Quick Hits: July 15, 2022
1) Friday is the final day of the Flyers' 2022 Development Camp. As has become a tradition, the camp will conclude with a half-rink 3-on-3 tournament. Results will be posted in Saturday's blog.
2) With Ivan Fedotov compelled to do one year of military service in Russia, the Flyers have been left scrambling for a backup goaltending plan at the NHL level while having very little cap space. On Wednesday, the Flyers signed 32-year-old Troy Grosenick to a one-year, one-way contract for the NHL minimum $750,000.
Grosenick has been a very good goaltender at the AHL level for the Worcester Sharks/San Jose Barracuda, Milwaukee Admirals and Providence Bruins. In 2016-17 while in the San Jose organization, Grosenick won the Baz Bastien Memorial Award; the AHL's version of the Vezina Trophy. In 2021-22 with Providence, he led the AHL with a .933 save percentage and 2.00 goals against average. Grosenick posted a 16-6-4 record for Providence.
AHL success is one thing and translating it to the NHL is quite another. A former Union College teammate of former Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, Grosenick has spent most of his nine-year pro career at the AHL level. He's dressed as a starter in four NHL games -- two apiece with the San Jose Sharks in 2014-15 and with the LA Kings in 2020-21.
Can Grosenick hold down the fort at the NHL level if Carter Hart needs a rest or has to deal with an injury? That is unknown. According to Chuck Fletcher, the plan is for Grosenick and Felix Sandström to compete in training camp for the No. 2 job on the NHL depth chart at least for opening night of the regular season. Second-year pro Samuel Ersson, who is a well-regarded prospect but whose 2021-22 season was limited by recurring groin injuries to five games (only three of which he was able to complete), likely needs more AHL experience before he'd be in the mix for an NHL recall.
In addition to signing Groseneck, the Flyers have also brought back 32-year-old depth defenseman Kevin Connauton on a two-year, two-way contract worth $762,500 at the NHL. Philadelphia made three additional depth signings on Wednesday:
* 26-year-old former Minnesota Wild forward Louis Belpedio to a one-year, two-way contract ($750,000 at the NHL level). Belpedio spent last season in the AHL with the Laval Rocket.
* 26-year-old forward Adam Brooks was signed to a two-year, two-way contract worth an average annual value (AAV) of $762,500 at the NHL level. Brooks split the 2021-22 seasons between the Montreal Canadiens, Vegas Golden Knights and Winnipeg Jets organizations.
* Originally drafted by the Flyers during the Ron Hextall area (6th round pick in 2015), 25-year-old Cooper Marody signed a two-year, two-way contract worth $762,500 at the NHL level. A high-end scorer at both the collegiate level for the University of Michigan as well as a point-per-game-plus AHL scorer for the Bakersfield Condors while the Edmonton Oilers system, Marody is not a speedster but he is a savvy playmaker.
On the Flyers official site, I took a
more in-depth look at the five AHL/NHL depth signings.
3) Several outlets have reported -- although the Flyers have net to make it official -- that they will add former San Jose Sharks associate coach Rocky Thompson to complete new head coach John Tortorella's staff. Thompson previously ran the Sharks' power play. As a head coach in the AHL with the Chicago Wolves, Thompson piloted the team to the 2018-19 Calder Cup Finals. He also worked on the player development side with the Vegas Golden Knights.
Thompson became a fast-rising pro coaching candidate with the OHL's Windsor Spitfires, where the team racked up a .650 points percentage over his two seasons as their head coach after a stint as an Edmonton Oilers assistant under Dallas Eakins, Craig MacTavish and Todd Nelson.
Thompson made a presentation at the 2015 NHL Coaches Association Global Coaches’ Clinic in Florida that was
a huge hit among the attendees. Most notably, he discussed how team bonding and strong coach-player relationships are not about fiery speeches but, rather, "bonding is every day with the players, teaching them how to become a family." Similar to Tortorella, he believes that a coach can push players hard and be extremely demanding
so long as there is mutual trust and honesty.
Thompson, who will turn 45 on Aug. 8, is known as a players' coach who interacts well with the locker room leadership group. While with San Jose, Thompson had a
dispute with Evander Kane during a power play meeting that escalated into longtime AHL enforcer Thompson pulling off his shirt and challenging Kane to a fight; a story that Kane confirmed to TSN was a true story and added that he was disappointed that former teammates had leaked to the press and there were only a few witnesses.
From most accounts, the Sharks players collectively sided with Thompson.
As a player, Thompson was known for his long hair and wild-eyed demeanor on the ice. Three times, the enforcer racked up more than 230 penalty minutes in an AHL season including a career-high 275 with the San Antonio Rampage in 2002-03, where he was arguably the John Torchetti-coached team's most popular player among the fans. Earlier, as a member of the Saint John's Flames, Thompson did battle with the Philadelphia Phantoms' Frank "the Animal" Bialowas during the 1998 Calder Cup Finals.
Thompson, who played in a total of 25 NHL games (0 points, 117 PIM), has worked hard since retiring as a player to change the "cementhead" perception that his low-point, high PIM identity as a player created.
"I'm not the knucklehead some people see me as because I was an enforcer as a player," Thompson told NHL.com in 2017. "There's so much more to me. I have to develop a positive reaction when people hear my name and not just the association which comes along with being a fighter as a player."
One thing about Thompson that surprises some who only remember him by his reputation as a player is that he's
an analytics-oriented coach, who has a possess-and-attack oriented philosophy.
Thompson made news last September when he abruptly stepped down as the Sharks' associate coach. This was due to him being prohibited from traveling to Canada because he is not vaccinated against COVID-19.
“Due to a medical exemption that prevents me from taking the COVID-19 vaccine, under the new League protocols, I am not permitted to fulfill my duties on the Sharks coaching staff at this time,” Thompson said in a press release issued by the Sharks.
In some cases,
Canada will recognize medical exemptions for unvaccinated travelers to enter Canada. However, travel for work purposes is not generally recognized, and the reasons for the medical exemption must be documented and approved on a case-by-case basis.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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