VOORHEES, N.J. – It’s just about a done deal.
While the Canada roster for the 4-Nations Tournament in February won’t be made official until Wednesday, the celebratory applause after Flyers practice on Monday pretty much confirmed two local players will be on the roster.
Those would be the members of “Team Travis,” namely defenseman Sanheim and right wing Konecny.
Later, in the locker room at the Flyers Training Center, both Sanheim and Konecny looked and sounded like they will be playing against the likes of Canada, Sweden and Finland.
And each player gave the impression this is quite an honor to be considered among the NHL’s elite players.
Why not? Both players are on pace to have their finest seasons yet for careers that span nearly a decade.
“The rosters aren’t announced until Wednesday, so we’ll see what happens,” Sanheim reminded a media gathering around his locker. “But if I get fortunate enough to represent my country, it would be huge honor.”
Sanheim is among the top goal scorers for NHL defensemen and, defensively, he goes up against the game’s top scorers on a nightly basis.
“It (the 4-Nations) is something I’ve worked hard to get to,” Sanheim said.
As for joining Konecny, the Flyers’ leading scorer by a lot, that would be fun too if both make the roster.
“I think he’s very deserving,” Sanheim said. “The last two years, the way he’s carried this hockey team. He’s been our best player by far. To me, whenever he’s on, we’re winning hockey games. It would be really special if I was with him. If I don’t get the opportunity, I hope he does.”
Just a couple seasons ago, Sanheim was the object of trade rumors. He’s worked hard to quell that notion and an eight-year, $50-million contract kind of validated that improvement.
“I think how hard I’ve worked,” Sanheim said. “And where my game has kind of gotten to. It could have been very easy for me to just give in and just allow it to treat it like every other day and not worry about it. But I got motivated, got after it and got better.
“I wanted to prove people wrong. I’m very happy with where I’m at today. Very proud of where my game has gone.”
Konecny is among the leading scorers at right wing since the end of October.
He echoed pretty much what Sanheim talked about.
“It would be an honor,” he said. “You look forward to those types of things.”
The two players sit next to each other in the practice facility so there’s a certain closeness there since the two have been teammates since 2017.
Going to the 4-Nations would just be another chance to bond once again.
“That would be special,” Konecny agreed. “Coming up and all the different tournaments and experiencing that together. Haven’t always been as close as we are now so it’s kind of been cool watching that happen. That would be special and I know both of us would be rooting for each other.”
If all goes according to form, Konecny and Sanheim could be playing against the United States and one of its assistant coaches, none other than John Tortorella, who coaches the Flyers.
>Ersson returns to practice
Samuel Ersson returned to practice on Monday after missing several weeks with a lower-body injury.
Sanheim said it’s great to have Ersson back and he’s also glad the Flyers have capable backups with Ivan Fedotov and Aleksei Kolosov.
“He (Ersson) is a big part of our team,” Sanheim said. “Whenever we can get him back out there in game action, it’s going to be nice to see him. It’s nice to see him in practice. In saying that, the other two guys have done an awesome job. It’s nice to have that many goalies we can rely on.”
Ersson was all smiles as he began to pull off his equipment after practice.
“It’s fun to be back,” he said. “I’ve been taking my time, listening to my body. Making sure I’m back where I need to be. It’s a long season, obviously, you want to play all the time but it’s a long year. Looking forward to be being with the group.”
The Swede wouldn’t confirm if he will be ready for Thursday night’s home against Florida.
>Ristolainen staying healthy
Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, who’s been banged up the past couple years, has been healthy so far this season and for that Tortorella is grateful.
“It’s something we talked about at the beginning of the year,” the coach said. “Enough of the 35, 40, 50 games. We need him for a full year. I think our medical people have done a real good job of keeping him healthy. Knock on wood, he stays healthy because he’s really improved his play.”
>Grans back to Lehigh Valley
Rookie defenseman Helge Grans was returned to Lehigh Valley on Monday. He filled in nicely when regulars such as Cam York and Jamie Drysdale were sidelined due to injury. “He just played, he wasn’t afraid of the moment,” Tortorella said. “Had ups and downs at certain times but expect that. (Emil) Andrae, too. But you watch them after and see how they handle it. Didn’t affect him (Grans). Played a lot of good minutes. Really interesting to us. Big, long right-handed shot defenseman. You always have time to take a look there. He’s played well but it’s such a small sample size, we have to keep evaluating.”
