Flyers defense remains in state of flux, but on the ice, it's still thriving

Louie Belpedio is far from a household name.

It would be reasonable to wager that even a high percentage of Philadelphia Flyers fans weren’t even aware he was in the organization prior to Thursday night, when he popped up in the team’s starting lineup slated to face the Minnesota Wild.

Just four NHL games played at age 27? No problem. In 15:26 solid minutes, Belpedio more than held his own.

“I thought he played really well. I thought he played with poise,” head coach John Tortorella said after the Flyers’ 6-2 win.

It’s a statement that could extend to the entirety of the Flyers’ hodgepodge of a blueline corps, consisting of new faces, unproven prospects, and familiar players in unfamiliar roles.

Like Belpedio on Thursday night, it’s a group that — thus far — is experiencing unexpected on-ice success.

For some teams, continuity on the back end is paramount, with the coaching staff adamant to let three pairs develop as much early season chemistry as possible. The Flyers? Only once have they followed up a game with the exact same D-corps the next night.

The continuity has essentially been nonexistent. Yet it hasn’t mattered. Regardless of the combinations, or the exact nightly mix, Philadelphia’s blueline corps through seven games is shutting down the opposition. They now have five straight games of holding their opponent to under 30 shots, and no team has allowed fewer expected goals per 60 minutes (2.46, per Natural Stat Trick’s model) than the Flyers.

This coming from a team that traded away its No. 1 defenseman in the offseason, handed top pair duties to a 22-year old second-year player and a veteran coming off his worst NHL season, and changes its blueline mix on a seemingly daily basis.

Thursday brought a new set of adjustments long before puck drop. Prospect Emil Andrae, who had made the team out of camp despite uneven play in preseason, was sent down after four NHL games that carried on said trend.

“You just weigh it out – is this good for him right now? We felt it wasn’t,” Tortorella said.

It’s not that Andrae didn’t have positive moments. He flashed his plus passing ability, his competitiveness in battles, his hockey sense. But the mistakes were simply too frequent, as his on-ice expected goal rate of 32.77 percent at five-on-five hinted.

“It’s too much. It’s too much for him right now, the speed of it, how quickly you have to make decisions,” Tortorella elaborated. “I think the size of the rink (is impacting him), which comes into play (in) how quickly you do have to play in the NHL.”

So Andrae goes down, in spite of the continued absences of Marc Staal (out at least a month) and Rasmus Ristolainen, who suffered an injury setback last week and has yet to be given a set timeline for his return. The Flyers initially envisioned both playing an important role in stabilizing what they expected to be a young and erratic blueline — yet another reason why the group’s early success is such a surprise.

But the absence of two veterans doesn’t matter as much when still-active vets are playing this well.

Leading the way, of course, is Travis Sanheim, who continues to thrive in his new role as the team’s No. 1 defenseman.

“TK and I were saying after the game, he’s just on a different level this year,” Owen Tippett said. “He’s driving the back end right now.”

On Thursday, Sanheim certainly was behind the wheel, logging 27:36 minutes, and cracking the 20-minute mark before the second period even came to a close. It was Sanheim’s fourth straight game skating for at least 25 minutes, which didn’t slow him at all — in fact, Sanheim pushed his production pace over the point-per-game mark, racking up a goal and two assists to give him eight points in seven games thus far.

Sanheim hasn’t been the only standout, however. Sean Walker continues to quietly pile up strong performances, helping Philadelphia to control a whopping 72.8 percent of the expected goals at even strength on Thursday. Walker’s game may not be flashy — at least, when he’s not scoring shorthanded goals in consecutive games. But it’s caught the attention of his coaches (20:56 minutes per night entering Thursday) and his teammates.

“He’s not the biggest guy, but he’s a really good skater and he takes away that time and space,” Sean Couturier said. “Always has good gaps, and can close plays early on before they can get (a shot) off the rush. He’s doing a great job.”

Even Nick Seeler — who over the first few games of the season was the blueline’s statistical weak point — put together a solid night on Thursday with new partner Belpedio. So what’s the secret?

“Well, I think we’re trying to make it simple — as simple as we can — for them,” Couturier explained. “Forwards are trying to come back and help them, support them and take off when we see we have full possession and present different options. Credit to them, they’re moving the puck really well, and making quick decisions. That’s key.”

Tortorella concurred with Couturier’s assessment.

“I think they help one another,” Tortorella said. “That’s the only way that we’re going to stay competitive in the league this year, as we build and go through it. We’re going to go through some growing pains. It’s (being) together. We have to do it as a group, as a committee.”

It’s that approach that has allowed the rest of the blueline corps to pick up the slack for struggling rookies, such as the newly-demoted Andrae, and even Egor Zamula, whose game is starting to sag a bit. Zamula was scorched on Paul Cotter’s game-tying goal in Las Vegas on Tuesday night, and was involved in the defensive breakdown on Minnesota’s second goal two nights later. It’s likely why Tortorella wasn’t willing to commit to removing Zamula fully from the lineup rotation that kept him cycling in and out for the first few games of the season.

“I have no idea what’s gonna (happen),” Tortorella said. “I have no crystal ball, as far as what we’re (gonna do). We’ll just have to watch them play, and we think we’re hurting them and not developing them, that’s when we have to make some decisions, whether it be sit out games, or go to the minors. I just don’t have an answer until we go through that.”

