Flyers thoughts: Tyson Foerster is out of the no-contact jersey, and has the attention of the NHL’s best

Tyson Foerster is out of the purple no-contact jersey and back in with the standard black and orange practice sweaters.

It's a good sign for his opening night status as the Flyers winger tries to stay clear of any setbacks from an offseason elbow infection.

"We've gradually kind of let him in some drills with some pushing and shoving," head coach Rick Tocchet said following Tuesday's training camp skate in Voorhees. "Now he's to the next level. I don't wanna give a date, but obviously when you give a guy a little bit more physicality back, you're getting closer."

Then Tocchet shared another good sign about the 23-year-old, this one pertaining to how he's seen around the rest of the NHL.

"Over in the World Championships, Sidney Crosby called and he told me that he loved him," Tocchet said "Just off the ice, he's a sponge and stuff like that. So when you hear that from one of the best players that a guy on your team, he really likes – he even said that about Noah Cates – pretty good endorsement."

No kidding.

Foerster's out of the no-contact jersey. pic.twitter.com/mXgXlTIlAH

— Nick Tricome (@itssnick) September 23, 2025

Foerster went with Flyers teammates Travis Konecny and Travis Sanheim to skate for Team Canada at the IIHF World Championship back in the spring, after their 2024-25 season had ended.

Crosby, the Pittsburgh Penguins' longtime superstar and captain, joined Team Canada, too.

Obviously, there's the Pittsburgh-Philly rivalry, which has never kept Crosby in Flyers fans' good graces.

But put that aside for a second, and it's undeniable that Crosby is (still) one of the best hockey players in the world.

That Foerster left such a positive impression on one of the game's biggest stars, as Tocchet relayed, should say a lot about the kind of player Foerster is and could be well on his way to becoming.

He's already turned in back-to-back 20-plus goal seasons within his first two full years in the NHL, and provided he's fully cleared for this season's start, he should be set up to strive for far greater.

Having the attention of the league's best, it seems, should be a good sign of that.

A few more thoughts on the Flyers…

It takes two

Tocchet went into his philosophy for creating line combinations during camp's opening last Thursday, explaining how he took influence from a Hall of Fame coach.

"I think Scotty Bowman was a genius behind the bench," Tocchet said last week. "He was the pair guy, you know? Have pairs, and you can always rotate a guy in and out as the third guy. I do like that process sometimes."

But that's not a hard rule. If there's a trio that works well together – like how Foerster, Noah Cates, and Bobby Brink did last season – he'll run with it.

"But I do like having two guys that work well together, and you can always put a third guy in one night or two nights, three nights, and then put another guy in," Tocchet continued. "We did it actually in Pittsburgh a little bit, and it creates energy.

"Now, as coach, you gotta be careful that you're not doing it too much and you're not pulling the plug all the time, but I'll see how that goes on."

It could strike a balance between lineup flexibility and offering forwards a fair chance to build consistent chemistry, though.

A noticeable forward pairing on the ice in Voorhees so far has been Matvei Michkov and Nikita Grebenkin.

The Russian wingers have been running drills together, and with Michkov as the on-the-rise star and Grebenkin as the skilled prospect waiting to break through, the Flyers might be trying to see how their talents and play styles complement one another.

A line of Michkov, Travis Konecny, and Trevor Zegras as their center was an interesting combo, too, and one that moved the puck pretty fluidly through transition drills.

Konecny, Zegras, and bubble prospect Alex Bump has been another interesting trio through camp so far as well.

That said, it's still a bit too early to get a good gauge on what the Flyers' lines could end up looking like.

It's a new coaching staff under Tocchet that is looking for all kinds of new ideas, and the rosters carried for preseason games fluctuate wildly in the early going, which dictates who skates with who in the morning, as Tuesday night's group set to play in Montreal did.

There are a lot of cards on the table to sort through.

Bump it up

Alex Bump is knocking on the door of the Flyers' roster. The nerves don't seem to be getting to him.

