It was quite the season for Flyers defenseman Cam York. In the final year of a two-year deal, York endured a trying season. 

He suffered an injury in October and missed 13 games. Two other times during the season, he was a healthy scratch.

On March 25, it all came to a head. York played just 3:50 in a 7-2 loss to Toronto, getting benched for the final 50 minutes of the game by John Tortorella. There was a reported verbal altercation between the Flyers defenseman and the then head coach.

Two days later, Tortorella was fired, and York spent the entirety of the Flyers’ 6-4 win over Montreal on the bench, dressed for the game, but never taking a shift.

When the 2024-25 season was over, York had just four goals and 17 points in 66 games, a step back from a 10-goal, 30-point season in 2023-24. 

“That year was obviously really frustrating for me,” York said on Tuesday in a Zoom press conference. “I felt like at the end of the day, though, I learned a lot from that year, and I’m going to be able to take that year and kind of use it as an example for me down the road. And, obviously, I don’t want to experience that again, or have that feeling again.

“So obviously extremely motivated to have a big next year. I think it’s important just to continue to have the belief in yourself, and I’m more than confident that I can come back and have a big year.”

York is one of many that need to take a step forward. York’s new five-year contract is more than just a long-term commitment. It’s a vote of confidence from GM Danny Briere that York is firmly part of the future. It’s part of what made York comfortable with the deal.

“I obviously love Philadelphia, and it’s my home and where I’m comfortable, and I just wanted to be there as long as I could, really,” York said. “I wanted to stay and be a part of what’s going on here, and obviously, a really exciting time to join and be a part of this really good group moving forward.”

Considering the way the season ended, for both York and the team, it’s a clean slate in a lot of ways. For York, playing for new head coach Rick Tocchet provides an opportunity to gain new opportunities and earn more trust right away.

“Earning the trust of Tocc is going to be important for me early on,” York said. “Like every player with a first-year coach, you’ve got to earn his trust and then the opportunities are going to come for you. You’ve got to play hard and do the little things to earn the trust and I think that’s going to be a big thing for me.”

One of those opportunities could be power-play time, something York didn’t see much of in 2024-25. York has always played on the power play throughout his career, whether at World Juniors with Team USA or in college at Michigan or in his path to the NHL, both with Lehigh Valley and in Philadelphia. More power play time could allow for York to reach an offensive ceiling that he has shown in the past and believes could be there in the future.

“I think, offensively, I have so much more to give,” York said. “I think when you’re on the power play and you’re getting more puck touches, your offensive numbers will go up. Obviously, my familiarity with Trevor [Zegras], who’s now on the team, I just feel like the familiarity is there and could be a good connection, potentially. But I feel like my lateral movement on the blue line is good, and I have a good shot. So, anything I can do to help.”

Zegras and York were teammates for several years at different points in their development. They have a history from playing in both the US National Development Team Program and Team USA at World Junior Championships.

Both players took the college route, York at Michigan and Zegras at Boston University. Zegras was drafted ninth overall in 2019 by Anaheim. York was selected by the Flyers five picks later. Zegras’ first NHL experience happened to be in York’s hometown. 

Now the two reunite after Zegras was acquired by the Flyers earlier this offseason. York believes Zegras can bring an element that the Flyers have lacked.

“We were high school troublemakers together; really good friends,” York said. “He brings a skill set that we haven’t seen, probably, in a while. And I think it’s going to be really good for our team just to be around him in practice. “He’s going to make our entire team more skilled. And I think that’s going to be really important for us.

“He’s just a unique player. There’s guys in the league that have skill, and there’s guys that have elite skill, and I would say he’s in that elite category. So obviously, the organization, the fans, should all be super excited, because he’s a guy that can definitely get you out of your seat.”

Zegras and York, both 24, are part of a young core that the Flyers have been building for several years. York feels that the depth that has been added, the skill that was acquired, and the addition of Tocchet behind the bench can be the combination needed to help the Flyers take the next step in their process.

“You look at our team, I feel like we’ve added depth, we’ve added skill,” York said. “We’ve been in kind of this little rut here for a few years and I think every player on the team has learned and adapted to new things. I just feel like we’re at the stage where we’re ready to break out.

“You look at our young core, it’s a really good group of guys, a really skilled group of guys. You add Tocc into the mix there, I think he’s going to be a great fit for our team and he’s going to be able to take us to that next level, get to where we want to be and that’s obviously in the playoffs.”