Zamula’s non-waiver exempt status probably will keep him out of the minors, as the Flyers know that if they try to reassign him to Lehigh Valley, there’s a non-zero chance he gets snapped up by another club. And at least for now, he’s not only playing — Thursday was his third straight start — but getting top-four minutes as well, finishing with 18:21 against the Wild (third-most among Flyers blueliners).

If Zamula were to sit in the near future, however, it wouldn’t be for another prospect — or even an established NHL vet. It will be for one of Belpedio or Victor Mete, the final piece of Thursday’s blueline corps shakeup.

Neither Belpedio nor Mete qualify as prospects anymore. Mete was once a highly-touted youngster in the Montreal organization, but regressed and was ultimately waived by the Canadiens in 2021 and nabbed by Ottawa, who gave up on him after a year-long test run of their own. At age 25, Mete is now more a reclamation project than prospect. Belpedio isn’t even that — Thursday was just his fifth NHL game at age 27.

So why Belpedio and Mete, and not one or more of the kids down in Lehigh, such as Ronnie Attard or Adam Ginning?

“They’re not ready,” Tortorella bluntly stated on Thursday morning.

One might take a quick look at the numbers and question that assertion. Both Attard and Ginning have three points in five AHL games this season, after all, while Belpedio and Mete sit at one apiece. But point totals aren’t exactly the best way to judge a defenseman, otherwise Tony DeAngelo would have been universally viewed as the Flyers’ best blueliner last season. And while Tortorella obviously hasn’t watched Phantoms games this season — he’s fairly busy coaching the NHL team — Lehigh Valley head coach Ian Laperriere has, with general manager Daniel Briere keeping a close eye on the situation in Allentown as well. It was their feedback that Tortorella parroted on Thursday.

“They have not played well enough to warrant a callup,” he contended. “As much as we want kids all the time, you’ve got to do your work down there, too. Because there’s merit going on down there also.”

Ginning did have two assists on Sunday, but was a -4 on Saturday, and given his primary selling point is his defensive prowess, a night like that doesn’t exactly scream “NHL-ready.” As for Attard, he also had a high-scoring game on Sunday (one goal, one assist), but it appears the coaching staff isn’t thrilled with his early-season defensive play. Per Phantoms broadcaster Bob Rotruck, Attard was pulled off the power play last weekend, a tactic the Lehigh Valley coaches deployed early last season as well, when they felt Attard was focused too much on scoring points and not enough on his play without the puck.

“To me, it’s a wake-up call for Ronnie Attard,” Tortorella bluntly stated. “It’s a wake-up call. You weren’t called up. We need a defenseman, you weren’t called up. So something must be going on.”

Laperriere’s input surely played a large role in that assessment. But he’s not the only person observing the prospects in Allentown up close. Briere has been spotted at multiple Phantoms games, and both Alyn McCauley and Riley Armstrong — leaders of the Flyers’ restructured player development department — have been regular attendees at home games as well.

Attard and Ginning weren’t passed over due to neglect or a preference for veterans on the back end. If the first seven games have shown anything, it’s that this Flyers blueline corps can handle rookie mistakes and regular lineup rotations and still hold its own. They were passed over because the organization believes that neither Attard nor Ginning deserves a recall just yet. Just as Andrae doesn’t yet deserve to remain in the NHL, and Zamula doesn’t quite yet deserve to be locked into every-night starter status.

The result is a blueline corps that is in a constant state of flux. But at least so far, all the injuries, scratches, and unexpected recalls of players like Belpedio have done nothing to rattle the group as a whole.

Assorted observations

2. Bobby Brink scored his first NHL goal on Thursday night in the second period via an accidental Sean Couturier pass (his feed went off an official’s skate and right to a wide-open Brink), and then for good measure, added a second tally in the third period. He was serenaded to a raucous “Bobby! Bobby! Bobby!” chant when he finally entered the Flyers’ locker room after a postgame interview.

3. Unlike Brink, Tyson Foerster has yet to score his first goal of the 2023-24 campaign, but over the past three games in particular, he appears to be making real progress. He set up Sanheim’s third period goal with a slick backhand pass, and nearly scored a goal of his own in the second period. He’s banging on the door.

4. Ristolainen’s injury status is undeniably concerning, because the original organizational expectation was that he would play sometime last week, but especially due to the simple fact that the Flyers are reverting back to the unnecessary secrecy that they leaned upon with Cam Atkinson last season — and everyone remembers how that ended.

Is Ristolainen going to be out longer-term?

“I have no idea,” Tortorella responded before practice on Thursday.

Is this going to be a nebulous recovery process, or might clarity come soon?

“Yes, if that’s the word (nebulous) that you want to use,” Tortorella answered.

Hoo boy.

5. The Flyers may be 4-2-1 now and in second in the Metropolitan Division, but it’s worth noting that Tortorella isn’t acting like his club is a sleeper Stanley Cup contender, or even a playoff contender. It’s possible that Tortorella does think that national observers are underrating his club. But his on-the-record statements imply that he doesn’t believe that the Flyers are truly this good, and that struggles are still on the horizon, even if his team is outshooting and outchancing their opponents during this early-season run.