The Flyers know their power play was ‘not good enough’ last season. Their work to change that starts now.
While the Flyers had a spring awakening last season, the power play has been barely breathing the last few years. Last season, it finished dead-last for the fourth time in five seasons at 15.7%.
Across the first two days of training camp, the Flyers coaching staff has worked on resetting their systems, five-on-five play, and, with a two-on-two small-area game, puck protection and strong play around the net.
They have not worked on the power play.
But it’s coming, with the two main groups of NHLers set to scrimmage on Saturday at the Flyers Training Center (10:40 a.m.). Ten forwards and six defensemen per team — two players at each position will have to sit — will skate five-on-five and work on special teams.
“I think we’re a really good team, especially five-on-five, and fix that and make that just a little bit better, it makes us that much better overall,” defenseman Jamie Drysdale said of the power play.
“Make it substantially better, now you’re talking about a different team, I think in terms of the win column. A lot of games are won and lost on special teams, so definitely a big bonus, and I think we’ve got the skill.”
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While the Flyers had a spring awakening last season, the power play has been barely breathing the last few years. Last season, it finished dead-last for the fourth time in five seasons at 15.7%.
On Tuesday, Flyers general manager Danny Brière said he thought it “was definitely better than it was the year before, but the stats didn’t show that, and that’s not good enough.” They need to convert, and he put some of the onus on guys like Drysdale and Trevor Zegras.
“There’s always things in the summer, I guess, that you work on that kind of go hand in hand with the power play,” Zegras said when asked about on-ice work in addition to videos he watched. “Obviously, you don’t have penalty killers and your guys that you run with in the summer, but it’s wall work or entries or maybe getting to the inside, shooting pucks, hitting one-timers. You kind of just do all that stuff anyway, so you hope it translates once the season starts.”
Last season, Drysdale spent more than 180 minutes on the ice with the man advantage, tops among Flyers blueliners and No. 3 on the team overall. At his end-of-season availability in May, he said part of his summer focus would be to help get the power play out of the NHL’s basement, specifically with his shot.
Drysdale worked on his shot — which coach Rick Tocchet can already see a difference in — through his footwork, getting his feet set, and finding spots that he often finds himself open with his skating coach, Dawn Braid.
The blueliner, who took a step forward in his game last season, believes he can increase scoring opportunities not just for himself, but his teammates at even strength and the man advantage. He also worked on his reads too, which Tocchet said the group needed to improve.
“We spent a lot of time last year on knowing those lanes, and there’s only so many options from each kind of quadrant on the ice or area that you’re in, and it’s just picking the right one,” Drysdale said, noting he also used video.
“It’s making the read sooner before I get the puck, things like that. So, again, it kind of just tacks on to finding the spots that I know I’m going to be in, and just working from those spots, working on my reads from those spots, and just getting ultracomfortable with my outs, my options, and my shooting lanes.”
One interesting option this season for the power play is newcomer David Jiříček. Lehigh Valley coach John Snowden told The Inquirer in May that Jiříček, who was acquired in the trade that sent Bobby Brink home to Minnesota, “is dangerous on the power play,” and Tocchet said on Friday he has “got the [heck] of a shot.”
“I think so,” Jiříček said when asked if he improved it over the summer. “Try to work on it every day. I think that’s my biggest asset. Try to bring it to the table every day on the practice and after that in the game.”
Although he wasn’t sure he would get an opportunity on the power play, Jiříček also hopes to show what he can do overall. The blueliner, who was drafted in 2022, is now on his third NHL team.
“Not to people,” he said when asked if he needs to prove himself to anyone.
“I think to myself, ‘[The media] can write anything, right?’ But you know, especially for me, I mean, I just got to prove it to myself and show on the ice that I’m capable to play.”
Breakaways
Asked about playing center, Zegras said, “If I want to play center, which I definitely do, I got to get better faceoffs. I think I was OK, not very good at them last year.” Noel Acciari, who was signed as a free agent on July 1, had a 61% winning percentage in the faceoff circle against the Flyers in the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs. “Yeah, yeah, I know. I wonder why,” Zegras said with a chuckle when the forward’s prowess was brought up. Would he pick his brain now that they are teammates? “Yeah, for sure,” Zegras said. “Ask him what I was doing wrong, probably.” … Asked about Noah Cates and Tyson Foerster getting some time together in camp, he mentioned the possibility of adding Travis Konency to the wing: “That’s a [heck] of a, I don’t know what line that is. It’s a good top line, or … I think it’d be the best third line in the league.” … Nikita Grebenkin joined Group C on Friday in a yellow noncontact jersey, skating with players heading back to juniors or Lehigh Valley. The forward, recovering from an upper-body injury, took part in some drills but skipped those with heavy contact. Brière said Tuesday he would “miss the first couple of days of camp” after suffering a flare-up last week.
