(Kevin Durso/Sports Talk Philly)
By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 
From the day the Flyers separated after the 2016-17 season, Ron Hextall made it clear. Spots on the blue line were going to be up for grabs.
The safe assumption was to look to Sam Morin and Robert Hagg as the potential replacements. Morin made his NHL debut in Game 80 of the Flyers season and Hagg debuted in the season finale.
But two other young prospects are generating just as much buzz, especially after another successful stint at Development Camp. So could this be the year Travis Sanheim and Philippe Myers break through and make it to the NHL? It’s certainly possible, but they will have some stiff competition to get there.
Sanheim is fresh off his first professional season as a member of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and it was a solid debut season for sure. Sanheim scored 10 goals and had 27 assists for 37 points in 76 games with the Phantoms.
More noticeable than his numbers was his growth in the past several seasons. Sanheim has transformed over the years, adding muscle and looking for physically ready for what the NHL has to offer.
Making the NHL roster is going to require a competition, and Sanheim is ready for the challenge.
"I feel like I'm ready, I'm going to compete for a spot," Sanheim said. "Until somebody tells me differently, that's my goal. I'm coming to make the Flyers."
Sanheim has good reason to think he’s ready. His growth physically is something that he’s focused on in recent years and that hasn’t been lost on Hextall as he observed the 2014 first-round pick at Development Camp.
"You see him, his first development camp he looked like a young boy," Hextall said of Sanheim. "And you look at him now, and he almost looks like a man. He's just more upright, you can tell his body is more linked up, he's got a stronger core, he's more upright when he skates."
"Obviously, I'm going to want to continue to keep gaining strength and add that to my game, but I played pro this year and it didn't faze me at all," Sanheim said. "The strength, I think I was right there with everyone else, was able to compete and battle in 1-on-1's against pro players.
"It's going to come down to camp. This year, obviously there's going to be some spots available, and we're going to be fighting for the job."
One of the players Sanheim will be competing against is Philippe Myers. Myers, an undrafted free agent signed in 2015, has risen through the ranks quickly, becoming one of the top defensive prospects in the Flyers pipeline.
Myers has one thing against him in the competition. Sanheim just completed his first season with the Phantoms, and Morin and Hagg are now AHL veterans. Myers completed his fourth season with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies in the QMJHL last season, scoring 10 goals and adding 25 assists for 35 points in 34 games. Myers suffered a concussion in the World Junior Championships that held him out of action for two months.
So with Myers a little bit behind the curve, at least in comparison to the other defensemen in the system, there may be a better chance he starts the season with the Phantoms, now that he is eligible to play full-time in the AHL. That said, it isn’t out of the question that Myers could compete for the spot as well, especially after getting a very long look in camp a year ago.
“You get stronger and faster,” Myers said. “I’m going to focus on what I can do and what I can control. That’s what I did last year. I just took as much in as possible and tried to get ready as fast as I could because I didn’t really have a lot of time. This year, I have much more time so I’m taking things much more slowly and more controlled.”
"If he comes in and he’s the best guy or we feel he’s the best guy, he’s going to play," Hextall said of Myers. "The other guys, whenever you played in the American League, you have a leg up. You expect those guys to come in and be a little more NHL ready than a kid coming right out of junior, but the players are going to dictate who’s on our team."
Competition is always a good thing, and there will be plenty of it. For two of these players, a trip to the AHL will come after a battle at camp, but the end goal is to get onto the NHL roster. With the opportunity there, prospects like Sanheim and Myers are ready for the chance.
"I'm going to obviously do what they tell me," Sanheim said, "but I'm coming to camp to make the team."
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