Flyers call-ups bring ‘a new energy’ as the team prepares for the stretch run

On Wednesday, Travis Sanheim, Rasmus Ristolainen, Dan Vladař, and Rick Tocchet were part of tense, overtime battles at the Olympics in Milan, Italy.

Those high-pressure games are exactly the kind of battles the Flyers hope to find themselves in come April. But with the team currently eight points out of third in the Metropolitan Division, a lot has to change to make that happen.

“That’s our No. 1 mindset and why we’re doing the things we’re doing in practices is with that endgame in mind,” assistant coach Todd Reirden said. “We’re going to approach every game with that mindset. It’s something that is attainable and our guys believe in.”

» READ MORE: Flyers return to practice after the Olympic break with playoffs on the mind: ‘The urgency, the compete level needs to be up’

Tocchet mentioned numerous times before the break that the Flyers haven’t had the opportunity to get a lot of practice time in. But the Olympic break provides an opportunity for a sort of second training camp — a full, uninterrupted week for the Flyers to drill new concepts and even work new faces into the mix.

The Flyers called up defensemen Oliver Bonk and Hunter McDonald, and goaltender Carson Bjarnason, from Lehigh Valley to fill in for the players in Milan, and Reirden said having new, hungry players in practice has given the group a “new energy.”

“The guys, their spirits have been really high,” Reirden said. “Today’s practice was pretty spirited, with some competitions that we had. That, in conjunction with bringing in new players that are excited about getting an opportunity, I think is really great experience for everybody involved.”

Reirden said some of the drills were designed to test the Flyers’ prospects’ ability to handle NHL pace.

During the hourlong practice, the Flyers ran five-on-five drills, and smaller one-on-ones and special teams sets. Drill losers dropped to the ice for pushups, and there were plenty of celebrations for goals and clears.

“It’s cool,” Bonk said. “This is where you want to be all the time.”

The Flyers still have a full week before their next game, on Feb. 25 in Washington, and they won’t be getting Tocchet back early after the Canadians pulled off the quarterfinal win.

But Tocchet, working with some of the NHL’s best coaches, including Cup winners in Jon Cooper and Bruce Cassidy with Team Canada, also is picking up a lot of new tactics, Reirden said, which they’ve been discussing and implementing with the group back in Voorhees.

“This scenario, I think, leads itself to more hockey discussion,” Reirden said. “There’s some things that he’s watching develop in terms of how they’re doing some different elements of their game strategically, and thinking about whether we should adjust different things. We’re always looking to tinker and tweak certain things to try to better fit the identity of our group.”

Sanheim, Tocchet, and Team Canada advanced to the Olympic semifinals with a 4-3 overtime win over Dan Vladař and Czechia … Ristolainen and Finland beat Switzerland, 3-2, in overtime to advance to the Olympic semifinals. Canada will play Finland on Friday, and the United States will play Slovakia.