Flyers development camp: Tertyshny and Knuble return, Andrae looks to impress, Gauthier updates

Publish date: 2024-06-21

On July 1, the Philadelphia Flyers navigated the first day of unrestricted free agency — the official opening of the NHL calendar year.

The very next day, the focus turned to the future, as development camp began for Flyers prospects.

Camp lasts through July 6, and throughout the week, a mix of drafted prospects and camp invites will learn and work under the Flyers’ restructured development staff, with it all building to a five-on-five end-of-camp tournament on Thursday afternoon.

Day 1 brought its fair share of stories, from emotional returns to key prospects looking to impress the brass to prepare for their eventual NHL futures — or, in one prospect’s case, a choice not to do so just yet.

1. Tertyshny makes emotional return to Philadelphia

On July 23, 1999, promising Flyers defenseman Dmitri Tertyshny died in a fatal boating accident at age 22.

Less than six months later, his son Alexander was born. And while Alex never was able to see his father play for the Flyers, he now can say he’s donned the orange and black at team facilities as well.

“It’s really special. It means a lot to me,” Tertyshny said speaking about his invite to Flyers development camp this week. “It means a lot to my family and my mom. It’s definitely a week I’ll cherish, and it’s definitely a week I’m looking to get a lot out of.”

Tertyshny is still very much trying to find his way as a professional hockey player, spending two seasons in the Russian junior league (MHL), two in the NAHL in the United States and now is taking the college route, slated to enroll at Stonehill College in the fall after transferring from American International College.

In the interim, however, the Flyers are giving Tertyshny a look. Tertyshny actually reached out to Flyers assistant GM Brent Flahr in 2021 to see if there might be a way he could link back up with his father’s club, but given the complexity of COVID-19 restrictions, it wasn’t possible back then.

That changed this summer.

“I kind of let it be, and then ended up getting in touch with (Flahr) like a month ago or so ago,” he said. “He got back to me and sent me his number. From then on, they were like, ‘How would you feel coming to dev camp?’ It was pretty surreal.”

Now, Tertyshny got to meet and perform in front of John LeClair and Keith Jones — the two players who assisted on his father’s first NHL goal, over 24 years ago.

“That was definitely a moment I’ll cherish,” he said.

Tertyshny remains a long shot to make his way to the NHL, given his age (23) and limited experience and success at major levels of competition. But now, at the very least, he has a shot to impress the decision-makers in an NHL organization.

He plans to take his cues from Dmitri, whose games he still watches on occasion on VHS tapes.

“My father, he certainly knew how to get through adversity and I feel I’m no different,” Tertyshny said. “I want to tackle adversity the way he did, and I just want to be a person that he can be proud of.

2. More on Gauthier’s absence

As expected, Cutter Gauthier was not at Day 1 of development camp. On Sunday, GM Daniel Briere did not provide much of an explanation for his absence, noting that he wasn’t worried but that they were still trying to figure out exactly why he chose not to attend.

It wasn’t exactly the most specific answer, especially given the importance of Gauthier — the No. 5 pick in 2022 — to the planned rebuild.

On Monday, the Flyers clarified that it’s their belief that Gauthier declined to attend in large part because of his busy playing schedule over the offseason. Gauthier not only played for Team USA at the World Championships, but he’ll also be attending the World Junior Summer Showcase in Plymouth, Mich., in late July and early August. Briere confirmed that he spoke with Gauthier’s representation at the draft in Nashville last week, and that’s when he learned that Gauthier wouldn’t be attending. Briere again reiterated that he’s not especially concerned about the absence.

The Athletic reached out to Gauthier’s representation for further clarification, but per KO Sports, Inc. policy, they declined. “It’s not appropriate for us to comment on any of our college advisees,” agent Kurt Overhardt said.

3. Andrae back to try to impress

Emil Andrae made his North American debut late last season for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, and in those 13 games, he certainly made an impression on Riley Armstrong, then the Phantoms’ assistant coach and now the recently promoted director of player development for the Flyers.

He had a lofty comparison for Andrae, the team’s second-round pick in 2020.

“He kind of looks like Kimmo Timonen out there, I think,” Armstrong said. “He’s got the big wide base.”

Timonen was from Finland, not Sweden, but both qualify as undersized, hyper-competitive defensemen who have had to prove doubters wrong for years; Timonen, who starred in 519 games for Philadelphia over seven seasons, was drafted all the way back in the 10th round in 1993.

Andrae, for his part, likes the comparison.

“Yeah, I’ve heard that before, (but) actually, I never saw him play,” Andrae said. But people explained to me that I am pretty similar to how he was as a player — small defenseman, a little bit of grit to (him) and also pretty smart. I like people saying that about me.”

