Garnet Hathaway and Emil Andrae are excited to rejoin the lineup after hitting the reset button

EDMONTON, Alberta ― Garnet Hathaway may not want to use the word reset, but like a reset button on your iPhone or Android, he does want to restore his system to what made him a successful, everyday NHL player.

Hathaway has skated in 639 games since being signed by the Calgary Flames as an undrafted forward out of Brown University in April 2015. But lately, and for the first time in about six or seven seasons, Hathaway has been watching games from the press box as a healthy scratch.

The move came after he posted zero points and an uncharacteristic plus-minus of minus-8 over the Flyers’ first 33 games. But he has been putting in the work.

» READ MORE: Garnet Hathaway knows he has struggled this season. But he’s working to get back to his impactful self

“That’s why I respect him. He didn’t waste his time being out. He really worked on his game,” said coach Rick Tocchet, referring to the 34-year-old veteran’s work with assistant coaches Jaroslav “Yogi” Svejkovský and Jay Varady during his six-game absence from the lineup.

Hathaway has also been watching and taking notes on what makes the Flyers successful and how lines build chemistry. And now he’ll get a chance to show the work he’s been doing against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday afternoon (3:30 p.m., NBCSP) as he slots back in alongside Rodrigo Ābols and Carl Grundström.

“This league is addictive, and I think when you start focusing on the outcome rather than the process, you tend not to focus on the gratitude of the game. [And] not focus on the process of you getting to where you are,” Hathaway said as he reflected from the visitors’ locker room at Rogers Place on Friday.

“I thought about that a lot [over the years]. I wanted to play one game in this league, and then I wanted to play 10, and then I wanted to play 100, and I wanted to play 200, and I wanted to play every single game. And I wanted to be successful. I wanted to continue to grow my game. ... I think that for me personally, I want to continue to learn how to be, to show gratitude for this game, for what I’m fortunate enough to do.”

There is no doubt that Hathaway has another gear. His legs have really been the problem this year as he is 12th in the NHL in hits — everyone above him has played more games — and has drawn 13 penalties.

Tocchet noted that the veteran is a true professional who has put in the work. He wants to see it now.

“Just confidence with the puck,” Tocchet said when asked what specifically he needs to see from Hathaway. “In all fairness to him — and I just don’t blame him — a lot of times he was leading the rush. He had the puck on his stick by himself a lot, and I think he’s one of those guys who is a support guy. He’s a really good forechecker.

“So those are the things I want to see him do, as the F1 be a disruptor, get on top of their defense. That’s when he’s on this game.”

While Hathaway is a grizzled veteran getting another chance, Emil Andrae is on the other end of the spectrum. At 23 years old, the defenseman is trying to solidify himself as an everyday NHLer and will re-enter the lineup after being a healthy scratch in the Flyers’ loss to Calgary on New Year’s Eve.

“He’s a young guy, and we’ve played a lot of consecutive games, and I think he was getting a little tired,” Tocchet said. “For him, it’s just like puck decisions, breakouts. When he’s on his game, he wheels the puck well, and that’s it. He’s given us a lot of good games, but this is just part of the process.”

Andrae has played in 28 of the Flyers’ 39 games this season after originally starting the season with Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League. He has one goal and 10 points and is tied with Travis Konecny for the second-best plus-minus on the team (plus-11). And since Nov. 22, when he began getting second-pair minutes alongside Jamie Drysdale, he has been averaging the fifth-most minutes on the Flyers (18 minutes, 49 seconds), tied with forward Trevor Zegras.

“I think overall, just get back to my swagger, get back to the confidence that I have, the play style I have to be [successful],” he said, noting he was disappointed that he had to sit but sees it as a learning experience.

“I have to be skating. And I think that’s one of the biggest things that I can improve, that I need to be on my toes and skating, and being aggressive. I think that’s when I play the best. So it’s been a little bit of that.”

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The Swedish blueliner is self-aware that he is in the early stages of his NHL career, and that it has been an interesting year to do that.

Philly has been playing a bit of a condensed schedule with the upcoming Olympic break. Across the next 34 days, the Flyers will play 17 games.

“You need to go on your game every game, because if you’re not, you get kind of punished for it,” he said. “So yeah, it’s been tough, obviously, for a guy who’s not used to it, both mentally and physically. It’s tough, but you learn every day. And I think I’ve been getting better and better.”

Andrae has been a bright spot this season and continues to build and grow his game. Which is why he’ll be back in the lineup alongside Drysdale.

“He hasn’t been bad at all. I think for like, smaller guys, he’s a quick guy. When you can defend with your brain, and he’s a smart guy ... [and] when he doesn’t get his body position, I think that’s when he gets pinned, and he’s been getting hit a little bit,” Tocchet said.

“So I think for him, on his toes, getting off the walls quicker, things like that, are beneficial to him. But he’s one of our best breakout guys, too, so when he’s on his game, it really helps our breakouts.”

Two Flyers prospects are on the move. Matthew Gard and Luke Vlooswyk, who were each taken in the 2025 NHL draft, have been traded by Red Deer of the Western Hockey League. Gard, a 6-foot-5, 194-pound center taken in the second round, is heading to Seattle. An alternate captain for the Rebels, he had six goals and 11 points in 23 games this season. Vlooswyk, a native of Calgary, was traded to Everett after putting up six assists in 32 games. Listed at 6-5, 201 pounds, the defenseman was selected in the fifth round by Philly.