The game group the Flyers will send on the road for their fourth preseason game against the Boston Bruins on Saturday afternoon offers a healthy mix of veteran players and young players locked in roster battles. Puck drop is at 1 p.m.
Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher held his end-of-season availability on Tuesday, first confirming that Mike Yeo would not be returning as head coach of the team. He also discussed the meaning of an "aggressive retool," how youth factors into the future, and some injury updates.
The final 15 games for the Flyers will serve as a chance to evaluate. They will provide a look at some new faces entering the lineup in the last couple of weeks and maybe even a new face or two to come down the road. It is a way to take inventory going into the offseason – what does the team already have and what does it need even more of on the roster moving forward?
Travis Konecny had a pair of goals, but Hayden Hodgson stole the show in his NHL debut with a goal and an assist, as the Flyers snapped the streak against the Blues with a 5-2 win.
As the trade deadline passes and the Flyers open up a few roster spots, it presents more of an opportunity for younger players to get more of a look at increased roles in the NHL. GM Chuck Fletcher used Sunday's game as an example of what he hopes to see for the rest of the season, "energy, hard work, young players playing a bigger role and getting an opportunity to show what they can do for next year."