John Tortorella’s first Flyers training camp begins with a test in both physical and ‘mental toughness’

Two cycles into the Flyers’ first conditioning skate on the inaugural day of training camp, head coach John Tortorella wasn’t so sure left winger Nic Deslauriers was going to survive the 30-minute gauntlet of drills.

Deslauriers and the rest of Group C, the second group to hit the ice Thursday, sprinted laps around nets on either end of the ice multiple times as the coaching staff gradually pushed them further apart with each repetition. Players capped their laps with bent-over respites of huffing and puffing before migrating back to the blue line for their next turn. But even though Tortorella described Deslauriers’ skate in particular as “ugly as hell,” the 31-year-old forward completed the drill without stopping.

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To Tortorella, that was all that mattered. In a conversation with Deslauriers afterward, Tortorella said he hoped the rest of Group C watched the nine-year NHL veteran’s fight to finish.

“Those are important little things,” Tortorella said. “It’s not a goal. It’s not Xs-and-Os or a great defensive zone coverage. It’s just a little mental toughness that he showed. And I think that is something that people need to draw off of.”

That mental toughness is a reflection of something bigger to Tortorella — a will. A will for each player to push through fatigue on the ice, even when their bodies want to quit. A will is a choice to persevere at all costs, and it’s a choice the Flyers are preparing to make as they approach the physically and mentally strenuous season ahead.

“It’s going to be a demanding camp,” right winger Wade Allison said. “It’s going to be a demanding year. So might as well start now.”

Most of the Flyers arrived at their training facility in Voorhees three weeks ago, logging ice time and hitting the weight room in anticipation of an infamous Tortorella training camp. Those skaters put their preparation to work on Thursday morning with the first on-ice session of training camp, which solely focused on conditioning. The players didn’t touch a single puck.

After the first drill of skating laps, which lasted roughly 15 minutes, the Flyers moved on to their final drill of the day, in which players lined up on the goal line, skated to the opposite one, and skated back. Upon the conclusion of practice, some players lingered on the bench longer than others, catching their breath before heading back to the locker room.

When defenseman Tony DeAngelo arrived in the media room for his post-practice news conference, he said he tried to find an elevator to get to the upper floor. He had to settle for taking the staircase, unable to spare his legs. But it was all for a greater good, according to DeAngelo.

“I think the harder we push each other, the better team we’re going to be,” DeAngelo said.

As he continues to work his way back from artificial disk replacement surgery in his neck this offseason, left winger Joel Farabee was a full participant in the conditioning skate that commenced Flyers training camp.

Farabee, 22, has not been cleared for contact and is considered “week-to-week” to return to the lineup, according to general manager Chuck Fletcher. He will not participate in Friday’s intrasquad scrimmage in advance of the Flyers’ first preseason game Saturday against the Boston Bruins.

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Although he hasn’t been cleared for contact, Farabee is pleased with how he kept up with the rest of the pack on the first day of camp.

“I feel like my conditioning is pretty good right now,” Farabee said. “I feel like after the skate today, I felt pretty good. Probably wasn’t expecting to feel that good.”

Tortorella is still getting to know Farabee, but he sees the young winger as an important part of the Flyers’ offensive attack. Farabee’s absence also strains the team’s depth at left wing. If Tortorella can get a fully healthy Farabee back in the lineup soon, it would allow the Flyers to field a more balanced lineup, with players playing their natural sides and where they’re best-suited ability-wise.

“We need to get him stronger,” Tortorella said. “He’s still growing. But, like I’ve told Chuck right from the get-go, as I’ve watched him play and I look at our lineup and you kind of project it a little bit, he’s a pretty important guy as far as getting other pieces to the puzzle where there’s some balance into it.”