Flyers want Zegras (and the power play) in attack mode originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

VOORHEES, N.J. — With fans huddled around the boards last Saturday for the Flyers’ training camp scrimmage, Trevor Zegras had everyone’s attention as he skated into a 2-on-1 opportunity alongside Matvei Michkov.

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Zegras, a talented playmaker who loves to facilitate, pumped the brakes a bit and looked for Michkov. Eventually, the Flyers’ new center had to shoot, ripping one into the goalie’s leg pad.

While Rick Tocchet likes all the skill in Zegras’ game, he would have liked some decisiveness there, too. Maybe even some selfishness.

“I know he wants to pass to Michkov, he’s waiting, he’s waiting and at that point, he puts himself out of [space]. He has got to attack,” the Flyers’ new head coach said last Saturday. “I’ve got to get him to attack because he’s such a good little player. But that’s why we have training camp at the start of the year. He has got a lot of tools that we can work with, which excites our staff.

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“But there are certain parts of the game, he has got to attack a little bit more inside, and he will. I’ve had him for three days, so I’m not worried about it. I will give him a lot of credit, he’s skating really well out here, really well, and it seems like he’s in pretty good shape.”

The Flyers made a headline-grabbing trade in June to acquire Zegras from the Ducks. The 2019 ninth overall pick was the runner-up for the Calder Trophy in 2021-22 and then scored a career-high 65 points the following season.

But he became a change-of-scenery candidate with Anaheim over the last two seasons. His production dipped, he battled injuries and he bounced to the wing. To open this season, it sure looks like the Flyers want to give him a shot at being a top-six center.

“I’ve played center my whole hockey career up until last season,” Zegras said last Thursday, “so I definitely feel a little bit more comfortable through the middle of the ice.”

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To be more effective at center, the 24-year-old knows he’ll have to improve his game in the dot. He has a 40.1 career faceoff percentage. His new teammate Sean Couturier is one of the better faceoff guys in the league.

“I was laughing with him, I was playing the new video game (NHL 26) and his X factor is faceoffs,” Zegras said, “so I went right to him and was like, ‘What do you got for me?’”

The Flyers are hoping Zegras’ high-end vision and skill give them a significant boost on the power play. The club has sported an NHL-worst 13.7 power play percentage over the last four seasons combined.

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New assistant coaches Yogi Svejkovsky and Jay Varady will team up to run the power play.

“They’re great communicators, excellent at teaching concepts,” Tocchet said last Friday. “We’re not about plays, we’re about concepts. … You don’t want to make these guys robotic. Sometimes power plays are robotic. Football, it’s like, ‘You’re going here.’ It’s a little different. If the [penalty kill] does this, what is your concept from that? … I think we’ve got to let these guys be carefree, but there are also concepts.”

At the start of last Saturday’s scrimmage, the Flyers worked on their power play. The first unit consisted of Zegras, Couturier, Michkov, Travis Konecny and Jamie Drysdale. The second unit had Tyson Foerster, Noah Cates, Bobby Brink, Owen Tippett and Travis Sanheim on it, while Cam York and Christian Dvorak rotated in for some reps.

Similar to what he wants to see from Zegras, Tocchet will look for the Flyers’ power play to be assertive.

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“You beat pressure, we have to attack the interior,” he said. “I didn’t see that much last year. You have to be able to take those shots from the middle of the point to open up power plays. You’ve got to take that shot, so we’ve got to make sure whoever’s up there, he’s going to bomb away if that’s what the team’s going to give us.

“Whatever the team gives you and it’s a Grade A, you take it. We’re not looking for tic-tac-toes. If they’re there, take it. To me, be aggressive. The best power plays are the teams that break pressure and they attack, so that’s what we’re going to do.”