(Kevin Durso/Sports Talk Philly)
By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Flyers training camp has been separated into two groups for most of the sessions since open on Friday. On Monday, those groups had a new look.
Group 1 was primarily an NHL roster — 15 forwards, eight defensemen and three goalies with only a handful of players among them without NHL experience. Oskar Lindblom and Nolan Patrick remained in the group.
It’s still early in camp, with just three days of practice and one preseason game in the books, but Lindblom and Patrick are getting every opportunity to be part of the NHL roster. And so far, they are sticking with the veterans at camp.
The last two days of practice have served as a big indicator for where the Flyers see Patrick and Lindblom. The top group has featured 15 forwards. Wayne Simmonds sat out both days, but had Taylor Leier as the replacement from Group 2, so conceivably, it puts Patrick and Lindblom in the Flyers Top 14 among forwards already.
That bodes well for their chances of making the final roster. The preseason and training camp features opportunity to shuffle lines and experiment. The one consistency throughout has been Patrick and Lindblom playing alongside established NHL veterans.
Lindblom, who scored 22 goals as a 20-year-old in Sweden’s top professional league, was seeing time with Claude Giroux, Travis Konecny and Jake Voracek. Patrick, who had 20 goals in 33 games last season, was centering a line with Jordan Weal and Wayne Simmonds for much of practice.
At times, the Flyers have put the two highly-touted prospects together. Patrick and Lindblom were on the same line for Sunday’s preseason opener and again at practice on Tuesday.
One preseason game is far too early to determine anything. The entire offseason has felt like a guessing game. It was assumed they would be here, be in this position, but can you ever really assume anything with Ron Hextall?
The fact of the matter now is that nearly a week into training camp, less than two weeks from setting the final roster for the regular-season opener — exactly 14 days away — Patrick and Lindblom are getting plenty of exposure and plenty of opportunities to make the roster and prove they belong.
They have been turning the heads of veteran players already. Hextall and Dave Hakstol have also taken notice, but remain stoic and businesslike in their approach.
The remainder of the week is big. A pair of preseason games awaits both Patrick and Lindblom and continuing their consistent approach to the preseason and training camp could slowly start to solidify their place on the 2017-18 roster as more cuts are expected to be made.
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