adam Fantilli
The third-overall pick of 2023 makes his NHL debut against the Flyers. Despite being just drafted, he looks ready to make an impact on an NHL team — hell, he scored a hat trick in preseason. While he may struggle out the gate, don’t be surprised if he makes a late-season push for the Calder — and we’ll get to say it all started against the Flyers.
Projected Lineups
Philadelphia Flyers
Joel Farabee – Sean Couturier – Bobby Brink
Owen Tippett – Morgan Frost – Cam Atkinson
Scott Laughton – Noah Cates – Travis Konecny
Nic Deslauriers – Ryan Poehling – Garnet Hathaway
Cam York – Travis Sanheim
Marc Staal – Sean Walker
Egor Zamula – Nick Seeler
Carter Hart
Sam Ersson
Columbus Blue Jackets
Cole Sillinger – Patrik Laine – Johnny Gaudreau
Alexandre Texier – Boone Jenner – Emil Bemstrom
Kirill Marchenko – Adam Fantilli – Justin Danforth
Eric Robinson – Sean Kuraly – Jack Roslovic
Zach Werenski – Andrew Peeke
Ivan Provorov – Damon Severson
Jake Bean – Erik Gudbranson
Elvis Merzlikins
Spencer Martin
Gameday Tunes
The return of the regular season means the return of the tunes. Yes, you are all subjected to my music (thank you for subscribing), but I promise to try and relate the song to the game at hand. In this case, it was easy.
Game One. The First. Numero Uno. We are 99.9 percent of the way from being 20 percent away and just five points out of the playoffs. Go Flyers.
