Flyers topics as they open training camp, from Alex Bump’s chances to Cam York’s comeback and more

The Flyers usher in the Rick Tocchet era on Thursday with the first official on-ice session of the 2025-26 season.

Aside from a new bench boss, this camp has a different vibe. This year, roster spots are up for grabs across the board, with several rookies looking to break camp and solidify themselves as NHLers.

Here are four key questions heading into Flyers training camp.

Alex Bump was drafted by the Flyers in the fifth round three years ago, but he’d be the first to tell you he is not a fifth-rounder. With every step on the ice in front of the fan base, he’s showing why that declaration is accurate.

After being the most noticeable player at development camp, he picked up right where he left off at rookie camp. Bump showcased his high-end hockey IQ, skill, drive, and fearlessness. While he didn’t stand out as much in the Saturday game of the Rookie Series against the Rangers, Friday night was his unveiling as he sliced his way through the defense and put on heavy, precise shots.

Bump has elements to his game that the Flyers desperately need. Aside from skating with a chip on his shoulder, he shows tenacity along the boards as he spins away from defenders, and an ability to cut to the middle and put a snipe on goal. Always skating with his head up, he worked on one of the criticisms he faced last season — getting bumped off pucks too much — and looked stronger as he was a puck driver and possessor over the weekend.

“It’s crazy, the amount of pucks that he comes out with. He gets hit, looks like he might fall down, stays on his feet, pulls the puck through a guy’s legs,” said an excited Riley Armstrong, the Flyers’ director of player development.

“I was telling him today, I said, ‘I hope my son plays like you when he’s older.’ He’s a heck of a hockey player.”

Bump is not the only youngster vying for a spot up front, with Nikita Grebenkin, Karsen Dorwart, and Devin Kaplan — who have all played NHL games — looking to solidify their spots.

All eyes will be on the Flyers defenseman after a tenuous three seasons under former bench boss John Tortorella.

York’s first year under Tortorella was an up-and-down one — literally — as he split time between Philly and Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League. At the beginning of the 2023-24 season, Tortorella said he wasn’t sure York was an NHL player, and showed that by scratching him. But, after the All-Star break, he called the Californian “one of our better defenders” and was impressed by his growth, which saw him finish with career highs in goals (10), assists (20), points (30), power-play points (six), and time on ice (22 minutes, 37 seconds).

But last season, he struggled to find his game after suffering a shoulder injury in late October. He finished with 17 points (four goals, 13 assists) and was minus-8 while playing an average of 20:47 in 66 games. He often was the target of Tortorella’s ire, culminating in the two nearly coming to blows in a heated argument two days before the fiery coach was fired in late March.

York played better — freer — under interim coach Brad Shaw and said at clean-out day he was looking to continue that this season. The additions of Tocchet and assistant coach Todd Reirden behind the bench should only help elevate York’s game.

Quinn Hughes, the older brother of York’s former U.S. National Team Development Program teammate, Jack Hughes, credits Tocchet with doing that for him. Quinn Hughes won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman under Tocchet two seasons ago in Vancouver. Reirden, who will run the defense for the Flyers, has worked with some of the game’s best defensemen in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Kris Letang and the Washington Capitals’ John Carlson.

And under their guidance, and that of Jaroslav “Yogi” Svejkovský, York should get time on the power play. York, who used to run the man advantage for USA Hockey and the University of Michigan, had a chuckle at the end of the season when it was noted he was the only defenseman who wasn’t given a chance on the power play under Tortorella.

“We believe there’s more in there. He’s rounded his game nicely,” Flyers general manager Danny Brière said Tuesday. “The first time I saw him, I never thought he’d become as good of a defender as he’s become, and he’s fierce.

“I’ve been really impressed by how brave he is to go retrieve pucks down deep, taking hits, blocking shots, being willing to put his body on the line. I’ve been really impressed with that side of his game, and I think there’s more offensively that hasn’t come out yet.”

One of the biggest wild cards for the season is Zegras as an NHL center. Not because he cannot play down the middle, but just because he hasn’t done it in a while.

