VOORHEES, N.J. — Even before Flyers training camp opened, Ron Hextall talked about a plenitude of internal competition for jobs.
It’s all over the ice, too.
Who starts in goal: Steve Mason or Michal Neuvirth, who came on strong at the end of last season?
Does Ivan Provorov win a spot on the roster? And if he does, who gets sent packing?
Between Scott Laughton and Nick Cousins, who gets the lion's share of ice time?
Can Travis Konecny or Roman Lyubimov force a veteran forward off the team?
Then there’s free-agent signee Boyd Gordon, a PK specialist who was second only to Claude Giroux in the league last season on winning defensive zone draws. More competition.
Well, one of the key battles in training camp for both roster space and minutes concerns how veteran fourth-liner Chris VandeVelde handles the competition from Lyubimov — the 24-year-old Russian who plays a heavy game and can handle special teams — and others.
VandeVelde saw a bit of an offensive drop-off last season with 14 points. Though just a point fewer than the year before, the bigger dip was going from nine goals to two.
With no real goal-scoring additions in the offseason, Hextall is expecting bigger outputs from returning players.
In VandeVelde’s case, two goals is something Lyubimov could easily match or exceed.
“You have to go out there and give it your all,” VandeVelde said. “Hopefully, work hard and kind of make an impression. There’s a lot of guys fighting for a fair amount of spots. It’s going to be interesting.
“I think I’ve felt pressure every year. Obviously, you want to make an impression and get noticed out there. Reassure [them] I can still do the job and add a few things to my offensive game.”
And his self-evaluation?
“I think I was solid,” he replied. “As a fourth line, we were very good at times. Individually, I can add a little more and chip in a little more.”
VandeVelde is not scheduled to play in either of Monday’s split-squad games in New Jersey or Brooklyn.
At stake here isn’t just his job on the fourth line but the penalty kill, as well. VandeVelde’s 2:17 shorthanded ice time per game was second only to linemate Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (2:35) among the forwards.
The 6-foot-2, 207-pound Lyubimov has played on the penalty kill in the KHL, and Gordon is a PK specialist. What was VandeVelde’s edge is now something up for grabs, especially given both Hextall and coach Dave Hakstol have vowed there will be improvement on the PK, which ranked 20th last season after being among the bottom 10 much of the year.
Hakstol has said he intends to tweak the PK with some structural changes. That sounds like personnel changes and Gordon could be a guy on the fourth unit and will certainly be in the mix on the penalty kill.
How to make the kill better remains at large.
“We have to start a little more aggressively,” VandeVelde said. “Kind of like we finished the last couple games there against Washington [in the playoffs]. We kind of got burnt there, 6-1 [in Game 3]. We switched styles a little too late.”
The Flyers gave up five power-play goals in Game 3 to the Caps.
VandeVelde admits his penalty kill experience gives him a bit of an edge going into camp.
“If I can bring that extra edge and solidify a role, that is huge,” he said.
VandeVelde returned to his home in Moorhead, Minnesota, over the summer to focus on his skating, hoping to get a more explosive start on the ice that he could utilize better during the penalty kill.
One thing seems certain: VandeVelde says there’s a greater comfort level for returning players as to what to expect from Hakstol. Also, whereas last year’s camp was one of implementing systems, this year’s camp is one of expanding on them.
“Everyone knows what to expect,” VandeVelde said. “So do all three coaches. They are going to tweak some things, whether it's penalty kill or power play or other systems. We’ll learn that. That is what preseason is for. All the players know what to expect and are ready to go.”
VandeVelde said he’s already been informed what the team expects from him this season. The competition could push him in that direction.
“I know what they want,” he said. “Obviously, I can do more offensively and want to chip in a little more as a fourth line and as an individual. Maybe just work on that.”