VOORHEES, N.J. – There had to be at least one time this recently ended Flyers season when captain Sean Couturier had a leisurely conversation with his two alternate captains, Travis Sanheim and Travis Konecny.
These are the three “elder statesmen”, the leadership core of the Flyers.
Beyond a doubt, the chief topic of conversation had to be about how the trio made it through five years without a single playoff appearance and somehow they persevered.
At Tuesday’s getaway day, Couturier told the assembled media at the Flyers Training Center that, in some ways, this season’s postseason push to the second round of the Stanley Cup tournament was somewhat worth the trouble.
“We talked with ‘TK’ and ‘Sanny’ about how good it feels to be back in playoffs,” said Couturier, who’s been with the Flyers since 2011 and is the dean of all Philadelphia professional athletes. “Get to feel the atmosphere in the building.
“We haven’t really said it’s payback. We were just super excited to be back there. It’s been a rough couple years, some ups, some downs. To finally get rewarded a bit was definitely nice.”
Now that they’ve established some credibility, the Flyers believe they’re ready to take this quest to another level.
“I wouldn’t say it’s the beginning of something,” Couturier said. “I just say it’s something where if we keep building, a continuation of this, I guess, rebuild if you want to say. But I think we’ve pushed ourselves to another level. And there’s still a couple levels to get to, to the ultimate goal.”
That’s where the leadership comes in. Coaches provide the videotape and dryboard but it’s the veteran players on the ice who set the tone.
“It’s going to be important to kind of set standards higher next year,” the captain said. “And push ourselves to be back in this situation again.”
Sanheim has really taken his game to the next level. He’s played in the 4 Nations Faceoff Tournament, the Winter Olympics for Canada and now he’s been to the NHL’s “Final Eight.”
When he talks, players listen.
“It (the playoffs) was a step in the right direction,” Sanheim said. “To be able to play in the postseason and win a round.
“And yet every time you lose I think you’re disappointed and you want to keep playing. Ultimately, continue to win. And yet we’ve got a young group. I think the experiences that we went through as a group is only going to benefit us.”
Carolina is the first team since the 1988 Edmonton Oilers to start the playoffs 8-0. And the Flyers took two of the four games to overtime, so it wasn’t like they were blown out in their series.
“You play a team like Carolina, a team that’s competing to win a Stanley Cup and has done so for the last couple seasons, shows you the level we need to get to,” Sanheim said. “The consistency and the buy-in it takes. I think you saw that throughout our group in the postseason.”
There might be some changes in the roster in the offseason but the Flyers are getting to where they want to be. They finished the season the seventh-youngest team in the NHL and in one game skated 12 players age 25 or under.
Konecny is one of the emotional pace-setters on the Flyers. When the team needs a shot of energy, be it a crazy good hockey play or starting a scuffle, he’s you’re man.
Like Couturier and Sanheim, he waited patiently for this moment. Obviously he wants more.
“That’s the next step,” he said. “You get in. Now you look to next year already and you’ve got to raise the bar again, so that would be getting in again and making another run.”
Shortly after the Winter Olympic break, the Flyers had only a 3.8 percent chance of making the playoffs but they won 18 of 25 games and pulled off a mini-miracle.
No team in the history of hockey had overcome a nine-point deficit with 22 games or less to play. Until the Flyers.
“I feel like we’re on the right path,” Konecny said. “I feel like the players that are helping us, coming in, are really elevating our team. I’m really excited to see what happens here moving forward.”
>Quotable:
>*Luke Glendening* on getting claimed off waivers and then playing in the playoffs: “I don’t want to say magical but it was a special group, special run to be a part of. Didn’t end the way we wanted it to but it was quite a run.”
>*Rasmus Ristolainen* on playing in the playoffs for the first time in his 14-year career: “A long time coming. It was great to play meaningful games. Just a little disappointing how it ended.”
>*Sam Ersson* on his strong play in goal after the Winter Olympic break: “Tough start to the year but I think after the break I found my game. It was key timing because it was helping the team make that (playoff) push.”
>*Emil Andrae* on finally making it to the NHL on a full-time basis: “Coming into the season, the expectation on myself was to grab a spot right away, establish myself in this league and this team. I put my head down and got back here. I think I learned a lot and took a step in my game overall.”
>*Garnet Hathaway* on how things changed for him for the better after the Winter Olympic break: “It (Italy) was a good reset for me. It’s tough to pinpoint why things were going the way they were. So I think being able to reset I was able to find the identity I was successful at.”
>*Christian Dvorak* on getting into the playoffs and what it means for the future: “I think once you get a taste of it, it’s addicting. You want more of it. I think it’s only going to help us be even hungrier.”
>*Nick Seeler* on the playoff push at the end of the season: “I think the break did us a lot of good. I think the percentage was 3.8 of getting in. I think the (Olympic break) was a good reset.”
>*Denver Barkey* on his thoughts for next season: “I think getting that playoff experience gives you a taste of what it takes to win at this level. Now I know what I need to work on this summer.”
>*Tyson Foerster* on getting back after missing 49 games due to arm surgery: “The playoffs were a great learning experience for me. Hopefully our run comes back next year. I really believe we’re going in the right direction.”
>*Cam York* on his first playoff experience: “We got a good taste of it. We’re still frustrated with how that last series went. We know what we have in that room. I think we’re all super excited to get going next year.”
>*Dan Vladar* on his personal record high workload this season: “It’s going to be the biggest thing for me heading into the summer. I’m not satisfied with that season. I want more.”
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