Flyers sign veterans Artem Anisimov, Antoine Roussel to tryout offers, announce training camp schedule

Just three days before the Flyers hit the ice for the beginning of training camp, the team added two new faces to the mix on Monday, signing veteran forwards Artem Anisimov and Antoine Roussel to professional tryout offers.

Anisimov, a center, and Roussel, a left winger, will both look to impress at training camp in hopes of latching on with the team in bottom-six roles.

Anisimov, 34, will know what to expect at training camp, having played under John Tortorella with the New York Rangers from 2009-12. The 13-year NHL vet has racked up 180 goals and 376 points in 771 NHL games and most recently played in the Kontinental Hockey League with Yaroslavl Lokomotiv. Last season with the Russian-based team, Anisimov tallied eight goals and 19 points in 27 games.

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The season before, Anisimov was limited to 19 games with the Ottawa Senators because of various injuries and was placed on waivers, where he went unclaimed. The 6-foot-4, 198-pounder has recorded four 20-goal seasons at the NHL level, but at this stage of his career, he is known more for being a checking center who is strong on the puck.

Meanwhile, the 32-year-old Roussel is best known for playing a physical, in-your-face, brand of hockey, often bordering the line between chippy and dirty. He collected four goals and eight points, finished with a minus-16 rating, and amassed 59 penalty minutes in 53 games last season with the Arizona Coyotes.

Both players fit the mold of player that general manager Chuck Fletcher and Tortorella have targeted this offseason. The Flyers have consistently emphasized a desire to be “tougher to play against” in 2022-23, and, earlier this summer, they acquired Tony DeAngelo and enforcer Nic Deslauriers to help address overall team toughness.

Roussel, who has finished in the top 10 in the league in penalty minutes six times, once was a productive bottom-six winger, reaching double digits in goals in four straight seasons with Dallas between 2013-17. His best season came in 2019 with Vancouver when he racked up a career-high 31 points in 65 games before suffering a season-ending ACL injury. Since returning from that injury, he has not shown the same type of mobility and has seen his effectiveness dip over the last three seasons.

Anisimov and Roussel will be looking to carve out a roster spot on the Flyers’ fourth line. Entering camp, Zack MacEwen, Patrick Brown, and Deslauriers are projected to make up the fourth line.

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Anisimov and Roussel will be among 71 players at the first day of Flyers training camp, which will open Thursday at the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees.

The camp roster breaks down to 41 forwards, 22 defensemen, and eight goaltenders. The players will be sorted into four groups for three of the first four days, which will include on-ice and off-ice sessions. Friday and Sunday will feature scrimmages between the groups.

The roster is headlined by Kevin Hayes, Cam Atkinson, Travis Konecny, and newcomer DeAngelo. Injured forwards Joel Farabee (disk replacement surgery) and Bobby Brink (hip surgery) are on the initial roster as is defenseman Ryan Ellis (multilayered groin injury).

The Flyers will open the preseason at 7 p.m. Saturday against the Boston Bruins at the Wells Fargo Center. All preseason practices will be open and free to the public.