After returning home from a two-game road trip in which the Philadelphia Flyers went 1-1-0, they held quite an intense practice on Monday at the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees, New Jersey.

The Flyers ran some high-intensity drills, in what felt like the most game-like practice the team had run all season.

Before the practice picked up its pace, two of the Flyers’ injured defencemen skated. Here is what you need to know from Monday in Voorhees.

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Rasmus Ristolainen continues to rehab

Flyers’ defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen continues his rehab, getting an individual skate in before practice.

Ristolainen has been skating individually a few times before Flyers practices. He is still rehabbing after triceps surgery in March 2025.

On October 27th, Briere had said they were looking at a four- to six-week window for Ristolainen to join the team. Ristolainen could be gearing up to practice with the team around the end of the month.

Oliver Bonk skates at practice

Injured Flyers prospect Oliver Bonk skated with the team for a portion of Monday’s practice. Bonk has been out since rookie camp with an upper-body injury.

The Flyers’ defenseman prospect joined the Flyers on the ice in a red non-contact jersey while the team was split between two rinks. When the Flyers combined on the main sheet, Bonk hung back.

Since Briere gave an update on the injured defensemen, Bonk has not skated with the team. This is a clear sign that Bonk is progressing well.

For reference, Bonk was never officially assigned to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms since he was injured during camp. Bonk skating with the Flyers on Monday is not an indicator that he’ll be with the Flyers once activated.

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York misses practice

Flyers’ defenseman Cam York was the only absent player at Monday’s practice. Head coach Rick Tocchet said it was a maintenance day for the top-pair defender. The coach added that he could have practiced on Monday, but said York is dealing with a “minor thing.”

With the Flyers not playing until Thursday, and having Sunday as a day off, giving York a maintenance day on Monday gave him two days to help get over said “minor thing.”

York has seen a significant increase in ice time under Tocchet. The 24-year-old defenseman has been averaging just under 25 minutes per game this season.

Flyers hold a competitive practice

One thing was clear after Flyers practice: it was one of, if not the most competitive, practices this season.

When asked about the high intensity at practice, Flyers’ alternate Travis Konecny said, “I love them. It was getting a little competitive, a little chippy, and I think we need it. It’s good. I think you get in that competitive mindset, and it’s good.”

Head coach Rick Tocchet said that the team needed it. Tocchet said that the lack of intensity could partially be attributed to the schedule, but it’s mostly the team being backed in. “We just need a good practice of getting in on people and working on our forecheck. And, you know, it’s just not one guy, but five guys participating in all the aspects of the game, whether it’s defending or forechecking. So I think we needed a good pushing and shove in practice.”

One area of focus was small area games. The Flyers set up two nets with a goalie in each on either side of the faceoff circle, and ran a 2v2 drill.

Tocchet said he is a big believer in those kinds of small-area games. “You got to use your body position, you got to use your creativity, you got to hold on to pucks. All these little aspects in the game are there in that game, or five-on-five. I’m a big believer in that sort of stuff.”

To conclude, Trevor Zegras and Bobby Brink were on the ice for over an hour after practice, working on a variety of things like saucer passes, shots, and more.

The team has two days between their next game, when they take on the Blues Thursday night at home. It’s fair to assume there will be two practices in between, with one likely being optional.

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