Sean Couturier, Travis Sanheim believe Rick Tocchet can bring ‘winning hockey’ back to the Flyers

There’s a different vibe around the Flyers these days, an almost rebirth, if you will, and it’s not just because the arena they call home is now officially the Xfinity Mobile Arena.

In approximately two weeks, the Flyers will hit the ice in Voorhees for training camp under the watchful eye of new coach Rick Tocchet. The 2024 Jack Adams Award winner as the NHL’s top bench boss with the Vancouver Canucks, Tocchet was hired in May and brings with him not just new systems but a different coaching style and a clean slate for everyone donning orange and black.

“It’s been great,” center Sean Couturier said about the relationship between him, as the team’s captain, and Tocchet, after the new signage outside the Xfinity Mobile Arena was unveiled on Tuesday.

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“Had a few conversations with him over the summer. Met him at the end of last year in person for the first time. So, yeah, good conversations so far. Really looking forward to getting going and trying to build a winning team here, get back into the playoffs, and be Stanley Cup contenders.”

Tocchet also brings in a new coaching staff that includes Todd Reirden, Jaroslav “Yogi” Svejkovský, and Jay Varady. Svejkovský, who worked with Tocchet last year in Vancouver, will run the power play, Reirden will run the defense and penalty kill, and Varady will have an all-encompassing role on the staff.

But, of course, all eyes will be on Tocchet, who is not just a former Flyers forward but a member of the organization’s Hall of Fame. The 61-year-old coach told The Inquirer in 2023, when he was with the Canucks, that the Flyers remain “a big part of my blood.”

“Obviously [he] knows what to expect from the city, the fans, the organization,” defenseman Travis Sanheim said on Tuesday. “He’s already a step ahead, and he’s eager to get here and get working with us. It’s that time of year now when everyone is excited to get back.”

“He’s played for some really good teams, some really good Flyers teams,” added Couturier. “When I first came in, we had a really good team — it’s kind of been mediocre since — so, hopefully we can bring that back and bring that culture and that winning hockey."

According to Sanheim, Tocchet is already antsy to get going. The blueliner spent last week, alongside Flyers forward Travis Konecny, at Canada’s orientation camp for the 2026 Milan Olympics. The pair were among 34 players at the event — Sidney Crosby, Sam Reinhart, Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid, Cale Makar, and Brayden Point have already been named to the team — vying for a spot with Tocchet tapped to be an assistant coach on Jon Cooper’s staff.

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“He was wanting to continue to keep talking with me and TK. He’s like, ‘No, no, no, I’ll wait until Philly. I’ll wait until Philly.’ So, he’s super excited, and I think that should be exciting for us players,” said Sanheim, who, along with Konecny, worked with Tocchet when he was an assistant for Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off this past February.

“We’ve got to continue to take steps here and get better, and he’s going to be a huge part of that.”

Tocchet made the rounds over the summer to get to know his new team. Defenseman Jamie Drysdale said at the Shoulder Check Showcase in July that he and the veteran bench boss spoke on the phone to get to know each other and talk hockey.

Forward Garnet Hathaway, who also spoke in person with Tocchet in May, told The Inquirer in July that Tocchet had already brought the team together on a Zoom call. He “spoke a little bit about how he likes to coach, what he asks of his players, and how he sees our team [and] in what strides we want to make and hope to make.”

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Hathaway didn’t divulge too much of what was actually said on the call, but it does seem that everyone came away invigorated from someone who has a “coaching style that I think will bring everyone to their best potential.”

“A new voice, a new philosophy. Just get to know him better, I guess,” Couturier said of the Zoom call. “It just makes it easier for guys to come into camp and know a little bit what to expect.”

Added Sanheim: “I thought it was great, kind of laid out what he’s all about and what to expect. … He’s going to be awesome. He’s obviously super excited to get here and begin working with us, and I’m looking forward to what’s to come and the steps that we’re going to take.”