The Flyers acquired Zegras from the Anaheim Ducks in June. For the last two seasons, the New York State native was primarily shifted to the wing by then-Ducks coach Greg Cronin. The move coincided with a significant drop in his production. In his first two full NHL seasons, 2021-22 and 2022-23 — when he primarily played center — he posted more than 60 points, including 17 power-play points, in each.

» READ MORE: For Trevor Zegras, the trade to the Flyers is not just a refresh, it is also

But after the move, Zegras managed just 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in 31 games and missed more than two months with a broken left ankle two seasons ago. Last season, he tallied 12 goals and 32 points in 57 games.

“I think it was good to play the wing and learn that position and the responsibilities and see kind of where it goes with the new coach and the new team,” Zegras said via Zoom the day after the trade. “But it would definitely be exciting to be back in the middle, for sure.”

Zegras will be the first to say he has his deficiencies at center, and he mentioned that he needs to be better on faceoffs. He was spotted several times working with veteran center Sean Couturier on draws after captain’s practice scrimmages wrapped up.

Couturier said earlier this month that his door is always open to help his teammates, especially his fellow pivots.

“Exciting to get to work with him, see his skills, and hopefully he reaches that full potential,” the veteran said of the 24-year-old Zegras. “He’s definitely going to be a big part of our future and a big impact on our team. Exciting to see him get going with us.”

Zegras was one of the NHL’s top rising stars when he was drafted, and Brière has all but cemented his spot as a pivot. The Flyers are hoping Zegras can revitalize his game and become the high-end No. 1 center they’ve been desperately craving.

“Top-six talent is very rarely available around the NHL; we felt that was a risk worth taking for us,” Brière said after the trade. “We’ve seen him in the past, he had those really good seasons at 20 and 21 years old. ... We feel good about it because of what he’s shown in the past. And we hope he can find that magic again and then take it to another level.”

While Zegras is a wild card, Tocchet is the biggest question mark.

How will his new team respond? Can he continue to develop players like defenseman Jamie Drysdale, second-year forward Matvei Michkov, and Tyson Foerster? Will his system truly create a better environment for Sam Ersson and his new goalie partner, Dan Vladař?

» READ MORE: New Flyers goalie Dan Vladař says he’s coming to compete. His underlying numbers are intriguing.

A three-time Stanley Cup winner, Tocchet has worked with some of the game’s best and brightest, like Quinn Hughes and Utah forward Clayton Keller, and a young Steven Stamkos with the Tampa Bay Lightning. They all heap praise on the bench boss, who added two Stanley Cups as an assistant coach under Mike Sullivan to the one he earned as a player.

Although he does have 286 wins across 638 games as an NHL head coach, and just two playoff appearances and two series wins in nine seasons, there’s more to it.

In his lone full season with Tampa Bay, he had the Lightning in the hunt with the eighth-best power play (19.3%) until a March collapse. And we all know the Flyers need power-play help. With Arizona (now Utah), Tocchet’s Coyotes went from eighth to fourth in the Central Division and missed the postseason by just four points before making the bubble playoffs in the summer of 2020. And across two-plus seasons in Vancouver, he posted a 108-65-27 record (.608 points percentage) and had a top-15 power play each year — and the Flyers sorely need to fix the power play.

» READ MORE: Q&A: Rick Tocchet talks systems and strategies, his ideas for fixing the power play, and more

But the biggest plus with Tocchet is that he is a strong communicator and teacher — two things Brière said he was looking for.

“He’s always been a great communicator, and he was when he was on the coaching staff,” Wes Walz, an assistant coach on Tocchet’s staff with the Lightning from 2008-10, said in May. “... And the one thing I‘ll say about Rick is he’s open to listening. As hard and as tough as he is mentally, and was as a player, he wants assistant coaches around him, and he wants people around him who are not yes guys. He loves ideas. He loves people who think outside the box.”

Brière, Flyers president Keith Jones, and chairman Dan Hilferty agree that the main focus this year is not the playoffs but a step forward. The expectations for that are very high, but this is a question that may not be fully answered until deeper into the tenure of the Flyers player-turned-coach.