Can newcomer Noel Acciari help strengthen the face-off circle? The Flyers think he can.

Speaking to the media on Day 2 of training camp, Trevor Zegras expressed that if he wants to play center, which he is slated to do to start the season, he needs to be better at faceoffs.

A question followed noting how good Noel Acciari’s numbers were in the playoffs, when the then-Pittsburgh Penguins forward had a 61% winning percentage in the circle against the Flyers.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. I wonder why,” Zegras said with a chuckle. The question continued, asking if Acciari is someone whose brain he would pick. “Yeah, for sure,” Zegras said. “Ask him what I was doing wrong, probably.”

Zegras, who famously battled Acciari in the regular season, can now look across the Flyers’ locker room in Voorhees to find out. Acciari inked a two-year deal with a $2.8 million average annual value on July 1.

“I think the right-handed draw,” coach Rick Tocchet said about the value Acciari adds to the lineup. “He killed us last year, and now they don’t have that, so that’s good; helps us for our face-offs tonight.”

The Flyers open the 2026-27 season at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Wednesday (7:30 p.m., TNT, truTV), against their Keystone State rivals, whom they knocked out of the playoffs in six games in the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs. A veteran of 585 NHL games, the 34-year-old is excited to kickstart the season against his former team and play in front of his new fanbase.

“I’m just glad I’m on this side now,” grinned Acciari. “They’re passionate, and I love that.”

The native of Rhode Island, who wore Rasmus Ristolainen’s No. 55 in Pittsburgh, will now don 52 because “in high school [at Bishop Hendricken High] I was number 10, so five and five is 10, so five times two is 10.” Acciari will be slotted onto a revamped fourth line alongside captain Sean Couturier and rotating left wingers Carl Grundström and Garrett Wilson.

“North-South, try to be heavy on the puck, good in the defensive zone,” he said when asked to describe his game to The Inquirer. “[Penalty kill], take pride in that, block shots, throw hits, and the occasional try and score when we can.”

Last season Acciari finished seventh in hits (65) and blocked shots (62) on the Penguins, despite averaging less than 14 minutes a night. Since becoming an NHL mainstay in the 2017-18 season with the Boston Bruins — he’s also played for the Florida Panthers, St. Louis Blues, and Toronto Maple Leafs — Acciari ranks 43rd in hits (1,246), between tough defenseman Ben Chiarot and winger Milan Lucic, who each have four inches on him.

“He’s super effective,” said Owen Tippett, who played with Acciari in Florida and was someone the new guy bounced questions off.

“Obviously, he plays the game heavy, but just his details of his stick and blocking shots and everything like that, he’s going to help not only that line but also our PK as well. And having a right-handed centerman doesn’t hurt as well.”

The only right-handed centerman on the team — like Luke Glendening, who came on later in the 2025-26 season — Acciari will switch with Couturier depending on the side of the faceoff circle. He has also become a penalty-killing partner to Couturier, the longest-tenured Flyer. The two have already built a strong relationship on and off the ice.

“Just kind of being able to read off each other,” Acciari said. “The short time we’ve been together, I feel we’ve kind of made some sort of connection in the preseason games and practices. Each time it’s gotten better, and I think it’ll continue to grow.”

Tocchet confirmed that Dan Vladař will get the start in the opener. ... The coach said forwards Denver Barkey and Nikita Grebenkin, who were not on the ice for morning skate, are still day-to-day. “Barks has improved. He might be a little ahead of Grebby,” Tocchet said. ... The Flyers held an optional skate, and Acciari and Sean Couturier did not participate but are good to go.