Oskar Lindblom, Nolan Patrick Opening Eyes at Flyers Camp

VOORHEES — Before he was a Flyer, Nolan Patrick was already getting some words of encouragement he hoped he’d be able to relate to.

A couple weeks before the draft, in which the Flyers selected Patrick second overall, the team brought the Brandon Wheat Kings center in to assess his health. It was the meeting that precipitated the Winnipeg native to have sports hernia surgery performed by Dr. William Meyers.

One of Meyers’ success stories, Claude Giroux, told Patrick about the difference he felt before and after going under the knife.

“It was positive to hear a guy go through it from the same doctor and have it go well,” Patrick said Monday, on the first day of Flyers rookie camp.

Patrick, who turns 19 later this month, has reason to believe he’ll feel better quicker than Giroux, who said he was bothered almost all last season after surgery in May 2016. Patrick was held to only 33 games last season because he had the same surgery on one side, but needed it on both.