PHILADELPHIA – Travis Sanheim has the NHL’s third-highest minutes-per-game average (26:05) so far this season. His Flyers defense partner, Cam York, is not far behind, with his 24:48 ranking eighth.
Is this a formula for sustained success?
Less than a fifth of the way through this season, the two defensemen have piled up eye-opening numbers. Sanheim went into Wednesday night’s game against Edmonton with more than six hours of playing time under his belt and York, who missed the first three games of the season due to injury, was on the threshold of five hours.
At Wednesday morning’s skate at the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees, N.J., coach Rick Tocchet said he was aware of his top defensive pair’s playing time and that he would keep a close eye on the situation as the schedule gets even busier.
“It’s early in the season but there is a time when you’re sensitive to it,” Tocchet said. “Most of the really good ‘D’ play 20-plus (minutes), but when you get into 24, those types of minutes. . .we’re aware of it. We’ve got make some other guys get more minutes. We talk about it constantly, it’s in the backs of our minds.”
After a down year last season, York has bounced back with a flourish. He’s been steady on defense and is contributing to the offense in a big way, including on the power play.
“I think he had a really good summer,” Tocchet said. “Came to camp in a good frame of mind and in good shape. What I like is, he’s trying to make plays. He’s not just deferring. We use him in all situations.
“He was captain of his junior team. He was a leader then, he’s done a lot of good things in his career. Had a tough year last year so I think he’s just moved on from it.”
As for how he wants his defense to play, Tocchet came down on the side of controlled aggression. It’s OK to play with a physical edge and initiate physical action, but just be sure you’re not leaving your defensive zone unprotected.
“I think to be a really good hockey team, you have to activate your defense,” Tocchet said. “You have to take baby steps. We have activated our ‘D,’ especially early in the season. If we have four guys down by the net, though, the next thing you know you have a three-on-one (the other way).
“That’s a maturity thing. We need people to go in spots. We’re getting better at it. It’s a little bit of a give-and-take. We do want to activate the ‘D’, we just want to make sure the other guys participate.”
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The Flyers activated Tyson Foerster off injured reserve for the Oilers game and returned Carl Grundstrom to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Foerster last played Nov. 1.
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Defenseman Emil Andrae played in his sixth game of the season Wednesday night after starting the season with Lehigh Valley.
To date, he’s been a steady partner for veteran Noah Juulsen and maintaining a strong presence in the defensive zone.
“I think I’ve played pretty well here in this little period,” he said. “Just want to keep building and getting better. We’ve been playing good hockey so far it’s been pretty easy to transition from down there to up here.”
Andrae said the Flyers and Phantoms play basically the same system, so that makes the transition even a bit easier.
Source: Berkshire mont