Tocchet has talked about how good this Flyers team was on the rush last year, but their possession numbers were in the bottom of the league. Especially in the O-zone, the Flyers had a tendency to just have their defensemen back out and reset. This year through three games, I’m seeing the Flyers defensemen really activate in the O-zone more. We’ve got Sanheim just crashing the net at times looking to get involved. Drysdale has more freedom and is being used on PP1.
More than anything, what I love seeing is that because we’re taking more chances in the O-zone, it leads to us skating parallel when the opposition is skating out with the puck. If you watch some of the top D-men in the league, you’ll notice that defending is now all about surfing and angling, which is rarely done skating backwards. Defending in the neutral zone is all about skating forwards now.
The only issue—and we’ll see it with some of these clips below—is that there are times when we lack F3 coverage and the defenders are getting burned by being too deep in the O-zone. Any clean turnover with how fast this league is going to lead to odd-man rushes. It’s the price you pay for aggressive offense, but it’s something this group needs to clean up.
TRAVIS SANHEIM
Sanheim is eating massive minutes right now with York out—27:21 per game to be exact—and you can see Tocchet trusting him to be more aggressive offensively. He’s averaging a point per game (1 goal, 2 assists through 3 games) and sits at +1, which is solid considering the defensive flux around him.
What I loved so much about this clip is that after breaking the puck out in a controlled manner, he lets the rush develop and then crashes. When we have possession, you notice that we have four guys below the dots and Sanheim is in the crease/low slot the whole time. Finally, when he thinks we might turn it over, he comes out a little bit towards the blue line. What’s great about this play is that it causes the Carolina forwards to think they can ignore him up there, and as soon as he has some time and space, he crashes down right again and hammers home his shot for a goal.
This is one where I really worry about how often our D are going to be activating. If we don’t have solid possession in the zone, we have to be a little more cautious about how low we are. Sanheim got stuck down near the top of the circle and has to backcheck. Seeler plays his one-on-one well, but the guy makes a great play to catch Sanheim, who’s slightly behind backchecking, and it leads to a goal against.
I’m putting this one in here not to shit on Sanheim, but I’m genuinely curious if they were supposed to be in man-on-man coverage. It looks like Couturier thought they were in man, but Sanheim hands his guy off and switches to Coot’s guy. This slight mistake leads to open space, two quick passes, and just like that, the puck is in the back of the net.
The Verdict: Sanheim is doing exactly what you need from your #1 guy—playing big minutes, contributing offensively, and taking risks. The -2.3 CORSI and 1.82 opponent xG when he’s on ice are concerning possession-wise, but some of that comes with the territory of playing nearly half the game. He needs to get more shots on net though—3.7 shots per game but only 1 getting through tells me he’s getting blocked too much.
NICK SEELER
Seeler being able to play big minutes with Sanheim (23:39 per game) while blocking shots like he does is incredibly valuable. His +0.67 rating is actually the best among the regular defensemen, and he’s throwing his body around with 2.7 hits per game. I’ve always said he’s an ideal 5/6 pairing guy, but the fact that he doesn’t look out of place playing this many minutes is exactly what the Flyers needed right now. He’s physical, he’s steady, and he’s allowing the more skilled guys to take chances knowing he’s back there cleaning up messes.
The -8 CORSI is alarming—worst on the team—and the 1.92 opponent xG when he’s on ice suggests the puck is going the wrong way a lot. But for a depth defenseman thrust into a top-four role? He’s holding the line.
JAMIE DRYSDALE
Drysdale is clearly being unleashed in Tocchet’s system in a way he wasn’t under Tortorella. He’s got freedom to jump into plays, he’s quarterbacking PP1, and you can see the confidence growing. He leads all Flyers defensemen with 3.3 shots per game and 1.33 takeaways, showing that active stick and offensive mindset.
This clip showcases the risk of having our defensemen sucked in too much. We see four Flyers below the top of the circle, and a quick breakout leads to an odd-man rush which inevitably becomes a goal against. I don’t think Drysdale played this incredibly wrong—he got back, forced the pass, and picked up the most dangerous guy in that moment. However, a 3-on-2 in the NHL still means someone is more than likely open. Even Zamula, I get what he’s doing by laying out to stop this, but when you lay out like this, you have to get the puck or stop the attack. Otherwise, it’s really just a mini 3-on-1, and I’ll take any team in the NHL with those odds.
