While there were a myriad of reasons why the Philadelphia Flyers as a franchise went on a significant downturn after their run to Game 7 of the second round in the 2019-20 playoffs, injuries have been among the biggest. The Flyers have simply lost too many players they planned on having as meaningful contributors to long-term injuries, and that has plunged the franchise into a rebuild as a result. Thankfully for Philadelphia, it seems two of their more significant players lost to injury may be ready to re-enter the lineup.
Charlie O’Connor of PHLY Sports reports that Sean Couturier and Cam Atkinson were “very active” in Thursday’s informal veteran skate before the start of rookie camp, adding that both players ” look ready for [training] camp. ” That’s a major development for the Flyers, who would be able to add a top-line center and a former 40-goal scorer back into their lineup after a full year missed for each player. While that likely won’t be enough to return head coach John Tortorella’s side back to the postseason, the presence of two accomplished veterans on the Flyers’ roster could help the development of the Flyers’ stable of young players and advance their rebuild.
More injury notes from across the NHL:
- Tyler Boucher has had his development derailed by injuries since he was selected 10th overall by the Ottawa Senators at the 2021 draft. He only played in 21 games last season and missed some time in 2021-22 as well. Boucher has yet again run into injury trouble, suffering a groin injury in his preparation for the Senators’ rookie tournament. Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that Boucher “won’t participate” in the rookie tournament, but “will be fine for camp.” While it’s certainly possible that this injury is just a one-off issue that won’t cost Boucher very much in the long term, (one hopes this is the case) the fact that Boucher has had such persistent trouble staying healthy is a cause for concern with his development. Boucher was always going to be more of a project pick, with the Senators hoping that after a few years of development, Boucher could learn to leverage his impressive physical tools into on-ice success. It’s unclear whether he’s been able to do that to this point, though in order to make 2023-24 a valuable season of development he’ll need to be able to get onto the ice as much as possible.
- Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review relays word from Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins head coach J.D. Forrest that 2022 first-round pick Owen Pickering is dealing with an undisclosed injury. Rorabaugh adds that he’s “hopefully ready by the start of training camp” though that is unclear at this time. Pickering is a bit of a long shot to make the Penguins out of camp, but did get into eight pro games last season and likely will spend one more year as a top-line defenseman in the WHL.
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