VOORHEES, N.J. — Some of the Flyers’ big club took the ice Monday morning before the prospects had their second-to-last day of rookie training camp.
The Flyers open main camp later this week and the preseason in six days. We’ll get into that and more below.
‘He definitely belongs’
A good development was Jett Luchanko’s presence in Monday’s informal scrimmage for the big club.
The 19-year-old center has been held out of rookie camp for precautionary reasons. He missed development camp in July because of a groin issue.
Luchanko, who is expected to be available at the start of main camp, broke loose for a breakaway goal Monday.
“He has been dealing with a couple of things,” Flyers director of player development Riley Armstrong said. “It’s good to see him back out on the ice there. … He showed some pretty good bursts of speed and some hands. He definitely belongs. I would love to see him push for a spot out of camp. It’s kind of day by day to see what he does over the next couple of weeks, with the preseason games and things like that, to see where he lands.”
The 2024 first-round pick was the biggest surprise of last year’s camp, making the Flyers’ season-opening roster not even two months after turning 18. He got a four-game taste of the NHL before returning to junior hockey.
He has an outside shot to crack the Flyers’ season-opening roster again. If he doesn’t, he’ll head back to the OHL’s Guelph Storm and should play for Team Canada again at the IIHF World Junior Championship.
“That’s something that the guys above me will probably discuss and figure out and then probably loop me into those conversations as a decision is made,” Armstrong said. “I think for the most part, it’s seeing what he does out here and we’ll kind of build out his landscape from there.”
‘Just eat until you’re sick’
Oliver Bonk had a simple and succinct explanation for how he added 15 pounds this summer.
“Just eat until you’re sick,” he said with a smile last Thursday. “No, seriously, you do. You just work out and skate, but it’s more about just downing calories, as many as you can. Just nonstop eating pretty much.”
The 20-year-old defenseman noted how he ate “so much” of Jersey Mike’s Subs this summer while in Voorhees, New Jersey. Apparently he also enjoyed it up in London, Ontario, where he played his junior hockey, even doing a promotional video.
“I noticed his commercial with Jersey Mike’s,” Armstrong said with a laugh. “I thought he was Happy Gilmore doing Subway commercials.”
After being held out of the two rookie games over the weekend for maintenance reasons, Bonk was back on the ice Monday for practice. The 2023 first-rounder is turning pro this season and the improved size should help.
“I really do think it’s good,” Armstrong said. “And he put on good weight; it wasn’t like it was just sloppy weight. He put on some strong muscle mass.
“He didn’t get to play in the couple of games, so I’m really looking forward to him kind of getting out against the big boys and seeing how he can use that mass, that strength and that weight when he’s in those battles in the corner or boxing a guy out at the net front.”
Bonk won a lot with the OHL’s London Knights.
“He’s a great kid,” Armstrong said. “He’s up there probably in my top five.”
Big club tidbits
Tyson Foerster, who is expected to be ready for the Oct. 9 season opener, continued to skate in non-contact fashion Monday. But after the Flyers’ scrimmage, the 23-year-old winger did test things out with some physical reps along the boards against Cam York.
Foerster had surgery this offseason on his elbow to address an infection.
In the scrimmage, Trevor Zegras put a couple of slick moves on display for a breakaway goal.
“He’s just a unique player,” York said in July. “There are guys in the league that have skill and then there are guys that have elite skill. I would say he’s in that elite category. The organization, the fans should all be super excited because he’s a guy that can definitely get you out of your seat at a game.”
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