Call it the state of the team address with a rally cry thrown in. Flyers owner and chairman Ed Snider addressed the media on Saturday during the second day of training camp.
Snider supplied a vote of confidence for the team that has been assembled and in Ron Hextall and Dave Hakstol while stating his expectations for the team this season. It shouldn't be surprising at all that Snider expects big things.
"I have a lot of faith in Ron Hextall who has a lot of faith in Hakstol," Snider said. "Quite frankly, I'm looking for big things. I think we're going to turn this team around, I think we're going to be a playoff team this year."
The Flyers are coming off a season that was marred with injuries, inconsistency, lack of communication and leadership and has used the offseason to address many of these issues.
A new coach entered the fray. Some changes to player personnel were made. The roster may not feature many changes this season, but there is a sense of newness with a new bench boss and renewed energy surrounding the team.
"A lot of things last year, I wasn't happy with and I think we're going to correct a lot of those things," Snider said. "I think really we've got a pretty good team. That same team last year that didn't make the playoffs, made the playoffs the year before. It's not like they're chopped liver. We have a good team, we have some good stars on the team. I expect a lot from these players."
An area of struggle for the Flyers has always been on defense, and while there are pieces of the future in place, the Flyers have eight defensemen under contract that are currently working toward the six starting spots. Two of those eight — Radko Gudas and Yevgeni Medvedev — have never played a game for the Flyers.
"Our defense is solid, I think better than it's been in years," Snider said. "I think we're going to have a really good team."
That said, competition level is high with many prospects getting a look in training camp, most notably, the "Fab Five" on defense. Snider's has watched the team's culture change in the last few seasons to a game of patience with prospects. He's standing pat on that stance as GM Hextall has been.
"We're all excited about the future, but as Hexy says we're not going to rush them," Snider said. "It's going to be hard for any of them to really make the team, barring injuries or anything else that might occur. But it's great to have them. It bodes well for the future."
During the previous season, penalty kill and road record were glaring flaws — as Bill Meltzer wrote in his column this Thursday. Snider addressed the need to get better in both of those areas.
"I can't understand our road record. I can't understand the penalty killing that we had, on the road and for the first half of the season," Snider said. "Those things are going to be corrected and I'm confident it's not going to occur again."
The Flyers first preseason game is in two days. The regular season starts in 19 days. And it is then that the team the Flyers assemble will have to prove Snider right.
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
