If defenseman Helge Grans hopes to crack the Flyers’ lineup, he’ll need to throw his weight around

As the days wear on in training camp, the concepts and systems Rick Tocchet employs come more into focus. On Tuesday, the new Flyers coach revealed that, while not married to it, he prefers right-handed and left-handed defensive pairings.

Of course, lefty Travis Sanheim can play both sides, and Cam York (left), Nick Seeler (left), and Jamie Drysdale (right) already have their stalls set up in the main room. Egor Zamula is another lefty expected to be in the lineup, which leaves one spot open with right-shot blueliner Rasmus Ristolainen out for a few months as he recovers from a March surgery to repair a right triceps tendon rupture.

Enter Helge Grans, a 6-foot-4, 205-pound, right-handed defenseman.

“I’ve liked his progression. There’s a good battle there,” Tocchet said.

Adam Ginning and Emil Andrae also are in the mix for that final spot, but Grans brings elements to the ice that the Flyers like. Last season, he got a six-game audition, beginning with his NHL debut. Grans had one assist and showed poise with the puck while averaging almost 15 minutes a game. He left a good impression on the coaching staff, including then-coach John Tortorella.

“I think he opened eyes with that small sample size that he got to play with the Flyers, that he’s capable of playing there,” assistant general manager Alyn McCauley said in April. “But to sustain that and play at that level, he’s got to continue to do some of those things that were asked of him last summer. Still get stronger and apply more of the attitude that he’s had here. … I think it’s a big summer for him, and an opportunity will be there.”

Grans, now 23, told The Inquirer before Lehigh Valley began its American Hockey League postseason run that he felt he had taken big steps offensively and defensively last season. He had 23 points and a career-high eight goals in 66 regular-season games before adding another goal and four points in seven playoff games.

Grans isn’t content with being an AHLer; he talked with the organization this past spring about what he needs to do to turn his cup of coffee into a jug.

“I think just to play even more consistent, be able to play 60 minutes without a single mistake sometimes,” he said last spring while sitting at the PPL Center in Allentown. “But, yeah, just keep my game more consistent and even harder defensively.”

In the summer of 2024, after he was a healthy scratch against Hershey in the Calder Cup playoffs, Grans put in the work.

“He wasn’t happy about that, and I’m happy that he was not happy about it,” former Phantoms coach Ian Laperrière said in April. “He went home, did the work, had a great camp in Philly, and he built his season on that, like he’s had a solid season for us.

“He moves the puck well, moves it simple. He wins his battles when he needs to. And I feel like there’s some guys that, when they go to the next level, they fit better because there are better players around them. … He was making the simple play like he does here, but it’s one of those guys that when they do go up, they look better.”

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This summer, Grans went home to Malmö, Sweden, and worked with his personal trainer. Speaking on Tuesday, he said he feels he has put in the work and is ready to compete. Although he would describe his game as a two-way defenseman who likes to hold the puck, make plays offensively, and be strong positionally in his own end, he knows that for his game to grow, he needs to be a little more physical.

“I feel like I did get stronger this summer, which I try to go out and show on the ice,” said Grans, who will play with Nick Seeler on Tuesday in the Flyers’ second preseason game, against the Canadiens in Montreal. “So first game tonight, we’ll see a lot of battle, and all that, but I do feel stronger. So hopefully in those areas, I will be better.”

Tocchet wants to see players step up and show what they are willing to do, whether it’s playing aggressively, helping teammates, or blocking shots. The person who takes Ristolainen’s spot does not have to be a carbon copy, but, as Tocchet said, “when you’re trying to make something, you’ve got to separate yourself from other guys.”

Sounds like the message has been received by Grans.

“I think I need to play my game, but [for] my game to get better, I do need a little bit more physicality out there,” he said. “So, in both ways, I need to play harder to play better.”

Tyson Foerster was in a black jersey for the first time at training camp on Tuesday.

“Yeah, we’ve gradually kind of let him in some drills where, just some pushing and shoving. Now he’s to the next level,” Tocchet said. “I don’t want to give a date, but obviously when you give a guy a little bit more physicality in practice, you’re getting closer.”

Foerster suffered an elbow injury last spring that became infected and required surgery. The jersey progression from purple to maroon to black signifies that he is cleared for contact — and contact he took. At one point, he was sent to ice, and as he was getting up covered in snow, his teammates cheered. Did the coaching staff cheer? Maybe internally.

“He’s a hockey player. It’s hard to explain, just sometimes it’s what does he do well, here and there?” Tocchet said of Foerster, who potted 25 goals last season before heading overseas to represent Canada. “He’s just a hockey player. He knows where to go. He’s a smart guy. He can finish.

“[At] the World Championships, Sidney Crosby called me and told me that he loved him … [that he’s] a sponge and stuff,” said Tocchet, a former Pittsburgh Penguins assistant coach. “So when you hear that from one of the best players that a guy on your team, he really likes some — he even said it about Noah Cates — pretty good endorsement.”

Among the players slated to play against Montreal are forwards Sean Couturier, Bobby Brink, Jett Luchanko, Alex Bump, and Owen Tippett; defensemen Sanheim and Hunter McDonald; and goalie Sam Ersson, who is expected to play the full game. … Prospect Matthew Gard is expected to play. After Karsen Dorwart was injured, Gard found himself elevated in training camp to one of the NHL groups from Group C, which is filled with players from Lehigh Valley.

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