Ian Laperrière excited to work with so many new faces during his second Flyers rookie camp

When the Flyers take the ice for their first rookie game of the season Friday against the New York Rangers, Lehigh Valley Phantoms coach Ian Laperrière doesn’t want the players to play to impress.

Laperrière, who is running the four-day rookie camp that began Thursday, said there’s a tendency for players to try to show the coaches what they think they want to see, but he wants them to just be themselves.

» READ MORE: Rookie camp participant Colin Felix hopes to carry on his late father’s legacy with the Phantoms

“Don’t try to reinvent yourself right now,” Laperrière said. “Play the way that took you here.”

Many of the 26 players in camp are new to him, and he can’t wait to see who they are in game situations outside of the drills he ran them through Thursday.

Laperrière is going into his second season as head coach of the Phantoms and said he has made some adjustments from last season. His team was decimated by injuries but bounced back at the end of the season and made a late push for the playoffs. The new level of skill at camp this year gives him fresh hope for his AHL team.

» READ MORE: Phantoms’ Ian Laperrière believes a chaotic first season has only made him a better coach

Among the players he was already familiar with, Laperrière was impressed with the shape in which defensemen Egor Zamula and Wyatte Wylie returned. Meanwhile, defenseman Ronnie Attard is one new player for him.

In practice, Attard and Zamula played together in what would be the group’s top defensive pairing if they were playing a meaningful game.

“That’s big, eh?” Laperrière said. “Wow.”

Both Attard and Zamula stand at 6-foot-3. Last year, Attard was listed on the roster at 208 pounds and Zamula at 177 pounds. Since then, they have both focused on bulking up.

Zamula went home to Russia where he worked out with numerous NHL players. Starting in July, he hit the weight room every day. His gains? Twelve pounds.

Laperrière wasn’t the only one who noticed. Attard, who played with Zamula a bit with the Flyers at the end of last season, also acknowledged that Zamula looks noticeably bigger. Attard spent his offseason in Plymouth, Mich., working on adding size and strength.

“It’s a quick league, and everything happens fast,” Attard said. “So just having that extra strength, that extra step, it goes a long way.”

Both said they’re excited to be paired together. They built some chemistry last year, Attard said, and they feel like they complement each other.

However, the pair will not be together in Friday’s rookie game, Laperrière said. There are 10 defensemen, and he can play only six. Attard will sit out the first of the two games.

While many players have not yet met John Tortorella, his reputation precedes him — particularly his reputation for holding intense training camps.

Laperrière, who is notorious for hitting the gym as much as his players, joked that he’s in good shape but nowhere near the conditioning the players headed to training camp next week will need to be in.

The Phantoms coach has already met with Tortorella and described him as “pretty calm right now.” Tortorella told him to run his team the way he wants to run it, but Laperrière said the two of them already have a lot of the same philosophies.

» READ MORE: Flyers’ Kevin Hayes, Sean Couturier healthy again, prepared for a tough John Tortorella camp

The players did their research over the summer, trying to find out more about Tortorella from players who have worked with him in the past. Zamula said he worked out with some Russian players who played for Tortorella with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Artemi Panarin’s stories about Tortorella’s shot-blocking demands got Zamula excited for the challenge.

Laperrière believes he also can learn some things from the new Flyers boss.

“He’s probably going to be one of my good mentors, even if I’m not here every day, just to see how he adjusts and with the call-ups, I’ll pick the kids’ brains when they come back to me to see what Torts is doing,” Laperrière said.

The Flyers and Rangers will play at 7:05 p.m. Friday at the PPL Center in Allentown. ... Camp invitees Jonathan Lemieux and Nolan Maier will be the goalies while Samuel Ersson most likely will play Saturday. ... The recently retired Samuel Morin was standing with the Flyers player development staff on Thursday. His new title has not been announced.