Philadelphia Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet would come out and completely confirm it, but from the sounds of it Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim will be on Team Canada’s roster for the upcoming Winter Olympics in Milano. The roster will be officially announced later this week, but, barring a major injury to the player, Tocchet all but guaranteed he’ll be on the club.
During a scrum on Monday in Vancouver, Tocchet was asked a series of questions about returning to Vancouver and facing the club he coached last season. But when it turned to Sanheim, Tocchet didn’t hold much back. In fact, he might have said a little more than he should have.
“He’s a guy who can play 25 minutes,” Tocchet said. “It’s hard to find those guys. You know when he’s on his game he’s a really tough defender, wheels the net, he’s a really good skater. All I remember from the 4 Nations is when he went in the lineup, he really played well, he impressed me. He impressed Pete DeBoer, he impressed a lot of the coaches there because I don’t think he played the first game. So I think he’s got a good shot making the team, I think they announce it Jan. 1. So we had a Zoom call last week so I can tell you 90 per cent but I can’t. It’s an NDA [non-disclosure agreement], whatever they call it?”
Tocchet said he, like other coaches, have certain guys they can pull for or vouch for, but ultimately it’s up to the coaching staff lead by head coach Jon Cooper to determine who is on the roster and who isn’t.
Sanheim, who will turn 30 near the end of March, has had another strong first-half this season. In 37 games he’s played, he has three goals and 13 assists for 16 points, more than halfway through his 30-point season last year. If he stays healthy it’s probably a safe bet he’ll be in the 30-point to 35-point range at year’s end. The Flyer is also just a point from tying Tom Bladon for fourth with 230 points on the all-time points leaders for Philadelphia defenseman and, obviously, two points from moving into fourth place by himself. He’ll still have a bit of distance to overtake Kimmo Timonen for third place as Timonen has 270 points.
In terms of goals, Sanheim is seventh among Flyers defenders with 57 goals. But he could surpass a few more this season as Behn Wilson (59), Shayne Gostisbehere (60), Ivan Provorov (65) and Bladon (67) are all within striking distance, particularly Wilson and Gostisbehere.
Sanheim impressed a lot of people around the league with his performance in the 4 Nations Face-Off. He played three games and earned one assist in the tournament. Hopefully he can have another strong showing in Milano and during Philadelphia’s regular season which bookends the Olympics in February.
