The rope has returned! Flyers players hit the ice at Flyers Training Center in Voorhees for the first day of NHL training camp. As he has done throughout his NHL coaching career, John Tortorella set aside the first day of camp for an ultra-grueling skating test (three sets of eight laps apiece).

“This is year three [as Flyers head coach],” Tortorella said, adding about the skating test that he doesn’t care about players finishing times but the competitive drive to push through fatigue and discomfort.

“There are a lot of great athletes in this league. No one wants to be embarrassed,” Tortorella added.

Flyers Head Coach John Tortorella meets with the media following the first day of training camp. #LetsGoFlyers https://t.co/1JXcbFK1wZ

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) September 19, 2024

The skating test groups went in the following order:

Group 1 (8:30 a.m. to 9:15 a.m): Notable participants included Sean Couturier, Tyson Foerster, Travis Konecny, Rasmus Ristolainen, and Egor Zamula.

Group 2 (9:30 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.): Notables included Noah Cates, Joel Farabee, Morgan Frost, 2024 first-round pick Jett Luchanko, rookie Matvei Michkov, Owen Tippett, Jamie Drysdale, Erik Johnson, and Nick Seeler.

Group 3 (10:30 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.): Notables included Bobby Brink, Nick Deslauriers, Garnet Hathaway, Scott Laughton, Travis Sanheim, and Cam York.

“It’s a physical test but, even more, a mental test,” said veteran defenseman Johnson, who did a similar test his first three seasons with the Colorado Avalanche under Jared Bednar.

Goaltenders did not participate in the skating test. Instead, they tested on stationary bikes. Samuel Ersson and Sam Hillebrandt were in Group 1. The second group featured Ivan Fedotov and Carson Bjarnason. Cal Petersen and Eetu Makiniemi were in Group 3.

On Friday and Saturday, pucks will be on the ice for the first time in camp. There will be a series of three scrimmages per day, with one group scrimmaging twice. Group 1 has two scrimmages on Friday. Group 3 does double scrimmage duty on Saturday.

News and notes:

• Nearly all the players pushed through to complete their skating tests. That does not mean, however, that there weren’t quite a few players who were feeling the effects of skating lap after lap (with the “Torts Rope” in the middle of the ice to provide a landmark to skate around and prevent anyone from taking shortcuts.
• Sean Couturier, who is coming off core muscle surgery in the off-season, said his procedure was much more minor than other players with different types of core injuries. As with Johnson, Couturier stressed the mental challenge of the skate does above the physical aspects.

Flyers captain Sean Couturier meets with the media following the first day of training camp. #LetsGoFlyers https://t.co/UgIAVHLNOH

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) September 19, 2024

• A couple times during their skating group session, Travis Konecny gave Couturier a little push to help him generate forward momentum, much as linemates sometimes do to give a teammate a boost before skating up ice. “Yup, got a little helping hand there from TK,” Couturier said with a grin.
• Luchanko was one of the smoothest and fastest skaters on the ice during the test. Everyone slowed down to different degrees as the test wore on, but Luchanko held up better than most of the players.
• Drysdale added 18 pounds of muscle over the summer, reporting to camp at 196 pounds. He is coming off core muscle surgery in the offseason. Drydale stayed in Voorhees all summer to rehab after his surgery and get ready for camp.
• Drysdale was among the group of players for whom the skating test was a struggle. Apart from the injury rehab, it was the first time he’s done such a test at camp. “It was everything it was made out to be,” Drysdale said. “It was definitely a grind.”
• Rasmus Ristolainen is coming off two surgeries over the past year: one in-season and another after the season for two separate issues. Ristolainen said that he feels fine now. The big Finn said his personal approach to the skating test is not to pace himself. “I just go [all] out on the first rep, and see what happens,” he said.

Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen meets with the media following the first day of training camp. #LetsGoFlyers https://t.co/dzyuN4xIcm

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) September 19, 2024

• Flyers alternate captain Scott Laughton started out his post-skate media session by paying tribute to the late Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau on behalf of the team and sending condolences to the Gaudreau family. Said Laugton, “They won’t be forgotten around here,” he said.