The Verdict: Drysdale is showing why the organization is so high on him, but there are going to be growing pains with this aggressive system. The -3.3 CORSI isn’t great, but his 0.84 team xG and 0.89 opponent xG when on ice are among the better marks on this blueline. The real issue? Only 0.33 shots on goal per game out of 3.3 shots total. He’s getting his attempts, but he needs to hit the net more consistently.
ADAM GINNING
Ginning is playing 17:06 per game—solid third-pair minutes—and his average +/- of 0.33 shows he’s not actively hurting the team. He’s chipping in physically (1.33 hits per game) and blocking shots (0.67 per game), which fits what Tocchet wants.
But the -3.7 CORSI and 1.32 opponent xG when he’s on ice are problematic. He’s generating shots (3 per game) but only 1 is getting on net, and zero points through three games means he’s not helping offensively at all. Ginning is exactly what you’ve read about online over the past few weeks. In a limited amount of ice time, he can look okay at times, serviceable at others. Ideally, he’s the second D-man on his line or the safety net. But right now, we can’t have a combination of him with either Juulsen or Zamula. It’s not fair to them at this point in their careers, but they’re not moving the needle for a team that wants to compete more.
EMIL ANDRAE
First period back up in the NHL, and it was clear that Emil Andrae was ready to show the staff what they’re missing when he’s down in the AHL. In just 10:07 of ice time, he posted a remarkable +6 CORSI—by far the best on the team. Even more impressive? The 0.25 team xG and 0.01 opponent xG when he was on ice suggests he was doing exactly what Tocchet’s system demands in limited action.
In this clip, what I loved seeing is how many times he kept the puck in the offensive zone, and not just blindly wrapping it around but being cognizant to make a play with it. Everyone always seems to compare the young Swede to Kimmo Timonen, and simple plays like this are what made Kimmo so great. I was personally harsh on Andrae during training camp, but after the first two games of Juulsen, Ginning, and Zamula, you could see something had to change.
This shift for the Flyers last night against the Panthers showed the offensive powerhouse we’re capable of getting off from time to time. No real Grade-A chances, but the puck movement was exactly what Tocchet has been preaching. We’re dominating the possession on this shift, and it all starts with how Drysdale and Andrae are moving versus staying stationary at the blue line. Both moving all over the place, just getting open for each other and the forwards. Oh, and the forward group? Michkov, TK, and Coots.
Even when we lose possession, Drysdale gaps up, ends the play before the red line, and immediately moves it to Andrae, who does a great job of recognizing the Panthers are trying to change and moves it right up. Not only does Coots take the controlled entry, but he makes a pass to Andrae, who never gave up on the play after moving it up. He doesn’t catch the puck as smoothly as you’d like, but he wins the battle below the net and finds the next open guy. From both Andrae and Jamie, this is a shift where you go, “Okay, I understand why everyone is so excited about their potential.”
The Big Picture: In three months, we’re more than likely going to have Risto and York back full time (Cam York much sooner than that), and if you told me Andrae was our 6/7 D-man, then I’m all in on that. Let him play well and showcase his abilities because if Buffalo really is open to moving Dahlin, Byram, or Power, you’re going to need a young defenseman who’s proven he’s NHL-ready. And I don’t know about you, but if Buffalo wants to keep trading their young core away and start another rebuild, I’d be more than happy to take one of these incredible defensemen off their hands.
NOAH JUULSEN & EGOR ZAMULA
Juulsen is averaging 12:08 per game and posting an even rating, which sounds fine until you look deeper. The 0.83 opponent xG when he’s on ice is second-worst on the team, and he’s contributing absolutely nothing offensively—1 shot per game, 0.33 on goal, zero points.
Zamula has played just two games (15:43 per game) and the -4.5 CORSI is brutal for someone in sheltered minutes. His 0.5 team xG when on ice is actually solid defensively, but 1 shot per game with none on goal means he’s invisible offensively.
These guys are exactly what you’ve read about online over the past few weeks or even years in some cases. In a limited amount of ice time, they can look okay at times, serviceable at others. But they’re depth pieces being asked to do too much right now. We need York back, and we need Andrae to stick, because rolling with combinations of these guys together just isn’t going to cut it for a team with playoff aspirations.
Bottom Line: Tocchet’s system is more aggressive, more possession-focused, and asking the defensemen to take more chances. Through three games, we’re seeing flashes of what that could look like when it works—but also the growing pains when coverage breaks down. Sanheim and Drysdale are embracing the new philosophy. Seeler is providing the steady presence. Andrae made a hell of a statement in his recall game. And the bottom three? They are what they are—depth guys trying to stay afloat until reinforcements arrive.