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Flyers Have Questions On Defense, Tocchet Must Prevent Them From Becoming Issues

Originally posted on Inside The Rink | By Mike Fink | Last updated Oct 3, 2025 4:25 PM ET

The latest preseason game for the Philadelphia Flyers against the New York Islanders was highlighted (or lowlighted) by the poor play on defense. Specifically, the struggles of Egor Zamula as the third-pair defenseman fighting to retain that final spot on the unit turned over the puck multiple times to lead to easy scoring chances the other way.

The Flyers weren’t a great team on defense last season, which is partially reflected in the 3.45 goals per game they allowed. It’s hard to read much into preseason, yet the unit is already becoming a concern. The Flyers don’t have an answer on the third pair, and head coach Rick Tocchet must address it. It’s more than just Zamula as well.

Bonk’s Injury Developing Into an Issue

The Flyers top defense prospect, Oliver Bonk, was supposed to be ready for the preseason. First came precautionary absences. Then came missed action. Now, he’s week-to-week with an upper-body injury. This is a tough blow for the Flyers, even if Bonk wasn’t ready for the NHL.

Bonk was in line to be the third pair option to round out the unit. He’s a two-way option and a great skater. Even if the 20-year-old isn’t ready for the NHL, he would be great on the American Hockey League (AHL) team. So, it doesn’t help that he’s missing time when he needs it. Bonk is the type of player who needs the minutes, and he’s not getting them in preseason or to start the season.

Pair that with an Ethan Samson injury that has him out for six to eight weeks with an upper-body injury. Now, the Flyers are starting to see the depth on defense disappear. Adam Ginning, being a pleasant surprise and stepping up on the third pair, has helped. Otherwise, it hasn’t been great.

Zamula’s Struggles: A Reminder That This Defense Remains Unproven

It’s easy to forget how young this defense is. The rebuild has put the focus of the forward unit, and the youth movement impacting it, at the front and center. The defense has a handful of skaters still learning to play the game at the NHL level. With that youth comes growing pains.

Travis Sanheim is the anchor of the unit. He’s been the bright spot for years on the defense that doesn’t have many. The problems are that he only does so much (he’s a good but not elite defenseman), and he’s no longer a young building block at 29 years old. For a rebuilding team, the Flyers need young blueliners to build around, and at the moment, they don’t know who they are.

It’s not just Zamula. He’s the skater everyone is focused on. The recent seasons have shown how this unit is still finding its identity. Jamie Drysdale and Cam York are also young and carving out roles on the roster. Drysdale showed flashes and will now be tasked with being the Flyers scoring defenseman, while York must prove he can be a shutdown option. The question marks stand out and will remain with the Flyers throughout this season.

How Tocchet Prevents This From Becoming an Issue

Tocchet was hired to provide stability to the Flyers. He’s a coach known for getting the most out of his players, and the hope is he does so with a rebuilding team trying to jump into the playoff conversation. On the defensive end, he must add structure and help out the goaltending, which was a glaring weakness last season.

It’s also worth adding that Tocchet is meant to get the most out of the young skaters and put them in positions to succeed. One of the issues with John Tortorella was his unwillingness to work with the young players. Tocchet is meant to do the opposite. With Drysdale eyeing that power play spot, it’s up to Tocchet to see if he gets it and if he helps out the unit.

The Flyers have the pieces on defense to have a respectable group this season. It doesn’t look that way after the preseason showings and the injuries starting to pile up. That said, if Tocchet finds the four defensemen he can rely on, he can lean on them (while ignoring the third pair) to have the Flyers playing competitive hockey.

The other aspect to this is Tocchet providing balance. That means the offense steps up as well and helps out the defense. The cliche is that the best defense is offense, and in this team’s case, that means controlling the puck and keeping it in the offensive zone. Tocchet can build the offense around Matvei Michkov and allow him to set the tone. The Flyers won’t gash teams on the rush, but they can slow games down and still generate plenty of offense. And that will help out the defense.

This article first appeared on Inside The Rink and was syndicated with permission.

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