VOORHEES, N.J. — After selecting nine players, several of them highly regarded, the Flyers believe their recent decisions in the NHL Draft will help them in an ongoing turnaround attempt.
This much is a given: The 2025 bunch has arrived at the team’s development camp with a truckload of energy and enthusiasm, which is a bit contagious around the 37 other kids at the Flyers Training Center.
If you throw new head coach Rick Tocchet and his staff into the mix, it makes for a somewhat exciting time. Tocchet & company won’t be officially involved until training camp in September but you can be sure the word is getting around.
Riley Armstrong, director of player development, oversees the drills on the ice but there’s more to it than that. It’s a group attitude and this new bunch appears to have the right one.
Even the “older” players of previous drafts are getting into the act.
“I think with changing the coaching staff here, it’s all fresh eyes on these players that were here before, playing with the Phantoms,” Armstrong said on Wednesday. “They know it’s kind of a blank sheet for them. So they get a fresh start.
“It’s the same with the Lehigh coaching staff. Everyone’s kind of amped up about that.”
A healthy competition among the different age groups is always a healthy one.
“Whenever new blood comes in, everybody that has been drafted in 2022 or 2023, it’s kind of like, ‘oh, crap, these guys are chasing me now.’+” Armstrong said. “So it kind of picks them up a little bit that someone is on their tail.”
Armstrong, 40, played only two NHL games (with San Jose in 2008-09) but he did compete in more than 500 minor league games. That experience sharpened his eye for talent both on the rise and on the way down.
The Flyers trust his judgment implicitly. In his role, and what he contributes, he’s just as important as any coach, scout or front-office figure.
With the Flyers trying to break a five-year/no-playoffs slump, it’s good to have a judge around who isn’t going to pull any punches.
In the first days of this camp, Armstrong already likes what he sees of recent No. 6 overall draft pick Porter Martone, a big right wing.
Martone was the only draft-eligible player to compete for Canada at the World Championships, where he joined current Flyers Travis Konecny, Travis Sanheim and Tyson Foerster.
The quartet almost instantly bonded and that could have played a role in the Flyers’ decision to take him with their first pick last Friday night.
“They (the scouts) filled me in,” Armstrong explained. “I’m pretty close with (director of scouting) Brent (Flahr) as well. He gives me some little insights that he’s seen over time.
“During our time of going out to watch (defenseman Oliver) Bonk play, (forward Denver) Barkey play, (center Jett) Luchanko play, they always played against Martone and (Jack) Nesbitt – those guys always end up being drafted.”
Armstrong provided a humorous moment when he described meeting some of the Flyers’ bigger draftees at the main event in Los Angeles.
“When I met them out in LA, I was looking up at them,” the 5-foot-11 Armstrong recalled. “And I thought, ‘wow, these guys are pretty big.’ Then John LeClair (6-foot-3) walked up and he looked up at them and that’s when I thought, ‘these guys are pretty big.’
“That was the theme that is going on out there. It definitely changed the dynamic from those pretty wingers and just adding more size.”
Armstrong used Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim as an example of a big guy who can offer size, speed and dexterity.
“From what he was when he came in to what he turned into now and the same with Tyson (Foerster),” Armstrong said. “They knocked his skating when he was drafted and now he’s right up there with his power and explosiveness.”
The more players Armstrong can mentor to get close to NHL-ready, the better.
“I think at camp this year, when you see the guys we have, it’s going to be a hard decision for (general manager) Danny (Briere) and those guys,” Armstrong said. “When it comes to making this team, there’s going to be some good competition at camp.”
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