September 24, 2026
Charles LeClaire/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Jamie Drysdale is being slotted in as a key power-play piece for the Flyers to start the season.
Matvei Michkov kept his feet chopping along the dashers and to the goal line.
The puck kept circling his way, but every time it did, the noticeably leaner – and speedier – forward made an even quicker decision with it to keep play moving.
Eventually, that cycling opened up a path on two separate sequences, and to what had long become a rarity for the Philadelphia Flyers: genuinely clean looks on the power play.
Tyson Foerster received a pinpoint pass as he snuck into open space for a shot attempt on the first, and Trevor Zegras took in a wire across the ice on the second that he one-timed from the right faceoff circle, but just missed off the crossbar behind goaltender Aleksei Kolosov.
That ping echoed through the rink at the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees on Wednesday, but what stuck both to the fans watching practice along the glass and to the press watching from a balcony above was that this was the most effective a Philadelphia power play has looked in years.
Granted, that isn't saying much considering that the Flyers' power play hasn't ranked above 30th in the NHL in the last five years.
But during Wednesday's training camp session, the team rolled out a working top unit of Michkov, Foerster, Zegras, Porter Martone, and Jamie Drysdale, who are each among the Flyers' better – and younger – offensive skaters. They got the puck, and they never stopped moving with it until something opened up.
Now, part of the Flyers' longstanding power-play woes were always systemic. The other, though, was always talent.
And they're still working on building up that latter part. But it has gotten better. Maybe, finally, better enough so that the Flyers can actually look decent on man advantages again, for the first time in forever.
"Definitely, a lot of threats," Drysdale said after practice Wednesday. "[Foerster's] shot, Z's got it all. [Michkov] at the net front there, really crafty, looks really good, and then [Martone] in the bumper. Yeah, it looks good. Feels good.
"I think we're moving it pretty well out there."
Hey, it's a start.
A quicker and leaner Matvei Michkov should move the puck around faster for the Flyers.
Head coach Rick Tocchet said his staff gave each of those players homework to do over the summer.
Assistant coaches Jaroslav "Yogi" Svejkovsky and Jay Varady gathered up tape of some of the NHL's best on the power play, like Vegas' Mark Stone setting up down low and Jack Eichel working along the half wall, and broke it all down into a study for each of their guys to apply.
"And then actually showing, man, you're doing exactly what they're doing, but we just have to do it more consistently," Tocchet explained, while molding the work into one cohesive structure.
"The key is connection," Tocchet said at another point. "The power play is all about connection."
"I think Tyson Foerster has looked at this," the coach continued. "He's definitely gone home and done his homework. He's been outstanding out there. I think [Michkov's] and Trevor's connection the last three days has fast-tracked. I mean, I don't wanna say it's unreal, but I will say they're starting to really connect.
"Then Porter's obviously got a really good brain when it comes to scoring goals. Then I thought Jamie, the same thing with Tyson, I think he's looked at his homework that he was given this summer and he's worked on it."
The early signs have looked promising, Tocchet said. But he is trying to stay measured about it. The safety of the practice rink is one thing, but to actually roll out and execute in live game scenarios is another – hopefully they'll get a test run with Thursday night's home preseason game against the Bruins at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Until then...
"We gotta give them some positive feedback," Tocchet said. "I think they've been really good, so hopefully the connection stays."
They'll need a longer leash to fully figure it out, too.
"I mean, listen, I'd be an idiot for having a bad couple of games to start the year and abandon it," Tocchet said. "I gotta give these guys some runway, for sure.
"But they gotta get to the 50-yard line, too. They gotta do the stuff that we're asking. I mean, if they're not chasing the puck down on a retrieval, if they're not hustling back on a breakout, that's a whole different story. I don't think that's gonna happen, but there has to be accountability on the other side. But I don't think that's gonna be a problem."
After all, there is a higher standard now.
The Flyers are hoping a full year of Porter Martone will mean a lot more goals from the rookie, both on the power play and at even strength.
The Flyers were in a different spot at the start of last season.
Tocchet was in his first year behind the bench and trying to implement his systems and philosophies, and the roster was young but a mixed bag talent-wise. Foerster accelerated back from injury, Michkov (notoriously) reported to camp out of shape and took months to catch up, and Martone, Alex Bump, and Denver Barkey, who each became key rookies, weren't even on the team yet.
At the time, the strength of the power play was the least of Tocchet's and the Flyers' concerns, but it was still brutal to watch from night to night nonetheless. It was passive and often hesitant. Skaters sometimes struggled to gain offensive zone entry with it altogether, and even if they did, it was almost like their feet got caught in quicksand once they were actually there, and no matter the combination.
Often, it was a waste of two minutes, which held mostly true even when the Flyers broke through and made it into the playoffs.
But it can't be that way anymore.
They're on their way now. The players reported back to Voorhees this summer with legitimate expectations and excitement surrounding them for the first time in years.
The playoffs aren't some far-off dream anymore. Fair or not, that's the new floor. And if the Flyers are going to keep up with that, and keep developing toward greater, the power play has to improve. It can't live in the league's basement anymore.
"We have to get better at that because I think, last year, the reads were a little bit off, and, you know, I blame myself," Tocchet said. "I'm gonna pound a lot of this at them early on. I don't think we did it as much last year. I don't know why we didn't. Maybe new guy on the block, and I was worried about the 5-on-5. But we have to really hone in on the details about the power play."
"It's also we don't want to have to take that time," Drysdale said. "Hit the ground running, work at it, build that confidence."
Just keeping their feet chopping and the puck moving, though, is a start.
Finally, it might actually be something.
SIGN UP HERE to receive the PhillyVoice Sports newsletter
Follow Nick on Twitter: @itssnick
Follow Nick on Bluesky: @itssnick
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports
