Flyers defenseman Ronnie Attard gets his first preseason audition in a bid to make the roster

Ronnie Attard said this Flyers training camp is nothing new to him.

The 24-year-old defenseman has never really been a highly-touted prospect. He was a third-round pick by the Flyers in 2019 after twice being passed over while being draft-eligible. He finally got on the NHL radar with his 30-goal, 34-assist season as an older player in the USHL before he went off to Western Michigan University.

So trying to earn a job with the Flyers, seemingly on the outside of the defensive corps looking in, is right up his alley.

“I’ve been doing it my whole life,” Attard said Wednesday morning in Voorhees, ahead of his preseason debut against the Islanders on Long Island. “I’ve never been a highly-touted prospect, or one of the key players to keep an eye on. It’s really nothing new to me — just continue to put my head down and work and see where it takes me. It’s gotten me this far, so I’m just going to keep that approach.”

Attard has some NHL experience. He debuted and played 15 games with the Flyers in 2021-22 after finishing up his college season before spending most of last year in Lehigh Valley. He played in two Flyers games in April before the season finished. That’s not to say his first full professional season wasn’t a success. Attard was an AHL All-Star.

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This time around at training camp, Attard appears to be in a group that needs to have a really strong couple of weeks to grab an opening-night roster spot. His size (6-foot-3, 208 pounds) and hard right-handed shot are reasons to think he has a real chance.

Attard said this summer, like most others, was about focusing on speed and strength.

“There are a lot of quick forwards — not up and down the ice but just quick, in and out of the corners — and being able to defend those quick guys,” he said when asked what he worked on most.

Ian Laperrière coached Attard last year at Lehigh Valley and was set to be behind the bench coaching the Flyers in their second preseason game Wednesday. Laperrière said earlier in camp that he didn’t want to see some of his former players back with the Phantoms and wanted to see them push for the big club’s roster. Attard is in that group.

“I want him to be assertive, especially in our zone,” Laperrière said when asked what he was looking for out of Attard. “Ronnie’s got great abilities. He’s a big body, skates well, good vision, great shot. But you’re a defender, you’ve got to defend. And he’s been great so far in camp.”

Among the group of defensemen pushing for a roster spot is Adam Ginning, a 23-year-old whom Attard knows well, having been paired with him last season on the Phantoms. Attard and Ginning did not play Monday night and were set to make their preseason debuts Wednesday.

“Me and him both have very good chemistry, very close off the ice as well,” Attard said. “He’s just very predictable. If I get caught pinching up, he’s always there sliding over and we just complement each other.”

On maintaining that off-ice friendship while competing for a roster spot, Attard said: “You just take it as it is. Obviously it’s a business and they’ve got to do what’s best for them, but that doesn’t affect our relationship off the ice. You’ve just got to take it as it is.”

Wednesday’s game, Attard said, offers just another chance to prove himself.

“It’s day by day,” Attard said. “You can’t look too far into the future. You’re not sure what’s going to happen day in and day out. Just coming in here and putting down my best foot forward every single day and just working hard and seeing where it takes me.”

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Travis Konecny didn’t say what ailment kept him off the ice Sunday and Monday, but he was back on the ice Wednesday in the non-game group after the whole team had a day off Tuesday.

“I’m completely fine, it’s all good,” the veteran forward said.

Konecny, who led the Flyers with 31 goals last season, said he’d be ready to go Friday or Saturday if the Flyers want him to get into preseason action.

The Flyers have upped the amount of game situations in camp. They are scrimmaging more often than they did last season. Konecny said he hasn’t thought much about how many preseason games he’d need to play to feel game-ready.

“These skates are good enough,” Konecny said. “You don’t need to be in a scrimmage, as long as you’re ready for Game 1.

“You could almost argue some of the times you’d rather be in the preseason game because they’re going to get you in the morning with a hard skate. They’re both good. It’s good to get into the game and it’s good to get the conditioning in the skates, too.”

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Two days after being a late scratch from Monday’s game roster for the preseason opener in Newark against the Devils, Flyers winger Cam Atkinson was not on the ice Wednesday morning in Voorhees.

Atkinson took part in the Monday morning skate before the 6-0 loss but was scratched. The Flyers said Atkinson was “a little sore and we didn’t want to take the chance.”

The winger missed all of last season with a neck injury. This ailment, the Flyers said, is unrelated. Laperrière said Atkinson was working out in the gym Wednesday and had a smile on his face.

Defenseman Cam York also missed the practice session. It was unclear why, but Laperrière indicated the issue was not serious. The Flyers did not immediately have an update, but one was expected later Wednesday.