Philadelphia Flyers training camp is not going as Daniel Brière had hoped.
Special Assistant to the Director General Chuck Fletcher made the statement during an interview with Jean-Charles Lajoie on Monday.
“No, I wouldn’t say it’s to my liking. I would have liked to have had a few more victories. Once again, it is difficult to stay healthy. We haven’t seen Sean Couturier and Joel Farabee on the ice yet. We have a lot of guys who are crippled, still. We are trying to prepare for the start of the season.”
The former player also admitted that the presence or not of Couturier this season could have a huge impact on the future of things for his team.
“For us, that’s kind of the key. Lately, the news is relatively good. We hope it will continue to continue like this in Sean’s case. We also have Joel Farabee, who is a big part of our offense, who should be ready relatively early in the season. These two players are key pieces to know if we have a team that can try to push for the playoffs. Otherwise, it completely changes the look of our line-up.
The Quebecer, however, believes that the hiring of John Tortorella as head coach of the Flyers will help instill good work habits in the team’s players. Its effect is also felt during training camp.
“I had difficult camps. I think it was more common when I was playing than it may be today. I confess that I don’t miss that, having seen the guys push like they were pushed during training camp. But I think it’s a good thing in Philadelphia. We want to change the culture and the standards and I think ”Torts” is the perfect person for that. The guys worked extremely hard.”
Briere also doesn’t want his team to compete with the Canadiens for the top pick in the next draft, even though the situation could change quickly.
“We hope we don’t end up in this situation, but you never know how things can change. We believe that the development of our young players goes through a team that works the right way and tries to win every night. That’s what we want to try to do on our side, this season. We are aware that we will probably not fight for the Stanley Cup this season, but we are going in the right direction with a guy like ”Torts”.
Watch the interview in the video above.