Preseason games don’t count in the standings, but they matter—especially for where the Philadelphia Flyers are at right now.
For players on the bubble, these games could determine where they fall in the pipeline pecking order. For coaches, they offer the first real test of whether systems drilled in camp survive contact with the chaos of live action. For fans, they provide the first tangible glimpse of what’s been brewing all summer.
As the Flyers get set to face the New York Islanders in their preseason opener, here are three things worth keeping an eye on.
Training camp has had its fair share of head-turners, but few names have popped more often than Alex Bump and Nikita Grebenkin. Neither was penciled into the Flyers’ opening-night lineup on paper, but both have made it clear they’re not here to simply make up the numbers.
Bump, a fifth-round pick in 2022, has carried himself with the mix of confidence and poise that often separates “long shot” prospects from actual NHLers. His ability to hold onto pucks and create offense in traffic hasn’t gone unnoticed.
Grebenkin, meanwhile, has been one of the liveliest players on the ice all week, buzzing around drills and showing that his offensive instincts can mesh with NHL talent.
The Flyers have been vocal about internal competition being one of the most important drivers of growth this season. Both Rick Tocchet and veteran players have pointed to how much harder guys are working because the lineup is far from set in stone. Preseason isn’t just “tryout season” for the prospects—it’s accountability season for the veterans, too. And Bump and Grebenkin have positioned themselves as two of the biggest disruptors of the depth chart.
Camp has also been a laboratory for experimenting with line combinations and defensive pairings, some of which will almost certainly spill into preseason games.
Among the most intriguing: Grebenkin skating with Sean Couturier and Matvei Michkov. It’s a trio that blends veteran savvy, electric skill, and youthful hunger—exactly the sort of mix that can make or break a game.
Elsewhere, Owen Tippett has gotten quite a few reps in with Jett Luchanko and Alexis Gendron, an alignment that marries Tippett’s elite speed and established scoring punch with two equally quick, high-energy prospects eager to show they belong.
On the blue line, Tocchet has been unafraid to shuffle the deck. We’ve seen Spencer Gill paired with Travis Sanheim, as well as Cam York with Helge Grans. These combinations are far from final, but they suggest the Flyers are interested in testing how their more offensive-minded defensemen mesh with larger, more physical partners. It’s less about penciling in permanent duos right now and more about stress-testing chemistry before the season really begins.
For fans watching, this is where preseason gets fun: seeing which combinations click, which fizzle, and which spark something entirely new.
For all the talk of fresh starts and new direction, this will be the first time we actually see Rick Tocchet’s systems applied in game action. Camp has been full of cues about what to expect—an emphasis on puck possession, sharper reads, and more deliberate offensive zone play.
But as Tocchet himself has noted, there’s a difference between running drills in Voorhees and facing live NHL competition. “We threw some new drills—they don’t know my drills, so you have to take that into effect,” he said earlier in camp. That’s coach-speak for: there’s going to be some rough edges.
Still, even an imperfect first look will be instructive. How aggressive are the defensemen at holding the blue line? How much are forwards being asked to hang onto pucks instead of chipping and chasing? How tight is the neutral zone structure? These are the details that will begin to define what a Tocchet-led Flyers team looks like.
And if there are mistakes along the way—and there will be—that’s part of the process. Preseason isn’t about the scoreline; it’s about whether the blueprint starts to reveal itself under real conditions.
The Bottom Line
The Islanders game won’t be the end all, be all to decide the roster or set line combinations and defensive pairings in stone, but it will provide clarity. Fans will see whether camp standouts like Bump and Grebenkin can translate their energy into live games, which experimental line pairings show promise, and how Tocchet’s vision starts to manifest when the whistle blows for real.
It’s the first real chapter of a new season. And for a Flyers team that has stressed competition, patience, and steady growth, it’s exactly the kind of test that sets the tone for what comes next.
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