Last week, it was Dan Hilferty and Keith Jones giving the State of the Flyers ahead of training camp. On Tuesday, Danny Briere took his turn in front of the media ahead of the start of the training camp, set to begin on Thursday.

Briere touched on more of the on-ice aspects of the team, touching on injury updates to key players and where there may be opportunities for players to step into new roles. He also offered his own version of expectations for the upcoming season. 

Here are five takeaways from Briere’s presser.

Injury Updates

Briere opened the press conference with some injury updates. First, on defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, who had surgery on a right triceps tendon rupture in April.

“Risto is moving ahead. We knew all along that he wouldn’t start the season,” Briere said. “But everything’s moving and looking good for him to meet up with the team in hopefully the first month and a half, two months of the season at some point.”

Next, Tyson Foerster has been skating in informal sessions prior to training camp. It was once believed that Foerster could miss significant time this season after having an infection in his elbow. Now, his path to playing appears to be much shorter.

“He’s in a non-contact jersey to start training camp,” Briere said, “but within the first week we should be able to remove that and have him be able to take physicality and hopefully later in camp getting into some games.”

Briere also provided updates on Jett Luchanko and Oliver Bonk. Luchanko did not take the ice in rookie camp, and was held out as a precaution to prepare for main training camp. He was sidelined with a groin injury for development camp. Luchanko will be a full participant on Thursday.

Bonk had an upper-body injury pop up during rookie camp. He had imaging done on Tuesday morning and are waiting for updates from doctors.

Insight on the Fedotov Trade

This was also Briere’s first time in front of the media since making a trade on Sunday morning, sending Ivan Fedotov to Columbus for a 2026 sixth-round pick.

Briere elaborated on the reasoning of the trade and how it will help the Flyers with both their salary cap situation and ensure that playing time is easier to divide in the minors.

“One of the big things is it helps give us a little more space salary cap-wise,” Briere said. “We were close. It gives us the option of keeping, a little more freely, 23 roster players if we want to. 

“The fact is Carson Bjarnason turning pro, he’s a prospect we want to develop. Having two guys that were probably going to take ice time away from him and his development, we wanted to clear the path there a little bit for him to play. Obviously now, we see [Aleksei] Kolosov as the No. 3. Clearly Carson will be the No. 4 and will get some games. Hopefully he pushes and earns more starts as the season goes by. It clears up some space for our young guys.”

Kolosov had an interesting 2024-25 season, getting more playing time in the NHL than AHL, 17 NHL games to 12 AHL games. The numbers reflected the team’s poor goaltending play across the board, and showed how much Kolosov needs more playing time and development in the minors. Briere said that with this trade, it opens the door for him to do that.

“Kolosov, it was a rough season for him last year. Didn’t play a lot. I don’t need to go back into that situation,” Briere said. “It’s important for him to play a lot of games this year. He’s still young. He’s still a prospect. It kind of opens the door for him to play more games and to start probably in the AHL and find his game, find his confidence, find the swagger we had seen from him in the previous few seasons in the KHL.” 

Closing the Door on Hart

When the trade was made involving Fedotov, there was some speculation that the Flyers were gearing up to bring back Carter Hart. Hart is now eligible to sign a contract on Oct. 15 after being acquitted of sexual assault charges in July.

There were reports that Hart was seeking a fresh start, and that was confirmed by Briere.

“The only comment I’ll make on that is that his representative, Judd Moldaver, has reached out and kind of told us that, in light of everything that happened in the last year and a half with Carter, they felt, and Carter felt, that it was better for them to look for a fresh start,” Briere said. “That’s where it’s at and it’s the only comment I’m going to make on it.”

The Opportunity for Internal Competition

Training camp is an opportunity for players to earn roster spots. In some cases, there are clearly defined openings where several players could slot in. 

The Flyers have a few of these opportunities, notably a forward spot or two that could go to players like Alex Bump or Jett Luchanko, but there isn’t much room for prospects to make the team without making a significant impact in the preseason.

That said, it doesn’t mean there’s a lack of competition. Briere noted that internal competition is as much for responsibilities and playing time as it is for a spot on the team.

“Part of the reason why some guys lost responsibilities and gave us the chance to reset in some form – the trade of Farabee, Frost, Laughton – the reality is those guys were starting to lose responsibilities because our young guys were starting to step up,” Briere said. “Now we have more young guys that are pushing. That, to me, is what’s exciting. Nobody can be comfortable or happy with what they’ve done in the past. They’ve got to keep getting better and better. And that includes all our veterans because our young guys are starting to push. They want more and they’re hungry for more. The following year we’re going to have more of these guys who are pushing. 

“That’s really where it’s exciting for me and we expect more of a fight internally and we hope that it’s going to make us better and more competitive throughout the season and maybe push to get closer to the playoffs. At the end of the day, we want to make the playoffs. It’s not the priority, but we still want to make the playoffs. I want the players to keep pushing in that direction.”

Getting a Fresh Start

To follow up on Briere’s comments about internal competition, a new coaching staff, new additions, and young players trying to break through essentially means a clean slate and fresh start for all players in camp.

“For some of the guys that had certain responsibilities, you can’t take it for granted,” Briere said. “It’s kind of the message every year, but even more so this year with a new coaching staff and the fact that we have new additions and young guys who are pushing. Nobody should be comfortable with what they had in the past.”

Two players that Briere sees that could use a fresh start and run with it are Cam York and Jamie Drysdale. The two defensemen offer good mobility and the potential for a solid offensive skill set. Briere is confident that both can regain their form.

“We certainly believe that,” Briere said. “We think [York’s] closer to what he was two years ago than what he was last season. I can say the same thing about Drysdale. I’m really excited for those two guys going into this season.”

Flyers training camp opens on Thursday. They play their first game of the preseason on Sunday night on the road against the New York Islanders.