Flyers Stock Up, Stock Down Heading into Training Camp Week 2

Heading into the second week of Philadelphia Flyers training camp, a number of key players have boosted their stocks and chances of making the NHL roster. Others? Not so much.

Predictably, newer players like Nikita Grebenkin, Trevor Zegras, and Matvei Michkov have been all the rage in training camp, and they’ve earned the hype.

Michkov looks every bit the dangerous, chippy playmaker he was last season, while the other two figure to give him a better supporting cast than he had last year.

The trio combined to form a line in the first preseason game against the New York Islanders, and while they did not produce a goal or an assist, their chemistry grew as the game went on, and each player made some pretty special plays throughout.

Stock Up: Trevor Zegras and Nikita Grebenkin

I wrote about this after the game as well, but I am fully convinced that Trevor Zegras is an NHL center. It’s only preseason, but his details looked to be fully there against the Islanders on Sunday night.

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He, Michkov, and Grebenkin weren’t exactly making magic happen out there, but they were surprisingly menacing in puck possession.

I was particularly impressed by Zegras’s willingness to get in on the forecheck, chip and chase, come low to support in his own zone, and insert himself right into the middle of puck battles along the walls.

The same is true for Grebenkin, who has proven to be a surprisingly effective zone entry player using his legs, too.

Grebenkin, for me, has enough soft skills, size, and snarl to play up and down the lineup, which is going to work in his favor come October.

He’ll get a long look as training camp progresses further, but I’d be stunned if he winds up missing out on this Flyers roster.

Stock Down: Noah Juulsen

In training camp so far, defenseman Noah Juulsen has very much looked like a guy who is coming off a season-ending hernia.

That’s not necessarily his fault as he shakes off rust, but the poor skating has stood out so far. Juulsen did help his cause by laying a crushing hit on Islanders youngster Kashawn Aitcheson in the first preseason game, but that was about all he did on the night.

The rugged right-shot defenseman didn’t pick up a point in 35 games with the Vancouver Canucks last year, and was basically never an NHLer before playing for Rick Tocchet there; 89 of his 157 career games have come in the last two seasons, and he’s now 28 years old.

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I think Juulsen will be a valuable veteran presence to have, especially as someone who knows Tocchet’s systems, but I have a hard time believing he’ll beat out players like Emil Andrae and Helge Grans.

The Flyers have too much competition at this position with options with far greater upside looking for opportunities, and Juulsen has so far been more negative than a neutral or positive impact.

Stock Up: Aleksei Kolosov

The last year and a half has seen nearly everyone throw in the towel on Aleksei Kolosov, but the Flyers brought him back and effectively made him the No. 3 goalie after the Ivan Fedotov trade.

Fighting for an NHL future, Kolosov delivered an inspired performance against the Islanders on Sunday night, making a number of spectacular saves that really showed off his trademark athleticism.

A final statline of 15 saves on 17 shots (.882) isn’t the greatest ever, but Kolosov was let down by his teammates on the two goals he did concede. I felt this was often the case last season, but Kolosov had his share of bloopers that contributed to the overwhelmingly negative sentiment around the Flyers’ goaltending, too.

I suspect Kolosov will see plenty of action in the preseason and in the AHL this year, but if he wants to turn the page on the last year, he’s off to a good start.

It’ll be interesting to see if the Belarusian can really develop and put himself back in the picture for the Flyers, who also have Carson Bjarnason and Egor Zavragin in the mix long-term.

Stock Down: Devin Kaplan and Samu Tuomaala

Neither Devin Kaplan nor Samu Tuomaala stood out against the Islanders the way I hoped they would.

Kaplan, who made his NHL debut for the Flyers in Game 82 against Buffalo last season, finished the game with no points, no penalties, and no shots on goal in 11:13.

The lines were out of whack due to the Lane Pederson injury, but Kaplan was kind of just there in that game and didn’t do much of anything, which is a shame.

I really liked Kaplan’s game during rookie camp, but the drawback for him right now seems to be consistency. Sometimes he pulls some crazy stickhandles and creative passes out of nowhere, and other times he can’t get on the puck.

Tuomaala, too, didn’t find a way to make much of an impact against the Islanders, and he might need a strong preseason more than anyone not named Adam Ginning.

The Finn did at least record a shot on goal and was chosen to shoot in the shootout, though his attempt against old Lehigh Valley Phantoms teammate Parker Gahagen was unsuccessful.

These two players should get plenty of run in the preseason as we move along, but the uneventful start to proceedings won’t help them in their quest to make the Flyers’ NHL roster this fall.

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