It’s still unclear where Andrae will play in 2023-24. He’s under contract with the Flyers, but according to Bill Meltzer, a new transfer agreement with the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation in 2022 gives Andrae’s Swedish club decision-making power over where he plays — if he doesn’t make the NHL club out of camp. Had Andrae been a first-rounder, he could easily play in the AHL to start the season. As a second-rounder, however, it’s a decision that will need to be made as a group.

“It’s a little bit complicated, because there’s a return policy and stuff like that,” Andrae acknowledged. “But me and my agents and the Flyers’ staff are working on that, and we’re having a discussion. So we’ll see what happens.”

Andrae will certainly be at Flyers training camp come September, and given his strong play with the Phantoms — he believes his style of play actually works better on the smaller North American ice than it does in Europe — don’t count him out for an NHL job straight away.

“Not comparing him to (Timonen) — that’s some big footsteps to fill,” Armstrong made sure to clarify. “But I definitely think he can be in (a similar) role.”

4. Foerster with a new number, here for the summer

The vast majority of camp attendees were handed a temporary number — a number that will serve as a placeholder until they earn their way onto an NHL club and can finally pick their own.

Tyson Foerster had a number like that: No. 52, which he wore in his first-ever NHL game last season.

But even before training camp — even before officially making the Flyers — Foerster already has his “real” number: No. 18.

“They just asked me if I wanted to change,” he said. “Then growing up, I was always 8 or 18. (January) 18’s my birthday. So I decided to go with 18.”

Foerster is a heavy favorite to earn a job out of camp — almost certainly the biggest favorite of all the development camp attendees. But that status hasn’t bred complacency in his summer prep work. In fact, Foerster arrived in Philadelphia three weeks ago to practice at the team’s facilities in Voorhees, and he plans to stay through the remainder of the summer, working with coaches and staff to be as ready as possible for September’s pivotal camp.

“I don’t think I can expect a spot,” Foerster said after his Day 1 session. “I feel like I still have to work my tail off and try and earn myself a spot on this team.”

In drills, Foerster’s acceleration in particular did look slightly improved, though he can still appear stiff at times. Given the quality of his shot and hockey IQ, Foerster’s skating remains the one big question mark in his game. It’s improved leaps and bounds since being drafted in 2020, and during his eight-game NHL stint last spring, he appeared fully capable of keeping up with the pace of play (three goals and seven points). But he’s yet to face the grind of a full NHL season.

“(I’m working on) my legs, my leg strength and my quick steps,” he said. “I’m getting better at that. But everything needs improvement.”

5. Knuble returns to his old stomping grounds

How often does a player get drafted by a team that practices at the same place where said player learned how to skate?

That was the case for Cole Knuble, who spent his very early years in the Philadelphia area, after his dad Mike joined the Flyers.

“Yeah, it meant a lot,” he said. “It brought back some memories for sure, of my time here. I moved when I was young. But this is where I learned to play hockey, learned to skate. So it was a big honor and I was really excited.”

Knuble was just two days old when his father was signed by the Flyers on July 3, 2004, and a little over a year old when Mike made his Flyers debut. The Knubles left Philadelphia in 2009, but that was long enough for Cole to go to preschool in Philadelphia, learn to skate in Voorhees and even create some formative memories.

“Yeah, I remember the song, ‘The Orange and the Black’ (by The Boils,” before Knuble briefly sung along with the catchy chorus to prove it. “‘The orange and the black!’ I remember that. I don’t know if they still do it, but like the ‘PECO power play’ (announcement by Lou Nolan). Yeah, I remember that.”

Knuble was passed over by every NHL club in the 2022 draft, though AGM Brent Flahr did note that he was in the back half of their list that year. They simply had too many skating concerns to take him with one of their final picks last summer.

So Knuble did everything he could last summer to improve that element of his game and not get passed over again. He continued his habit of rewatching all of his in-game shifts with the goal of improving upon them. And he began working with a skating coach in Grand Rapids — Carrie Kiel, formerly affiliated with the University of Michigan and the U.S. National Team Development program — and pushed his body to its limit, using the slight of being passed over as fuel.

“One-hundred percent, it was on my mind all the time,” he said. “And I really wanted to prove everyone wrong.”

Now, Knuble is part of an NHL organization — a very familiar one. And given his gritty style of play, perhaps his favorite Flyers from those early days shouldn’t come as a major surprise.

“I remember Mike Richards. He was definitely my favorite player,” he said. “I love his game. He was gritty, he got the job done.”

Flyers fans would certainly take even a Richards-lite out of a fourth-round pick.

(Photo of Emil Andrae: Andy Devlin / Getty Images)