With the Flyers on-ice sessions for rookie camp set to begin on Thursday, Sept. 15 at the teams’ Training Center in Voorhees, meaningful hockey is just around the corner again. So, what better time could there be to make some bold predictions about the orange and black. Here’s Phired Up’s five Flyers hot takes for
the 2022 season.
5) Morgan Frost will score 40 points
Frost, 23, appeared in his first full season with the Flyers in 2021-22 and posted 16 points (5g-11a) in 55 games. He also played for the Phantoms last season as well, where he recorded 19 points (6g-13a) in 24 games. Over parts of three seasons with the Flyers, he has recorded seven goals and 16 assists for 23 points in 77 regular season games since making his NHL debut.
Suffice to say, this hasn’t been nearly enough production from the former first round pick. The one year, prove-it contract Frost signed this past July suggest the Flyers not only want him in a position to contribute, but they also need him to if the team is going to have any success this year. Hopefully, under a new coaching regime with a renewed sense of confidence in his skills, we can see more plays like this
soon:
4) John Tortorella will win the Jack Adams trophy
As we know, John Tortorella is a very good and well-respected coach. The 64-year-old Tortorella has already ruffled some feathers, though, sharing very public concerns last week about the Flyers locker-room dynamics. His hard-nosed, tough love approach may be just what the doctor ordered for many Flyers players. If Tortorella’s pressure could turn some of the team’s incomplete projects into diamonds – ones that could perform as a singular, hard-to-play-against group – it could mean some hardware at seasons end for Tortorella.
3) Travis Konecny will lead the Flyers in scoring
Travis Konecny led the Flyers in scoring last season, it never really felt like it. The 2021-2022 season turned out to be a mess from start to finish and noting that fact seems erroneous, but the fact does remain; the Flyers need Konecny to produce nightly. Though it’s a somewhat popular held belief among a portion of Flyers fans that Konecny and John Tortorella won’t see eye to eye, the relationship seems like one that could really benefit Konecny, as both are fiery and seemingly love competition. So long as Konecny is committed to working in all three zones, Tortorella will enjoy his chippy style.
2) Sean Couturier will return to Selke-level form
It doesn’t come as much of a surprise that in each of the last two seasons, the Flyers’ hopes cratered once they lost Sean Couturier to injury. Now that the soon-to-be 30-year-old is finally healthy, Couturier’s ability to continue being an excellent two-way performer that plays against other team’s top lines nightly is vital. Though it’s worth wondering if Couturier offensive production will dip no longer that Claude Giroux is riding shotgun on his wing and he could be assuming more of a leadership role, the Flyers wouldn’t be heaping this amount of responsibility on him if they didn’t think he could handle it. He’s a former Selke trophy winner and the team’s most valuable player for a reason.
1) The Flyers will make the playoffs
Now, don’t laugh. Is it really that unreasonable? It will be difficult, but this Flyers team is likely to return to at least a playoff bubble level just being a lot healthier than they were last season. Add John
Tortorella’s defensive, hard-to-play-against structure and the team should a better defending one, which in turn, should help goaltender Carter Hart’s productivity in goal. There are legitimate questions marks among both the defense pairings and forward group, but there is room for growth here, both in the lineup and in leadership roles in the dressing room.
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