Gostisbehere says he's fully recovered from knee surgery

Shayne Gostisbehere has gained 15 pounds since last year, shed some body fat thanks to summer workouts, and has put his knee surgery in the rearview mirror.

The knee, he said, is back to normal.

"It feels good," the speedy 5-foot-11, 186-pound defenseman said Tuesday after the Flyers' second day of rookie camp in Voorhees. "I have no limits out there. I feel great and hopefully I don't look too bad."

Relieved that he is able to resume his promising career, the player they call "Ghost" talked about how his sister, Felicia, 25, whose figure skating career ended because of hip injuries, helped him get through his surgery and grueling rehab.

When he was younger, Gostisbehere said, he would tag along at his sister's figure skating workouts.

"I think that's where I got the knack for playing hockey," he said. "I was always at the rink."

How was his triple Lutz?

"Not good!" he said, laughing.

Gostisbehere's season ended Nov. 7 when he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. He had played two games with the Flyers and five with the AHL's Phantoms.

Getting his wind back, he said, is "what really scares me the most. You've got to get it back, got to get it back in game shape. I definitely feel good out there, though."

The former Union College star said he knew his knee was sound when he absorbed contact and competed in developmental camp in July.

Gostisbehere says his mind-set is to "make the team right now," but he knows the injury slowed down his development. For that reason, he is expected to start the season in Allentown with the Phantoms.

"You can't just throw someone into the fire with only seven games under their belt," he said. "Again, that's probably where it hurt me the most. But watching games and focusing on my body really helped me a lot. I looked at that aspect - turning a negative into a positive."

At camp, Gostisbehere has been paired with 6-7, 227-pound Sam Morin. It is likely they will be paired at Lehigh Valley at the start of the season.

"We love working with each other; we feed off each other," Gostisbehere said. "We're obviously two different players. But I think our games complement each other very well. He's the grit and the strength and I'm the skill and puck-moving kind of guy. But Sammy can move it, too, so it's definitely fun out there. We have good chemistry."

In the not-too-distant future, they might be a Flyers pairing for a decade or so.

"If we could do that," Gostisbehere said, "that would be awesome."