VOORHEES, N.J. – Seeing a healthy Nick Seeler skating freely around the Flyers Training Center ice on Monday brought a smile to a number of faces.
The defenseman missed the first five games of the season with a leg injury which caused some nerve problems.
But he’s been cleared to play in Tuesday night’s home game against the Washington Capitals and that’s good news for the last-place Flyers, who missed his physical play and shot-blocking ability.
There wasn’t much in the way of treatment which would have quickened the healing process.
“We did treatments every single day,” Seeler said. “But at the end of the day I think it just has to come back on its own. They said it could have come back right away but it ended up being a lot longer than we all expected.
“I’ve never experienced something like that.”
Seeler usually ranks among the league leaders in blocked shots and hits. The Flyers could certainly use those elements.
He made the road trip to the northwest but all he could do was watch.
“Obviously you want to be out there competing,” he said. “Especially at the start of the season. You want to be with the guys, we went through a tough camp together. You want to come out strong.”
Coach John Tortorella is quite pleased to have Seeler back in the fold.
“He’s a good player,” Tortorella said of the Minnesota native. “I think you get locked into who he is, the emotion that he brings, blocking shots and all that.
“And I think a lot of people forget that he plays against a lot of good people on opposing teams. He’s a good partner for his other guy because he bails a lot of people out.”
Seeler was paired with Jamie Drysdale for Monday’s practice.
It’s clear Tortorella likes Seeler’s style.
“He bangs it around sometime but he gets up the ice quickly,” Tortorella said. “Everything is done quick with him. It’s a part of our game, after five games, I don’t want to overstate it. . .we still have a lot of things to work on. But that’s a part of the game we have to get better at. He’ll certainly help us.”
>Couturier back in the mix?
After starting Saturday’s game at fourth line left wing, captain Sean Couturier had a prominent role in Monday’s practice. He spent some time on the power play and centered a line like he usually does.
Part of this might have been because Scott Laughton had the day off. He’s “banged up” at the moment.
“I’m not sure if Sean will be there (at the aforementioned spots),” Tortorella said. “Sean, just like everybody else, has been up and down. I actually thought his best minutes, more involved, was playing on the wing.”
>Luchanko evaluation
Rookie Jett Luchanko has played in four of the first five games. The Flyers get to see him in nine games before they have to make a decision – either keep him on the roster for the season or send him back to junior.
Lately, the reviews have been a bit mixed.
“Just like everybody else, he makes some really good plays, a lot of good plays on his backhand,” Tortorella said. “Struggles at times. He made some really good defensive plays. He’s 18. But I still like what he brings.
“We’re going to keep on evaluating him. See where we go from there.”
>Important day of rest
Coming off their season-opening four-game road trip, the Flyers didn’t get back from a Thursday game in Seattle until late Friday afternoon. Then they had to play on Saturday night and got shutout by Vancouver, 3-0.
Sunday was a day off and the Flyers really needed it.
“It’s no excuse but the National Hockey League works this way,” Tortorella said. “When you have no respect in the league and we do not, you get the schedule that you get.
“I don’t want to put all the blame for our home opener on that, that’s a tough game for us. Having said that, I don’t think we were dead-on in the games we played prior. We had some good minutes but we were very inconsistent. Just the hardness of our game. We just don’t have a lot of time, we need to get at it right away.”