"Honestly, coming into it, it's not as fast as I thought it was gonna be," Bump said Tuesday. "It was a little shaky first day, didn't really know what to expect. But, like I said, hasn't been too much of a change. I'm just trying to get comfortable, make some more plays, and be more poised out there."

Cold, but that's been known about Bump's demeanor for a while now.

Last season, when he joined the Phantoms for their playoff run in the AHL after winning a National Championship with Western Michigan in college, Bump carved up the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and wasn't shy about calling out their "soft defenders" after.

He's confident, if a bit arrogant, but self aware, too.

He got knocked around in the next round by the Hershey Bears, and knew getting stronger for the pro game was this summer's priority.

"Fill out my legs a little bit more," Bump said. "Guys are bigger, stronger, faster. I think, just the cliché is to get stronger."

Bump impressed during the Flyers' development camp earlier in the summer, when assistant GM Brent Flahr said after that the 21-year-old is "coming to make the team" for training camp.

Bump will skate Tuesday night in Montreal.

Andrae's way to defend

Emil Andrae is back in the mix for a roster spot on the Flyers' blue line.

He took strides toward becoming an NHL regular last season but still has to put the puzzle fully together, and do so as an undersized defenseman on a team that has a priority now on getting bigger and meaner.

But Tocchet does see a path for the 23-year-old.

"He's in the mix," Tocchet said. "Every practice, every game, he's gotta try to separate himself with the way he plays. You don't always have to be a big guy to defend. You defend with your brain, or you have the puck on your stick already."

Tocchet called back to coaching Vancouver Canucks star defenseman Quinn Hughes and how he always had the puck on his stick, so he didn't have to worry about defending as much.

Andrae came in as a promising, puck-controlling defenseman. He's not Hughes, and Tocchet didn't want to say that Andrae is or will be…

"But he has his attributes," Tocchet continued. "He's good with the puck. Now he's just gotta understand the next play.

"You gotta be careful you don't throw pucks away or you try too much. That's the balance for a kid like him. Yeah, we want him to move the puck. I want him to make plays at the blue line. If he wants to dance a guy, go for it. But be a little calculated. You gotta be careful you don't throw pucks away or make an ill-advised pass in the middle of the ice. That's the sweet spot he's gonna have to find."

While other defensemen on the roster bubble battle him for a spot, too.

• MORE FLYERS
• Bernie Parent was a Flyers icon, and Philadelphia's friend
• Rick Tocchet establishes Flyers' 'staples' on first day of training camp
• The Flyers are still building from within, but want to be an NHL destination again

Grans' shot

The Flyers won't have Rasmus Ristolainen for the first 1-2 months of the season as he rehabs back from a re-ruptured triceps.

That leaves them with a need for a big right-handed shot in their defensive pairings.

For Helge Grans, a righty listed at 6'4" and 205 pounds, this might be his best shot.

"It's my fifth season now in North America, and I feel like for every year, I've been trying more and more," the 23-year-old Swede said. "I feel like it's more possible every year."

And entering his third within the Flyers' organization, Grans has his opening.

The former 2020 second-round pick was part of the return from the L.A. Kings in the trade that sent Ivan Provorov to Columbus more than two years ago.

The Flyers have been impressed with the defenseman's progress since, especially with last season, when he produced 23 points and a minus-2 rating through 66 games down with the Phantoms, then posted four points in seven games through their minor-league playoff run.

Grans also had a six-game run up with the Flyers in November of last season, notching his first NHL point in his first career call-up before getting sent back to Lehigh Valley.

If he can take the next step, there could be a bigger opportunity waiting for him.

"I had a great couple of games up here last year," Grans said. "It's really got me fighting for more."

SIGN UP HERE to receive the PhillyVoice Sports newsletter

Follow Nick on Twitter: @itssnick

Follow Nick on Bluesky: @itssnick

Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports